August 4, 2020 (Tuesday)
Today we come to the end of our series on the presidents of the United States. At the end of this page, there is a link to a page about the 45th president, Donald Trump. At the end of that page, there is a link to more information about all the presidents and vice presidents. This is the final installment of our blogs about the presidents.
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August 4 always rings a bell for me, reminding me about the birthday of my uncle, Lloyd Forest Lowe. From the time I was 10 years old until I was 13, my sisters and I lived with our grandparents and we saw little of our parents. I did not realize at the time, but Uncle Lloyd tried very hard to fill in as a father figure for me, taking me places and doing things with me that were a lot of fun. When the picture below was taken, I was almost 11, and Uncle Lloyd was 33.
Charles and Uncle Lloyd – Summer of 1942
I had no idea that his motive for spending time with me was to do what my father, at the time, was not able to do. Uncle Lloyd was drafted after the picture above was taken and served in an armored division, in England, but for some reason (possibly medical) was honorably discharged and came back home to Houston before the war (ww2) was over.
I’m slow to realize things sometimes, and only recently as I thought back over those years came to see what he was doing for me. He spent a lot of time with me. There were plenty of opportunities for me to get on the wrong path in our neighborhood, but that never happened. One of the reasons may have been the interest shown in me by Uncle Lloyd.
After both my parents married new partners, I gradually saw less of Uncle Lloyd. He married and our lives changed. He and his wife, Martha, had one daughter, Linda.
I spent time with my father when we went on fishing trips and with my stepfather as we went from one market to another and other places, taking care of business for his restaurants. They taught me to drive and I always felt loved by both of them. I arrived on the other side of those treacherous teen age years in good shape, ready to go to college and prepare for the ministry.
These paragraphs have focused on the man-boy relationship. The women were important to me also. More about them in another blog.
Memories, memories
Dreams of love so true
O’er the sea of memory
I’m drifting back to you
Childhood days, wild wood days
Among the birds and bees
You left me alone, but still you’re my own
In my beautiful memories.
Today’s president is the last of the series on our presidents.
Following the photo of Donald Trump on the next page, you can click on a link for summaries and details of all the presidents and vice presidents.
At the close of each Tuesday blog I have written about the presidents, in the order of their service.
Today’s president is