tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post7480514151280700175..comments2024-02-08T07:32:20.315-06:00Comments on Steve Bates - Yellow Doggerel Democratic Views: Bill Bates At 90Steve Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587223243120009776noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-29788264612471062662011-01-08T15:16:00.659-06:002011-01-08T15:16:00.659-06:00What a lovely memory of your dad!!!
Thanks for s...What a lovely memory of your dad!!! <br /><br />Thanks for sharing it!Kay Dennisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02646717192332313215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-71185511092321451622010-01-07T20:26:45.134-06:002010-01-07T20:26:45.134-06:00Thank you, gentlemen all. There are many reasons f...Thank you, gentlemen all. There are many reasons for one's political outlook; Dad had a few classic ones for his: he labored from about 10 years old to help feed his mother and brothers; he saw firsthand the impact of poverty on the structural integrity of a family; he learned to read before he went to school (so did I, by the way) and read everything that caught his attention, including books supposedly too "advanced" for a preteen; he headed for college with $20 in his pocket and the shirt on his back, went hungry a couple of semesters when his football scholarship got in the way of his academics (did I mention that Dad was 5'8" and played lineman [guard or tackle] against much bigger guys?); and so on. Dad loved learning, and eventually when he entered his career he loved teaching. His compassion and his gradual emergence from the lower class to the middle both made him the perfect Democrat for the age. It's no surprise at all that I turned out the way I did. (Mom was no dummy, either, but it's a while until her birthday...)Steve Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07587223243120009776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-14140898216020766522010-01-07T16:32:09.090-06:002010-01-07T16:32:09.090-06:00Great post Steve and a pleasure to know that many ...Great post Steve and a pleasure to know that many of us cherish the lives of our fathers and carry forward their stories of life.mandthttp://adgitadiaries.blog-city.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-16095606201669349972010-01-07T09:45:03.510-06:002010-01-07T09:45:03.510-06:00I'll second the Birthday wishes. I grew up in ...I'll second the Birthday wishes. I grew up in a family of FDR worshipers as well. My bed at grandma's house had a picture of FDR hanging over it. The Great Depression really hit Western Virginia hard, so hard that my father and his brother had to live in a Presbyterian home for children for a few years as my grandparents couldn't feed them. FDR's policies and actions saved a lot of people from real starvation.fallenmonkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17652766170343957948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872647804241988041.post-59665726352763554592010-01-07T05:07:32.612-06:002010-01-07T05:07:32.612-06:00Happy birthday, Bill, and thanks for helping bring...Happy birthday, Bill, and thanks for helping bring a wonderful voice to the world.Mustang Bobbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06953564926706598987noreply@blogger.com