WHAT I'D LOVE FOR CHRISTMAS

I can't believe its another year already come and gone! Wow, where does the time go to? I just celebrated another birthday on the 5th of december and it seems like they come sooner every year.Oh well I really can't complain because Im still around and Im enjoying every moment of this life. I was thinking just last nite about the xmases past and all the fun I had. And as I was remembering those years past I got to thinking about how so much has changed in so short a time. My childhood seems so long ago but actually in years 50 or so isnt a very long time.But I really do wish some of the things I grew up with was still around. Life was so different then. We lived in a small community where everybody knew each other or at least was familiar with who they were. I was only in the 8th and 9th grades of school and when I wanted to go somewhere I would go to the side of the hiway and stick out my thumb and hitch a ride. Whne I stopped riding the school bus I would hitchhike back and forth from school. When I wanted to g to Mayfield(the closet place called a town) I would hitchhike. And I wasnt the only one to do this. A few of my friends did the same thing and noone ever thought anything about it as far as being dangerous. Can you imagine today letting your 13 yr old kid hitcha ride to town? I didnt think so! Another thing we had that I loved. We never had to lock our doors to our homes or outbuildings even if we were going to be gone for days at a time. Imagine doing that today and seeing how long before someone comes in and cleans you out! Hey back in those days even when there was an argument between school mates those differences of opinion were settled with a good old fashioned fist-fight which usually ended when one really good punch landed. There were no guns or knives in school fights, and their surely wasn't any school shootings by a messed up teenager! And those days were also the beginning of school intergration in Kentucky. I was in the 8th grade before there were any black students at Wingo High School.Fortunately I was already intergrated with a black friend who lived across the road from my house and a few miles down a old gravel road where the black community was located. And I used to go to that neighborhood selling candy, cards, and whatever else the school was peddling at the time. And the first house down that gravel road was where my black friend lived. Another one of my pals lived close and us 2 would go to our black friends house and play baseball or any other sport. Ah yes my friend was named Delbert Love and Ill never forget him. Having been raised by my folks to respect and accept others I never had to be faced with being a racist and to this day I dont understand why some humans resort to any kind of racism. But thats an entirly different subject for a later date. Fondly I remember me Jerry McFadden, and Delbert Love all sharing a part of our lives with each other. So those days 45 yrs ago seem so long ago but not forgotten. A simpler time to say the least and a time of great changes some for the better and some for the worse. But I would love to see this xmas be a time where a 14 yr old could hitchhike anywhere, where one never had to lock up their house, where every human being was considered a brother and sister no matter what race, age, or belief they are. I know I am a dreamer and I realize there is lots of work to be done before we can go back to that kind of lifestyle again. But one thing is for sure--nobody,I mean Nobody can ever keep me from dreaming. And as long as I can dream I can do my part to make this world one I really love. To all of you kind and beautiful folks I wish for you and yours a truly wonderful and blessed holiday season! May it be filled with lots of love, peace, and joy, and may the new year ahead turn out to be the best ever for you. "HUGS" to each one of you my dear friends. May God bless