I've Made Choices

August 05, 2020

MEMORIES BY JAMES

Have you ever thought of all the decisions made in your life, some by you and some by

other people or situations. This article will look at many decisions made in my life. Thankfully they are all positive. I can?t think of any negative decisions. I guess I have just been lucky.

The first decision not made by me, but I thank God daily for it. That is the family into

which I was born. We have always been very supportive of each other. There have been very

few minor problems.

The first decision I made that influenced my life seems very minor but has had a

profound influence on my work ethic. At four, when most children just want to play, I convinced

my dad to let me work in the field. He had an old hoe with a broken handle that he fixed for me. I

worked along with him. That was the beginning of a special relationship between us. I also

developed a good work ethic. I also helped him haul gravel later after we moved to Roxton.

Also, he let me work with him at the McGinnis service station when he rented it for a while.

Ironically, I am not mechanically inclined. I have no interest in that. That was my brother Hubert?s interest.

The next decision was when we moved from Harmon to Roxton. Harmon had a one

room school with less than 20 students, most of whom were my siblings or cousins. I had

started to school when was 4 years old. When we got to Roxton, they would not let me go to

school. The next year I started there with about 30 students in first grade with Mrs. Duncan

the teacher. Quite a change. Harmon had about 30 people and Roxton about 750.

The farm we lived on was about one mile west of downtown Roxton, so we had the best of

both worlds. All of us worked on the farm, and I had other things to do. I was always trying to find things to do.

I sold the ?Grit? newspaper for several years, helped Mr.Crafton with his bees,

and other things. I was in Cub Scouts, played baseball, and was involved in church activities.

The summer before my 7th grade year, Dad and my sisters Sue and Zella went to

Lubbock. I don?t think I had ever heard of Lubbock before that. Dad had taken a truck driving

job with J.D. Crafton. They lived in an apartment behind Jim Scott?s house. The rest of the

family moved to Lubbock in December. Quite a change from a town of 750 to one of over

50,000 in the middle of nowhere.

We lived about 5 blocks from downtown in the older part of Lubbock. Nice area, but quite different from Roxton. Nice thing we lived across the alley from the only doughnut shop in Lubbock. The whole neighborhood, including everyone?s clothes, smelled like doughnuts. That began my addiction for doughnuts.

I often wondered why we just picked up and moved. Just recently I found out why. My

sister Sue told me that mother had told her that Dr. Creed had told Dad that there was no future

for us in Roxton. The land was beginning to wear out and production was down. I guess Dad had been thinking about that and talked to J.D. One of the best decisions for our family. We all

adjusted quite well to the change.

My next decision was to go to college. I was the first in my family ever to go to college.

Several have followed. My sister, Sue had gone to X-Ray school was an X-Ray Tech for 40

years, younger Sister is an LVN, and younger brother has been a teacher for 40 years. Several of my nieces and nephews have finished college.

Joining the Air Force was a very good decision. Getting married, even though she was

from Oklahoma, was a great decision. (This was Sue?s idea.) Having two children was also a good decision financially. My son is our natural child, and our daughter is adopted. We lacked 10 days being married 40 years when my wife passed away in 2001. We were quite compatible ? one argument in 40 years. A whole other article.

I have made many decisions over the years in my professional life. Most of them had to

do with money. My wife had serious medical issues and her medical bills were large. For many

years I worked 18 hours a day, 7 days a week and never regretted it.

The last major decision, for which I had no idea how it would turn out, was probably my

best. My wife had died, I had taught 20 years, my children lived in the DFW area, and I had five-

month-old twin grandsons I had seen only twice. After I finished all my summer obligations at school (I taught economics on TV of LISD,I had a law seminar to do in Austin), I hooked it to Allen. Little did I know that about seven years later my daughter-in-law would die of cancer. I then became a nanny to two of the nicest young men you would ever want to know. I was also able to continue to substitute teach.

I know I will have other decisions to come up in my life. I just hope I will be the one

making those decisions, not someone else.

Thanks for staying with me.