"Bluegrass Ramble"

December - This time not a word about Bluegrass!

Today; a life’s lesson learned early.  There was a toy store in Petersburg, VA called “Kids Stuff” and when I was about 9
years old I would go in that store with the 25 cents my folks gave me on our Saturday trips to town to get groceries.  I would shop and shop, but everything I wanted cost mere than a quarter.  I was a kid of the space age.  Back then in 1959, Sputnik had already been sent up and America was struggling to keep up.  On TV there were stories about how space ships worked and how gyroscopes kept everything from simply tumbling through space.  This stuff fascinated me and I truly was a space kid.  Well, there in “Kid’s Stuff” they had a gyroscope, but it cost 29 cents; as you recall I only had the quarter.  Well, I took the gyroscope up to the counter and gave the lady my 25 cents.  She said, “Son, this costs
29 cents, you don’t have enough money.”  I just sort of stood there and pooched out my lower lip and looked down at the floor.  After a moment she said, “That’ll be okay, you can have it.”  I was so proud of my gyroscope and was showing it to my brothers on the way home.  My Mama asked to see it and when I handed it to her she noticed the 29 cent price tag and asked me how I was able to buy it.  I told her about my act and she became furious and made my Daddy turn the car around and we went back.  She made me go back into the store and give the toy back and get my money back.  I was so scared and upset, but I did as I was told and when I got back to the car with the quarter Mama took it back and scolded me, telling me she hoped
this taught me a lesson.  I learned that day that if you have to beg for something and have it given to you you are an embarrassment to yourself and your family.  I learned a valuable lesson that day.  I told you that true story from my
childhood to tell you about a wonderful book written by the conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck.  It is called “The Christmas Sweater” and it is a bittersweet story of another lesson learned during the Christmas season many years ago.  I highly recommend it.

“NUFF
SAID!”