I was languishing around the pool yesterday, a great place to avoid Sharon and her siren cry “honey, I need your help a minute”. At my advanced age, I still fall for the “minute” part. “There ain’t no such thing” my Ozark buddies would say. The pool is a first for me and I likely wouldn’t have one if Miss Sharon were less compelling……and she was right all along. My thought processes gravitated to the many things that were first acquisitions for me. A look back …..
My first shotgun was a Remington 1100, 12 ga with a 26” improved cylinder barrel, bought at the Ft. Leonard Wood PX (post exchange). My first rifle, from the same store was a 94 Winchester .30-30. I managed to dispatch a truck load of game with these “weapons of war” as the liberals would say. My first knife was a Schrade Old Timer, a dandy, but tough to keep sharp. My first rod and reel was a Garcia Conolon rod sporting a Mitchell 300 reel. My first “bass lure” was a bag of Creme Worms, purple in color, accompanied by a bag of 1/4 oz slip weights. It was deadly on the Chattahooche river that ran close by. My first dog was a fawn Boxer, whose full name was “Count Beano of Somerset”. I liked Beano, but had yet to develop my love for dogs.
My first chain saw was a Homelite 150 with a 16” bar. It was weak but light, a perfect saw for a novice sawyer. My very first hammer was a Estwing and I still have it, although the rubber handle is now hard as rock. My first power tool was Craftsman 1/4” drill, weak as a kitten. My first car, owned for a couple of months, was a red Simca, made in France and an abomination. It was followed by a red ‘67 GTO, still in my dreams to this day. My first owned home was a 12X60 mobile home with a Coleman furnace, mostly frozen plumbing and cooled by a window A/C that managed to cool the front room only. My first tractor was a high wheeled, Massey 65, gas, wide front. I am lucky to be alive as I mowed a hilly piece of ground with the damned thing, designed for perfectly flat row cropping. My first garden tiller was an Ariens front tine. It would beat you to death, but worked fine and was bullet proof. My first TV was a Zenith black and white, with a cable that ran from a pole mounted antenna. My first radio was a Sanyo transistor at the age of 13.
Each acquisition, back in the day, required a capital layout that strained a very limited budget. Credit cards didn’t exist as it was cash on the barrel head. I began gainful employment as a carry out boy, then EM in the service and state trooper. In the day, such employment left little room for extravagance. Since the beginning, I have owned an embarrassing array of cars, guns, tools, sporting equipment and fine knives. You might say blessed in a different way than Elon Musk, America’s first trillionaire businessman. You wouldn’t know it though…… it has been a good run….if not shamelessly materialistic. We all have a story…..think about your firsts….
Have a good week…
SR
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