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I truly believe people who grew up during the Depression carried those life lessons with them whereever they went, it comforted them when things fell apart knowing once you hit bottom there is only one way to go, UP! I can empathise with the blackcat fire cracker episode, sometimes and impish explosion is needed to remove you from being lulled into a complacent couch potato and back to some sudden reality! Since you shared a few good examples, let me tell you about my Uncle Bill, he married my aunt who was way to young to be married, in San Fransico, California. She had graduated at 17 and left Iowa to live with her sister in the "big city". Bill was born and raised in San Franisco, and he was affored many opportunities that he passed up. He was a beautiful Irish tenor and was offered a job with Lawrence Welk that could have lead to television, but decided against it. He had come out of High School and was noted as "All City Catcher" and was given an opportunity to play professionally through the minor leagues, but turned it down to play for the Industrial Leagues in the city, where their was lots of money being passed around under the table. So Uncle Bill was a bit of a shyster, and often a convincing liar, but one summer day while visiting Iowa with his family, he found himself seated around our kitchen table with other uncles of mine, embibing in whatever was put on the table. He had been their a few hours when a rain shower came up that cooled things down a bit. My dad went outside to check on his cows when he discovered the electric fence he had up to keep the bull away from the cows had shorted out on the long wet brome grass and he needed to get the bull into a place where he couldn't get to the cows. Uncle Bill, always the volunteer since he was the "city slicker" who hadn't a clue what he was supposed to do, went along once again. About the time he got close to where the cows were, suddenly he had the urge to pee, the cold wet grass and all that alcohol was a combination that needed to be addressed. Dad was keeping an eye on Uncle Bill when suddenly Bill dropped to his knees! Thinking the worst, Dad moved around the cows to see what the matter was. Uncle Bill had unkowingly discovered the live end of the electric fence when he peed on it! Once the bull was secured and Dad and Bill were back at the house, the story unfolded to the everlasting laughter of my uncles, who were all farmers! That story never ran out of steam when ever the clan got together and the uncles were drinking and shoting the bull among themselves. It was like stepping back in time and the laughter was once again reserected all over!

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I lost my Dad this spring...your story has me tearing up. Great piece.

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Lovely story, Pat, and what a cool connection!

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I bought this book for my mom when it came out and she absolutely loved it. No doubt she saw a bit of her own life in it. And I think your mom and mine would have been great friends. (Except the bootlegger grandpa was on my dad's side of the family.)

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Powerful storytelling!

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