Early Lesson

I grew up during the great depression,.and that has left me with both plus and minus signs; mostly plus.

My teen years were spent in the 1930s when families lived from day to day and clung to hope. I was lucky to have a dad that was self employed as a back-yard mechanic. His income varied quite a bit, and we had to live accordingly. Mom was a strict disciplinarian, teaching me the value of work and saving. Mornings were for household chores, tending gardens, mowing yards, etc. I was free to do about anything I chose in the afternoons and evenings.

I have never been a big spender; always living within my means but not to any extreme. My investments are conservative and my politics are the same, because I remember.

Ballerina

I had to do it,,,, My ballerina is just too beautiful not to show her off one more time. Notice her long black hair.

This picture taken of Kate in ballet competition at Indianapolis last week.

One Day at a Time

Day by day I’m approaching my 90th birthday, yet I seem to be living in my rear view mirror. It’s hard to look forward. Though I’m thankful for my good health, old age excludes me from any more travels or anything very exhausting. It’s either slow or no-go when it comes to chores or sports that I used to do or participate in without thinking twice about them.

Ralph Alonzo Laughlin

This picture of Dad and his race car was taken in 1918. It is my favorite photo of Dad   I have an 8 x 10 framed copy of it on a wall in my den. Dad enjoyed dirt track racing and riding motor cycles as a young man but gave up both after he married Mom.

Another Day Older

     When I was young, I looked ahead in terms of years and decades. Now that I’m nearly a nonagenarian, I look ahead in terms of days and weeks, beginning with climbing out of bed each morning hoping for a day filled with more positives than negatives.
     So I approach my 90s a bit surprised; but hoping the surprise lasts a while longer.

Beauty!

Kate performed in Ballet competition at Indianapolis last weekend.

I received this photo of her today.

Needless to say how proud I am of my beautiful 11 year old granddaughter.

The 1930s in Sandborn

In the early 1930s, candy for us kids was priced by the penny and a hot dog at the local restaurant cost us only a nickel.  We could see a Saturday afternoon movie for a dime.  There was always a feature film (usually cowboy) and a serial. The latter would bring us back the next week to see how the chapter-ending predicament was solved.

Lovely Lola

My kid brother, Chuck, was also a pilot during WWII. In fact he received his silver wings before I did. He was a fighter pilot, flying a P-38 on missions over Germany and other European targets. The photo is of him in Italy with his airplane named after our mother. He made the Air Force his career. Retired after 20 years as a Lt. Col.

It Happens

I know I am old and sometimes forgetful. But then again, some of life is just as well forgotten ...  I still remember the important things.

My Favorite Flight - Oct 2, 1945

I took off from the Bell Aircraft Factory airstrip at Niagra Falls and it wasn’t long before I was over Indianapolis; there I dropped the King Cobra down to about 500 feet and followed State Road 67 directly to Sandborn. It took less than 15 minutes to fly the ninety miles from Indianapolis. As soon as I spotted Sandborn I dropped down to less than 100 feet and flew directly over my home, rattling the tree tops. It was easy to see Dad and Chuck waving in the back yard. I pulled up to about 2000 feet — peeled off and dived to about 100 feet again, this time making a strafing sweep right down the main street of the tiny town. Mom was standing out in front of her restaurant... Believe me: I was low enough to easily recognize her. Up again and one more dive down to make another sweep over my home to see if I could see my kid sister, Lavon.... I didn’t, so I pulled up, wiggled my wings good bye to Sandborn ....  There's more to this story.  I'll try to finish it in future posts.

Learning

By surrounding yourself with only people who think and act just like you, you may be missing out on some valuable experiences. Clashing ideas are educational ideas -- they either teach you something new, or teach you a new way of defending your own position. Don't be afraid of the choices you've made in your life. Ask questions and learn how to live and let live.- rkl

Celebrity

In July of 1986, I played in a ‘celebrity golf tournament’ with Forrest Tucker. He is second from left in the photo; I’m to the far right in the loud trousers :-)


Forrest Tucker was best known for his acting role as, Sgt. Morgan O’Rourke, a scheming soldier in the post-Civil War military farce, F-Troop; a TV series that ran from 1965 to 1967. He also starred in several movies. He died October 25, 1986, just 3 months after this picture was taken.

Old Fashion Fun

I wonder how many of you that reads this have ever been on an old fashion hay-ride. They were popular during my high school years. A team of horses pulling a hay wagon with a load of hay; with a dozen or two fun loving boys and girls on board. We would stop at a wooded area, build a bon-fire and roast wieners and marshmallows. Then on the way home, after dark, the ride in the hay would produce sounds of squealing and laughing, due to a little petting and a few stolen kisses..

Been There, Done That

One evening while sitting around a cocktail table with other Transport pilots at the Khartoum Airbase Officers Lounge, instead of the usual topics of discussion about women and airplanes, the subject of what we wanted to do after the war came up. One of the pilots, a little drunk and homesick, said, “When I get home, I’m going to buy a rocking chair, put it on the front porch and rock.... And when someone comes along and asks me to go somewhere, I’m going to tell him, ‘No thanks’, I’ve already been there!” End of discussions... but not the drinking.... We all suddenly felt the same way.

Easter Morning

The azaleas in the woods back of our home are getting prettier every day.  This photo was taken this morning. 

Flying High

One of the beautiful things about flying solo on the long flights to Alaska in a King Cobra was the quality of the spiritual experience.

First Trip to Alaska

After returning from my tour of duty overseas, I was assigned to Gore Field, Montana. While there, in the spring and early summer of 1945, I delivered twelve P-63 King Cobras, purchased by Russia, to Fairbanks. Alaska. Following is a story of the first trip:  Note the Red Star of Russia on planes in photo.

The P-63 King Cobra had the maximum fuel load; consisting of two full wing tanks, a full external belly tank and two full external wing tanks.... I pulled out on to the runway, lined up with the white center line; pushed the throttle full forward and roared down the runway..... 100 knots,110, 120.... I tried very gently to ease the King Cobra’s nose wheel up; it didn’t want to come. At 130 knots, I was eating up the runway very fast --- the nose wheel finally lifted --- and I was airborne. Gear up, flaps up, climbing, but just barely, low and straining to clear the trees. What a thrill! I got my breath back with a little more altitude. I flew on past Calgary; then followed the Alaskan Highway — sometimes just a few feet above the roadway. But when I entered mountains, I climbed as high as I safely could without putting on the oxygen mask; just to marvel at the beauty of the Rockies from Whitehorse to Dawson Creek. Every trip was the same; undescribable — beautiful raw nature.

Mom & Chuck

Another depression era photo. It is of Chuck and Mom working in the garden; probably in early spring of 1938. It looks like they might be planting potatoes, with Mom dropping seed and Chuck covering.