Every city celebrated the Victory. This was New York City
The famous Life Magazine "Kiss" that came to symbolize the day.
I always feature a special "D-Day" page on June 6, commemorating the invasion at Normandy. For those troops in the Pacific Theater of War (That's what it was called) had many, many D-Day beach landings beginning at Guadacanal and moving up the miniscule groups of islands on the way to Japan. The Solomons, Marianas, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, etc. There were nearly 4,000 deaths of American and Allie soldiers on Normandy. Over 20,000 Americans lost their lives in the multiple beach landings of the South Pacific. That helps give a better perspective of the cost of freedom. Those multiple D-Days on the islands were to establish supply lines that would culminate in the land and air invasion of Japan itself. The Atomic Bomb cut the war short and Japan surrendered. American was also up against a different kind of soldier in the Japanese. They were totally committed to their Shinto religion and thier Emperor and were intend on fighting to thier death without hesitation. Their mind set and the nature of the arena they were fighting in made it a brutal, close-up, hand to hand type combat.
On the 14th of August, the summer of 1945 we all heard that the "war was over!" After four horrendous years of bravery, blood, personal loss, Bonds, and committment, the United States and her allies won the war against agression and threat to our liberty. Four long years was close to "half a lifetime" to an eleven year old boy. Our family was on the way back to Milwaukee from our annual two week adventure on primitive Plummer Lake, about ten miles north of Woodruff, Wisconsin. Two weeks without electicity, plumbing radio or newspapers. Woodstoves, kerosene heaters, outhouses, yard pumps, skunks, bears, 20 pound walleyes, fudge, and so much love and family.
We heard about the war ending at at filling station in Rhinelander when we stopped for gas. I was riding in the rumble seat of David's 1926 Pontiac convertible. There were three cars in our calvacade. My uncle filled up David's gas tank when David was in the rest room. When David got back to the car and saw what Uncle Haldane did he was furious. All of his gas rationing stamps had been used up for the month. This was a time when you often stopped at the gas station for a $1.00 shot of gas that lasted most of the week. When everyone went into the office to pay we all heard that the WAR WAS OVER! I'll never forget seeing an old man who owned the station with a full drinking glass of whiskey celebrating V-J Day. I remember my Dad telling him, "Friend, if you plan to drink all of that today, you should close up your pumps and lock your door now!" Everybody laughed but Dad was right. When we got home, my older brothers were allowed to go to downtown Milwaukee to see the celebration. My folks would not let me go with them. It was important to me at the time... but that's life. And was not the last disappointment I experienced.
And David didn't have to worry about all his August gas rationing stamps being used up. THE WAR WAS OVER AND OUT TROOPS WERE COMING BACK HOME!
James F. Widner of Radio News wrote about it this way:
Victory in Japan Day -- VJ Day Announcements and Celebrations
On August 6th, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. This would be the first of only two times the bomb was ever used against another country. Earlier, the Truman administration found that the Japanese were not accepting of the Potsdam Declaration which demanded an unconditional surrender by Japan. The Japanese had asked Russia to act as intermediary for them at the Potsdam Conference. However, unbeknownst to the Japanese, the Soviet Union was about to enter the war against them. Consequently, Stalin did not convey all of the questions and concerns the Japanese had. One major question was the preservation of their Emperor as head if they surrendered. But this was never made clear to Churchill and Truman and the harsh statement coming from the conference is what resulted. Because Japan was not forthcoming, Truman decided to drop the bomb (Japan was unaware of this power).
When the Japanese were still debating what to do, the United States, hearing nothing from Japan, dropped a second atom bomb on August 9th over the city of Nagasaki. Still the world heard nothing, though the Japanese began talks directly with the United States. After suffering so serious a blow, the public could not understand why the Japanese did not immediately surrender. Apparently, there was much consternation among Japanese leaders as to what to do. Some wanted immediate surrender, others wanted to continue fighting, still others feared for their Emperor. Finally, realizing they had no other choice but to hope for the best, the Japanese accepted the terms of Potsdam.
Initially, a report on a signing of surrender was released by the United Press International prematurely. Word was apparently in, but it was not yet indicated as official. The radio report interrupted a big band remote - Cab Calloway and his Orchestra appearing at the New Zanzibar in New York City. It is approximately 1:50 in the morning of August 14th, Eastern War Time. The previous day had brought a lot of false VJ Day reports prompted partly by the hesitation of the Japanese. The Mutual Network which was carrying the band remote interrupts with news wire reports that the Japanese had accepted the unconditional surrender.
But nothing official is yet forthcoming. This report gives a nice historical view of just how tentative the radio news services relied on the wire services. You can even hear a man in the background getting increasingly excited as more information is forthcoming. But because it was so tentative, there is some dead air as the network struggles with incoming information, finally returning to the big band remote.
From this point the montage moves to approximately 9:30 a.m. EWT in Chicago via the NBC news affiliate with reporter Don Eldridge reporting live from Chicago's loop. We can hear the moving traffic as reporter Eldridge tells of the current calm after some early morning activity. But he also describes the early gathering of some citizens and the news of surrender is being anticipated.
As NBC begins to move to live reports around the country, the montage switches to early evening via CBS as the news services along with the world awaits official word of acceptance from the Allied leaders. The CBS reporter like the earlier Mutual reporter is tentative, not sure whether to return to regular broadcast, or to hang on. An announcement is imminent. Suddenly, we are switch to Robert Trout in London for the announcement has arrived. The ebullition in the newsroom gives us a picture of how much the world waited for the announcement. Immediately the report is cut in by the local stations, in this case WKRC in Cincinnati, to bring a local picture to start of celebrations.
Reporter Tom McCarthy of WKRC, Cincinnati, in a commentary reminiscent of Gabriel Heatter, provides eloquent words reflecting what the world felt. We hear the start of the celebrations that took place in virtually every city in the United States as well as many world capitals. The montage focuses on Cincinnati. Finally, we switch to another eloquent announcer, NBC's Ben Grauer, as he reports from Times Square inside a remote vehicle. He is right in the thick of it and radio is there to catch it all.
HERE'S ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THAT SPECIAL DAY.Remembering V-J Day
by Barbara Cole Feiden
Do you remember where you were on Aug. 14, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered and World War II came to an end?
I was a 20-year-old soldier in a uniform designed by Mainbocher, and a passenger on a tired old train chugging noisily over the tracks between New York and Montreal. I had spent my furlough with my parents in Yonkers and was returning to Ottawa where I was a private in the Canadian Women's Army Corps. (They called us "C-WACs"!)
Just a few days earlier, American planes had dropped atomic bombs, first on Hiroshima, then Nagasaki. Rumors were flying hot and heavy that the Japanese were about to give up. I still have a copy of the letter dated Aug. 16, 1945, that I sent to my mother and dad.
"The trip up was terrific. I hopped out at every station and dashed to the USO or the station agent or someone who might have access to a radio to find out what was going on. We picked up rumors all day but nothing concrete. Around 6, someone got on the train and yelled that President Truman had announced the surrender; we all cheered.
"Bottles appeared from nowhere and the noise was terrific. Of course, it wasn't until I got into Montreal at quarter to 8 that I found out the announcement hadn't come through until 7. … Anyway, it was over, and that was all that mattered.
"I tried reaching you by phone for the last two days but no luck. Tuesday night the wires were jammed and though I called from 8 until 11, I finally had to give up. Then I tried last night for a couple of hours but you were out. Anyway, all I wanted to say is it's glorious and thank God."
I had been trying to get my discharge since V-E Day, May 8, 1945, three months earlier. I had the promise of a good civilian job paying an astonishing a week, and I had very little patience with what I thought of as Army red tape.
My letter to my folks continued: "I saw the colonel here at the office. … Well, his own discharge had just been OK'd, so he was in a very good frame of mind and was really decent. He was sorry nothing had been done (about my discharge).
"I went up to barracks and launched into a long discussion of under what rule and regulation I could request a discharge. I don't come under the regular heading of ‘return to civilian employment' because it's the States, so that's out. No medical grounds, no pregnancy, no returned husband, no misconduct, so where are we?
"Well, finally, after searching through volumes of paper, she (my lieutenant) uncovered one little sentence that said ‘and other discharges especially approved by the adjutant-general on nondiscreditable grounds.'
"We decided getting a job wasn't discreditable, so that's the shot in the dark that my prayers are hanging on."
Five weeks passed; it seemed like forever. Only as I look back now do I realize how very lucky I was. Troops were waiting to return from overseas; hundreds of thousands of men and women would soon be clamoring for their discharges. Severance pay, benefits and endless paper work would have to be processed.
And here I was, 20-year-old Private Barbara Cole, on my way home. The discharge was granted "to return to work of national importance." (Honest, that's what it said!)
I packed my large duffel bag that included a package of hard-to-get flour. Of course, it spilled all over my clothes. In less than a week I had started my job with the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. By the next month I was also going to college at night, courtesy of the GI Bill, which included American citizens who had served in the Canadian Army.
It all happened 60 years ago. I remember - and I count my blessings.
Rev. Wallace Willingham, subject of the story below - Photo by John Godby
I want you to take the time to link into an incredible story of a Veteran's Hospital physician in San Antonio, Texas, Capt. Steven Ellison, who is keenly aware of the many men and women of WW2 who are leaving us an an ever increasing and expoential rate.
Some say the men and women who grew up during the depression and served in WW2 are anywhere from 75 to 90 years of age and leaving this time and space dimension at the rate of nearly 1,500 a day... that's over 10,000 a week
We need to realize what is happening. I remember when there were still Civil War Veterans and Spanish American War Veterans. All the WW1's are gone and this generation is the next. I want to thank my niece, Christine Shaw, who lives in Flagstaff, AZ for sending this simple, sincere, and moving website.
Click the first link below to read and listen to a moving story and photographs that this Doctor has put together. Then click the second link that will allow you to listen to some excellent radio excerpts from WW2.
Below is an excellent story by Ronnie Thomas, a reporter for the Decatur Daily, Decatur Alabama. It's about "one of those special people we are losing. The story was written for last fall's Veteran's Day.
Wallace Willingham was 65 years old before he began to say much about his experiences in World War II. And then it was only at the prodding of his children. As youngsters, they tore apart their father's book about the Army's 87th Infantry Division, hoping to learn at least something of what their dad endured, after he balked at their questions.
"Were you ever shot at?" they would ask.
"Sometimes," he'd say.
So that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren also would know what he did in the war, he gathered a cache of old material, including maps, newspaper clippings, letters and photographs from storage to show them. The framed documents now occupy a place of honor on a den wall of his Betty Street Southwest home. As American soldiers battle insurgents in Iraq, the retired minister prays for them, and he honors them. He bonds with them, too, and he believes they are as much of a "greatest generation" as he was.
And he realizes that some toss "hero" about loosely. "A hero is one who does what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences," he said. "Our men and women in Iraq are heroes."
The Army drafted Willingham, now 78, out of Jacksonville High School in 1944 as an 11th-grader. He said he could have gotten a deferment because of farming, but he was ready to go.
"Anyway, who could have imagined a Depression-era Alabama farm boy getting a ride on the Queen Mary?" he said.
The luxury ship that the Allies transformed to a troop carrier docked in Scotland. In January 1945, Willingham crossed the English Channel to Le Havre, France. His unit pushed into Belgium, where fierce fighting continued in the aftermath of the major German offensive at Bastogne, known as the Battle of the Bulge.
While holding a position on a hillside in Saint-Hubert, west of Bastogne, Willingham watched famed Gen. George S. Patton Jr. riding in a jeep, reviewing the troops. Later, as Willingham's unit prepared to join the attack on the Siegfried Line — Adolph Hitler's fortification along the French and German border — Patton came for a speech to the commanders of several divisions of his 3rd Army, to "tell them what we were going to be facing." Willingham said Patton noted, "We're going to Berlin and raise the American flag, but there will be some dog tags brought back."
Willingham recounted a somewhat humorous incident that occurred near the Mosel River when he and fellow scout John Sherrer of Queens, N.Y., and four others went on patrol to nab a German soldier to interrogate about troop movements.
"It was dark, and we came upon an older fellow dressed in a uniform," he said. "We returned to camp with a local firefighter. A newspaper account ran the headline, '87th captures fire department.' But our officers told us not to fret, that he was as good as an SS trooper in giving us what we needed. We took him back, thanked him and released him."
On another patrol, Willingham and another soldier walked down a road when an 88 mm shell dropped between them. "We would have been gone for sure, but luckily, it was a dud," he said. "All I could think of at the moment was that mother had me on a prayer list at church. And I pressed the little Gideon Bible that I carried in my jacket pocket closer."
Nicknamed "Tuffy" by the men in his platoon, the scrappy Willingham crossed the Rhine River near Rheims, Germany, on March 25, 1945, his 19th birthday.
"As we fought to hold our ground, and it became more desperate for the Germans the tougher the war became," he said, "we faced five counterattacks, at times the enemy coming at us with fixed bayonets that involved some hand-to-hand combat."
Willingham's outfit drove south of Berlin and pushed to the Czechoslovakian border, where they met Russian soldiers. The war in Europe ended in May 1945, and after a 30-day leave, Willingham prepared to be a part of the force that would invade Japan. But atomic bombs dropped on two Japanese cities in early August forced surrender the next month.
Only after he felt that his mission was complete did Willingham seek help for frostbite, which he suffered in one of his legs fighting during the bitter winter. He spent the last months of 1945 in a hospital at Camp Atterberry, Ind., near Indianapolis, where the Army discharged him.
Among his medals is the Bronze Star, which he received "for meritorious achievement in ground combat against an armed enemy."
Returning home, Willingham sought to continue service to others and became a Church of God of Prophecy minister in 1949. A year later, while preaching at a revival in Decatur, he met his future wife, the former Bennie Lumpkin. They have been married 53 years. Mr. Willingham, and all the other men and women like him..... THANKS from a grateful American living free in 2005.
When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live IN God and God lives IN us.
This way God has the run of our (body) house and becomes “at home” and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day – our standing in the world is identical with Jesus Christ’s.
I John 4: 16-17 The Message Bible, Nav Press, Colorado Springs, CO
Tom and JoAnn Giek of Denver, friends of Mary and me, sent this very interesting little test that is really a political statement that clearly makes its point. This profound "pass on" is making the rounds but maybe you missed it. Before you take the test, I have to say something.
In our now totally secular culture and pluralistic society, American's uniqueness as a Christian nation has been diluted to the point of invisibility and an attitude and demand for political correctness in now in play to the point of absurdity. Certainly, we are to "treat others as we would want to be treated" but such pracitce endangers our safety or destroys commen sense - it's totally absurd. Interesting that, in spite of some peaceful Muslims denying it, the Koran does day that the only good infidel is a dead infidel. Anyway I needed to say these things and, after all, this is my website.
HISTORY TEST
Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice
test. The events are actual Events from history. They actually happened! Let's see if you remember?
1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers with thousands of people killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
Mmmmmmm ... guess there's not much of a pattern here to justify profiling. What do you think? So, to ensure that we as Americans never offend anyone --particularly fanatics intent on killing us -- airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain the most likely individuals who .
They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, an 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss -- BUT leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest we be guilty of profiling.
As the writer of the award winning story "Forrest Gump" so aptly put it, "Stupid
is as stupid does." Come on people, for God's Sake wake up!!!
Oh, by the way, who bombed the London subway and a double decker bus last month? That's right!!!
And who tried to do it again just a few days later? That's right!!!!! Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40.
Not all Muslims are extreme, violent, terrorists. But the extreme, violent, terrorists who have been operating do happen to be Muslims.
the buttons were better than the cereal and better tasting.
Every kid wanted to get the entire set - which they kept adding to.
Even the inside of the button was signatured.
Not all buttons were cartoon characters. Here are the WW2 48th and 391st bombardment squadrons.
Kellogg’s PEP cereal! WHATTA KID PRODUCT!
They had the very best prizes inside the carton, “between the cardboard and the protective wax bag liner that protects the quality of Kellogg’s PEP! The prizes were mainly pin buttons. I have a collection of comic strip characters like the ones I used to wear on my “propeller, beanie cap.”
Seeing myself in that cap through movies and photos was cleara evidence that I looked quite dorky in my pre-adolescence days. Man, that dumb hat was so ugly, -- I thought it made me so tough and there was nothing better. It was a brown beanie complete with the jagged edges on the vertical brim. The pins included full color pictures of Superman, The Phanton, Perry Winkle, Sandy, Minnie Gump, Henry, Flash Gordon, and on I could go.
Back in the 1940's, cereal buying pivoted on the premium inside the box and the material printed on the box. (So what's changed in 60 years?) There was a time when cereal eatin came to a crisis in our home. My brothers and I were buying Kellogg’s Pep every chance we had but we ate Shredded Wheat, Puffed Rice (shot from guns, of course), puffed wheat, and Cheerios.
One day, Mom found the stash. “WHAT’S ALL THIS KELLOG’S PEP HIDDEN IN THE BACK OF THE PANTRY?" During the cereal eatin recovery days and mid-course correction of the "overbuy" we got so sick of Kellogg's PEP - which tasted like straw to begin with.
Kellogg's Pep seemed to give us everything else but pep -- like eating old people's bran flakes. It was like eatin sawdust! Yuck.
But the buttons were incredible and we loved 'em. Today they sell on Ebay for $40-$60 each. Pictured are some of the pins I have in my Radio Premium collection.
WHY YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THEM "HOMEGROWN TOMATOES" GROWING.
It's time for my annual tribute to a summer delicacy - the homegrown tomato and the subsequent responsibility to construct a sandwich involving it.!
We have some great music about tomatoes that you might want to play as you read this article. Scroll to the end of this article and Click the song you want and then minimize the RealAudio player and delete the blank page so you can return to this page.
I've always loved a fresh, warm tomato right off the vine as well as the great sandwiches in the summer, and in the winter, Campbell's Tomato soup with a pat of butter floating in it. Southern philosopher and radio humorist, Ludlow Porch, is the one who introduced me to the song, "Homegrown Tamaters." This song, written by Guy Clarke, reviews all of the wonderful things about growing your own tomatoes and experiencing their delicious sensual flavor and texture in so many different ways. I just don't understand why so many people, dogs, cats, and gekos don't like the taste, texture or smell of 'maters.
The two "click and listen" stations at the bottom of this article will take you to the music. If you don't have feel you must have a tomato sandwich for lunch before too long, we've not been successful communicating an enticement for this delicacy. As you listen to these wonderful renditions, you'll discover why "Home Grown Tamaters" became the national anthem for a few "way out," kooky, backyard gardeners who enjoy life and laugh at themselves.
Of course, we all know that the proper pronunciation for the bright red fruit is “tamaters”, and this is how it's used in conversation among fellow “love apple” growers. And this time of the year the conversation is hot and heavy as to who is pickin’ the best tastin’ “tamaters” and what variety has done the best this year?
The current back garden “tamater” crop in many back yards, down here in the South, is sitting there sucking up the heat already so juicy and so flavorful! We got ours in late tis year so we'll have to wait awhile. Remember back during the winter when we spent most of our food time wishing for a warm day temperature, homegrown “tamater?” The rest of the year we have to put up with those hard orbs the supermarket labels as “tomato” from somewhere other than a genuine garden, but a real “mater” with heavenly flavor has to be grown in a yard.
There is a difference between a tomato and a “tamater.” A “tomato” is a fruit grown hundreds of miles away and has the consistency of a wet baseball. It is usually served in restaurants, ballparks, and any place you eat other than home. It doesn’t have much of a taste, but serves the purpose until “tamater” season comes around -- like right now.
A “tamater,” on the other hand, is a bright red, juicy fruit that has had our love and care for several months. That love and care has involved our nurturing them to maturity.
I really think that what gives a home grown tamater its unique flavor and texture and juiciness is the love and care from its grower. That love and care has involved nurturing those tiny seeds in our window sills or choosing the "choice" plants at the nursery, to planting the plant in the garden, putting aluminum foil around the stem to keep cutworms away, wrapping that plant with quilts during cold snaps, feeding the plant with only the best fertilizers, watching it grow daily, suckering it, and dusting it for bugs. The major task is just watching all of them grow and talking to them as you tie up the vines and desucker the stalks. Finally the reward -- picking a ripe, warm, juicy “tamater.”
My summer wouldn’t be complete without several fresh “tamater” sandwiches. There are many ways to make one, but there is only one true country way to serve up your garden's "love apple" delight.
Home grown “tamaters” are what summer is all about. There is nothing any better than a fresh “tamater” straight from your garden -- still hot in your hand. They're great, straight from the vine, with a little salt -- I usually take a small bite and then salt the moist flesh. That way the salt sticks. You can’t beat “tamaters” and cottage cheese, but by far mankind's favorite use of a RAW "tamater" straight from the garden is making a “tamater” sandwich. Of course, it MUST be on pure, adulterated, and modified by nutritional degrading white bread. Or as they say down South, "Light bread."
Now here's exactly like you do it. You place two slices of fresh lite bread on a plate. Next, take a kitchen knife and spread a good amount of mayonnaise on both slices of bread. Make sure the knife hits the sides of the mayonnaise jar so a click can be heard sounding from the jar. This doesn’t help the taste of the sandwich, but it reminds you to buy more mayonnaise the next time you are at the store. It looks like a good “tamater” season this year and we wouldn’t want to run low on mayonnaise.
Next, slice your home grown “tamater,” avoiding the temptation to swipe a slice for now, into several thick slices. You should not be able to read a newspaper through any of the slices. This helps hold in the juice, and besides, if you wanted thin slices you could have gotten a “tomato” at a restaurant in town.
Add pepper and salt as desired. Place the slices on the light (That's what white bread is called by real Southerners) bread and reverently place the pieces of bread together. Ladies may want to cut the sandwich into a triangle, but real “Southern mater eaters” like their sandwiches whole so you don't lose any juice. It's best to eat your tamater sandwich over the sink so the juice can run over your wrist, down your arm to your elbow and then drip into the sink. Savor each bite of your sandwich with closed eyes, just like a prayer, and enjoy what summer is all about.
Happy “tamater” growing and I hope ALL of your “tamater” sandwiches drip down your arm into the sink.
In the meantime listen to the music again by clicking the line at the end of the article, and read these words by Guy Clarke.
HOMEGROWN TAMATERS
REFRAIN:
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What'd life be without home grown tomatoes
There's only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.
FIRST VERSE:
There's nothin' in the world that I like better'n
Bacon, lettuce and home grown tomatoes
Up in the morning and out in the garden
Pick you a ripe one, don't get a hard 'un
Plant 'em in the springtime, eat 'em in the summer
All winter without 'em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin and the diggin
Every time I go out and pick me a big'un.
SECOND VERSE:
You can go out and eat'em that's for sure
But there's nothin a home grown tomato won't cure
You can put em in a salad, put em in a stew
You can make your own, very own tomato juice
You can eat em with eggs, you can eat em with gravy
You can eat em with beans, pinto or navy
Put em on the side, put em on the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle.
THIRD VERSE:
If I could change this life I lead
You could call me Johnny Tomato Seed
I know what this country needs
It's home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Where I could be pushin up those home grown tomatoes.
AND EVERYONE JOINS IN:
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What'd life be without home grown tomatoes
There's only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.
DO SENIOR ADULTS GET READY FOR MARRIAGE LIKE THIS?
Thanks to Harvey Nowland for sending this to Ramblins. This joke is really making the rounds. And being a Senior with back pain.... I understand.
Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, live in a retirement home in Florida and have gotten to know each other by eathing together and spending time in the recreation area. They have recently decided to get married and immediately began planning for the exciting event. One dayl, during their regular visit to Walgreens, this was the "supposed" conversation Jacob had with the pharmacist.
Jacob: "We're about to get married. Can we still get our heart medication here?"
Pharmacist: "Of course you can."
Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"
Pharmacist: "Absolutely."
Jacob: "Medicine for rheumatism and scoliosis?"
Pharmacist: "Definitely."
Jacob: "Would you also have medicine for memory problems, arthritis, jaundice?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."
Jacob: "What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?"
Pharmacist: "Absolutely! You can get them all here."
Jacob: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, All speeds and sizes."
Jacob: "Good. How do we sign up to use Walgreens for our Bridal Registry?"
RESEARCH FINALLY COMPLETED ON REVOLUTIONARY DIGITAL CLOCK.
A "hands on" inventor, who have been working on a revolutionary digital clock since 1972, is finally able to display his completed work. To see how this revolutionary clock works, go to the link provided below.
WE GUARANTEE YOU CAN SET ALL YOUR CLOCKS BY IT'S ACCURACY -- EVEN YOUR ATOMIC CLOCKS AND CELL PHONES! It will give you information from the time zone your computer is set on.
Thanks to stringer and neice, Marlene Yogerst of Slinger, Wisconsin for bringing it to our attention. She thought is was amazingly creative and funny and so do I.
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Norman and ChrisPlunkett
God is good -- ALWAYS!
And especially as He floods you with all the grace you need no matter what the situation. As you trust Him, God's grace is always just enough and always on time.
