In 1956, I was ten years old, and on Saturday nights our family would listen to songs on the radio.

We would sit around the kitchen table listening to the "Grand Ole Opry." 

When we looked out the window, it was cold and black outside, and we were warm and toasty inside. 

Mom would heat rye bread in the broiler at the bottom of her white stove.

When the bread was done toasting, she would spread lots of Oleo and let it melt into the rye bread. and give it to us. 

Oleo's full name was Oleomargarine; we just called it Oleo.

As kids, we could finish a whole loaf, along with a cup of hot chocolate.

For Dad, Mom would rub a clove of garlic on his slice, and one slice was good enough for him.

After finishing his slice, he would get up from his chair and stand beside the oil-burning stove, which kept our house warm during cold winter nights.

I remember one Saturday night when Tennessee Ernie Ford was singing his song "Sixteen Tons" on the radio.

Dad would join in and sing along with Ford. 

Not every word, only the best part, "St Peter don't ya call me, cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company stooore."

That was the only song he ever sang along with. Most of the time, he would stare off into the distance while listening to the radio.

Tap on the red play button and listen to the song once more.

Published in 1898 by D. Appleton and Company of New York
WRITTEN IN 1897  by E. Hough

I have a copy of this book that I found at a Pasadena used-book store.
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It is a slice of history about the life of cowboys who worked on cattle drives in the American West between 1860 and 1895.

The 343-page book tells their story about working in the arms of Mother Nature.

Here is a quote from page 182:

“The monochrome of winter, the blue-grey of cold desolation, oppressed it all.”

Who were the brave souls choosing to work under those conditions to drive cattle to market?

Here is my guess, and it is just a guess.

I saw them as young men breaking free of the rules of civilization and embracing the rules of cattle drives.

Nobody would be calling daily meetings and telling them the goal to accomplish. They knew what needed to be done and did it.

The job had one goal: Bring those Longhorns from Texas to Kansas.

Table-of-Contents

Sitting straight as an arrow in the saddle, they were the boss over the cattle; nobody was a boss over them.

They believed in themselves.

Together as one. Rider and horse. They did their job.

Bringing beef to people living in the East while leading productive lives under the blazing Sun and cold rains.

When the Sun finished its job, a blanket of stars appeared. It was time for supper.

While sitting around a campfire, telling stories, and embellishing a few to make them more exciting, they were a team.

Here is another quote from page 182:

“The sky is even in its colours, except that now and then there scuds across it a strange and ominous thing,”

The quote reminded me of the song written by Stan Jones in 1948, “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” 

Stan said that he heard the story from an old cowboy when he was 12.

I am sure that the old cowboy had lived that glorious life and relived it when he told Stan his story. 

Tap on the red play button and listen to Stan's words sung by Johnny Cash.

Saturday nights were movie nights when I was in grade school. Saturday afternoon was the only day we had to take a nap during the summer. 

Mom did not want us to fall asleep during the movie; it would be a waste of money.

Dad would always fall asleep during the movie, but not during Brigitte Bardot's movie, "And God Created Women."

Mom's favorite actor was Victor Mature.

One time, he told Mom, "You'll like this movie, Victor Manure is in it."

She shot back, "That is not how you pronounce his name!"

He just smiled.

Before we went to the drive-in theatre, we would help Mom put potato chips, fig newtons, and ginger ale in our station wagon.

Before we left, Mom would bend and rip two sticks of juicy fruit gum. Each of us would get half a stick and a lecture. 

Mom would say, "Chew it slowly with your mouth closed. Don't swallow it. It might plug you up."

There were cartoons before the first movie, and during the intermission, we ate our snacks before the second movie started.

The Saturday night movie at the Drive-in theatre had a big influence on me. I wanted to be a movie star and hang out at the pool every day.

Just like the actors did in Mom's Movieland magazine.

I knew that movies were made in California, and that was the place I wanted to be.

I knew that I could be a movie star if I didn't look in the mirror while I was brushing my teeth.

California Dreamin' became my favorite when I heard it on the radio, and I made my dream come true when I put down roots in 1968. 

Tap on the red play button and listen to the Mamas and the Papas sing their song on The Ed Sullivan Show.

A really big show.