Baker's Branch

    Author's Note:     I married above my station in life, but not blindly. Of course the girl was nice looking, but her dad had to be a fisherman, and he was. Her mother had to be a good cook, a good housekeeper, and in every other way have her life in order, and she did, and then some. Such had been the men and women in my life, and I was just barely smart enough to see the advantages of that lifestyle. On the other hand, the girl had plenty of options of her own. There were two Division 1 football players in her life; two or three young men Hollywood handsome, and a future millionaire or two. She picked me. The Lord works in mysterious ways.         Fiftieth wedding anniversaries, you know, the "Golden" ones, grew on her family tree like ripe figs on a biblical tree. There were summers that seemed as if all we did was go to the big celebrations; hours spent eating white cake with sickening pure sugar icing, small plates of cashews and powdered sugar mints, lime in

  Editor’s Note: I was assigned to the US Army Headquarters for all of Europe located in Heidelberg, Germany in August 1985. A few months after arriving I  was promoted to major. Having never been to Europe it was an exciting adventure for all of us. This article was a response to a letter I sent Conrad soon after my promotion. Dear Vernon: Got your letter yesterday, and it sure was good to hear from you. Congratulations on the promotion. Making Major in today’s army is no mean feat. Sorry to hear the raise in pay falls considerably short of matching the newly acquired status. Major Vollertsen: it has a ring to it. Nancy’s bound to be proud. I know Dad is. I feel certain that it was no coincidence your letter arrived at the height of the hunting season as it did. It must be nice living in Germany, and touring all of Europe in your free time, but did I read a note of whimsy between the lines? What could be better than a covey rise off the side of a plum thicketed hillside where th