lt turns out that Penny was not,that much, in to cowboys, except as they, or their female counterparts, appeared with HORSES. Yes, as a kid she had seen the work of all the western stars from Tom Mix to Gene Autry, but to her it was all about horses. She regularly attended horse races (thoroughbreds and trot-
ters), rodeos, dressage competitions and (another great event featuring horses) PARADES! Nevada was special to her,but not because of the cowboy population;
rather, the Mustang (wild horse) population residing there. ln fact, she had pick-
ed up the pieces of the cow-girl outfit at a St. Vincent de Paul for fun and to
"honor" the family's guest from Nevada. She wasn't disappointed when l told her
that l didn't own a pair of cowboy boots. (The fact of my not owning a single pair of Levi's, l kept to myself.) She was serious about visiting Nevada in her near future. Why? Mustangs! She and a couple of her friends were considering the purchase of a property in New Jersey, large enough to keep about a half-
dozen horses and they would get them in Nevada. They had, over the previous
year or so become aware of their plight and wanted to rescue a few of them.
l was starting to like the lady. ln a way consistent with the fact that she was about the same age as my mom. l've always admired people whose lives were
not limited to their quest for money and acclaim for themselves. Penny was well-enough off. Her home and surroundings and that of her parents, would
definitely qualify as upper-middle class. They could afford to rescue a score of horses. l was reminded of my benefactors in Reno, who not only taught me the
art of cold-call periodical sales, then helped me find the way to satisfy my mili-
tary obligation. Then gave me a ride to the train which would carry me to the
solution to a problem that l thought insoluble. Now l have an insoluble puzzle,
sixty years later:Where did those guys go?
During those years, anytime l was in Reno, l would make some effort to learn what had happened to them. For some months in 1980, l actually resided in
Reno and spent considerable time, but accomplished little; a trip to the county
recorder's office yielded the dates on which their houses had been sold over the
years, but nothing to shed any light on their current location. Since 1980 l have
visited Reno scores of times, but in recent years (except for this piece) l've tried
to put it out of my mind.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
Employed 6 part 5 Army (Trip to NYC)
The testing seemed more like instruction; we were given some rules for a fictitious language, then a text in that language, then questions, whose answers
were to be found in the text. On finishing, l felt l had done pretty well, but l also wondered if l correctly understood what was required. And when time was up, l was little more than half-finished. l had to think Al's was not going to be my school. But, what were the other jobs (non-combat jobs) that were available if the Language School was not offered? No idea.
From my first day as DRO, MSgt Manning would stop by the Day Room at about
9AM for coffee, conversation and to go over details re my job. One morning,
about a week after testing, l asked him how long it takes to know the results of the testing. He said, it varies. all the results are released when all of the testing
is complete. He asked which tests l had taken and when l told him l had taken the language test and also a couple of others, he said to figure it about two to three weeks. l asked him what other ASA jobs were available to those of us who would fail the language test. He said that there are plenty of other ASA jobs
available but he is not familiar with the details. But, not to worry,if you fail Al's,
you'll be summoned to the office of Capt.Jansen, who will acquaint you with the
several alternatives available.
As the DRO l soon got to know nearly all of my fellow Test-Takers (at least those assigned to use my Day Room.) What a great bunch of smart,funny,well-schooled guys,( for the most part). Jerry Mc Spadden and Carl Pendergraf, two
guys from New York City who first met in the fifth grade and after high school
attended C.U.N.Y. for one year before deciding to deal with their "military
obligation". Apparently, a bunch of us had similar ideas. l made it known to my
new friends,Jerry and Carl that for a long time, l had been a big fan of NYC in
general and of the Chrysler Bldg. and the Empire State Bldg. in particular,
(Even though l'd never seen any of it, except in pictures.) They already knew l
was from Nevada and before they knew any of my history, called me "Cowboy".
When they learned that l had actually done some cowboy work, on my Dad's ranch, it became my de facto name at ASAHQ.
lt didn't hurt. Carl's aunt Penny, (his Dad's sister) was a western nut; loved
horses,rodeo (had seen a few of them in Madison Square Garden)horse racing,
Tom Mix,the Lone Ranger,Roy Rogers,Dale Evans,Trigger........etc. Anyway
Carl could not wait to get me to his parent's house, where he would invite her
over to meet a "real Nevada cowboy". So Jerry and Carl were my hosts on a trip from Ayer, Mass to New York City, where we first went to the tallest building (at
that time, in THE world. We made a few other stops in Manhatten before taking
the subway to Brooklyn (where Jerry's and Carl's families lived). When we arrived there it was too funny:Penny was wearing the whole cowboy thing;hat,
boots, leather vest over cowboy shirt, western pants tucked into the boots. And
l, with not so much as a hat,thank her for a great greeting.Penny even served us a roast, prime-rib dinner, probably as good a dinner as l ever had.
The next day, in mid-morning we went to Coney Island. The dinner of the
evening before had so stretched my stomach, that l was ready for lunch well
before noon. Especially since Nathan's Hotdogs were on the menu. Obviously
my first time for those,too. l thought they were very good, maybe as good as most, but not necessarily the best. Besides, it's how the dog is dressed that
matters. l did eat three of them,though. Fully dressed.
were to be found in the text. On finishing, l felt l had done pretty well, but l also wondered if l correctly understood what was required. And when time was up, l was little more than half-finished. l had to think Al's was not going to be my school. But, what were the other jobs (non-combat jobs) that were available if the Language School was not offered? No idea.
From my first day as DRO, MSgt Manning would stop by the Day Room at about
9AM for coffee, conversation and to go over details re my job. One morning,
about a week after testing, l asked him how long it takes to know the results of the testing. He said, it varies. all the results are released when all of the testing
is complete. He asked which tests l had taken and when l told him l had taken the language test and also a couple of others, he said to figure it about two to three weeks. l asked him what other ASA jobs were available to those of us who would fail the language test. He said that there are plenty of other ASA jobs
available but he is not familiar with the details. But, not to worry,if you fail Al's,
you'll be summoned to the office of Capt.Jansen, who will acquaint you with the
several alternatives available.
As the DRO l soon got to know nearly all of my fellow Test-Takers (at least those assigned to use my Day Room.) What a great bunch of smart,funny,well-schooled guys,( for the most part). Jerry Mc Spadden and Carl Pendergraf, two
guys from New York City who first met in the fifth grade and after high school
attended C.U.N.Y. for one year before deciding to deal with their "military
obligation". Apparently, a bunch of us had similar ideas. l made it known to my
new friends,Jerry and Carl that for a long time, l had been a big fan of NYC in
general and of the Chrysler Bldg. and the Empire State Bldg. in particular,
(Even though l'd never seen any of it, except in pictures.) They already knew l
was from Nevada and before they knew any of my history, called me "Cowboy".
When they learned that l had actually done some cowboy work, on my Dad's ranch, it became my de facto name at ASAHQ.
lt didn't hurt. Carl's aunt Penny, (his Dad's sister) was a western nut; loved
horses,rodeo (had seen a few of them in Madison Square Garden)horse racing,
Tom Mix,the Lone Ranger,Roy Rogers,Dale Evans,Trigger........etc. Anyway
Carl could not wait to get me to his parent's house, where he would invite her
over to meet a "real Nevada cowboy". So Jerry and Carl were my hosts on a trip from Ayer, Mass to New York City, where we first went to the tallest building (at
that time, in THE world. We made a few other stops in Manhatten before taking
the subway to Brooklyn (where Jerry's and Carl's families lived). When we arrived there it was too funny:Penny was wearing the whole cowboy thing;hat,
boots, leather vest over cowboy shirt, western pants tucked into the boots. And
l, with not so much as a hat,thank her for a great greeting.Penny even served us a roast, prime-rib dinner, probably as good a dinner as l ever had.
The next day, in mid-morning we went to Coney Island. The dinner of the
evening before had so stretched my stomach, that l was ready for lunch well
before noon. Especially since Nathan's Hotdogs were on the menu. Obviously
my first time for those,too. l thought they were very good, maybe as good as most, but not necessarily the best. Besides, it's how the dog is dressed that
matters. l did eat three of them,though. Fully dressed.
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