Here we are at October 3rd 2121 and the first Sunday of the month

 TERRY

Terry woke up about 9:00 or so but still is not into the paper as she kind of is in la la land yet!!!  She is doing about the same so that is good.  

I do not have anything planned today.  I will watch some football but am pretty sure that we will not get the Vikings here in Florida.  I do not plan to start the car today.  Since Terry is unable to get out and about I usually watch church on TV as I do not like to go to church and leave Terry at home.  I may try to plan some things but NOT sure what.  

I already had my breakfast.  I had plans to have eggs, potatoes and bacon but then when I opened the freezer and noticed the frozen breakfast sandwiches I changed my mind!  Faster, easier and no dishes!!!

I ordered a planner and it came in the mail yesterday.  I do not think I am going to make planners for Terry and I this year.  Well, Terry would not use hers and for me the time I put into them is just not worth the final product.  I am guessing in the last years I put maybe 15 hours or so by the time I gathered pictures etc.  Well not this year.  Do I have anything more important to do?  Not really but it just does not excite me for this year so I went modern this time.

OCTOBER 6TH, 1957

It is 9:55 AM and Chuckie and I are sitting on the right side of the Bergen Church about half way to the front.  Dave got the OK to ring the huge bell at 10:00 so he and Jim are in the landing leading to the second floor of the church.  In that landing is the rope for the bell.  There it is.  At 10:00 Rev Mailing pokes his head out from the side room in the front and with a nod gives the OK to Dave and Jim to ring the bell and church is on!  Chuckie and I have our hymn books ready to see who can open closest to the song.  I admit it is usually 50/50!  As we finish the first song and get into church for the day I think back at the times that I had to sit next to Mom and Dad.  That somehow changed when I turned 10 and it made a huge difference in me wanting to go to church!  One will notice it had NOTHING to do with God!!  Well what the heck I was 10!  Anyway I move a little in my seat as it seems that church always goes too long but I know that it will be finished in an hour.  The thing I do enjoy is singing the songs as I pretty much know all of them and I try my best to make my voice heard!  Chuckie has a watch and sure enough he turns his arm for me to see during the last song and it shows 10:58.  Two minutes early today, wow!

Mom and Dad engage in some conversation as Chuckie and I talk a bit about school.  I let him know what it is like going to town school and he tells about what school is like as his school, which is across the road from the church, is still open.  I share that I have found some friends and it is good but some of the kids in the grades above me are bothering us who are a year younger.  I mention that I may have to fight to prove that they can not do that as I am sure they are town weaklings.  AND it happens.  Finally Mom and Dad are ready to go home.  I am hungry but I do not even have to ask Mom what we will have because it seems to me that Sunday noons after church which is every other Sunday is the same same.  Mom is going to fry some eggs and then toast some of her homemade bread and yes the egg sandwich will be complimented by dill pickles!  Perhaps a tall glass of cold milk as well.  Really not a bad meal but it happens every two weeks!!!  

After dinner, as we called it, Dave and I decide we want to play some ball so we take turns hitting to each other.  Every time the ball comes to me and I catch it I make believe I am Hank Aaron of a different color of course!  After while we decide that something different is needed.  Dave said he wants to get his gun and shoot some blackbirds for the cats.  With that it leaves me in the house as Dad's rule is if there is a gun out one boy has to stay in the house.  That is OK with me as I was able to go with Dad on Saturday when he went to Cayuga and I took $.10 along.  That was enough to purchase 2 packs of baseball cards and I had not put them in my collection yet so I could keep myself busy for some time. 

We had shorthorn cows that were mainly raised for beef but we usually milked 5 or so.  Five cows would give us maybe 3 or 4 gallons of milk so one knows they were for beef, not milk.  We had Lumpy, Betsy and others who were faithful in giving us yearly calves and the enough to provide milk and cream for the year!  I think we usually had maybe 12 cows that would calf but then milk only 5 or so and the rest would nurse their calves and we would later sell them.  

 I knew later in the day Dave and I would be walking down the pasture to get the cows for milking and IF we went early enough we may be able to find a snake or two on snake rock which is on the south bank of the turn in the creek about half way down to the south road.  Milking time was always kind of a fun time.  As soon as the sound of milk hit the pail cats would appear out of nowhere looking for squirts and then a plate of milk as we finished.  I am thinking that after the milk is separated in the entry way of the house Mom may tell us that for supper we will have cream and bread.  As I sit here in 2021 and write about it I ask myself how many kids back then would have had egg sandwich for dinner and cream and bread for supper and thought to themselves "This is the good life"!!!  Times change and with it we do as well.

Here it is 10:30 and time to sign off.  I may be up for a bike ride now that I am finished with FP!  So on with the first full week of October.

As I sign off I quote George Burns, " Sing like nobody can hear you, dance like nobody can see you and love like you have never been hurt!"