Part 6, You should have seen this coming

I don't remember the story regarding the time frame when Uncle Parker returned from the war. I do remember that when I was very young, he and Aunt Margie moved into the garage apartment my daddy built over our garage until the construction of their new home was finished.

During that time, I had a chain driven, pedal powered tractor. It beat any tricycle or pedal car in the neighborhood and I was clearly the fastest little kid around. One day, the chain came off and I was completely confused about it all and couldn't figure it out.

When Uncle Parker came home from work he saw me in the garage crying my eyes out with frustration and asked me what was wrong. When I told him about the tractor, he grabbed a tool, put the chain back on and had it properly adjusted and running in no time at all. From that moment, and for the remainder of my life, I simply accepted that he was as smart or smarter than Albert Einstein. I actually thought he was a genious disguised as a regular human being.

One year, as the story goes, Uncle Parker wanted to come from Castor to the big city of Shreveport and go to the Louisiana State Fair. Castor only had a few houses, Sledges Store, a sawmill, gas station and a church, so they had no fair or much of anything else.

Knowing that momma had experience in the city, when she found out that he was coming to town to go to the fair, they set up a meeting. During that time, she told him that he should be very, very careful as there were "Big City Pick-Pockets" there and he'd better watch his wallet and his money or he would lose it.

Years later, as we talked about Uncle Parker, momma told the story about his trip down the fairway. She said that every time he took a step, he would use his left hand to slap that left rear pocket and check his wallet. She would then act out the walking scene and portrayed Uncle Parker walking through the fair. As his left foot went forward, that left hand would hit his left rear pocket where his wallet was. From there, it was right, left, slap, right, left, slap. She role played that so well that we all got a great laugh out of it and Linda, my younger sister, would mimick that a thousand times when we talked about Uncle Parker and his great achievements in financial matters.

That's not a joke, he was a masterful finance manager but we loved the story and would mimick that walk and slap maneuver for years and years. When we talked to him about it and showed him the walk, he would laugh out loud, take the wallet out of his rear pocket and say " I still have it and nobody ever got it". It was a wonderful story that he loved to see us tell. Step, slap, step, slap, step, slap and the sound still echos in my mind.

I don't remember when they moved into their new house but I do remember the next renters were Robert and Ginnelle Saucier. Robert bought a baby blue 55 Ford and since the new models came out in September, I knew it was 1954. We still see Robert and Ginelle at the grocery store and remind him that, in our family, he is referred to as the guy that married the best looking woman in Shreveport. She loves to hear that but in reality, it was true. During those years, I'd never met a more beautiful woman.

In any event, before I continue with other stories about other family members, I wanted to stop here and say that the first six posts I've made cover a period of time between my 4th and 6th year on this earth. What grand memories and what incredible family members I experienced during those years.

This may be boring to many but the family members send emails and inspire me to keep on with the story as they know where it is headed. For the rest of you, hang in there because further along the line, there are other stories about the War and it's influence on me from my daddy's side of the family. There are also stories regarding business influences I had working as a kid that swept the floor at my Uncle's Industrial Supply Company in Shreveport. Bare with me, flying experiences are coming.