Old Stories

I sneaked another peak at one of Dad's old diaries last night and found he had been hospitalized as a teenager because of some abnormality with his heart. He spent a week in the hospital while they ran tests and did x-rays and another week in bed at home, after which this entry was recorded in his diary... Wed. December 1, 1948- "The doctor came to see me and told me I can't go hunting, tramping, take gym, play mouthorgan, work, and just about anything else for a few months." Ten days later was this entry... "Sat. December 11, 1948- "This afternoon Arthur (his brother) and I went out to Victor in the Model A and started home after dark. On our way home we decided to follow the unfinished Cloverleaf highway (dirt and high). We rode a few miles going about 50 or more when we came terribly near to going off a high drop-off onto a railroad track where they're going to put a bridge in. Arthur swerved the car around on two wheels, blew a front tire, crashed through a pile of iron bars and tore one running board in two. If we'd gone over the bank we wouldn't have had a chance. When we got home Mother, Dad, and I went to a show and saw "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" and "A Southern Yankee". So much for taking it easy! Whenever Dad told this story I could see him heave a sigh, shake his head, and wonder in disbelief that he and his brother survived so many boyhood antics. He never laughed when he told this story. Note- As best I can tell the "Cloverleaf Highway" refers to Interstate 90.