Eldorado was a big town to me. There were many shops, including a great Ben Franklin Dime Store. The Dime Store had a plethora of things that I wanted. They had the Action Figure Daniel Boone molded to look like the actor Fess Parker, who portrayed Daniel Boone on TV. He was two dollars, and Neva J told me that we did not have the money. When we had the money, he was gone. My best friend Jackie had a Daniel Boone Action Figure, but when we played with our Action Figures… not dolls…Jackie insisted on playing with Daniel Boone, who looked just like Fess Parker.

Thelma, Jackie’s mother, taught me the efficacy of eating Oscar Mayer Wieners directly out of the package. Thelma said that Jackie had always been a bit fleshy. I told an airline attendant that I needed a seat-belt extender as I had always been a bit fleshy, and he laughed. I was happy that I could brighten his day.

Neva J was reading daily. She belonged to the Book Of The Month Club. Each month, you select a book from BOTMC, or the Club will send you its monthly choice. Neva J read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. Books were important in our country home. Most people read. It was a primary component of entertainment. We read and listened to our long-playing vinyl records. We also carried transistor radios. I had a few during my youth. They were a bit magical, as you could have music with you wherever you were. Of course, there was nothing to compare with the reel-to-reel tape recorder. I wanted a reel-to-reel for some time and finally got one for my eighth-grade graduation. I recall recording the soundtrack to the movie Ben-Hur with Charlton Heston. I spent hours listening to it and marveling at the technology that enabled me to capture the majestic music on tape. My Aunt Vema had been an avid reel-to-reel aficionado and thus made tape recordings at family events, including Christmas. Vema reminded me until I was well into adulthood that I said, ‘I did not want ‘No’ ‘shoit’ for Christmas.

We had fried potatoes six out of seven nights…I assumed most people did the same. Liver and onions every week, as it was recommended for healthy blood. I despised liver but liked the onions. I loved pepperoni sticks from the Food Center. Friday was grocery day because it was payday. My request was two pepperoni sticks for dinner or Totino’s Pizza. Friday was a special night. There was the Friday night feature at the Orpheum Theatre. Often, there would be a monster flick or a science fiction thriller. All the kids went on Friday night, which detracted from the performance due to the noise and spitballs flying through the darkened Theatre. The teenagers would be gunning their hemi engines and peeling out with their slick tires in front of the Theatre for the entertainment of the teenage girls.

Grandma A and most of her girls were dedicated to church attendance. Neva J and I did not attend. We were bohemians. We followed our eclectic inclinations. We were not interested in a fellow human telling us how to live our lives. Neva J read Freud. I read Edgar Allen Poe and Edgar Cayce. We were on the outside and liked it.