I was looking real spiffy in January of 1958 when I got new a new suit, well sort of new, I got a hand-me-down suit from my uncle Corky.  One thing about having an uncle only five years older than me was I got a lot of the clothes that he had grown out of.  This actually wasn’t so bad because Corky, my mother’s brother, was the baby of the family and, as they say in the south, he was spoiled rotten by Fred and Waive always buying him new clothes some which I think he only wore once if at all, so for many years I got his clothes which sometimes were a little too big.      

After Grandma and Grandpa sold the house across the street, the Weaver family moved in, Dr. Marion Weaver was a dentist who was married and had four kids, three daughters and one son.  The son was my age named Hank who I became good friends with. Soon after the Weaver’s moved in Hank broke his leg and had a cast on it for several weeks, he said he got his leg dirty and stuck in in the washing machine to clean it which broke it.  

Sue and Jim lived in St. Petersburg and Jim was working for Belk Lindsey.  

Larry 1st Grade

School started in September with Brenda in the second grade and Hank Weaver and I started first grade together with Mrs. Petley as the teacher. The new Littlewood Elementary School was still under construction, so we went to the just finished Westwood School Junior High School although my class was in a temporary classroom building.  In the morning one of the mothers would drive us to school and we would walk home in the afternoon which was quite a walk for us little boys being one and a half miles. I did average in school making all 3’s and Mrs. Petley not after the first quarter said that my “speech impediment has not proved to be a handicap to him thus far.” and by the end of the year I reached Level II in reading.

 
Larry first row middle, Hank Weaver sitting across from me.

In June, Brenda, David and I spent a week going to Vacation Bible School at North Central Baptist Church which we spent several hours each morning at the church learning bible stories.  It was fun to spend time with other kids and we always got a snack and time to play. 

That summer the song “The Purple Eater” came out and we kids heard it for the first time on the radio in the car.  We didn’t listen to the radio much at home, mainly Dad did to listen to a Gator football or basketball game, but never for music.  When we first heard, what we called, “The Flying Purple Eater” song, we thought it was the funniest thing and a couple of weeks later Mom bought us the song on a single 45 record which then we played on a small record player on the porch.  We would play it and dance to it singing the refrain each time with a hand on our forehead, finger pointing out as a horn.  

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me.  One eye?

After working at the University of Florida chemistry department for ten years Morris got promoted from a stock clerk to an Assistant Curator and got a five hundred dollar a year raise.  

In September Betty and Billy’s third child was born who they named Timothy William Yawn but everyone called him Timmy.  

A couple of weeks before Christmas Dad took the family out and got a Christmas tree which soon had many presents placed under it.  First thing Christmas morning we all got up and opened our presents.  Mom sat in a chair and had one of us kids get a present from under the tree and bring it to her then she would read the little card on it, “To Larry, From Santa” and hand the gift to the person and every year David and I got socks from Grandma Junior .  There were many gifts from Santa but we kids also bought each other as well as Mom and Dad small presents.  I got a white football which I always thought was strange for who ever heard of a football being white?  David got a horse that he could sit on and ride around and a large fire engine truck that had a long ladder on it.  Brenda got a large doll.  

David, Larry, Brenda, Dad in back
Firetruck ladder between Larry and Brenda

Updated: 07-11-2022

Project Orion