Catch Jim’s podcasts on youtube: https://youtu.be/6WGsPQbUm2w
.
Life, actually…
.
THE ROTC UNIFORMED CUSHMAN TIME TRAVELLER LANDS IN PETERSON
.
If I close my eyes, I am suddenly transported back in time more years ago than you have been alive.
.
It is the early 1960s…
.
I have a busy if not full life in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As a student at the University, I keep myself occupied by not studying, by being an on-air announcer at several local radio stations, by attending class in order to catch naps.
.
One class I am required to attend twice a week in full green wool uniform is the U.S.-run military program for male students called ROTC.
.
Part of the reward for mandatory service in ROTC is the fact that the Army, needing soldiers for the neverending war in Vietnam, has the theory that each of us will fall in love with the idea of giving up parties and romance and the good life to go to jungles far away, teaching enemies to do right.
.
That is why I am wearing a full Army outfit after my classes are over. That is why, this day, I hop aboard my tattered Cushman motor scooter and drive as far away from the campus as possible, as fast as possible, to create a breeze on this 80-degree afternoon.
.
The duct-taped vehicle is my only means of physical escape from T-Town.
.
I head for the nearby tiny town of Peterson because I know how to get there. And because that’s where my grandfather’s general store is located.
.
I pull up next to the Sinclair pumps, park the scooter out of harm’s way, take a look at Grandmother Effie’s flowers in the front yard, open the Miss Sunbeam Bread-bedecked screen door, and enter the store.
.
Store and home are physically connected, and my grandparents’ lives are played out in a situation where they are never away from home, never away from work.
.
Uncle Brandon is down on the concrete floor, constructing shelving out of cut strips of old Coca-Cola signs.
.
Uncle Brandon looks like a cross between Stan Laurel and Will Rogers and is as funny as both of them.
.
We palaver a bit and I go looking for Grandfather Robert. “Hey, Granddaddy, how are you?”
.
We shake hands instead of hugging, since I am almost grown up now.
.
“Doing OK,” he replies, monosylabically answering my questions about life, liberty and the pursuit of Grapico drinks.
.
I wander around, inhaling the rich aroma of mildew, kerosene, bubble gum, ripe vegetables and leather combined with the powerful fragrance of my grandfather’s ever-present cigar.
.
I observe off-shift coal miners stopping by for a drink and a chaw on their way home.
.
“Gimme a Dope,” one of them smiles, slipping a dime onto the counter and grabbing a bag of Tom’s Toasted Peanuts which he carefully pours down the neck of a Coca-Cola bottle. Coke is Dope in these rural parts.
.
I salivate at the thought of that heavy salt combining with the cane sugar fizz and making an unforgettable snack.
.
I’ve made my visit. Shown off my ROTC uniform. Bragged about my radio jobs. Gossiped a bit. Now it’s time to head west toward Northport for my evening duties at WNPT.
.
I am refreshed. I’ve seen my grandparents and uncle as well as postmistress Aunt Gladys, I’ve sniffed the memories of my early childhood. I am refreshed and energized.
.
On the highway, I wend my way back to responsibilities and the feeling of purpose that to this day I get out of going to work each day.
.
I want to remain in Peterson and live the quiet life. I want to be an on-air star and impress people with my talent. I want to toss this cotton-pickin’ wool uniform and hide from the draft, I yearn to date coeds, laugh with my younger siblings Tim, Rosi and Ronny, hug my mother, talk to older sister Barbara, try to get through to my stoic dad, lie abed late at night and listen to reel-to-reel tapes of Bob and Ray shows, fall asleep to the jazz emanating from WWL in New Orleans.
.
All these generations later, I haven’t changed. I still want to be everywhere at once, every time at once. I still am happy at end of day in my solitude, floating in memories most textured and pleasing
.
© Jim Reed 2022 A.D.
.
Listen to Jim’s Podcast:
http://redclaydiary.com/
or read his story above.