Monday, October 6, 2008

Records Transcribed

Well it took several hours but was fun transcribing the old family vinyl records from 1943 that I just got digitized. (See photo of my aunt Esther and her husband Les who made the records.) My aunts, uncles and parents all talked of many World War II issues: blackouts in California on the coast, Pearl Harbor's aftermath, gas rationing, etc. My uncle was working in an aircraft factory making planes "to shoot down Hitler." My dad was a dispatcher on the Union Pacific railroad in Utah helping move the trains to the coasts loaded with troops and supplies. 

It was quite a world then. Don't think I would have liked to live then, well actually I was there but only three years old. My uncle tried to get me to sing a song on the record: called "Johnny shot a zero." Don't think I've ever heard it, but it was about shooting down Japanese planes as they had joined the conflict and bombed Hawaii. California was worried they were next to be bombed. Can't help but think that times were tougher then with such a huge war in many different locations. But people didn't loose their hope for a better future and we can learn from that. 

That was the message of many of the conference talks I heard today...having hope in the future and faith in God. A message that applies to all times. Life was difficult then economically as the government was trying to get everyone to buy war bonds to support the war, and food and gas were rationed. There were shortages everywhere but people adjusted and survived. They just made the best of it.

6 comments:

  1. Having moved from a 3300 sq ft home to a 22 st ft home to a 1100 sq ft home, I'm learning just how little we n eed to get along. Who was it that first said, "We spend the first fifty years of our lives collecting things...and the second fifty years trying to get rid of them."?

    I've watched my daughter and her husband go from making a triple six figure income to wondering where the next house payment was going to come from. They made the transition with humor, grace, and a satchel full of friends who helped when needed.

    I thik that's what most of us will do if (or should I say when) the times require us to do so.

    We'll eat a little less, travel a little less, wear sweaters in the house instead of cranking up the heat. We'll share and swap pots of soup, loaves of bread, and bottles of peaches with the neighbors. And, who knows? We may be the better for it. Hardships can make strong, confident people and instill loyalty to kith and kin.

    I'm really not worried at all about tough times. I'm not saying Im looking forward to them. But, I'm not afraid of them, either.

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  2. Did I say 22 sq ft home?? Yes, that was the period of time when Wayne and I lived in an abandoned freezer...Actually, that was a 2200sq ft home.

    I really should learn to proof read BEFORE I post, eh?

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  3. I think you're right, it doesn't hurt to be optimistic. Lots of people have gone through lots of tough times and maybe it's something we all need now and then to remind us of how lucky we truly are.

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  4. I agree with everyone. Tough times tell you what a person is really made of. They can either 'make-you' or 'break-you'.

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  5. I grew up in tough times, tough for my family anyway, and I really don't want to go back there. I have doubts about my ability to handle hardship. After being insecure for a long time, I fear insecurity. And yet I know we'll be OK because we have been purdent in preparing for this stage of our lives.

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  6. I think having hope for the future is vital for your mental health. I think the difference between those wars and what we are in now is that there was a clear "enemy" and the entire country was involved in the effort. Since Viet Nam, the wars have been more esoteric and the enemy someone that we can't even find. But I digressed from your main point..lucky to have such a family record...

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