January 15th is a sad day for me. My mother passed away on January 15, 1987.. My grandfather's birthday was also on January 15th.
Remember them with fondness. My dad died recently and I get memories of him from out of nowhere sometimes. He was a great dad...I'm sure yours were too.
Growing up in south western La in the '50s I didn't have a lot of exposure/encounters with black people. Joining the Air Force in 1966 and spending in year in Nam from 69 - 70 changed that. I worked and lived along side black people. I hope both sides benefitted from that year. I know I did.
I was around back then. Living in New Orleans back then was a real experience. I remember the "back of the bus" and separate water fountains. My dad, who lived around the corner from Andrew Young, didn't agree with segregation because his neighborhood was mixed (by the Dixie Brewery in the 3rd ward). He used to tell me, "That's the colored water fountain"...I would go to it because I thought the water was colored not the people. I thought it was Orange or grape like kool-aid.
My dad was good for messing with my head as a kid. My mom told us that when the ice cream man played music, it meant he was out of ice cream. She said she could hear the grass growing too. LOL
I was born in NOLA, but lived till I was 4 in the leper colony at Carville, La...dad was a doctor there. That explains a lot !! LOL Maybe that's why I was accustomed to treating the least of my brothers as my own brothers my whole life. I was the grammar school kid with the most nerdy dweeb like friends in school.
