"Choices" (standard:Editorials, 45684 words)
Author: Kenneth Nash	Added: May 29 2007	Views/Reads: 5086/9393	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Auobiograpy of author Kenneth Nash

CHAPTER ONE 

After my mother went to be with the Lord in October, 2000, at the age of
eighty years, I found a story she had started writing.  It told of her 
life beginning with her earliest memories.  Even though we had spent 
hours talking about the “old days,” it was such a pleasure to read the 
accounts of her life, as she remembered them. 

It is my hope that maybe my children and grandchildren will find the
following interesting as well.  I am the first to understand that I am 
not a “writer”. (I wouldn't even attempt this without “back-space and 
spell check”). 

Someone once told me “Kenny you have lived three or four lives in one”.
While this was meant to be a joke, it is true that there is much that I 
cannot remember.  I am glad Mom was diligent in putting dates and 
places in my baby book.  The first ten years of my life are recorded in 
that raggedy old book with the front cover missing. 

I was born on a Sunday night, March 3, 1940, to Julia (Judy) Bell
Wallace Nash and William Paul Nash at Hickory Ridge, Arkansas.  I later 
referred to Hickory Ridge as the “hub of the universe”.  In reality, 
Hickory Ridge was, and still is, just a wide place in the road.   Mom 
and dad lived in an old two story, white, frame house. I am not sure if 
Hickory Ridge even had a general store or post office.  About forty 
five years later, I took my children (whom I shall talk more about 
later) to see the “place where daddy was born”.  The old house is gone 
from under the big oak tree.  Brendan, my second to oldest son, was 
about six then. He said, “Dad, you mean to say you were born under that 
big tree?” 

There were two other children born to mom and dad.  Jeannie arrived on
February 22, 1942 and Jim (Butch) on March 9, 1946. 

According to Mom's “official” baby book records my early childhood was
pretty much a normal one - the exception being that when I was five I 
had to have my appendix removed.  What makes this stand out in my mind 
is that mom, dad, and I had gone to a movie that night. I had 
over-indulged in the bag of peanuts and developed a bad tummy ache. Dad 
was sure it was as a result of eating too many peanuts. Finally, after 
much crying on my part and, loss of sleep for them, mom called 
Granddaddy Wallace.  They took me to the hospital and an appendectomy 
was immediately performed.  I was nearly twenty years old before I 
would eat another peanut.  If daddy said it was because of the peanuts, 
I wasn't taking any chances! 

I was born with my right eye severely crossed and had my first pair of
glasses at the age of three. 

Another memorable experience was when I was age seven, mom and I took
the passenger train to Decatur, Alabama and back to Arkansas.  I loved 
the train ride. Especially going to the dining car where there were 
pretty plates and glasses. The silverware was really silver.  I had not 
seen anything like that before. 

By the time I entered high school, I had gone to so many different
schools I lost count. I enrolled in the first grade at Hickory Ridge 
(back then we didn't know anything about Kindergarten). I went to 
Hickory Ridge for about three months, and then we moved to Wiville, 
Arkansas, where I attended for two weeks.  During this time Dad had 
gone to work for a company that constructed grain elevators and rice 
driers. This required travel for all of us. I finished out my first 
grade at Lafayette Elementary in Decatur, Alabama.  Although I do not 
have a lot of recall of the stay in Decatur, there are a couple things 
that stand out to me.  I remember Mom and me walking the two or three 
blocks to the Tennessee River.  I was fascinated with the steamships 
and the paddle boats that floated up and down the river. There were 
many pretty shade trees on the banks.  We lived in an upstairs room of 
an old hotel. It had just one big room that served as kitchen, living 
room, and bedroom. When Dad had a day off from work, he and some of his 
friends would drink beer and play cards.  They usually sat out in the 
narrow hall near the stairs. Why I do not know except there was not 
much room inside. Or maybe it was because Mom made them drink beer 
outside. On one such day, I decided I would drink some beer too. When 
they were real attentive to the game, I would get a bottle and go under 


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