Through An 'Old Timer's' Eyes
By Howard 'Mac' McDonald

Ernesto, I guess is Spanish for Ernest, but with our government's efforts to make English our second language, we have to put up with things being converted. Anyway, Ernesto (Ernest) has made for a very wet weekend so to at least get something constructive done, I guess setting in this dry room writing will work.

The Sept. 2 issue of the Endeavor had some good articles that ought to be given some thought. The "Little Museum" article by Ken Gerg should stir your imagination. Not a mission impossible and not detrimental to the growth of Sterling Run, this project would improve our county.

A lot of people pass through Emporium and never get the opportunity to look at our history that is housed at the present location. Eldred's location of it's WWII Museum is an example of a good location. Enough said.

"Inside the Outdoors", written by Jim Zoschg calls our attention to the things that take place in Sept. This fine young man and outdoor enthusiast soon is on his way to a foreign country as part of a mission to teach English.

With all the things I had planned for this long weekend put on hold because of the rain, I have a tendency to let my mind wander aimlessly down dark corridors where I try to look into the future. Not much luck in telling what is in the future but a lot of questions come to mind.

Having a "will" usually provides the necessary protection of the things that are considered important, but what will happen to the small personal things that you have accumulated? On the wall of this room are a lot of things that are near and dear to me, but to others it is trash.

From 21 years in the Air Force, I have citations and awards that don't mean squat to anyone else, for example.

Whoever cleans up after me had better have a big dumpster. Among the items are my fourth, fifth, and sixth grade class picture, a mounted black squirrel that Ernie Lovett got for me, a thermometer from my plumbing business provided by Sylvia Berman, hundreds of pictures and three book cases with over five hundred books.

Do old sayings ever come to your mind? Somewhere I saw a list that a Grandpa would say to his grandchildren. See if any of these were ever said to you. My grandpap use to say "well radio--that was something". We had to use our imaginations. With the radio playing a golden oldie, he would say, "now that was music." If he picked me up, panting for breath he would utter, "whooaaa, you are getting heavy." "I can sure help you with your history", was another of his gems.

Statements from famous people seem to always get recorded in history and no matter how long they have be gone, their words live on. One saying that I have always remembered was spoken by Mark Twain. A sentiment I used to share and it went like this, "I do not like millionaires, but don't offer me the job". In a western novel I read, a pilgrim was confronted by a bad guy and the Pilgrim said to him, "I would not hurt thee for the world, but thou are standing right where I am going to shoot."

On the 26 of July 2002, I was in the Emporium Hardware and one of the customers was talking about what he would do if he won a million dollars on the lottery. I know that this is the exact date because I wrote it down in my little note book. Henry Zimmer's answer to that comment was, and I quote, "win a million dollars and be happy for a day, love your job and be happy forever".

School is in session and the children are gone from the house most of the day. For some mothers this is a blessing, while other mothers suffer all day until they see that yellow bus. I don't remember what my mother's feelings were about my trip into that brick house of learning. I assume that she was concerned, but it was in the heart of the depression and most families were involved in trying to put food on the table.

I was not overly fond of school but I did not hate it. There were not a whole lot of distractions like the kids have today. I was really good at recess and lunch hour, but mediocre in class. Some teachers were more forceful than others so you walked the line to keep on their good side. "Spare the rod and save the child," was hardly ever the option.

Today there are students in college that have a reading skill of a sixth grader. They may not be able to read all that well, but on a computer, they can hack their way into your bank account. I believe before a student is exposed to computers, he or she should be able to perform math and read, spell, and write in a legible manner.

Sports seem to be the number one priority in this country. If your kid is a good athlete, someone will find a way to get him or her passing grades.

A rainy day in Emporium town, keeps me sad and lets me down. The "Little Museum" has lost its charm, a hot cup of tea would be a shot in the arm.

These words are patterned after a song by Buddy Greco from an album recorded at Mr. Kelly's, a night club in Chicago in the 50's. The name of the song was "A Foggy Day In London Town".

I hope you enjoyed this rainy Saturday, I did.