Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. I know school was out and no one brought your mail, but did you give thought to our veterans? Did you think of the many thousands who died on the battlefield, giving their lives for our freedom? Did you think of those thousands who came home armless, legless or just plain tired and not able to live like normal people again? Or did you consider you had a holiday, a day to shop or get something done at home? I thought about my husband, now gone home to Jesus, But he was a veteran of World War II and the Korean war too. I thought about the Thanksgiving dinner he had in a foxhole. A plane flew by and dropped big bags of Spam sandwiches. The men were so thankful for them! How little it took for those men to be thankful!

Of course we should be thankful for our veterans but we should also remember those who are fighting today for our fleeting freedoms, and for their families who are waiting somewhat impatiently for them to come home. And we should be thankful to God and his great gifts to us. I have decided to use these three weeks before Thanksgiving Day in my blogs as ways to be thankful.

I was listening to Luis Armstrong singing, What A Wonderful World, the other day only I changed the title to What a wonderful God. It works! The thoughts in the song goes like this: The leaves of green, the skies of blue and  red roses all make a wonderful world. Friends meeting on sidewalks, shaking hands, but really saying, I love you, makes a wonderful world too, doesn’t it? And babies born and growing up knowing much more than we’ll ever know, that makes a wonderful world too. The song is great but these things were all made by God and there is so much more. There is  the mountains, the plains, the oceans, the rivers, the sunrises and the sunsets. all given to us by God. Shouldn’t we be thankful for these things?

Let’s wake up each day thanking God that we have another day even if it’s raining. The rain is a gift from God too, you know. And as you go through your day, you will find so many things to thank him for. Before you climb into bed at night, don’t forget to thank him again that you have a bed to climb into. Oh and don’t forget to thank him that you can help someone who has no bed to comb into.

Saturday nights are not the same as they used to be. The stores are closing earlier now on Saturday. I was surprised to find out that a lumber yard closed at 4pm on Saturdays. It does seem they should be open later for those who are anxious to make some home improvements. But Saturday nights are now reserved for dinners at the restaurants or dancing at the local bars or legion halls.

Back in the ’30s times were hard. The depression, several years of drought and low farm prices combined to make life pretty difficult for most folks. People needed something to take them over the rough places. Saturday nights became that for most families. A steady stream of cars and horses with wagons filled with men, women and children began arriving early on Saturday night carrying with them cream, eggs and other farm products they were eager to sell.

Men gathered in groups along the crowded sidewalks to discuss the farm problems of the day and how low the prices were for eggs and corn. It was therapy for them to talk things out. After they had talked it all over, they engaged in a games of checkers or cards.

Women too, gathered together in the stores wearing their feed sack dresses. It took three sacks to make a dress, and a little less for their daughters so they spent time exchanging feed sacks so that they would have three sacks of the same pattern. It was a variety of chicken feed sacks they wanted. The sacks were made in colors and patterns they liked and the chickens had better enjoy that feed! Of course they talked about the same things women have talked about down through the ages, raising children and recipes they have tried.

Youngsters debated whether to squander their nickels right away or wait until later in the evening. They knew there wouldn’t be anymore nickels if they spent them right away! It was fun for them to play their games together and exchange marbles or games they were tired of at home.

Yes, Saturday nights were fun in the ’30s. I was there playing with those farm kids. So were the rest of the town kids and their moms and dads. I’m sure the store owners were glad when the farm folks got into their cars or wagons and the town people headed home. Another Saturday night was over and they can close! And the farm and town folks would still have Sunday to look forward to. They would still see each other in Sunday School and church. Oh how sweet the weekends were! They could bear the depression or whatever as long as they had Saturday nights and Sundays to enjoy.