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#251

‘Ramona, My Love’

Today, I write about my wife Ramona. I met Ramona through one of my old school friends and she was a good looking young gal with dark hair, thin body, and pretty blue eyes. She was just past her 17th birthday and 2 years younger than I was. We double-dated a few times but finally I got the courage to ask her for a date for just her and me. I remember her saying that she would but she couldn’t stay out too late. I met her mom and dad and he was a tall lanky type of man who liked to hunt, fish and trap. He had all kinds of guns on the wall of their bedroom and that at first sort of scared me. Ramona’s mother was a sweet lady who loved her family more than anything else and I liked her from the start. I sort of kept an open eye out for her dad but it wasn’t long before we sort of bonded. It soon was like having a family other than the one I was born in, and Ramona had three brothers and one sister. Ramona and I went out on dates every weekend that I wasn’t working at the mill and we talked to each other over the phone just about every day. Many times we just sat in the car and talked and sometimes we drove just about anywhere we wanted to as long as I had her back home at a reasonable hour. I didn’t want any trouble with those guns, no siree. It wasn’t long before I started calling her Moni, and it wasn’t long before being away from her was something I did not want. We dated every time we could and one day I asked her to wear an engagement ring. I wanted to make sure that this little blue eyed lovely lady did not get away from me. She said yes but we would have to wait until she was 18 before we married because that was the rule set down by that guy with the guns and I was cool with that.

We were married at Beamer Church and before that was to happen, we had to go talk with Reverend Briggs and he was very strict with the words of both commitment and love for each other.. Moni and I moved into a little bungalow with all new furniture bought with the money I had saved up and we lived there for about a year. We then moved up on North Main and that was where we were living when Deborah was born. We were so happy and life was good. My car had bit the dust and so I walked to and from the mill for several months until I could afford another car. After almost 1 year we moved closer to the mill out on South Union Street and Patricia was born. Now we had 2 pretty children and life was still good.

As life goes on, so does life have some ups and downs. Over the years of togetherness we were a happy family of four and life seem to stay on the good side for many a year. Then in the seventies I started having kidney problems and then later on back problems and then heart problems. During all these hard but lovable times, that blue eyed pretty lady was by my side and did a lot of things to keep me clean and fed. Now in recent years Moni has had some problems and she has been very ill since 2003. She was by my side all those previous years and now God has given me the chance to help her. So now I give back what I had received. It was time for me to take care of my lady and life is good. There are times when the love of two people are number one and our time together soothes my soul. To be loved by that lady , gives me happiness. To be able to love her back gives me peace. We don’t know what God has in store for us but we know that it will be good.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#252

“Idiots of the road”

Recently we were out on the bypass driving 45 miles per hour and making sure we were far enough behind the car in front of us and also watching the car behind that was doing the same as me, keeping a proper speed and distance, so that if one of us had to stop suddenly, the others had that chance too. Out of the blue, you could see a truck coming in the left lane, he pulled right in between my car and the one in front of me, and I hit the brakes. Being a man who tries not to use obscenity, I still had some bad thoughts about said truck driver. And I could see that the car behind me had ample time to slow down and change lanes to keep from running into me.

Folks, we see this everyday and it does not matter if it is an older person or a young one. They have no sense in knowing that they could have caused a bad wreck and possibly killing someone. My question to all of this is why don’t they care about their fellow man, and why do they have drivers license. They do not follow the rules of proper driving that is outlined in the driving manuals. It is bad enough to pull alongside someone in the next lane and see them talking and texting on their phones. Many times, they are eating something while talking on the phone and while driving. These are the idiots of the road who cause others to be in bad wrecks. These are the dummies who think no more of you or me as long as they get to where they are going.

Not too long ago, I read that someone wanted to start giving tickets for some silly reasons as long as it gave them more money in their part of government. Man, all they have to do is go out on that bypass, park there for a few minutes and bingo, you have that fellow to give a ticket too if you can catch them. What I am trying to say is that my life and yours would be a lot safer if someone would have the guts to watch for and give tickets to those who abuse our roads and the people driving on them. You don’t have to make new laws, just catch the ones who are breaking the ones we have. The bypass and most of the roads are marked with speed limit signs and it is time that someone has the guts to make sure they are enforced.

I was driving west on Sycamore getting close to the school speed sign and another car passed me like I was standing still. I watched for someone to pull out and overtake said driver but no one did. Hey, those are our children who could be hit by one of those stupid speedsters, and no one was there to protect them. Sure, I know that our Police Department is very busy with all the goons out there dealing drugs and shooting others but that little child that might be hit would not have a chance to live a long life.

During the recent snowy weather, I saw enough that I decided to stay home where I am safe until we get those idiots off the road. We don’t need new laws, we just need the ones we have enforced enough that a message is sent to tell those goons that we are tired of their unsafe actions and we are not going to take it anymore. Will the new bypass help this problem? Probably but until we get the word across that if they drive unsafe, they lose their right to drive. How many of you out there have seen the same thing I am saying? I for one like to drive but not on a racetrack, so we have to let them know that they need to clean up their act. Just pick up the paper or turn on the television and you see the things that I am talking about. If you want to drive, then obey the signs. Let us pray.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#253

Part of my life

An old friend, Mike, told me the other day that he and Nancy likes to read my column each week. That made me feel good because aside from writing being a good therapy for me, it also gives me a chance to renew old friendships, getting some new ones, and most important helping someone cope with something that might be bothering them. I have been told that the way I write, sort of makes my column more open to more readers. I like to write like I am telling a story to a group and many times, what I write about could be a benefit to some and to others it might be a knock on their door to awaken them to something they hadn’t realized.

I will not intentionally talk against any single person, although I might against a group, if I think that group is wrong. I have read so many things about people who are backed up against the wall with stories that are not true and so unfair to that person and their family. What I feel within the deepest part of my heart is that once a person is labeled as being in trouble and then found innocent of those charges, they cannot escape the stigma of that untrue deed. I don’t think that anyone should be under the gun if they have not done the deed. To be singled out before any proof has been put forth is a dis-service to that person. And so that is where I stand on that subject and that is where I will stay. To be able to single out a person or group for doing something that is a benefit to someone else is what this column is about.

I read the other day in a column in another paper a man writing about The United Way and We Care. He thought that We Care probably should share its bank account with The United Way, and I was sad to hear that. We Care was started by some great people connected with WWKI and the money they have in their accounts is there to bring Christmas cheer to those people and children who wouldn’t have a Merry Christmas without that help. For someone like that writer to make that statement, that opens a door to some who will ask that same question. Let me say right here that the assets in that We Care Account should only be used as originally intended. And knowing the type of people at WWKI, that will be the way it is and always will be. There are a lot of people in this great city who gave without giving their names and I salute them on that. There are several things going on during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas that benefit We Care which in turn benefit’s the organizations who use their time to finalize the distribution of Christmas to those who can’t afford to have a Christmas. And going back in time to the day when We Care all started, we remember those who started the ball rolling. So yes, I was deeply disturbed reading what that person wrote. But he as I do has a right to his opinion and I won’t take the matter any further.

Now getting back to all the friends I have gotten back with as well as all the new ones I pick up each week, I have to say that it has been a blessing to come into your home each week and giving you my taste of life. In no other country, does a writer have as much independence as one does here in the good old USA. In other countries, half of my words would be deleted because it might get people to thinking more about being free. And although we do have our differences in the laws of the land, where would we be without them. To live without fear is being able to wake up to a new day , reading the local newspaper, and being able to agree or dis-agree with it. I thank all of you out there for your kind words. You are part of my life.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#254

Fighting back

I, as a writer, am exposed sometimes to the wrath of others who disagree with some of the things I write about. Let me say here that the things I write about are some of my innermost feelings and you can take it or leave it. A few years ago, I might of just hung it up and crawled in a corner and pout. But being able to write this column each week for this wonderful newspaper and its readers, has given me hope, strength, and more wisdom, that will make my words more meaningful. Getting mad at one reader while many more praise my words, will only say that I am a failure and I won’t go there.

I believe that there is a GOD and I have been the recipient of His Greatness. Several times in my life of three score and twelve years, I have been close to death, only to be given another chance by God, who is the builder of the greatest invention in this world, and that is you and I. He gave us a body to live in, and He gave us the knowledge of how to live in His Greatness. He gave us a brain to think and reason with, and He gave us a soul, with a conscience to know the difference between good and bad. Many times we don't use this gift, and we stray away and go through hell, before we come back asking for forgiveness from Him. And we get it, because He is our Father and He loves us. And He wants us to do some good, while we are still on this earth, that He gave us to live on. And so I wouldn't be worth my weight in salt, if I didn't say that.

There are some out there lying back in the cracks just waiting to drop the hammer on us as a free country, and we need to fill those cracks and drive them away and back to their countries and let them spew their venom over there. In the past year, I have seen the venom spilled via the television and the internet. Those who use the political platform to poison our minds with hate of one party over another is a low blow to what we are and what we could be. Those who use the judicial system to change our laws so that we are subject to losing what had been fought for so many years ago. Those who pass information tearing down our system without checking it out first are just putting themselves and the rest of us in a hole that we might not be able to crawl out of. You might say that they know not what they are doing but that is no excuse to anyone who tries to tear down our system of government. If you know anything about taking a big building down, you know that to do it you start eating away at the bottom foundation and soon it will come crumbling down.

That, my friends, is what is happening to all of us now. We are being uprooted and we could fall, if we don't stop it now. As you know, I really don't like to fight, but I am an American and sometimes we have to stop turning the other cheek and start stomping what is wrong. To sit back and let the Supreme Court and those filthy roaches take us down by digging at our roots, would be to admit to the world that we are afraid to fight. To stand up to them and say that they are not going to push us around anymore would be my idea of saying thanks to all those who have fought and died to keep this country safe and free of those who would take us down. Don’t be a part of tearing down our system but be a part of making it better. Many have died trying to protect it and so we need to live our lives preserving it. You and I can be the ones who will protect what has been gotten with the blood of our ancestors

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#255

As it is, as it was, how it could be.

As one man said a long time ago, the future is unknown, yet we prepare ourselves for what might be there. I guess that the best way to say it is that we can’t worry about what the future brings, and we live today and remember what happened in the past. I am one of those persons who live one day at a time. I remember how it was for me in my young days and I remember what our parents told us about what they had to go through. Why should we overlook today while worrying about tomorrow? There is a future for most of us, and maybe a few days for the rest of us. To worry about your future problems would be like forgetting today and yesterday. We don’t worry about something we can’t do anything about. I have used that logic ever since I was a youngster and it hasn’t failed me yet. Oh yes, there were some rough times but as a child, I did not have to worry about it because my parents were there to do it for me. So let’s just accept today as it comes, yesterday as it was and the future will just fall in place as it is supposed to be.

I was asked by some of my readers to bring back more old memories as it helps them tell their children about the days of old. How many times were you without food as a youngster? How many times did you go to bed hungry and cold and wished that there was more to eat and more to keep warm? In our family, that great lady called Mom made sure her children were fed good and kept warm. And that great man we called Dad would work overtime just to feed and warm his children. Those two people in my life did all they could so that we kids could grow up into today’s good fortunes and pass it on to our children. Such was what they did for our future, making today the most important day of our lives.

How many of you out there ever ate a tator sandwich? That was fried potatoes, smothered with butter on two slices of bread. How about a peanut butter with butter and syrup spread on bread? How about graham crackers with icing made with powered sugar? How about cornmeal mush fried in the skillet? Or oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon? How many of you can say that you had all the fruit you wanted just by going out to the yard and picking it right off the trees. How about having a grape barber with lots of bunches of purple grapes that mom and grandma would use to make grape jelly? How many of you remember having an outhouse to do your thing in? How about the well pumps where you used your muscles to move that pump handle up and down to bring water to the house? How many of you wore hand me downs that Mom would patch or adjust to fit. How many remember your father putting new soles and heals on your shoes so that you could use them longer. Have you ever had your socks darned by mother so that you could wear them longer? And how many of you at one time or another thought that Mom and Dad were not as wise as we kids were.

If you can just say yes to any one of those questions you have a past that needs to be told to your youngsters. Don’t worry about what the future will bring to them, because if they know how you had to live, than that can be their guide to what could be in their future. I can remember all those great things that our parents did for us and those are memories so precious to forget. From the beginning of time, the parent is the most valuable part of any child’s life. They are the past that will help make up the future. They were the ones blessed by Our Almighty God to do His work and thanks to God for that.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#256

Taking a memory walk.

I had a young reader ask me about what Kokomo Downtown looked like in my day. That made me feel good to be asked. So let me write what I remember. Starting with the corner of Taylor and Main Street, you could look to your right and see The Hotel Courtland. And left, you could see the popcorn and peanut wagon and right next to it was the Indiana Theater. Look left and there was The Public Service Office. As you go south, there was Earharts Drug Store and The Ilif Clothing Store. Than there was the Uptown Cafe. You could then look east and there is the Post Office and across the street was The Kokomo Tribune. Goodyear Store was across the street and then going west you saw The Union Bank.

As you turn south you found The Lamode Shop and Engel’s Jewelry. Look across at your right, and there was McClellands , where you could get a large bag of popcorn. Look to the east and you saw Sears, and the YMCA. Going further south you saw Wards, Kresges, Woolworths, Hooks Drugs, and Penney’s Dept Store. Look to your left and there was Palmers Jewelry, Victory Bike Shop, Boston’s Clothing and Carter and Bousom Barber Shop where my barber Walt Moss got his start. Later on, he opened up his own shop and cut my hair for over fifty years. Next to that Barber Shop was the Sipe Theater and that was a place where we young kids got to go free each Saturday. Coming back to Main Street and looking south, you saw The K&S Dept Store and across the street there was The Armstrong Landon Building and then south there was the ISIS Theater. If you go on down to the corner, look east you see The Cherry House, Kokomo High School Vocational Center and The High School.

Coming back north and then heading west you saw Rapp’s Shoes and Clothing, Wood Theater, and then Kambers’ Clothing. Turn your head right and you see the Courthouse, and right across the street was Sweets Book Store, Mary Mac Candies, The Colonial Theater and American Security where I financed my first car purchase. Crossing the street you could see Cross Clothing Store, MyGrills Restaurant, and then across the street there was Hills Snappy Service, Rexall Drugs and then going east was Turners Department Store, and then Muirs Drugs.  Going around the corner and heading north and around the corner was Western Union, MyGrants , and Gerharts Drugs. Cross the street and coming east you found The Hotel Frances, a pool room, and The Fox Theater. Then on the corner was Nick’s Shoe repair. That building now is Walt Moss’s Barber Shop, and it still has some great barbers there. As I stated before, Walt was my number one barber for 50 years and that guy is a friend to everyone.

Still coming north you found Cooksey and Miller Furniture and First National Bank. Head on down north and you found the Hatchery and Dietzens Bakery, and to the right you found Kokomo Gas Company, a bowling alley, and a diner. Now this old man just took you on a walk through history and maybe on a few things I might have been off some but wasn’t that fun to do? How many of you out there know your history of your city or town and you keep it to yourself when you know that there are children out there who really need to know where most things of the old days were. I could take you on some more walks in future columns but why don’t you take my column and then take a walk between Jefferson Street and Superior Street. See how many are still there or if there are any markings saying what that area had on it’s spot back in the days of old. Memories are things that should be shared with others, and those same memories ought to be listed somewhere in the Kokomo City Blotter. One day we will not remember how it was in the fifties. I hope it is a long time for me. Take a memory walk.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#257

The Waste of good land.

As I drive around, I see things that I question and I wonder who makes the rules. Going past the ground where our steel mill was for so many years, I have not only sorrow but also a little disgust about how long it has been empty. How much money has been milked out of this piece of ground and how long has it been that the city of Kokomo has done without the tax money they could of collected and probably it will be a lot longer as we allow it to just sit there and not being used to the advantage of Kokomo and it’s taxpayers. Will that land ever be used again and when will we finally say enough is enough and have the guts to kick that group out and build on it. My goodness, how many people who worked there can actually say that it was a place where you develop cancer or many other things that we can get in any regular employment. Build me a home on it and I would live there for a year. Now don’t take me for an idiot because I say these things. Take for example, how many times has the work there stopped because there was no more money to finance the work. It would seem to me if it is as bad as they claim, there would not be any stoppage of work to remedy the situation regardless of money being available.

Ok let’s get off that area and go north to where Washington and State Road 35 come together. That land has lain empty for many years and it does not look like it will ever be used. Cars travel alongside it, people walk by it. And the winds blow there just like it does anywhere else. There are buildings on other lots there. Go out to where the Delco factory was and you see empty land just like the others. Is it dangerous to the people who live close by and those who walk by it or drive by it? Is it dangerous just because there is someone who claims that it does not meet the levels that they choose to go by? I sort of get upset sometimes when we as ordinary people are required to believe that these boundaries are unsafe, just because they say so. I see on television and in the media that there is a global warming and they base this on how the icebergs are melting. Did they measure on all sides of those icebergs to see if one side is getting bigger while the other side is getting smaller? I have to say right here that we get these scares because someone sets up some set of measurements that we have to believe is true. So what if it is melting? I am sure that Our God knows what is going on.  This probably is a natural occurrence, and weather will change at different points as time goes by. Sure, I would agree that smoking is bad for your health and it should be thought about very seriously before lighting up. Sure, breathing asbestos could be bad for your health and when working around it a mask should be worn. Back in my childhood days, we used coal to heat with and cook with. This was an everyday thing and really how many people have been diagnosed as having cancer because of it.

So maybe you understand what I am trying to say. If we as the people want to continue to have a city to live in, we need to build companies on those empty plots of land that have lain empty for so many years. Why are we believing all the things that are being given us as the gospel? Science is a wonderful thing to learn and use as we try to maintain a life where we can live without fears of something being bad for us. Look all over and you see this happening in many cities and the people believe what is said without any real proof that it is truly bad. The time has come to stand and say enough.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#258

I received an email the other day from a reader named Jim. He wrote a few things he remembered from back when he was a young man. I asked Jim if it was ok to use his words in this column and he said it was ok with him. Jim said that my column sort of brought back those memories. He talked about how his dad used to take sorghum molasses & butter, mixed together and spread it on bread or toast. He really liked that. He said that his Dad worked at a meat packing company for years, which his Grandpa Cross owned. He said that they ate a lot of pork brain sandwiches, which he would not do again. He made some stuff that they called Blood Pudding, which he would never eat & some stuff called head cheese, made by boiling hog heads down, including the eyes and the noses, which he would not eat either. He would drain the water off them, get all the meat and what ever else, and make a loaf out of it. Then it was cut into slices for sandwiches. There was also some kind of gland from the hog, that he would put a breading on, and then fry them in a skillet. He remembers them as called sweetbreads. No, he says, they were not mountain oysters. Jim was not one to eat that stuff. Jim did say that he remembers that his Dad made some of the best sugar cured ham that he had ever tasted. He would take the hams, make his own sugar-curing recipe, then wrap them up in ham netting and hang them in the smokehouse for a long time.

He enjoyed those days with his Dad and Mom. They were the best parents that GOD could have ever blessed him with. They never had much money, but his Dad always worked very hard to supply them with the things that they needed. His Mom took great care of the home, and like Dad, if they needed corrected, they got it. If Mom had to blister their backside, then they got it again when Dad got home. Jim has never blamed all the very bad things that he did, on the way his parents raised him. They did it right, it was his fault when he was switched and no one else's. Sometimes, they would have to go out and pick out their own switches that they were switched with.

He loved them with all his heart and they did their best for all of them. Jim says that there are many times, that he would like to go back and tell them how sorry he was for the things that he did, that brought worry, shame and grief on them. Jim said that he was not a very nice guy to be around, but GOD has changed his life forever and he knows that HE has forgiven him. That folks, is really something to read with my own eyes the thoughts of one of those from the days of old. Things back then were not easy but we did not know that, because we had never had it any better. What we got from living back then is like what gold was to Midis.

The family came first in the thoughts of the breadwinner who worked many hours to bring home a paycheck, and that lovely lady of the house who spent 24 hours a day, seven days a week to nourish her family with food, warmth and love that can only come from a mother. I thank Jim for allowing me to tell his story for you to read. I thank the readers for all the emails, letters, and praises that I receive. And I thank those weekly people from the days of old like Thelma, Glenn and Wanetta, and Jenny who let me know they care. They have been there and done that and just knowing them has been a blessing to me. If you out there still have your parents here with you, tell them thanks for everything that they did. Take them in your arms and hug them, with love and thanks.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

It seems to me that writing about the old days is limited to those who lived those days or has actual knowledge of the days of old as told them by those older than the writer. In my time, I have read some great columns written by those who lived it and survived to talk about it. There was a writer back several years ago by the name of Cliff Fouts who was about the greatest storyteller around. Then there was Bill Hall who wrote about his life and those of his color. Both of these men were good solid citizens and as far as I know, Mr. Hall is still with us. I miss his writing about the times in his neighborhood, which was part of my growing up. We lived up on Lafountain Street where the neighborhood was mixed and really, that was a blessing for me. It gave me a chance to find out the real stories about all those who lived there. I still have many friends who remember me from those days and they tell me that they always read my words because I tell it like it was and is now. Bill Hall was a man who knew what he wrote about and if he didn’t he found out by going to the Library and reading up on what happened when and where. Mr. Fouts wrote in a way that he could add a few words of comedy to get his point across.

In today’s age, there are only two active writers about the old days and that is myself, and Tom with wife Barb. So that is why I write. It gives me peace in my heart to be able to write about the times when I was a child and then as a grownup trying to make my mark. I sometimes wonder what is so bad about life back then that makes people want to forget it. Those were the things and times that prepared you for the rough times most are having in these days of grief. The things that our parents had to do to survive, feed, and warm the families were a building tool for today. The families were close, and it was a time when you sat at the table with the other members of your family and had a feast of food that most would not have time to fix, let alone eat it.

There was no time for fun and games until the chores were done and homework completed. It was a time when you did not see your father that much because he was out working as many hours as possible. It was a time when Mom would entertain you with her games, and her piano music. It was a time when you did not worry about someone breaking in the house because neighbors looked out for each other. The locks on the doors were all opened with a skeleton key. And it was a time when you went to bed on time and you kissed Mom and Dad goodnight. It was a time when if you wanted some spending money, you went out and looked for ways to earn it. You did not steal, you did not lie and you did not dis-respect your elders. I remember one time when we had company who spent the night, and I slept on two chairs put together. I remember some cold mornings when the fire in the stove was just about out and we boys took turns getting that fire warm before the rest got up. We used coal, wood, and corncobs to keep warm and to cook with. One of our favorite deserts was a slab of ice cream with some of Mom’s great cobbler. Where did it all go? Did we just forget or did we decide to forget it and go on with life as it is today. Was it so bad back then that it should be put away and forgotten? Well, this old man enjoys telling it like it was and like it is and we just let the future fall in place. Do you have stories to tell? Let others listen to you.

Ray "Uncle Ray" Day

This writer has been very fortunate in having been raised by parents who never let themselves enjoy something they could not afford. We were taught to never be envious of those who live better than we did. We were taught that to borrow more than what you need just puts you into a commitment that you might not be able to meet. In the case of credit cards, there wasn’t any of that when we were kids. Businesses would give you credit for the things you bought through their stores. Groceries would allow you a tab each week or each payday, and you had better be on time each payday or that tab was no more. You borrowed on your credibility and your history of proper paying up. There weren’t any mailings of credit solicitations each week in your mailbox. The temptations of opening credit card accounts was not there for those who just did not have the paychecks to pay that money back. In today’s world we put too much emphasis in opening a charge just to get that free gift that they dangle in front of you. Promises of low payments each month make the credit card a luxury that can’t be overlooked. Young people think that all they have to do is to open that account and then lie back and enjoy without wondering where that monthly payment will come from.

We always hear how our leaders want this or that because it will be good for us when really they are thinking about how their own pockets will hold the profits of such things that really do not benefit you or me. The price of medicines raises each week and we don’t look at the cost that we pay. The raises in monthly rates for our insurance for our better health raises each year even though we get less in return. Food has taken a hike in prices with less quality of said food. Fuel prices go up even though it is bought as less than the previous month. Stores offer rebates on their merchandise to mail in and only be used in the store the merchandise was bought at. That folks is not a sale because said store still gets your money as soon as you use that rebate. As one who worked in sales for seventeen years, I know how to find the small print that tells you the information that should be up front where it can be seen by the buyer at the time. I would never sell anyone something that I knew would be a problem later on. I guess that is why I did as well as I did. People trusted me to not only sell them what they needed but also to advise them on what they did not need even though it was less money in my pocket from that sale. Common sense is needed by all.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

Remember when the things, that are taken for granted now, were part of everyday facts of life. Remember when you worked from early morning to late at night to get the crops ready and the livestock fed so that you might have food on the table. When there was no electric refrigeration to keep the food fresh and you used underground cellars or the smoke houses to preserve the vegetables and the meats. Most of the food was saved by use of canning, or drying. For some, the icebox was a lifesaver if you had a place to get ice from. You didn't see much money changing hands back then because of the bartering by one family with another one to get the foods wanted. Getting around was by walking or riding a horse, if you wanted to go very far. You never left the confines of your own property, unless you were going to church or to a neighboring town. The only ones to be able to see another country were the soldiers who went to preserve peace for us. The entertainment was sitting at the kitchen table and just talking about the things that went on that day or maybe playing checkers, or reading a book. In reality, there really wasn't much time to be entertained, as you had to get to bed and get some rest so that you could start all over the next day.

Respect of the elders was part of growing up and maturing, so that we, one day ,would be able to be the heads of our own families. The word set down by the head of the family was law, and it was carried out to the letter. Sitting on the floor beside Mom and Dad, we would listen to what was being said on the radio and we would let our minds create the picture of what was going on. There were not any shows on the radio that used bad language, which wasn't a nice thing to use and you were punished if you used it. Yes, once upon a time, there was more good than bad, and there was more respect toward the family. Today we have all the benefits of freezers in our homes and food stored in the stores until you needed to go out and buy it. Today, we have the cars, bikes, trains, airplanes, and boats to take us to anywhere we want to go. Today we have the television, radio, and games to go to.

The respect today of the child toward the parents has taken a terrible blow and I have to admit that maybe a lot of the blame needs to back to the parent. I say that because of the fact that in today's society, there have been laws set down by groups who want to bring the family life to it's knees. And those parents just set back and let it happen. Instead of the child having fear of discipline if they did wrong, the parent now has fear of discipline if they try to discipline the child. Where is the logic in that?

In today’s television shows it is a constant shouting out of the worst profanity around and the stars get good money for doing it. You can't turn very many shows on without hearing and seeing terrible acts performed right in front of your eyes. Many people are offended by it but they still sit there and watch. Maybe nobody ever told them that the remote is for changing a channel as well as turning the television on or off. Sometimes I wonder just what it would of been like if television had never been invented.Today we live for today without much thought to how the past got us here. We think that tomorrow will bring us more goodies without us neither needing them nor having to pay for them. Do we live in a Cinderella situation where the prince always gets his princess? Do we expect others to speak up so that we might have some purity in our lives? We choose our paths to walk without thought of where it takes us.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

So that leaves me to this thought. We elect you guys to those seats to get things done fast but not carelessly, so that the taxpayer benefits from his or her vote. We do not elect you to sit there and just listen and then do something because a lobbyist has taken you out for dinner and a drink. We do not elect you to try and get on the good side of others by sliding alongside someone who has a bill that would benefit big business and hurt the little guy. We do not elect you to go on nice trips paid for by the taxpayer or by some lobby group looking for someone to put in their pocket. And we didn’t elect you to have better insurance plans than the taxpayers who elected you, or for that matter, wanted to cast their vote for someone else. To be a representative of the people you have to realize that you are like any person who is lucky enough to have a job. You have a boss and that my friends are the taxpayers who put you in that position.

And knowing the main facts about a person before you vote for or against him or her is very important. Don’t vote for someone who tells you what he or she will do. Vote for the person that you know enough about that you know he or she will do the job well. I have always stated that you should never vote for someone who is a newcomer and you know nothing about him or her. To get my vote, I want to know his or her background and how long that person has lived in my area, plus any facts pertinent to knowing what they are capable of doing for the voter, and the country too. If anyone has any prejudice, hate, or known violence, then don’t vote for them. Know about the person and know about his or her personal lives. If a person wants to represent me, then he or she has to know that questions have to be answered about them. We have in Washington, people who have made it home to them for many years, and they just sit there and agree or disagree according to what their leader of the party wants. Is it too much to ask someone to be honest while representing you and me? Is it fair for them to take their salary while sitting there acting like they don’t know what is going on. Is it too much to expect our representative to represent us instead of a lobbyist? We, in recent years, have gone from voting with our brains to voting with our other end. I really would like to know how they sleep at night. Do they ask for forgiveness for what they will do when they awake? Those are questions I ask and you know I won’t get any answers from Congress. They are too busy fighting each other for the kissing booth. I think you probably got the message from what I say. Will they respond with god representation or will they continue to milk the people who elected them? I usually don’t get this riled up but I know that it is time to ask and receive the answers. Will we receive better representation or not?

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

Well, the Big Dance over, and many of us are still thrilled with the run that Butler had, so I feel it is time again to bring up my thoughts on class sports here in Indiana. Those who know me well, knows that I like my basketball more than any other sport. Of course, baseball and football fall in very close. So when that infamous five down in at the IHSAA, decided years ago that class sports was going to work, come you know what and high water, I have every year let it be known that it was an injustice to the schools, the students and the fans of a sport so fondly watched by true Indiana sports fans. The fact was that Indiana sports was not ill and thus did not need the remedy that was given them by that governing body of five men who really did not care enough to know that here in Indiana, we did have the David versus Goliath version of the athletic skills of our young men and women. Who cares what the other states are doing. Indiana has been the hotbed of basketball for many years and to tell a youngster that he must play against kids in his or her own class is like saying that player just is not good enough to beat the big school in the best high school tournament in the USA. At least, it was the best until that group of five men decided we needed something else.

So once again here is my reasoning on why I would like to go back in time, give a good whack on the noses of those five men, and take back that “David versus Goliath “ version of our sports where each child who wants too can compete against others without regard to what the size of the schools are. Now give this some thought because we just ended our basketball tourney a couple weeks ago. Don’t try to look it up. Tell me who won the basketball tourney in all classes here in Indiana? Kind of hard to do unless it was your school that won it. And down the line, it will be harder to remember who the victors were unless you look it up. To tell a young man or woman that they cannot compete with another school because it is larger is really silly and to put them in a class is silly too. I don’t like class sports mainly because it is taking that right away from an athlete who is good enough to compete with any other athlete, regardless of what size the school was.

I spent my last two years at Western High School and come tourney time each of those two years, our basketball team was ready to go to the big gym right here in Kokomo to have the chance to take on the Wildkats. They were that good and they knew that here was an opportunity to win at Kokomo and go on to play other schools that were larger in size. Just to let you know our size, there were 38 of us in our senior class, and if that isn’t a “David versus Goliath” version, I don’t know what is. To be able to walk into the confines of the larger opponent and say that you had a big chance to show the rest of the state what you had was a great thing to be able to do. In recent years that has been taken away from the players and their parents who know how good their kids were in sports. Sure, there has been a history of the big schools winning the State Championship since the start of the tourney’s existence. And sure there has been only one school who did the impossible and if you ask anyone who loves Indiana basketball, they can tell you that it was Milam over Muncie Central. Hard to forget because it was an event heard all over our state. Some great teams won their class in recent years but only in their class. I think they could of pulled off the upset in our big dance.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

 
 

As this old man reflects back on the days of old, I see that a few of the good old songs are still around and listening to them is like reading a short story book. Whether it was a ballad, or a love song, the music was such as you felt good about life and you catch yourself either humming or whistling a tune from those days. Music back in my day and before me was soft and refreshing to hear. You didn't hear the same words repeatedly like it is today. The mellow voices of people like Rudy Valley, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin made you want to sing right along with them. The McGuire Sisters, The Andrew Sisters, Doris Day, Jo Stafford and the great Kate Smith gave you sounds that will be remembered always. Country music was what we listened to most of the kind as the pretty voices of Patsy Cline, Webb Pierce, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and the great Hank Williams had us all singing right along with them. How about the prettiest voice around, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn? And George Jones and Tammy Wynette could make the most pleasing harmony together or separate.

 As my teenage years blossomed into later times, there was an emergence of probably the true king of music called Elvis Pressley. That man could really put out about the most pleasing sound around. In those days when a music artist came on stage, he or she was dressed up in their own style whether it was jeans or dress clothes. The hair was combed and everything about them was pleasing to see. I guess that I am an old fuddy duddy when it comes to entertaining on the stage. Everything was clean and as each sang their tunes, you could see a story being told. Then came what they called Rock and Roll, a change heard all over. Good Rock and Roll music was good to hear but then hard rock, with the repeating of the same lines over and over again and the way that they jumped around on the stage with some moves that in my time would have been filthy, and the way that the noise was so loud that you really did not know what they were saying. In today’s world, if you have a guitar, long shaggy hair, dirty clothes with rips in them, you are considered a star.

What has happened to those shows both on stage and on television where what you looked liked made the star?. I guess that you might say the same thing about what you see and hear on stage and television today too. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to sit back and enjoy real entertainers who prided themselves in singing and playing songs that we can understand? Where did it all go? Did we lose self-respect for the things that were clean and nice to hear? Who is silly enough to pay a high-ticket price just so they can scream harder and louder that the ones on stage?

 I guess that times have changed, but I cannot say it is for the better. We pay homage to the groups who not only are unclean ones but also many are high on drugs, and we put them on a pedicle, and they laugh all the way to the bank. For this writer that is discouraging to say the least. They say that times change for the better but I just don’t see that in the world of noisemakers. And no one will ever see me throw my money away on shows that are too silly to understand let alone come away from with a hearing problem. I did see a few months ago, a group called The Jersey Boys and they were clean, and they were good to hear. Maybe someone will take a look at them and turn their own music lives around. For me, I will play some of the old music that is soothing to my ears and soul. There is hope in some music that is sung the right way., by good entertainers.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

Mom was a pretty lady who wanted her kids happy and she did a lot of things that you don’t see these days. She was a 24/7 housewife, mother, friend, doctor and nurse to us kids and she will forever live in our hearts. She wasn’t one of those ladies who spent more time outside the home as many do these days. There was always plenty to keep her busy and of course that was ok with her. It didn’t take much to please our mother as her life was to tend to the needs of her family and that, she was good at. When Dad was home, she expected the children of the family to be quite so that he could rest and if we didn’t, she wasted no time pulling us off to the side and telling us that if she had to tell us one more time, it was switch time and we knew what that was. You went out and got a switch off the tree and she used it on us. No, she was not mean as she knew that we didn’t want any part of that and we behaved. Mom knew how to teach the kids of our family and the neighborhood kids if they were in our house, respect for others. In our neighborhood, the families there all knew that their kids would be ok at our house because Mom made sure all of us were good. Back in those days respect of the elders were number one and children were raised with rules of conduct. And it was a fact that the neighbors there knew that we had rules that were for us in our family and our friends too.

Later on in my life when I went to work at the mill where Dad worked, Dad told me that the respect of our mother should be number one and he was happy that Mom got the respect because she deserved it. Dad was a quite sort of a guy who never said too much but when he did, the words stayed with you forever. I know that he was happy with her although he did not say it much. They lived in marriage 54 years before Dad was called Home. Mom missed him so much and finally joined him when she was called Home in 1982. I know that God was very happy with what Mom did while here on earth and when she reached the Gates of Heaven, he probably said to her,” Welcome Home Lucille, job well done“. So as time goes by, the thoughts of Mom stay with me today and forever more. Never forget your parents and what they did for you.

Ray "Uncle Ray" Day

Well, it is that time of the year when this old man starts my garden and boy do I enjoy doing it each year. There are times when the result of that year wasn’t too good due to not really taking care of it, as it should be. And there have been several years when the result was so great that we had vegetables galore. Most of the years we had plenty to eat and plenty to put away for the winter eating. I don’t get very fancy in what I plant, as I haven’t found a tomato that I didn’t like or any of the peppers that we put in the freezer for the winter. I like onions and so I try to plant as much as I can but shipping has gotten so far out of sight, that it just isn’t worthwhile to order the plants. However, there will be onions growing in that garden. In fact, I was out there checking my garden area out and counted about 200 plants coming up so I waited until the middle of April and went out and dug up those plants and replanted them in another row. I did that last year and filled my freezer with them.

I will not plant corn as it takes up space and you real don’t get that much out of them. It will be green beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cabbage, and maybe some cucumbers. I really have not made up my mind yet as to what I will plant and how much. However, I know that each year it gets a little tougher to do what I want to in that garden, so I will cut off about a third of the planting area. Now don’t get me wrong, as I really enjoy doing it but the old prayer bones just are not holding up on their end. If you go by and see me in the garden, you will see me lying on the ground to do most of it. And with the hands getting more tender each year, I guess the Man above is telling me to slow down. So this year, we will do what we can, and if that is not enough, then so be it.

Ever since I was a child, I remember Dad and Mom having a garden. And when I got older, I was out in that garden to take care of it when Dad was at work. There is something about planting a garden in that it sort of puts you a little closer to God. You feel Him there, what with the slight winds as you work. The pretty sounds of the birds and even a weed looks pretty in its own way. Of course, you have to go out and keep the plants watered if you don’t get rain, and some of those weeds will eat up your supply of enriched soil if you don’t weed the garden. Many times the plants will need a little help and you supply a touch of fertilizer, so that it can grow strong. Come a month or so, you see abundant life coming out of that soil and then you really get down to taking care of that garden. Keeping the tomato plants tied is a little work. Pinching off the small suckers helps the plant grow taller.

Many times, there will be animals who will try to get to your plants so you really need to fence it in. Come harvest time, the smiles and sometimes disappointment come on you as you get to taste the fruits of your labors. Boy that tomato tastes good, and if you have green beans, you have to get them picked before they dry up. I usually limit my garden to just one row of green beans, as we don’t put them away for the winter. So yes, I enjoy doing it each year, and if one summer, you don’t see a garden out there then I must have been called Home. I have been at it for many a year and just being able to do it has been a blessing for me. And it is so good.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

#267

WHY

There are times when this old man wonders about certain things and why it turns out to be. In today’s world, we have wars between factions in the same countries who will not put down their arms in favor of peace and understanding. So our country, bless its heart, send troops over to try to bring peace and you can see what that has done. In no war or conflict since the World War 2, has there been a big change in how that country acts after our men and women came home. We have lost thousands of good American men and women, of all races, to bring peace to those who want nothing to do with us except die at the hands of soldiers on the other side. Why is that? Do we need to spill our blood over in those foreign countries in order to keep them from being here? Do we need to tell fathers and mothers, wives and husbands,  that their loved ones died so that others will have it better over in a country that has no love of the American people.

I have given much thought to these questions and the only thing I can say is that it is a shame for not only America but also those other countries who tried to back us up in those quests. Just about any country in the world can show you where American soldiers are buried due to not being about to separate them by identification. Do we as a free country need to improve ourselves abroad while dieing over seas or do we just say to those countries that they need to solve their own problems without relying on us to do it for them.

Now that gets me back on American soil and here we have problems galore as our Congress cannot agree even to disagree. Our country is trying to come out of a recession that began several years ago but we didn’t know it. Jobs were disappearing and going overseas. We were importing more than we were exporting. Our congressmen took party sides instead of American sides. Some of our people in office for so many years started making their beds there and for a long time, everyone looked the other way. Health costs got so high that the American people stated looking overseas for their medicines. The Pharmaceuticals kept raising the costs of medicines by saying they need more for research. At the same time, the fat cats at the tops of these companies were padding their pockets with more money. Many of our people started cutting down on their meds because they could not afford them. And if that was not enough, they downplayed the generics even though the only thing different was the name.

Where does that leave you and me? When "each day", it costs over ten dollars for a person's medicine, how can our people survive?’ Now what we need to do is to clean up our own act before we try to solve some one’s else. We need to tell those foreign countries that we have done enough and now we take care of our own. We need to feed our people and we need to give them the medicines they need. We need to start progress on those things that America needs and we need to do it now. Those old horses we have had in Congress have been grazing instead of working and need to be put out to their own pasture. We need to try to find some common ground to lay our plans on and we need to do that now. Lets work together to bring peace to the two parties in government and tell them to do their job or they will be replaced when their term expires. What we need is to do a lot of shaking around here and stop rocking around the clock. That hound dog in the window isn’t for sale yet and he needs to be fed. It can be a wonderful world if we try to make it so. Life is too short to just pee it away. It is time.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day
 
 

I use my computer to write my columns each week, send out my newsletter each week, and for answers to questions, I can’t answer otherwise. So I do take exception to those who use it for anything other than for the good of our world. We don’t need the predators and we don’t need the porn that can be found very easy by mistake and on purpose. That takes me to something that needs to be said and to remember. If you or anyone on your computer has visited a porn site either by accident or on purpose, you will find that it will be very hard to take it off your machine. Even though you delete it out as soon as you see it, it will go lay in a corner of your files and you will not know it is there until you accidentally come across it. It takes a professional to get that  thing completely off your computer, and that means you will lose a lot more than just that disgusting picture. You can be bogged down with the stigma of having visiting that site accidentally or on purpose.

For many a year, I had no need to find out the news or other facts of importance, but in 1995, watching my grandchild do some school work on her computer, I found out that there was a lot of information out there for the asking and so I embarked on a path of further learning and I trained myself to use a computer by trial and error. I was amazed at how fast something could be brought up just by entering one word. So I took it on myself to try and blend what I could learn with what I already knew. Everything I do now on the computer, I taught myself. And each time I sit down to use that computer; I increase my knowledge base to the extent that nothing is impossible to find or to do, if I just set my mind to it. Now every morning if there isn’t anything scheduled for me to do, I spend about two hours checking my e-mail, and going to new sites that one of my e-mail friends tell me about. I make sure that when my e-mail is open, I check the wording or the source and I delete it right away if it is of an offensive nature. I pride myself that I have the will power to stay away from mail that looks bad.

I would think that working on a computer as I do would be a benefit to those who like me are getting to that time in life when your memory starts to slow down. Being able to refresh your mind with new knowledge as well as old memories, could be a deterrent to that dreaded brain disease. It sure can’t hurt to use it as a learning tool and for things that might be forgotten. Why not give it a try and see if it helps. I am always wanting to learn more and here I have the tool to do so. It can be helpful as well as entertaining. There is hope in learning more.

Ray "Uncle Ray" Day

As one who has been there, or as one who listened to the old timers tell their story of life as it was for them, I try to bring yesterday into the lives of our young people of today. Many times I find that there are many who knew how tough it was for their parents and grandparents, because they were told about it. However, there are many young people out there in today’s world that don’t believe what I write or what others tell them. They have been so shaded away from reality by parents who had it rough but are determined to make sure that their children will always have an easier way to live than what they had. I have had children ask me what is coal and what is an icebox and where did I ever get the idea that the times back then were tougher than what it is today.

I was asked once about a column that I wrote about going junking in order to get a little spending money. They could not believe that there was a time when the life we lived was based on what we did with our time. They even question that at 11 years  old for 2 years, I passed The Kokomo Tribune so that I could have some money to spend and save.

Was it all games we played in our minds? Was it the fact that we did not have all the electric appliances such as a refrigerator, gas cook stove and a whole house furnace? Was it a fact that ice came from an icehouse and placed in an icebox so that food would not spoil? Was it a fact that coal and wood and even corn cobs were used to cook and heat with. As far as what electricity there was, a cord came down from the ceilings and you plug a light or a radio to it with the cord hanging down far enough that you moved it out of the way, as you went by. There were ashes to shovel out of the heating stove and the cooking stove each day so there was room for air to circulate enough to make the fires burn longer and better. If it was cold, you bundled up in bed with more blankets and during the day, you wore sweaters and even long underwear. I don’t know what the female members wore because in our family that was something you did not think about.

Schoolwork was a daily happening as mom and dad wanted their kids to get as much education that they could. There was certain times of the day when you could go out and play, but the chores and the homework had better be done first. On the hot days, the way to cool off was with a fan, many times made out of a piece of cardboard or a newspaper folded up. You had screens on the windows so you could sleep with the windows open. As far as the plumbing facilities were concerned, some had inside toilets but most had an outside john to do the thing in. I guess when I was young we had both, which came in handy if you were outside and had no time to make it inside. Lives in the days of old were good times that had some harsh times with it. In today’s world, our children have all the luxuries that can be possible to have according to what the parents want their child to have. There are many out there who really have not experienced the joy of a nice home and good food on the table. We here in America give so that children in other countries can eat and stay warm, while denying the ones here in The United States of help to eat and stay warm. I have never understood that policy. In our family, it was taking care of your own and then you shared with others. In today’s world, we see how it was then and how it is today to be able to find the joy of togetherness. How hard is that to understand?

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day-

With the times being ones in which all of us have to be very cautious about our homes and other properties, this writer has to take a stand about mine. Your home is supposed to be the safest place for you to be in and it seems that as time gets worse, we have to fear that someone will one day break in and take what we have or worse yet, caused the deaths of those who live there. With our police and sheriff protection having all they can do to protect us, there just is not enough to take that fear away from the homeowners. That is where I as an owner of property here in our great city, feel that we have been just too easy on those who prefer to rob someone of their earthy possessions. Now here is what I say needs to be done and this is my opinion only and not that of the newspaper or the ones who protect us. This is my stand only but it deserves to be noted that more and more of these homes are being broke into and the ones doing it are getting by with a slap on the hands. It is my thought that desperate measures must finally come to this situation and here is mine. Buy yourself one or two bats or clubs, and place them in certain places where all members of the household know where they are. Don’t tell your friends because the information might get out and that means the robbers might know. Keep your doors locked at all times. It only takes a little time to unlock the doors, and it is the first step. Lock your windows and check them if you are going outside, as it only takes the housebreaker a few seconds to get in. Do not fear your outside time in the yard but be sure you have the means to take down someone who might be doing the evil deed. That is your home and it should be your safest place in this world outside of Heaven itself.

Now going back to protecting your own property. If you have a business, then you have employees to protect along with yourself. You as the owner need to do the same thing with the bats and clubs. Put the fear in that person who tries to rob you. Have a baseball bat assigned to each worker and have a certain place for that bat to be at all times. That way, the employee has some means of protecting themselves. And install some switches that will lock the doors on both sides so that the robber is caught within and that gives time for the police to get there. Keep the cameras ready at all times so that there is no way for the offender to say he was not there.

Take a walk through the parks and keep an eye out for anyone who might be there watching the children. Don’t approach them but if you see a police car, flag them down. When you leave the stores with your food and other packages, be aware of anyone who is there just standing or walking around. It only takes a few seconds for them to jump you and you could get hurt. Now some might say that what I have stated here in this column to do is wrong but these are drastic times and measures have to be taken. I pity the ones who try to take me down in the parking lots, my car, and my home. As I have already said, I will not fear being in my home. I lock my doors, I lock my windows, and I have precautions when I am outside in the yard and if someone is dumb enough to take that chance to break in, then they will feel the wrath of that mistake. It is time for all to live without fear. No one should have to worry about their own safety. It is time to put the hurt back onto the bad guys. Set up your own crime watch and be ready to react. My opinion only.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

 

There are many things that I can say about our father  that many would not dare to say about theirs. Ever since I was a little guy, I always thought that Dad was the big boss of the family. In some ways, he was but in others, he was second in command behind Mom. Mom was the enforcer, and Dad was the intimidator. Dad was the one who we really were a little scared of because I guess we knew that he was the one who left for work each day and when he came home, he wanted to rest his tired body. That was when we were small children and when we grew older, we started to see a different side of this man who was a part in bringing us into this world. Dad never missed a day at work until he caught the Asian flu in the middle fifties. He was down for over a week and went back to work before he fully recovered.

 Then in the seventies, he had to get a hernia operation and was down for about a month. Back to work as soon as he could, he went right back to the same old hard job that he had done for so many years.. Dad did not like to be off from work because it stopped him from catching all the overtime he wanted and that meant more food on the table and a little easier way of paying the bills. Dad always went to work early each day , and he always said it was better to be an hour early than a minute late. For an old codger who never finished high school, he was pretty smart in the ways he wanted things to be done. But as it is with each of us, our bodies start to weaken and the legs just won’t hold us up without periods of rest and Dad finally got the message and retired from the mill and started to spend each day with his true love, our mother, and the kids that were still home. It took a period of adjustment because Dad found out that he had time on his hands now and not too much to do with it. But he was a Chicago Cubs fan as the rest of us are and he watched wrestling whenever it was on. And he started keeping up with Mom on the soap operas. That was sort of funny because Dad always said he would never waste his time watching them. Dad became a homebody and he had his love by his side until that day in November of 1979 when God decided he had enough and Dad was called Home. All of a sudden Mom did not have her love of her life there to talk to and to feed and nurture. And we kids did not have our father to visit with and I lost one of my best friends.

For so many years we took our father for granted and we did not understand why this old man was grouchy a lot. We didn’t know that he was tired and it took all his strength just to get up each morning and move about the house, sometimes not speaking a word. Here was a man who we thought was so strong that nothing could take him under. But time does that to each of us and we try to make the best of life while we still have some left. We try to think that it won’t happen to us but it will if you try to live up to the values that our Dad had with his life. I remember my Dad at several levels. One as a little kid who wanted to be first at the door when Dad came home. Another was when I went to the mill and worked along side of him and found out that he was my best friend. And then there is that day when we had his funeral and we knew that we would not see him again in this life. God called him Home with a job well done.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day
 
 

But deep down in the bottom of hate and power still laid a force of one of the worst servers of evil in the form of Hitler and he had thoughts of a nation filled with hate of all those who didn’t believe his way and the things that his forces did to good people of faith will never be forgotten by the families of those who perished at his calling. And the way that Japan brought America into the battle will never be forgotten by the families of those brave men and women killed in Pearl Harbor. I remember listening to our radio when President Roosevelt came on and told everyone that we were at war.

Being I didn’t know the impact of such a statement until I grew up and saw that we still are trying to stay a free nation under GOD, but the scum and the roaches of evil still lurk in the confines of their deep holes waiting for that chance to reach out and grab that freedom away from us. We went into the Korean War to try and keep that country from falling to communism with the north fighting the south. We thought we prevailed in our mission but if you check it out, you might say that we didn’t. In Viet Nam, we went in for the same purpose but the results are the same as the threat is still there waiting. We go into the fields of Afghanistan and Iraq, we try to save those who really don’t want us there, and we pay with the killings of our brave men and women who are serving as soldiers in a land of hatred of the American people.

Many will conclude from this column that I have hate in my heart for those who would promote wars in order to give them more power over the freedoms of others. However, hate is a terrible word to use, as it is disgust that lies within my mind for all those who would sacrifice the lives of others in order to promote their agenda of power and oppression. And those who feel that walking away from a fight shows that we are soft are wrong in that we must decide whether we have made progress or we have no way of making our efforts work. I say that we need to bring as many soldiers home that we can and we place them in camps all along our borders and we let the world know that we will not go down without a fight. You protect what is yours and you protect your loved ones from harm. Coming home to protect our homeland and our loved ones should be a priority now and not later. Tell the rest of the world that we love and will fight for our freedoms here in America. As a free nation, and as Americans , we will support our troops here in the land of the free and home of the brave.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

Charities should be a honest helping of me to you and likewise. I honor my folks every day by staying truthful and honest. That is the way they would want me to be. I love to write and talk about them as much as possible which takes a lot of my time. I like to bring the past into the present so that it can be remembered in the future.

. Mom and Dad are with me every day in my thoughts when I wake up and go about my daily tasks. The things that they taught me lives on in my memories of what it was like to be born in the thirties, and going through some very rough times until the present day where life is just too easy for most of the well-to-do, and still hard for those that live on whatever they can get their hands on. Mom taught me to cook and to do those things around the house that needs to be done. I do those things now to make my life a little easier, and to help my great wife when she is down. I believe in discipline. Dad taught me that sometimes discipline hurts but it does a lot more good because it makes you remember that he came up the same way and if I could be like him in many ways, then I am much better for it. Dad told me once while we were both at work that a mother is the main link to the child and thus she should be held in the deepest respect by her children. He said that if a child will respect the father as the one who puts the food on the table, the warmth in the house, and being there when he can, then that is all a father wants from his child. He said that is the way that fathers show their love for their children. As a youngster, I had great parents who deserved all the praise from us kids. I came from a large family but most of my time it did not seem so. We never went hungry, and we had a warm home to live in. Maybe some of the things we enjoy today were not around in my young days but that makes me appreciate things I have now. Moreover, the things they left with us lives on in our way of honoring our father and mother.

Mom and Dad always told me that there is a difference between good and bad but if you close your mind to that which is good then there is only bad. Mom and Dad always made it clear to us that stealing, lying ,showing disrespect for your elders, and talking against others is wrong. And talking against God is wrong. There aren’t too many left of the older folk and therefore not too much about the old days will be remembered if not for those like me who want to relive the days of old as much as possible. Will our young feel the same way? Just maybe they might, so don’t give up on them..

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

Where did all the things we were taught as youngsters go? Take sports for an example where there was good morality in sports. We used to look forward in sitting down in our home to listen to the boxing matches. There were fighters back then who fought so that they could eat and sleep, and they  did it in an honest way. It was an honor to win a title and be called the best in your division. Today  they are in it just for the money.
In my day, there were Joe Louis, Essard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, Joey Maxim, Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, Willie Pep, Sandy Sadler, and many more who did it because they loved the sport. They didn't make much money, because the managers kept most of the money. But their heart was in it and they entertained us very much. Today, can you show me one fighter in big boxing that is in it for the sport?
Basketball at one time was a game where all players played their hearts out but today it is more money or I go cry in the corner. Oh my back hurts or my head is aching. Maybe a bruise on my elbow. Baseball is the same. Money speaks and for those who put out the big bucks to see a famous player, and then watches him sit on the bench in his street clothes, it is sad. We have football games where the star player has to put on an act whenever he scores a touchdown. The rest of the players who helped him get across the goal line get hardly any credit at all. And also the athletes who use enhancement drugs to build their bodies up so that they can perform better than their counterpart are terrible. Why do we put up with those who make over a million dollars a year, and spend it on dope, and whatever. Do we have to constantly just slap their hands and then watch them do it again? I heard it said that you start out with a drop of water which can turn into a creek, which can turn into a stream, and then into a river. Are we letting this happen with our lives? If you don't take the time to look at where you've been, you will never know where you are going.
To be there to help in raising our young people, is one of the chores that was instilled in our lives without  respect for what got you here, would be like dropping into a deep hole that you can't climb out of. You build on your life one day at a time, and each time that you make that day one to remember, then you have stepped over that deep hole and are ready for the next one. To live with respect and morality, while you are here on this earth, entitles you to be a role model for  our children. It doesn't hurt anyone to offer help to those who need it.
At no time are we promised tomorrow. Our road of life is not one that is always easy. And for someone to have to walk it alone, it can either be a long one or it can be a very short one  In  today’s world we are losing our youngsters to drugs, and to other evil ways. Many times it looks like they have gone too far and we can’t bring them back. But that is tasting defeat and we need to try to bring those youngsters back to real life before they fall so deep that we can’t bring them out of it. Everyone has the right to live their life as they feel fit to, but do we have to use them as role models? What you do with your life is your business, but the thought of some youngster following your path to pain and distress is something that I don't care to see. If there are any youngsters out there that need help, I ask them to find someone who is clean cut, honest, and morally correct to follow. They need to be in good hands.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day

Well, there are times when we have to make a decision that we would like not to, but we do it anyway. Today, on this Saturday evening, our class of 1955 will have a 55th reunion, and on that same day, our grand daughter will be united in marriage with her love. And the wife has been ill. So you think about it and it’s a no-brainer. We have to go to the wedding because that is family and that comes first. So this writer is going to the reunion through this column by telling you about that great group of classmates from Western High School of 1955.

We had 38 members in our senior class and I have not ever heard anything negative about them. We moved out to New London in 1953 and so I finished my high school education at Western in Russiaville. From the first time that I boarded the school bus in September of 1953, up to today, I found and received a great group of friends who accepted me right away. That took out the sting and hurt that I had because I was leaving a group of friends in Kokomo that I had known for a long time. But this new group of good people who still are the best of friends with each other and always will, took me into their hearts and soothed my hurt. The friends that I had with the new friends I just got made me a very rich man in friendship.

While spending two years at Western, I not only had great friends, I also had a group of teachers who still rank among the best in the system of education. We had a man as Principal named Mr. Rea who was about the nicest person that God ever put on earth and he was a man who could sit you down and talk man to man with you and make his point and you left the room feeling good about him and yourself. The teachers there at Western were all great men and women as well as very qualified people of education. Being that the school was small gave each student that feeling of knowing that he and she was getting the best education available. It was a school where friendship and education blended in together as a tool used for the rest of each student’s life. So yes, I hate to turn down my visit with my classmates of 1955 in favor of the wedding, but there will be other class reunions to go to, and only one chance to see our grand daughter get married.

I have a website at kokomoman.250free.com/index.html where I have the pictures of my 1955 class of Western High School. The one thing through out all these years that has been hard to do is that we have one member of our graduating class named Janet Lee who moved in from Elliotsville about the same time I started at the school. I have tried about every thing I could to find out something about how she is and where she lives. So just maybe before this old man is called Home, she will finally be located. We have lost eight members of our class of 38 students and I know that they each will have their spot in the clouds looking down and having a ball watching the reunion.

It seems like only yesterday when this all happened, and 55 years floated by fast. So to my fellow students, I will miss spending the reunion with you but rest assured you are in my thoughts each and every day. I have been truly blessed with having my old friends as a youngster, my fellow classmates from Kokomo High School, and all you great friends at Western. My heart is filled with love for all of you. If anyone ever finds out anything about Janet Lee, please let me know. There is a place for her here in my heart too. May the teachers who were at Western continue to be blessed with love from my heart. Visit with your old friends when you can and enjoy .your visits.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day