[May 23, 2024] It was my only dime. I was standing at the checkout counter at the Bastrop Piggly Wiggly Grocery store with my Mom. And there it was, a March of Dimes card with slots where a dime could be placed, the money used for funding polio research. I was looking forward to getting my first candy in weeks. Alas, my dime went into the card’s dime slot. I admit that I was torn between a delicious candy bar in my pocket and giving up my only dime.
In truth, getting polio was the only disease that scared me as a kid. I knew kids with polio, and I feared having to live inside an iron lung, lying on my back with the machine helping me breathe. It was more than life or death, being unable to have regular friends, other kids being scared of you, or running through the neighborhoods like a crazy kid. I was fortunate that schoolchildren began receiving the polio vaccine in large numbers around 1955. I entered first grade in 1958. One of our first tasks was to line up and get the shot in the left arm. A scab formed and later fell off, leaving a distinctive scar. That scar would be our badge of courage, proving for the first time we were immune to this scourge of a disease.
In church, school, and at home, I was always told that “giving was better than receiving.” Using a kid’s logic, there is no way that could be true. Or, so I thought it was wrong. It was simply more fun to get things than give stuff away. But Mom insisted we give each other presents on our birthdays and Christmas. Mom was great, only twice a year. On special holidays, like Thanksgiving or Easter, we give our friends and family a small, cheap card. “Just write your name on the back of the card,” our teacher suggested. Then, every classmate received one from every other classmate.
In my younger years, I gave my sister Terri a present that was usually something like a clothespin, with a scrap of material for a dress glued on and two eyes drawn with a pencil. Crude, but I made it “with love.” For my brother Philip, the gifts were easier. I painted the face and gun of a plastic soldier toy that Dad gave me. And it didn’t matter that the paint peeled off surprisingly fast. One year, I gave him a pretty rock (better than coal in your Christmas stocking and prettier).
Sometimes, I would give my sister insects and small animals. I thought it was funny to see her reaction. She was a girl, and girls were afraid of bugs and animals. Terri was good about not reporting me to Mom for being a prick. Some of the better gifts were lizards, and they were fast, frogs which were slow, lightning bugs caught at night, mosquito hawks, dung beetles, carpenter bees that looked like a regular bees but with no stinger, and a de-stingered honey bee. Of course, they were all healthy and alive.
Presents for Mom and Dad were a different story. They had to be perfect presents, requiring some serious thinking. What did they need? What did they like? Most importantly, what could I afford? What I could pay was important because that meant something less than one dollar, and that dollar took me weeks to save when I was very young.
On Sundays at church service, we gave what we could by putting our nickel or dime in the collection plate. Sometimes, Mom would give us each a quarter to put into the plate, with strict instructions not to pocket the money. Dad explained that the money went to the Chinese who were starving to death in the millions. I thought he was exaggerating; he was not.
At the end of every school year, it was expected to give your teacher a small gift. I always forgot. It was my job to remember these things. Mom told me it was all on me. Others remembered, and, yes, I was embarrassed. A little shame to motivate goes a long way.
Never forget a birthday was the rule. My Mom, Dad, brother Philip and sister Terri’s birthdays are seared into my brain. I can never, ever forget them. On the other hand, my youngest sister Paula’s birthday, 12 years younger, was easy to mix up, and I often get it wrong to this day. When I left home at 17, she was only 5. No excuse.
I think I was mainly a happy-go-lucky kid without much worries. I was just forgetful because I was not focused, and that was a problem that would haunt me and create embarrassing situations. In Junior and High School, I was one of “those kids” who rarely turned in his homework on time. This was not a workable way to have a good life. I lived and I hope those victims eventually did forget.
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NOTE: See all my letters here: https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
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Please read my books:
Exceptional and loving letters to his granddaughter. I could read them every day.
Liz, that’s for sure. I give them five thumbs up.
👍👍👍👍👍
Gen. Satterfield, you’ve written another masterpiece letter. Please Please Please continue to write your letters to your granddaughter and publish them here for all of us to read and appreciate and enjoy. This series is above all other series and for many reasons that some of us will not appreciate. For example, we are brought to the lessons of these letters, those lessons/rules that as a little boy you were taught but, as you note, you didn’t understand until later in life. You also noted that you fell behind in school and your social life because of those failures to learn. But, what is most important here, IMHO, is that you came around and because a master of them. Well done. Please continue to publish.
Here I am, logging on at mid-morning my time and what do i find but another wonderful letter from Gen. Satterfield. Others have noted that this is one year now since you started and I can say without prejudice that your letters are loving. But more importantly, the tell a story of you that needs telling for your grandkids and eventually, their children too. Keep writing!
Me? I hope he does keep writing thee letters.
Wellington, I do think we all hope that is the case. We are now at number 74 and in his earlier article he wrote that he would write 100 letters. Maybe we could encourage him to continue even more.
JT, I’ll have to wait and see how popular or not these letters remain.
Gen. Satterfield, I see that many of my peers have said everything I wanted to say, so I will note that your letters to your granddaughter have inspired me to write to my future grandchildren too. I will be taking ideas from you. On the other hand, I will note that your must have had an exciting childhood and without iPhones, tv, electronic games, computers, or the variety of games anyone can find online today and order and have in their mailbox the next day. Times have changed. I’m not sure all for the better.
Gen. Satterfield, you never fail to impress us with your letters. Now number 74 and a full year of these in your greatest series.
The fear of polio ……
“In truth, getting polio was the only disease that scared me as a kid. I knew kids with polio, and I feared having to live inside an iron lung, lying on my back with the machine helping me breathe. It was more than life or death, being unable to have regular friends, other kids being scared of you, or running through the neighborhoods like a crazy kid. I was fortunate that schoolchildren began receiving the polio vaccine in large numbers around 1955. I entered first grade in 1958. One of our first tasks was to line up and get the shot in the left arm. A scab formed and later fell off, leaving a distinctive scar. That scar would be our badge of courage, proving for the first time we were immune to this scourge of a disease. ” – Gen. Doug Satterfield tells us of the diseases that scared him or not as a kid.
I’m sure there is someone who has written about the fear of disease. Today we have almost nothing to fear. But prior to the medical revolution, so to speak, since about the 1980s, things have gone pretty well for us all.
Gen. Satterfield, your letters never disappoint. And now I learned about a grocery store that I never heard of, Piggly Wiggly.
… and looking deeper into the letters, we also will see the beginnings of a good man who joined the us army and left as a general. What a great story of an American Patriot. 🇺🇸
One of the great things about these letters, other than learning about Gen. Satterfield as a little boy is that we are learning where he got the idea of some basic “rules for a good life.” Now, all us regular readers will know about his books and the best is ’55 rules for a good life’ and that book gives us also insight into Gen. S. himself. Let us not forget that the lessons/rules that he learned, he is giving back to us as recommendations and is not using the finger-wagging moralistic approach, but a simple pragmatic view and lets us decide if we will follow them. These letters are the foundation, so all who are reading them should be paying close attention. IMHO.
Gen. Satterfield can you write letters for me?
Wow, just wow! #74 ❤ Great letter. 💌 And loving letter too.
Sir, another loving letter that tells of the times you had to learn about being a person who gives, rather than someone who receives. The Bible teaches us about this very idea, yet, it is so difficult to learn.
Great “letter to my granddaughter” and I’m continuing to love all your letters, Gen. Satterfield. Frankly, other than your letters, I’ve never seen anything like it. I know that we write letters, and much of that skill and experience is gone in the age of smart phones, texting, and computers, but we should not forget the old ways of communicating with our families and friends. These letters go a long way to making me think about my childhood too and how much I loved getting letters.
Indeed, these are great. And, now that this series has been going on now for a year, I’m hooked on them.
Gen. Satterfield sure knows how to write a letter!!!!!!!
Forgetting birthdays. Rule: Don’t forget a birthday.
“Never forget a birthday was the rule. My Mom, Dad, brother Philip and sister Terri’s birthdays are seared into my brain. I can never, ever forget them. On the other hand, my youngest sister Paula’s birthday, 12 years younger, was easy to mix up, and I often get it wrong to this day. When I left home at 17, she was only 5. No excuse.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield. Got it. Don’t forget. Mark your calendar. Be organized. Keep up. Pay attention. Oh, am I starting to sound like my parents?
Yes you are Otto but that is okay. We all forget but the rule is to remember. So let us thank now Gen. S. for reminding us to communicate to our children and grandchildren with letters that remain forever.
One of the hard rules to follow, I might add.✔
Nice …..
Indeed, an excellent letter and we are now at number 74. I cannot imagine if I had that many letters from my grandfather, and what a treasure they would be. Gen. Satterfield, well done! Keep writing your letters. From my calculations, this is your one year anniversary of these letters. Darn good.
YES, it is better to give than to receive but that is not often the mindset of a child. They have to be both taught to know that giving is better and why. Children are self-centered. Our job as parents is to show them how to grow out of that self-centeredness. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
… a lesson most of us never learn. Just look at certain segments of the population and how narcississtic they are.
THese are among the many good rules of life that Gen. Satterfield so often writes about. AND, because I can, I will highly recommend his book, “55 rules for a good life.” Thank you all.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌
Good comment.
Hey folks, I found an American flag that is big and thought that I might share it will all of you here.
If you can, go ahead and copy it and paste it anywhere there are American patriots.
Love America, or leave it.
Hi USA Patriot II, I had to remove the flag because it was distorted and took up too much room. Thanks for trying.