Author Archives: OkieMan

Why is it so cold inside?

Summer’s Frost Stepping out of our cool Honda and into the summer’s heat is almost a shock to the body. Since exiting our air-conditioned car and out into 90-plus degrees summer air. I begin to sweat almost instantaneously . Like a chilled glass of ice tea covered with condensation. Beads of sweat quickly formed andContinue reading “Why is it so cold inside?”

I like my cornbread in a tall glass of buttermilk.

Meals on 4-wheels. In our little town there are an over abundance of burrito food trucks. Plus, too many chicken and pizza trucks. None the less, where are the food trucks with the real food? Because of the high population of college students here in our little town food trucks are cooking too much fastContinue reading “I like my cornbread in a tall glass of buttermilk.”

Stay on your side of the car. You’re touching me.

Our August vacations 1950 to 1963. Being the low man on the vacation totem pole my dad got his vacation time off in August. The hottest month of the year. Most of our annual vacations were driving to Oklahoma from Los Angeles. This was pre-Interstate on the southern route going through Yuma through southern Arizona,Continue reading “Stay on your side of the car. You’re touching me.”

Boy howdy, that’s the biggest ice cube I’ve ever seen

How to chill out. How to refrigerate anything without a refrigerator. my dad told me what his Mom’sfamily had done living back on the farm in the 1920s and 1930s southern rural Oklahoma. . He said they used was an A-frame structure with burlap material draped down the frame. It was placed outside on theirContinue reading “Boy howdy, that’s the biggest ice cube I’ve ever seen”

How they did it in the 1930s.

So, this is how it happened. Ode to My Mom and Dad. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a big unexpected kiss on the lips. Then she responded, “now Carl you’re not supposed to do that. When my dad told me this I could only surmise my mom had never been kissedContinue reading “How they did it in the 1930s.”

Book Report

Book Report In these times of the 21st century the last couple of American generations might not have the knowledge of what Ellis Island was and what it represented. Even though many of our ancestors came through the federally operated point of entry and was processed into the United States in the early 20th centuryContinue reading “Book Report”

I like to fly with my shoes off.

Barefooting. Of course, summer time is when we Okie kids went bare foot. And this is when we were growing up in Los Angeles. Something to show our independence from wearing shoes. And it has been that way for generations. And I’m sure generations to come. My sisters hardly ever wore shoes after coming homeContinue reading “I like to fly with my shoes off.”

The Royal Gorge

Opulence by the slice. It was on the eastside of Los Angeles 1959. Approaching the establishment from behind on the side street, you will quickly notice a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud parked under its own car port just behind the business rear entrance. Then Entering the main front entrance of the unique establishment, one would beContinue reading “The Royal Gorge”

Pulling the weeds.

posted by Chuck Ayers Walking in the weeds. Did I mention to you I worked on a cattle ranch back in 1961 in northern California? I did. Hardest work I had ever done. But that aside, the ranch was just a few miles north on US-99 from the small town of Weed. Yes, Weed, California.Continue reading “Pulling the weeds.”