MY DAD AND GRANDFATHER

The photo on the left is of my grandfather, A.L.. He was born on Christmas Eve 1861. The photo on the right is my father Ray. He was born in June 1896. I turned 67 today. A.L. was a farmer in north central Texas around the town of Bonham. I think he was born in Missouri. My dad was born in Telephone, Texas. His photo was used as part of his license to drive a Dixie Trailways bus. He drove for several years and then bought a cab company in Sherman, Texas. He sold that business and everything that he had and moved our family to Globe, Arizona because he thought that the climate would be better for my asthma. It was. My grandfather came to live with us there and died in 1947. He was 86 years old.

My parents divorced when I was about 7 and I rarely saw my dad for a few years. Then I lived with him in Dallas, Texas for a couple of years. I moved to Albuquerque, NM with my mother after a series of mis-adventures all over the southwest. The story is long and winding. I visited my father after I got married and never saw him alive after that. He died in 1971 at the age of 75. My mother died the same year. She was 55. My goal is to live at least as long as my grandfather. I'm in better physical health than my father at this age and it is my intention to continue to focus on my health in order to live a happy and productive life. So far so good.