Hap Howard shares fond memories

I would like at this time to thank all of you who participated in our "Growing Up in Fort Scott" series. It has been a joy and so much fun doing this series, hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have in doing it.

The following story was written by Hap Howard. Before he died we wrote email letters back and forth, this one is in response to a letter that I had written him about remembering Valentines Day in Fort Scott "once upon a time." I thought it seemed to fit right in with our "Growing Up in Fort Scott" series. Unless I receive some more "Growing Up in Fort Scott" letters by this weekend, this is the last one. Again, thanks to all of you for making this series possible. Hope to see you all at the all-school reunion.

"Hi Marilyn,

"A fine memory you have.

"At the Hammond school we exchanged cards, too, but no party. No ugly cards as I remember.

"Speaking of which, your brain is like your TV picture tube, in a way. That tube is 'refreshed,' re-painted 55 times a second. My mind can't fathom that, but THEY say it does, so who am I to disbelieve.

"Your brain works in much the same way. You have to REFRESH it to retain it. Use it or lose it.

"As an example, I took calculus for three semesters at K-State. I have never used it, so the only thing I remember was the first and simplest thing I learned. The derivative of X is 2X; everyone should know that. In a more complicated equation the derivative is the 'slope of the line.' That is really necessary to know.

"Please don't quote me on any of this, or people would see the dumb showing through.

"You are correct about the candy at Kress. We often made a Saturday afternoon trip to Fort Scott from Hammond corner. During the war the speed limit was 35, and my dad would never think of going any faster. There was a war on.

"A trip to Kress was a must. My mother reminded me of our trips to the toy department, also on the south wall. The clerks knew that I would be in, and they would always show me the new stuff. Then I would say, 'Gee, I wish I could have ona doze.' I suppose the clerks all felt sorry for the poor little boy who only got to look, and maybe even touch, and they would hand me a sucker or perhaps a licorice stick. Were those the good old days or what?"

-- Hap Howard