We had fun in the latter 40's-all it took was a piece of cardboard and a grassy hill--and down we went.We tried sliding down steep banks of dirt-whew ---lot of speed-almost slid out onto the road.
In the winter the gravel little hilly roads would ice over--man talk about flying down a hill.
In the good weather we would walk to Bull run--the park--there were a lot of snakes in the creek and we would chunk rocks at their heads--I think that helped me later in life in baseball.

Now that I've got ya hooked about the beginning of my life-it's back to the present--a time out devoted to those who catch shrimp for a living--there aren't that many of those hardy souls left on our coast,what the hurricanes haven't gotten the foreign farm raised shrimp have cut into their livelihood--I worked between jobs in the 1970's aboard a boat called the Mary Lou out of Galveston Texas-I was so taken by the way of life-I told the Captain I would write about it some day---I did--but I'm not going to write it all now--just a few lines---------

Tell me Shrimper Man, where ya gonna be tonight, your radio message said ya had Galveston in sight--Are ya loaded down with Shrimp and fish and the like? Tell me Texas Shrimper Man where ya gonna be tonight?
If ya stand on some wind swept beach from Galveston to Port Arthur town you'll see their deck lights bob and weave, a diesels drone may warm the breeze--thank God for earth and sky, sea and land and to save a special spot for the shrimper man--Texas Shrimper Man.
The Captain of the Mary Lou was a man named Jerry --skin like leather course as sand white knuckled fist as large as hams--I'm here to say let none disclaim-his special right to the title--Texas Shrimper Man--
I once saw him knock a man out while both sat side by side on bar stools--Jerrys fist just went 6 inches to the mans jaw and the guy was out like a light--they worked hard and played hard--and are still remembered.

I don't like tail gate-ers so back off one car link for each 10 m.p.h and we'll get along fine--The name is Eric I'm 60 and sometimes a grumpy old man-sort of like a Lion with a thorn in his foot-
I do like people-and most subjects--and I have plenty to talk about.
I have to get up at 5 a.m so will write further Sat.--good night!