I will begin a little earlier in my life so that you may know better about the life I lived as a child.

I was born in the Northeastern part of Arkansas in 1947 to a wonderful couple by the names of Clarence and Merle. After I was born and about 3 ½ years old my Mom made me a cotton-picking bag. For those of you that have never picked cotton it is a bag that when you pick the cotton off the plant. The cotton is then placed into a bag. My bag was made from a pillowcase and had a strap on it so I could put the bag around my neck and across my shoulder. But the adult cotton bags were about 6’ to 8’ long if my memory serves me right. My Dad worked on a farm planning cotton, taking care of the cotton until it reached the point that it was time to pick. My Dad would pick cotton with my Mom. My Dad in one row and my Mom in the next row beside my Dad and me picking behind my Mom. My Mom always left me some cotton to pick. When the bags were full we would take them to the trailer, and someone would dump the bag and we would repeat the process until the trailer was full. Dad was moved from picker and started unloading the bags of cotton into the back of the trailer and then haul the cotton to the gin for processing. I was going on 5 and was allowed to go with my Dad to the cotton gin. The cotton gin was where the cotton was processed, cotton seeds removed, and the cotton put into bales. I remember big suction nozzles sucking the cotton from the trailer. To a 5-year-old it was very exciting.

In the summer of 1952, my Dad got a job driving trucks in Little Rock, AR. We moved to the East side of Little Rock and lived on a street named Security. Really great neighborhood with lots of kids my age. At 5 years old I had my own bike as well as most of the other kids and we rode everywhere. Not too far from the house was a piece of land that we called Monkey Jungle. We would build forts and swing from the vines. A little bit of Tarzan in all of us. We were never inside but always outside playing, and we did not come in until the streetlights were on but even then. The only time during that we stopped was to grab a sandwich and back at it again. I remember one time that we got a lot of rain and just behind our neighbor’s house across the street the ditch filled up. So, what do kids do when there is water around? You go swimming! The water was dirty, but we didn’t care, we were going to get a bath at night anyway. Contrary to the beliefs of some we did not always go inside when the streetlights came. There were still games to be played such as kick the can or hide and seek were our two favorites. My Dad had a friend that talked my Dad into storing military ammo boxes in our back yard. The boxes were all the same size, approximately 36” x 24”. Now the reason I bring this up is that we, my friends and I, built tunnels through the boxes. High tunnels and low tunnels. Did I mention to you that we did not give too much to thought that we might get killed, our parents did not know what we were doing. Parents Please do not be in a state of mind that your child does not do things that are really stupid, because we do, we all do. Looking back on what we did goes to prove that there is a GOD that loves us but that also protects stupidity. One thing that I did, by myself, picking up sticks, grass, leaves and scrap wood and piling them into a big heap, that is called helping out around the house BUT when you take it upon yourself to burn this big pile, this is the first dumb thing I did, without thinking. I added not just some, second dumbest thing, but a lot of gasoline to the pile. Took the gas can and put it back up only to give the gas enough time for the fumes to spread out in all directions. Now this is how smart I was, and this is the third dumbest thing-I walked up to the pile, lit a match and dropped it. Flames shot out a long, long way from the pile and right past me. I was not hurt, and I may have wet my pants, but just another time GOD is looking out for me.

All during this time my Dad and Mom were taking me and my brothers to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. I was raised in the Church of CHRIST. I did learn about GOD and JESUS. I got to know GOD and JESUS and so I asked to be baptized at age 10. I was baptized and my Dad and Mom were so proud of me and to celebrate we went out to eat with some of the other members. One thing I almost forgot was that we were meeting in the home of one of the members and I was taken to a church where I was baptized. This was the beginning of a new road for me to travel. But as you will read I did not stay on that narrow road very long. As I got older the temptations to be someone else got stronger and seemed to be OK to travel the road more traveled. I believed I began to behave in ways that I should not have, skipped school, smoke-my Dad smoked so that was easy to cover up the smell in my cloths-even stole from the grocery store in our neighborhood. Things were heading downhill very fast.

We moved from Security Street when I was in the 8th grade on further East of Little Rock to Fourche Dam Pike in a new sub-division. New home, new life. It was great living there. We were close to the river and some woods. My friends and I would go to the river and in between the river there was a slue that was filled by the river water seeping through the sand making the water crystal clear. A perfect swimming hole that also had vines hanging down from the trees that we would swing on and drop into the water. My Dad and Mom bought us some horses. To pay for the boarding of the horses we would cut and bale hay twice a year, clean the stable, cut the grass along the river and even break in some of the colts. This was one of the best periods of my life. When we bailed the hay, we would have to stack the hay in the barn. Remember the tunnel we made with the ammo boxes this time we had hay. We built tunnels throughout the barn at all levels. Just one more stupid thing but I was being protected by GOD and did not even realize it until much later in my life. As I continued into my teen years I learned all kinds of things. I learned how to cuss, drink and party. I could cuss with the best of them, hated beer so I drank the harder stuff-bourbon and seven-up was my favorite. I was the party king. I was always invited to parties even in my early teens, 13-15. 

When I turned 16 things really changed for me not for the better. Got my driver’s license and the party time was on. We would go to the river and find a pool, build a big fire, swim, drink and party. It was also during this time that I was running with some guys that loved drag racing, some legal but mostly illegal. They worked on their cars constantly building engines, adding carburetors, changing out the rear ends, for quicker speed. I got hooked and it wasn’t soon that my skills began to peak. I did not have my own car, so I drove my parent’s car. It was 1958 Chevrolet Biscayne with a 283 engine, three speed on the column. By the time we finished the car it was one of the fastest cars in its class in little Rock and the surrounding area. I was always being challenged by others. One thing you will enjoy is: I had a girlfriend, just a friend, I called my friend Sod Buster, her Dad had several acres of land that he farmed-and that is why I called her Sod Buster. Any way my friend went to church with us one Wednesday night and I took her home and my Mom was in the car with us. The place where we did a lot of our illegal drag racing was just a little way from the house and on the way to her house. I couldn’t help but hear the noise of the cars racing so I asked my Mom if we could go there and just watch for a little bit. She said it would be OK. My friend, Sod Buster, and I got out of the car to talk with some friends and the next thing that happens is I get challenged. Now I have my Mom still in the car and so I ask her if I can put the car through the quarter. I am sure my Mom had no idea what was happening. I told her she would need to get out of the car which she did. Standing there with all these teenagers around her. My, Debby aka Sod Buster, gets into the car with me, and I pull up to the starting line. The other car pulls up beside me. The guy that is signaling us has started and dropped his arms and we are off to the races. I wasn’t much of a race, and I cleaned his clock (beat him). Turned around and went back to where my Mom is standing and the others. Everyone is congratulating me, and I am all smiles. I walk over to my Mom and she says: “Don’t you ever tell your Dad.” about this. I think she enjoyed it but was a little surprised. She was known by friends as Drag Momma after that.

After that my life did not change much, smoking, cussing, drinking, partying and illegal drag racing. The one thing that I have never, never done is illegal drugs of any kind. I did have my share of tickets for speeding as most of us during that time did. I have never ever been arrested but did have to go to training class because of all the tickets.  Didn't help.  I just kept on doing my thing. Good thing I had a job at one of the Safeway Grocery Stores in Little Rock.  Did a little bit of everything. bagging, stocking and checking folks out and helping them get their groceries out to their cars. Had to pay the tickets off.

 At age 17, I joined the Navy Air as a Reservist. My Dad signed for me because I was under the age of 18. I had another year of high school before shipping out. I joined during the Viet Nam war along with several of my other male classmates. I will continue with the Viet Nam war in the last segment of my life.

I was just a teenager that knew GOD, knew JESUS but did not truly know GOD or JESUS. I feared nothing not even GOD at this phase of my life.

In this writing I believe that GOD protected me throughout my life because HE had/has something that I need to do for HIM! When HE is through with me, I hope HE will take me Home.

I am writing this in the hope that it will be an encouragement to others. That you may be encouraged to write your own testimony that will help others as they go through this life because we all have a story to tell. May GOD guide you and direct you each day and may you touch lives for the Glory of GOD.

We all have sinned, maybe more than others. Our GOD is a Loving GOD that wants us to have Faith in HIM, Trust in HIM, and never Doubting what HE and what JESUS has done for us. Always Praising GOD through WHOM all Blessings flow. I never feared anything in my life until I really got to know Our GOD and now, I do Fear HIM more than anything else, for I am counted with those who have wisdom. There is no death for me, oh death where is your sting? JESUS took the sting of death away when HE was Raised on the 3rd Day! I will leave this body, but my Spirit will be with HIM!

A few verses about Fearing GOD and being wise:

Psalm 111:10A              Proverbs 1:7

Proverbs 9:10               Proverbs 10:27

Proverbs 14:26-27        Proverbs 15:33

There is so much more that could have been written. Maybe later on!

My Testimony Later Years- 17-77 will be coming soon.