I've decided to share some of the experiences I've had during my 94 years. I hope you enjoy. They are as follows:
My dad was a caretaker at a county building. One of his jobs was to carry the money to the bank two times a day. Each summer he got two weeks vacation with pay. I, as a high school student, took his place those two weeks. I then carried the money, two times a day, down the street to the bank. We never had any trouble.
In about the year 1940, I was a retail milkman.
Milk was rationed during the war. I could only receive my quota. No extra. I had to explain the policy to my customers. A pretty girl came crying to me one day saying, "milkman, milkman, can I please have a quart of milk? We have a tiny baby." I gave her a quart of milk.
There was a church near my route. One customer wished to have the names of the infants on my route. She would enroll them at her church. I think the church sent mail to them. At Christmas the church invited them to a dinner. After two or three years the church aimed to enroll them in Sunday school. When a customer said to me, "Milkman, leave another quart of milk, we will put our baby on regular milk," I got the name and address to my customer.
I lived on a farm during my fifth and sixth grades in school. We had about a three-mile walk to school each day. There were two telephone wires along the road. One time lightning was galloping on the wires as we walked near by.
Our country school was about four or five miles from town. On one occasion my teacher needed something from her home in the city. She let me take her car and go to her house and get what she needed. I had no license at that time. I remember when I got to town I stopped to say hello to my grand folks also in town. All was well and I returned safe and sound.
It was common in those days for young boys and girls to hitch hike for a ride when they wished to go places. One time, when coming down to Detroit from Manistee, Mich., a young man flagged for a ride. I picked him up. I asked him if he could drive. He said yes. I let him drive while I took a nap, then I drove again. No problem.
I'm now 94 years old. I go about thanking my God for the many blessings during my life. Life has taught me the following:
1. It is but a little while. It is like the wind, it come and goes. It is temporary, therefore we should seek that which is eternal.
2. Life is like a very precious tool. One can accomplish much with it.
3. We should not sit in a rocking chair forever, meaning, it is important that we keep telling others the good news of Jesus Christ.
Leslie E. Swanson
Winona Lake
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit as stated in our Letters Policy.
