The "Reminisceing A Bit" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My first edition of my Christmas present just arrived and I was excited.  Even had to read a line or two as I was walking from the mailbox into the house.  This story started a couple of weeks ago as I was opening a few of my gifts from my wife, Carol, on Christmas Eve.  Christmas Day is so hectic with getting the meal started and awaiting the kids and grandkids to arrive that we like to open a few the night before so we can appreciate them a bit more and have more quiet time together. One of my gifts was in a small gift bag which means that it probably is something special.  At least I have found that to be true over the years.  Well, it certainly was true tonight.  In the bag was an envelope with a card inside that Carol made just for me.  It was a year's subscription to Reminisce magazine.  Ever hear of it?  I found out about it a few years ago when I discovered one at a car dealership while waiting for my oil to be changed.  Under the title it says …. THE MAGAZINE THAT BRINGS BACK THE GOOD TIMES.  Notice that is all in caps, since it is emphasizing what you are about to find inside the front cover.  Magazine only has 68 pages in it, with about half of it in advertising, but the rest of the magazine brought back memories from my childhood as well as the recent past.  And what's neat is almost all of the stories are written by subscribers who have taken the time to send a story to the magazine for publication.  Matter of fact they encourage their readers to do just that so others can read about life as it was a half-century or so ago.  As for me, I tend to do the same think on a daily basis by writing the stories for my blog.  Well, I started paging through and when I hit page 10 I stopped to look at an article titled "The Sailor and His Chevy."  

Tom and one of his Chevys.

Started to read it when I suddenly glanced at the title again and realized right under the title was listed the author of the story.  Guy by the name of Tom R. Williams from …… WOW …… a small town about 10 minutes from my house called Manheim, PA.  He's slightly older than I am, but I think I know his brother who coaches football for the high school located in Manheim.  Tom tells his story about the the three 1931 Chevys that he purchased.  He drove each until the motor died and then purchased another one, all being from the same year.  He also wrote about his time in the Navy and how in 1952 he was serving on an aircraft carrier that was going to travel to Boston from Norfolk for six months of repairs.  The crew, which he was one of, was allowed to take their cars on board the carrier so they would have them for use in Boston.  He told how the Chevy was hoisted aboard and then the process reversed in Boston.  Finally in 1954, after his third '31 Chevy died, he bought a Buick from a junkyard for $25.  Punchline of the story followed when he told his readers that the Buick was naturally a '31.  Neat story which made it more memorable since it was from a neighbor of mine.  Read the entire magazine, ads and all, and am anxiously awaiting my next issue in a couple of months.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.