Archives for June 2015

Just some thoughts:
 
THE FILLIN’ STATION
 
As we age, there are things we think about and wish our kids, maybe even our grandkids, could have experienced. By the way, if we are truthful, there also might be a few things that might be just as well they didn’t experience. You want an example? How about, The Corral, The Eastside and The Northside. What were these? Well, in my growing up years, these were the three local drive-in movies. Enough said?
 
This morning, very early as I was making my way to my coffee place, I slipped in an old Johnny Cash cassette. Yes, still playing cassettes. Mr. Meeks and his satellite radio stuff forget it. Cash has some classic things that never became hits, but were just good stuff. One such song is, “Cisco Clifton’s Fillin’ Station.”
 
I started smiling-fillin stations! Say that word around our grandkids and they have no idea. What’s a fillin’ station? If you grew up in the 50s’ in a small town, you would know what a fillin’ station was. It was a place where you got gas for your car. By the way in most cases you did not pump the gas, an attendant did that. Quite different than today.  But as in any small town, you could definitely get more there than your car filled up with gas. Often it was a place you stopped on your way to pick up a date, and often a place you might stop after your date. It was a place where you might find a game of checkers or cards. You might find old men sitting around in the front, passing judgment and comments on passersby. You could get unsolicited advice on just about any subject. If near a highway, often they stayed open well into the night. Some of them might be a combination fillin’ station, restaurant and dance hall. They had particular names; two in the neighboring communities where I grew up were The Blue Goose and the White Swan.  Often a gathering of guys and cars would be found there.

Over the years, I saw fights, arguments, heard discussions on such serious matters as sports, religion, cars, girls, Ford’s vs. Chevy’s, pick-up trucks, more girls and, yes sex. Any of you remember a book once published, “What You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask?” I think some of the guys at the fillin’ station were resources for this work. Not sure how accurate, how documented their work might have been, but definitely a source. In my little growing up place there was Donald Ray, Roy Lee, Tom, Dizz, Skates, Tiny, Junior Jimmy Lee, Web, Butch and Duck; all experts in their field. One might smoke their first cigarette, taste their first, well something other than RC cola, all happening there at the fillin station. Often there would be a girl or two hangin out, or, at least, “stoppin’ by” to see what was happening. The fellas always liked, appreciated that.
 
Today, you buy your gas at a convenient store. They try to sell you everything from gas to a velvet picture of Elvis. The one stop market. Also if want gas you will have to push seventy- five buttons, wait seventy-five minutes and then someone yells at you thru some speakers from inside. Oh, for the days of the ole fillin’ station!

The song goes on to tell about how time and change put ole Cisco out of business, “and today if a car ever did go by, it’s probably because he was lost, but there will still be a howdy and a checker game.”
 
Next time you pass through some little town or find you’re off the beaten path, take a look around and you might see the remains of a “fillin’ station,” and remember that is where you could get more than just gas.
 
Footnote: In a neighboring town there was this gas station/ restaurant/ dance hall combination called The Blue Goose. The Goose was where I had my first cigar, then went outside and puked. The Blue Goose- just thinking of it could spawn more tales.   I saw my first real “dance floor” at the Blue Goose.  You could push back the curtains to pass into the dance floor; the brightest lights in the room were from the jukebox. Oh yes the Blue Goose.  That is for another time and story.
  
June12, 2012
Keep on,
Larry Adamson

Just some thoughts:                          
 
I don’t think it is very easy to get out of one’s comfort zone, as we are creatures of habit. We have our likes and dislikes. Who we are and what we think have been shaped by our family and our environment. Getting outside of that generally is something we just don’t choose to do, and if we do, it is not easy for us.
 
I was thinking this week about the homeless. In the years since I have retired and moved to Nashville I have come in contact with the homeless more than all the prior years in my life put together.
 
Three incidents in particular have stayed with me from some of those encounters.
 
1.     Stay out of the judging business:
 
 I met a lady one Saturday morning as I was walking into my favorite old record store. She asked for, “some spare change.” The smallest bill I had was a $5.  I gave it to her, and she thanked me. I thought to myself, “Well, I bet I know what that will go for.” About an hour later, as I was walking back to my car, I saw the lady sitting on the curb of the street near my car. As I got closer,  she recognized me and she held up a sandwich bag from a local fast food place—  sandwich in one hand, fries in her lap and coffee in the other. She held up her coffee, “Thank you Mr. Thank you for the sandwich and the coffee.” And I thought, “Oh, so you knew what she was going to do?” Wrong—Adamson, wrong again.
 
2.     He wanted validation:
 
 I stopped at a Burger King, got out of my car, and noticed him standing in the parking lot. I walked his direction and asked, “Are you hungry?” He looked startled but quickly answered, “Yes.” As we stood in line at the counter waiting for our food to come, he turned to me and said the following, “Mr., when we get our food, would you have a bit of time to sit and talk with me?” As they say, “You could have knocked me over with a feather.” Wow. Some folks need more than just food.
 
3.     Sharing:
 
 She was walking toward me and I knew the question before she asked, “Would you have some spare change so I might get something to eat?” I asked her name. I told her there was a McDonald’s right over there (I pointed) and I was on my way to get some breakfast and would she like to join me. She shook her head, “Yes.” We got our food, started eating and talking. As we ate and talked, I noticed she had gotten a knife from the counter and started cutting her sandwich in half, and she started to wrap some of her french fries in the napkin. She also went back to the counter to ask for a coffee refill and an empty cup. “You don’t want all your sandwich, your food?” I asked. What she then said to me told me something about her. “I got a friend down the way, she wouldn’t come with me to ask you. I’m gonna take her some of this.” This lady knew the compassion of sharing. I told her to eat all she wanted and we would buy food for her friend before we left.
 
You know, all three of those folks took me out of my comfort zone. At first, I was never sure what to say or how to act. But in all three encounters, I learned something.
 
How about your comfort zone. Do you ever get out of it?
 
September 17, 2013
Keep on,
Larry Adamson

Just some thoughts:
 
HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET?
 
Only from a child…
 
When our six year old grandson, Jake, arrived home from school recently his mother asked him, “Jake, how was school today? Anything in particular happen?”  He shrugged his shoulders and responded with a ‘not much’ indication. Earlier in the day his first grade teacher had called his mother and said, “We just wanted to make you aware and give you a heads up that Jake has had a hard day at school today.”
 
His teacher told our daughter that during small circle reading time it seems that all Jake wanted to do was be a chicken, yes a chicken; but I am not completely sure how that all played itself out. I understand there was some clucking, but I don’t think there were any eggs laid, although being a chicken will generally get you some attention. He also had some chicken clucking issues in another class setting the same day.
 
Now a bit of background information is needed here to further explain what Jake did about his difficult day. In an effort to combat bullying issues that seem to be happening in many schools today, his teacher had been reading a book to her class called “How Full is Your Bucket?”. The premise of the book is that how we behave and relate to others has a profound effect on every aspect of their lives and ours. The book uses the metaphor of a bucket above each persons head with a dipper, and each day we are either using a dipper to fill their bucket with good things or we’re using the dipper to empty their bucket.

In talking further with Jake about his behavior on this day, our daughter told him she thought his teachers deserved an apology from him. Didn’t he agree? He did. With that, the little guy got some paper and a pencil, and without any words of instruction from his mother, he sat down at the kitchen table and penned the following note to his teacher. The note read exactly as follows:

Dear Ms. Howell
 
I’m sorry for being silly and goofing off. And I am sorry for dipping from your bucket.
 
From Jake
 
Hum… I wonder how many times in life our being “silly and goofing off” has dipped from another’s bucket, but sadly we never bothered about a note.
 
 
May 6, 2015
Keep on,
Larry Adamson