In my experience the ladies I’ve met who become friends tend to remain friends through life. As the oldest child in a family of five boys and one girl as I helped Mother – Durell Dickerson Justus – tend babies, sweep floors, wash dishes, mow the yard, and work in garden and field, I came to appreciate and respect women at an early age. With many flowers & shrubs Mother surrounded our rustic home with beauty. To her I was a son and a friend. In the 20 plus years I served in the Air Force and in far off places we kept in touch by writing many letters to each other.
Having that close relationship with Mother helped me in relations with women in general. Considering my years as a student most of my teachers were ladies and no doubt what I learned as Mother’s helper also helped in maintaining good relations with teachers. Perhaps no man can truly see through the eyes of a woman but I learned a lot from the ladies along my trail through life.
Because of such fine ladies in my life I never had a serious problem with women through school years and beyond in married life and a career. Believe me, I am thankful and not bragging! Seeing other serious problems between married couples or in general between the sexes taught me to recall the principles I learned from women friends as well as my wife, mother and grandmothers.
A big plus in my youthful years included the important fact that I grew up surrounded by Christian women! Not only did I have that great benefit, but I was born to the “Greatest Generation,” the era of the Great Depression and World War II. In those time a higher percentage of citizens were Christian and church goers. More adults had good principles and lived by them. Then a child could be sure that to be caught lying was a serious and punishable sin!
Besides the good fortune of being born and reared among farmers and hard workers I went on to find Florine, a lovely Christian lass at Truett-McConnell College, Cleveland, Georgia. She became my friend then and still is to this day. She had one more year to go after I graduated and by then we were engaged. After college, I joined the Air Force as the war began in Korea. Shortly after we were married I was sent for a year to Korea.
In time a sweet daughter, Amy, was born. Later I had to leave my two dearest females behind for a year when war broke out in Vietnam. It was a rejoicing time to return home to two dear ones and put that war behind. Thus, life became better and better. Today Florine and I have two dear grandchildren, Alex and Kelley, children of Amy and her husband, Keith Pointer. Now Alex and Kelley are grown up and in college. Yes, in life I’ve been on the mountain top and in the valley, but the road is clear and life is still a blessing.
