Chapman Newsom and his neighbour talk about the Vietnam War and the social atmosphere of the United States through the decades

00:01 All right. My name is Chapman Newsom I am 18 years old. Today is November 26th, and I'm speaking with Mr. Hank Battle. He's my neighbor, basically, like a second grandfather to me. So I'll be asking him some questions.

00:15 All right.

00:16 So, Mr. Hank, so where were you born?

00:18 Born in Birmingham.

00:20 Awesome.

00:21 On Highland Avenue.

00:22 Okay.

00:24 January 12, 1945.

00:26 Okay. And what was your family life like growing up? What was kind of the atmosphere around that?

00:32 Fantastic.

00:33 It's good.

00:33 Just as a little. I had two older brothers, and then later I had a younger sister, but we lived in Red Acres, which is right off Green Springs highway where the Green Springs park is going into Birmingham. There, a bunch of young kids grew up with all that and just had a. I'd say, a great childhood. Roaming around the neighborhood and all that, just into all kind of stuff. So it was. It was really, I'd say, a fun time.

01:05 Yeah.

01:06 Of course, I had two older brothers, so it was always. And they always get me into stuff. Trouble.

01:11 Yeah. It's kind of like my childhood, I guess, because I got an older brother and then. I know you went to the same elementary school as me. East. So East. What was it like back then?

01:23 It was a county school.

01:24 Okay.

01:25 In Jefferson County. And it went through the. Let's see, the sixth grade. So anyway, it was like it is now.

01:38 Yeah.

01:39 It was the only school up there on the mountain. We moved up on chase Chris Road, 1949.

01:46 Okay.

01:47 It wasn't even a city then, so this tape wasn't. So anyway, so. But it was a great school, and just everybody was real close and things. And I guess we all grew up at the same time about. Well, the war world. The World War II had ended. So we all grew up in that area, that era, and were influenced by our parents and all that during that time. That kind of carried on and. But it was a neat place. Very hometown, like. And Halloween, the neighbors, you'd go around, trick or treat. They would make things. But they had brownies and.

02:34 Yeah.

02:35 Candy apples they made and stuff. Totally different from what it is.

02:39 Yeah. That's really cool.

02:40 So it was. It was a great, great time. I played on the first Little League team when they first started Little League there at east and things. So it was. It was a neat place.

02:53 Sounds neat.

02:54 Yeah.

02:54 So this is kind of a. Odd question, but in elementary school, I just thought of this. Did y'all have to ever do, like, bomb shelters, like, during the Cold War? Were you old enough? Okay.

03:06 Yes. That was one thing that they did. And they had it on. Well, on television some. And they had things in school they showed you about if there's a flash, you get behind a tree.

03:23 Yeah.

03:23 Or anything to block. And that was supposedly atomic explosion.

03:28 Yeah.

03:29 And then they. And they had films that showed it back when they tested those. Those first bombs out in the desert and things showing them blowing houses over and all this stuff. And so it was. It was like that if there was a bright flash, you're supposed to get under your desk.

03:48 Yeah.

03:48 And went through things like that. But it scared the heck out of it.

03:53 Yeah.

03:54 Because first time, I think the kids realize, I guess you could die or the world come to an end.

04:03 Yeah.

04:03 And all of a sudden you start living with that. And so it does, I think, affects you long term. But. Yeah, we had a lot of that and you didn't. My biggest thing was I always wondered if they dropped a bomb on Birmingham. As a kid I went, can I get home run home?

04:24 Yeah.

04:25 Before the force hits the house so I could be home with the family. That was the thing that bothered me all the time, I think. Would I be able to make it home? So I guess at young age like that. Yeah, that's kind of. But those are things that worried you.

04:44 Yeah. That's interesting. Yeah. And then tell me about college. What was that?

04:50 Oh, gee. I went to Montevideo and business administration. What I studied majoring in. And of course, Vietnam started up and just started heated up to a point to where if you were a junior, most juniors would be thinking, what career do I want to try to follow and what I'm going to do. But back then, all the juniors were thinking, because when you graduated as a senior, you went in the military.

05:31 Yeah.

05:32 And, you know, guys were dying right and left over in Vietnam. So everybody when they were juniors was trying to figure out which branch of service I want to go into.

05:44 Yeah.

05:45 There's a less chance of getting killed. It's what it boil down to. And so I'd say everybody was looking at that.

05:52 Yeah.

05:53 And really not on anything else because you got a deferment until you were out of school. And once you graduated, then you were 1A. And it wouldn't be long and you were off.

06:11 Yeah.

06:11 Over the pond. Yeah. So that's kind of what. But as far as school, it was a lot. It was. It was nice. It was small college, but beautiful and just a great place and kind of a hometown type thing. And we had. They had a fire truck on campus and because they had. Had it in case something happened at the college, you had Montevallo, which had a volunteer fire department. I was there, and a friend of mine that came down with me after he wasn't going to college, told his parents, and his parents very wealthy, he was spoiled into. So one day he called me and he said, how did I get in? I said, well, I thought you were coming to college. He said, I'm 1A. And the draft made him go to college. His parents never could make him do it, but draft made him go to college. So anyway. But we both were. Had worked at Vestavia Fire Department in the summertime, just volunteers. And they. Well, they finally old enough to where they let us be volunteers. But we started a college fire department there. We took the engine, reconditioned everything, set it up to where the college had its own college fire department manned by college students. And so that was kind of neat things. I doubt if it's still going on now. Anyway, so that made it real interesting. Yeah, that's cool.

07:55 So we spoke on the Vietnam War a little bit. So were you drafted? And if you did get drafted, what were those, like, first emotions like?

08:03 Well, like I said, it was. That's the thing that was on your mind, and the main thing you're doing, well, gee, where do I want to go? Or what would I like to do? I'd made up my mind that I was going to join the Navy, and my older brother was in the Navy. Bolus brother. And of course, he was out about the time Vietnam started really cranking up. But anyway, everybody was looking at different things. Reserve units or National Guard, you know, joined the National Guard. You joined National Guard, you committed six years. If you were in the Army, I think it was. If you got drafted, I think it was two years.

08:44 Yes, sir.

08:45 And so anyway. But that was. So anyway, at that time, I went around the Guard units and looked at those. And then you talked to different ones. They were all full. Couldn't. Yeah, but they'd take, you know, your application or whatever and just. And so anyway, I made up my mind that I was gonna join the Navy. And then a friend of mine came by that lived down the hall, and he said, hey, there's a recruiter here from the army that if you go, even though we don't have rotc, if you graduate, you can go ahead and sign up now and you'll go in Officer Candidate school and go in as a second lieutenant. And I thought, well, that's. That's. Hey, man, that's not a bad idea, going as an officer, as an enlisted man. So there were Some guys down the hall that had been Deng and they were going to school on GI Bill.

09:45 Okay.

09:45 Or whatever they offered at the time. I talked to them and they said, don't do it. And they said, second lieutenants are dying like flies.

09:55 Yeah.

09:56 And I kind of thought, well, what is it? And he said, you know, he said they, they call them when it were wonders. The point was you got these college students, they graduate and they go into officer school, and the first thing you've done is shift over Vietnam. After some training, they have no experience. They don't know what's going on, but they got to lead. And they lead over all these guys that are battle worn and all. And a lot of stuff. Vietnam back then, there was drugs and all that crap going on. So that was any in Nam. So anyway, and they said. And I didn't believe them. I said. And they said, well, they said, do you see the Navy down here recruiting? I said, no. He said, you see the Army, I mean, the Marines down here? He said, no. So do you see anybody in the Navy down here? Because the only way you could do that is if you in an ROTC program. What? The college didn't have one. And so I said, why do you think the army is down here offering them? And they said the whole point was they can't fill their officer corps. Oh, yeah, they're short. So they cut the requirements. And they said, that ought to tell you something.

11:17 Yeah.

11:17 So anyway, I went home to my dad and talked to him and he said, son, I'll back you in whatever you do. He said, smart. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. And so I thought about it. I said, well, he may have something there.

11:42 Yeah.

11:42 So anyway, and I was going, Ted. Ted White was his name. We were going together on a buddy plan and all that stuff. So I came back. I passed 10. I've decided we'd already signed something, but he was gonna make another loop back by this recruiter and you had to sign something else. And so we were going in, buddy playing together and all that stuff, which is probably a bunch of bulls. Probably didn't do that when you get you. Anyway, I told Ted, I made up my mind I wasn't going to do it. I was just going to wait, graduate, join the Navy. And so anyway, he stuck with the plan. Six months after he got to Vietnam, he was killed. I went to. I got a call from a guard unit and they said, we've got an opening now. And we were looking for Somebody in the accounting field in one of the headquarters company and they said, would you be interested? And I said, well, heck yeah.

12:38 Yeah.

12:38 So I went ahead and joined and towards the end of my junior year I had to go ahead and go off to in the military training and all that. So I went off and figured I'd just come back when I got that part behind me. But I'd be in the guard for six years. So that's the path that I followed. And so anyway, but it was as far as the Vietnam thing. It was a terrible time. There was all kind of demonstrations here, anti Vietnam stuff. It was really. Some people think this is bad now, but it was bad back then. And the Democratic convention, I remember that year they had a huge riot. They had, I think Chicago, but all these anti war types and the biggest thing for me being born during the end of World War II and your parents and uncles, that's all they talked about, that's all you heard. And it was a time when the whole country came together and helped everybody. Grandparents talk about any military person thumbing on the side of the road, they stop and pick them up because we're at war and somebody's son and they would take them as far as they were going away. And all this country came together. And I know my two older brothers were going out hunting for scraps, metal. They packed it, turned it over because government's looking for metal to melt smelt for defense, old tires. If you found an old tire, you bring it, they'd have that collection. And so it was a time of closeness, coming together and everybody highly respected and admired those people that were in the military and that's what you brought up on. And so when I went into active duty and stuff, it was just reverse. Yeah, you were looked at as one of those baby killers and all this stuff. And I had been raised on this thing about the country and World War II and this United thing and it wasn't there. And I know one time I got a three day pass and I was at Fort Polk at the time. And so I went home. There's four or five of us off from Alabama and one guy had a car. So we went to Shreveport, cost 100 bucks to pay a cab, go to Shreveport, we call plane back into Birmingham and the guys had the cars come by, pick everybody up, head back Sunday, it was like on Friday we got home. So it was kind of dad been in the hospital, had surgery on to see him. So anyway, it got Sunday and dad said, son, I'll get you A ticket back. You can stay, wait flight Sunday afternoon. So I said, okay. So he arranged everything. Arranged a car at Shreveport airport at Hertz. And I would go there and pick up the car and go down to Leesville to Fort Pope. And you had to be down there by midnight Sunday or your awol, which meant I wait without leave. So I got there and I went up to get the car and the guy asked me, where you going? I said, we're going to Fort Polk, right down there. He said, you in the army? I said, yes. And I said, and he said, we don't rent to military. And wouldn't he give me the car? I had 30 bucks in my wallet. That's all I had no telling when a bus, Greyhound bus would be running by to get there. Would you get there in time? Yeah, it was $100 to get somebody to camp to take. Didn't have enough money for that. And I just thought that was so anyway, I sat there. So I just called my dad and talked to him. He said, put the guy on the phone. They had a long talk. Anyway, he finally hung up and said, here's the keys, go. He said, I may get fired, but you go. So he gave it to me and I drove and got back in time. You had a place to turn the car in, but it was on a weekend, so I parked it in a church. And that afternoon when I got off, I guess your personal time went out of the post into town and was able to drive the car over and turn it in. But that was the first experience about. Because that's not what I learned from World War II. Everybody helped them anyway, and I felt so. But then it got to where they told us, don't wear your uniform off post. And it's just really. You talk about that affected me and I guess everybody more than anything.

17:53 Yeah.

17:53 And then when I finally got released from active duty training and send me back to the guard unit here in Birmingham, and it was a what they call a dust off unit, which was a medical evac that you go in and pick up critically wounded in a frontline unit. And they called, they were dust off men critically wounded. And the LZ is hot, which LZ stands for landing zone. Hot means they're taking fires under fire. But you had to go in there and get them out because these guys were critically wounded. So the helicopter had to go in there and pick them up. But it never set down. It stayed off the ground because they had the rotors were going at almost liftoff speed. It was wanting to go. And the whole idea was you gotta get them and get out of there fast. Cause you can't tell what's coming from where. And all this stuff. And so they call it dust off. It finally dawned. Duck the helicopter when you come in, sit down, you're not on the ground and it's stirring up because it's Rick, it's blowing grass, dust, whatever, everywhere. So that was a code for if a unit called for dust off. That meant that's really cool. That's what you had to do. And so that was the type of unit I was in. So anyway, but when I finally got it was going back. Parents had a ticket for me on Trans Texas Airlines, which was. Is now Southwest. Back then we called it treetop airline, because old DC prop engine on each wing. Anyway, I landed in New Orleans, went to Delta, and of course I had my uniform on, all that. And that's all you had to wear. And so parents had a ticket for me at the Delta counter to get and fly to Birmingham. So I went up to get it. One thing about, I'd say the airlines back then, if I remember correctly, they had a thing military could fly, no charge if they had an open seat. In other words, when they got ready to load the plane, if somebody didn't show up and had a seat, well, then the military person, they would give them that seat, which was nice. But again, the same thing. I went up to the desk to get the ticket and the guy looked at me in the uniform. He said, go ahead, sit down, I'll call you if we got a place. Never asked. And you know, that kind of ticked me off. I finally told him, I said, look, I got a ticket paid for on this plane. I'm going to be on the plane. And he kind of. But you just see the attitude. Another thing that got me. Airports were very depressing. Yeah, it was a long time before I got over that. Because back then, the times you were in there, it was either a joyous time for some people that someone had gotten leave and had come home. But then again, it was full of military personnel everywhere. And they were usually just sitting around or either the family sad because they were having to go back.

21:15 Yeah.

21:16 And all that. And it was, you know, it was just a feeling throughout the airport. I guess at my age you felt that and you saw people just kind of sitting around or some families crying and all that stuff. And it really was just depressing. And so it's just. It was a terrible time for the military. And they shouldn't have been treated that way because they were there because the country called on them. And so anyway, that's my opinion. I can't stand Lyndon Johnson. He was president at the time. You don't ask families to give up their loved ones for something like that.

21:55 Yeah.

21:55 Cause it is. If they lose one, they never get over it.

22:00 Yeah.

22:00 They live it the rest of their lives. Other people, they come home, war is over, forget about it. Having a wonderful time. Those people suffer the rest of their life. And it's sad. So anyway.

22:13 Yeah.

22:13 If that gives you a thing about the Vietnam. And it should have never happened.

22:16 Yeah.

22:17 That war should have never been there. And I kind of blame Lyndon Johnson for it. It's one nation today, and we do trade with them.

22:27 Yeah.

22:27 And Ho Chi Minh came from World War II. Okay. The United States and Japan invaded Vietnam along with China.

22:41 Yeah.

22:41 And they were terrible in China. They had one place called the Rape of Nanking. Japanese were brutal. Well, Ho Chi Minh wanted to drive the Japanese out of Vietnam, but he had no way. And the United States started putting what you call today some special Forces. And we would still fight the German and Japanese, but we started sneaking weapons in Ho Chi Minh to fight the Japanese.

23:09 Yeah.

23:10 And so he was very pro American at the end of the war. And he read Thomas Jefferson. The guy read Thomas Jefferson.

23:18 That's interesting.

23:20 And at the end of the war, that was a French province. And at the end of the war, the powers that be, England, France, the United States got together to kind of divide up things. And Ho Chi Minh wrote a letter to President Harry Truman quoting Thomas Jefferson, asking him not to allow. To come back to a French province, but let it be one nation, the nation of Vietnam. And Harry Truman never got it. Eisenhower came in as the next president. He was commander in chief of Allied forces during World War II. He wrote a letter to Eisenhower, but Eisenhower never got staff, I guess, just decided it wasn't worth. So anyway, they turned Vietnam over to back over to the French as a French colony or whatever. That started Vietnam. Uncle Ho Chi Minh. Then at that time, after that, he was disappointed. So the Soviets started coming in. And so they provided him with arms and stuff. That's where the difference came between north and South. Then he became friends of the communists. And that's where Vietnam came. All he wanted is for it to be one nation.

24:37 Yeah.

24:37 And it could have been that way. And you think about it today, that's 58,000 lives would not have been sacrificed. And think of the number of families that were affected. And the whole Point was, the guy admired Thomas Jefferson. He looked at America as a friend.

24:59 Yeah.

24:59 And yet the way it was done, we wound up fighting a war.

25:04 Yeah.

25:04 That wound up killing 58,000 of our people. And in the end, it became one nation like Ochi men always wanted. And we're doing business with me. And so it's. That's a. You look at the whole thing as tragic. Yeah, it's tragic. And it's just. Whoever the president is, if you got children, you gotta make darn sure you got a president in there. Cause he's commander in Chief. That is darn good.

25:35 Yeah.

25:36 So that's kind of the Vietnam story all, but sometimes it needs to be told, you know.

25:44 So speaking of those presidents, like Lyndon B. Johnson and Eisenhower and Truman, like the economic, the economics, and the social atmosphere of that time, how would you compare it to, like now with President Biden and Trump?

26:02 President Biden and Trump.

26:04 Kind of just like today's world. And that world.

26:07 Well, we're back in. Well, I would say back then, at the end of the war, World War II, the country had been really humming because of World War II. The industry, the United States. Reason, war, many things. One reason the Allies won the war is the manufacturing capability of the United States. And everybody's working. Women were working and making shipped planes. And it turned out so much, the Axis powers just could not keep up with it.

26:46 Yeah.

26:47 I saw an interview with a German panzer commander, which is tanks. Armored tanks. And he said their tanks were superior. But he said, we knock out two Sherman tanks, and that was what we had. Sherman is what he called it. He said forward, take its place. If we knocked out four or six. He said there was no way we could possibly keep up. Our production wouldn't keep up with the United States. Turned out so much to our allies and everybody that it was just so. It gives you an idea of the industrial might of this country. And not only that, but the whole economy was booming because everybody was working. At the end of the war, it kind of tapered off. So you had all these GIs coming from World War II back home. Eisenhower had all people here from other countries looking at today that were not citizens, had them removed and wouldn't take any because he wanted to make room for all the GIs coming back, room for jobs for them and stuff. And Truman had kind of started it, and Eisenhower did it, too. So he was. He was very much so, if that gives you a view there. And now here, now, today, where they're running across the southern border.

28:20 Yeah.

28:20 And the administration tells you the border secure when you. All you got to do is look news it's walking across.

28:31 Yeah, it's not.

28:31 That's true. But you see the difference. One was American people. Another one today is more interested to get people in here and vote that'll vote for them because they're ignorant and it's not their fault. They don't know. But people that will depend on the government for money so they can stay in power, and that's basically what you got. So now today you got all these people just walking across the border and they're looking at. I don't blame them. You know, they look at America's the land of honey and freedom and all this, and they give you. They assume that's the way America is. So it's not their fault. But they're coming. But anyway. And now all the cities and states are having to come up with the money themselves to house and feed people and all this stuff. And the federal government's not doing a thing except let them come in. So that may give you a good comparison between World War II, the presidents then and where they are now. And as far as Trump and Obama or Biden is concerned, again, I admire Trump. He's. He's kind of president I want, especially in the military. Yeah, he didn't believe in getting entangled in all these things. He believed you got something you did quick and fast, and the best way was to do it quick and fast and get it over with. And so all the difference in the world. We didn't have any wars going on when Trump was in there. And it's just. And he met all the commitments he made when he was running. First time I've ever seen one. Now, he had a big mouth. He was always popping off and things, but he did what he said he'd do, and it was all for the American people in all different ways. And I think that's the big thing. Whereas now you got Biden in there and got all these people crossed and across the border and all this stuff, and the country's in debt, deep in debt, which affects us all. That's got to be. It's got to be stopped and more or less get on a economic sound footing, which is going to take a while, but you got people there spending money right and left and just IOUs. So that's the difference between those two. I kind of look at it back. Trump's more like back in World War II. He always reminds me of General George Patton, which was a general World War II famous. I mean, if they'd listen to him, the war had been over quicker. If you just look at some of the things he would. What he. But he was always popping his mouth when the news asked him something. He just tell them truth.

31:22 Yeah.

31:22 He didn't care. And so he got more trouble. Eisenhower, who was commander in chief because he just flat told him.

31:29 Yeah.

31:29 And so. But every time the United States got in trouble, Eisenhower would call on Patton.

31:37 Yeah.

31:38 And he always got them out. He got the job done.

31:42 Yeah.

31:43 And so when you look at it, do you want. Somebody pops his mouth open, but if you need something, he gets it done and gets done what's best for the country? Or would you rather have somebody that's nice and does nothing?

31:57 Yeah.

31:58 You know, so that's kind of a comparison I'd make between the two.

32:02 So going back to like a local viewpoint, I know that you had your own business. So what was that like running it? Yeah.

32:12 Headaches.

32:13 Yeah.

32:13 Now that's a business. It's. It's. Yes, I own part of it, but it's my grandfather, my great uncle started.

32:20 Okay, okay.

32:20 1918. Oh, wow. So it's 105 years old.

32:23 That's pretty old.

32:25 And the family owned. My grandfather and his brother married sisters, so you can imagine that. What kind of family you had.

32:37 Yeah.

32:37 And they built two houses in Forest park, which is in Birmingham, and had one driveway that came up between both houses and then it split off. That's how close a family it was. And then both of them owned parts of the business and then they left it down to, you know, we're the grandchildren and third generation. And so anyway. But my grandfather had a view. The family members didn't come to work then. The employees were the most important. And if there was a place and they needed someone as a family member, then you got treated worse than employees did because you never want an employee to think that someone was better than they were. And that's kind of the philosophy we've carried on to. Sure. There's all these challenges you got, and it's challenging and you got. Well, we've always looked at it like this. We look at it as employees, as family. And a company's done a lot to take care of different people, different times and everything. But I think that makes a good company. When you treat everyone as if they're one of your own, I think it just. It builds a good employee base.

33:56 Yeah.

33:56 Where they like to work, they enjoy and that makes so much. But there's all kind of Challenges with it.

34:02 Yeah.

34:03 And you gotta. We have 45 people. We got 45 different problems. They gonna bring problems from home to work with them and things like that. So you wind up doing a lot of things. Some of it has to do with personal issues that you gotta help with. Then others. So it's a challenge. And then constantly the government's always trying to come up with some new rule of regulation. Most of them are not focused towards bettering the company. It's usually to put some of the burden on them where they can't function as well. And that way you decrease the production. So you're really strangling the economic base that everybody depends on. So that kind of gives you.

34:56 Yeah. And then I just have one more question. It's kind of. There's kind of two parts to it. But having lived 78 years, it's a pretty long time. What would you say the, like the three most important, like personal values you have. And then what would you say, like your biggest regrets or mistakes are and how you learn from them?

35:17 Gee, I got more aggressive mistakes. Yeah. But I would say to me is character. Integrity to me is one of the most important things. And hold to it throughout your whole life. And you may be looked down sometimes about it, but it makes no difference. I think in the end you wind up better off. And that's. That's. One would be having faith in God, trusting him. Church. Whatever church you want to go to.

35:56 Yeah.

35:56 But that's a vital poem. Make your word be your bond.

36:01 Yeah.

36:01 And your handshake. Be a handshake. It means something.

36:05 Yeah.

36:06 And I guess treat other people as if the way you want them to treat you. If you do those three things. And don't be afraid to dream. A lot of things have come out of people that dream about things that could be. Or maybe. And so those would be things you hold to your whole life. And to me, in the end, that pays more dividends than anything. I mean it's. And I think you wind up going places and it's just for your character. But those are solid quality. Regardless of what. It doesn't make any difference what field you're in or what it makes. It's how you treat others. And I think the biggest thing. You'd be surprised sometimes at how many people will say, I want to be just like Chapman.

37:06 Yeah.

37:07 Because they see how he is. May never tell you, never know it. But how you carry yourself and just being integrity, honest. And just stick to the. To the church and things like that and what you Believe in. And don't be afraid to stick your guns. And if you find out you're wrong about something, be willing to admit it.

37:32 Yeah.

37:33 And so. But those are things over a lifetime that just, I think, pays off the most. And just be yourself. Don't try to be anybody else. Oh, if I could do that bit. Just be yourself and be happy with yourself.

37:51 Yeah.

37:52 Be proud of what you do and look at it like, well, this is what I believe. Where, of course, that person don't agree with it. Well, that's that problem, you know, and just a lot of times, opinions are nothing but opinion. That's neither right or wrong. It's just an opinion.

38:07 Yeah.

38:08 And so character is so important.

38:15 And what about those regrets? Regret or just, you know, like things that you got wrong, you had to learn from them. Like the biggest life lessons, maybe.

38:29 Life lessons, I guess, would be wanting to be like somebody else. You see them and you try to be like them because you think Jim Cool is so much better. And you wind up you're not like them. You can't be like them. By the same token, later on you learn, hey, you're not so great after all. But that, I guess, believing in yourself, have confidence. That takes time.

38:56 Yeah.

38:57 I was always one that was more, I guess, two older brothers, you kind of dominated. Yeah, you kind of. And so you kind of look down. No, you got an older brother and so you got that same thing with the younger ones. It's a little bit, I think, a little bit harder. Of course, you got the older brothers bigger than you are and all that dog stuff. When you're younger, you don't think about all this stuff, so it can build kind of a negative outlook at yourself when it shouldn't be. And so I think that was one of the biggest things I had. Although later on in life, my two older brothers always tried to help me. We're always there. But still you begin to question yourself. If you got an older brother and they're out doing one because they're bigger than you are, they're stronger than you are, and if you get in a disagreement, they're going to win because they're bigger and stronger than you are, you know, and all that stuff like that. But don't put yourself down because you have qualities they don't have.

40:01 Yeah.

40:02 And I guess that's the biggest thing I didn't find out or discover that to later on in life. But a lot of it's living. You don't learn until you do. But, gosh, I regret that I guess that one thing, not having confidence in myself and when I didn't do enough things, I don't know, to have confidence. But you get to look down at yourself and you shouldn't. And that's always, gee, that's probably the thing. There's a hundred different things I could say. Regrets, the way I treated some people in high school. Things I said to some that I should have never said. Things. And they just so many little things you look at. Grandparents love them worse than Granny. Worse. Now I look back, wish I'd done more for them than I did. And just you look back on life and stuff. It just.

41:05 But I guess, like the little things are important too.

41:09 They are, yeah, they are a lot of little things. And I guess one of the biggest things for me and I would say is learning to trust God. That's hard to do.

41:28 Yeah.

41:29 And I remember one time my grandparents, Grandfather and grandmother one that founded Electric Repair, one of them founded Electric Repair. They were the best grandparents in the world. My parents would take me and my two older brothers down to Electrical Repair on the weekends and just drop us off. And they had a weekend, you know, because we'd stay with our grandparents the whole weekend. Our parents were real strict. You could have one Coca Cola a week and that's it. When we went to church, you sat there and you didn't move and all this stuff like that. Well, you go to. And we call it Mama and Pop. You go to Mama and Pop's house, they had cases of Coca Colas on the back porch. Freezer full of ice cream. A cake under one of those glass things. Yeah, you want another Coca Cola? Go ahead, get it.

42:20 Sure.

42:20 All right. And every time we'd come home, my mother would say, you boys are spoiled rockers. You're never going there again. And sure enough, a week or two later, we'd be back up there again. But that, you know, we worshiped the ground they worked on. I walked on in the middle of the night. We'd be up here sleeping. My grandfather would get up. He had false teeth. He had to take his teeth out at night and went to sleep. Yeah, he'd get up at like 12 o'clock and come sneaking in the bedroom. You had to kind of be listen for the floor to crack because you knew it was him. You better get up. He would come in here. If he could catch you, he would just lay on top of you. I know he got me one time he fell and he said, oh, poor Henry, poor Henry. A tree's falling on him. And he'd go, whoo. And he said, wolves are coming and he can chew on your ear. Well, we get up in the night, we're running all over the house tied, and he's chasing us. And my grandmother would be back here in the back, holler, Doc, you leave those boys alone. Now, just at 12 o'clock at night.

43:22 That's really good.

43:23 But you talk about fun and just things like that. And when he. I was there when he died. My parents had me stay there tonight. He had heart trouble with my grandmother and they all went home. I was there by myself. Next door was her closest cousins, his brother. His brother died earlier. And so. And they even had a phone back and forth to each other. They had gone to the beach. And my grandfather died, heart attack, 1:00 in the morning. And I'm there with my grandmother. And it was just a terrible time. You loved him so much and you said. I mean, that was. I didn't know what to do except call my parents. But after that my grandmother lived on for many years and still very close to her. But when she passed away, I asked God to help me understand, to help me to get through this. And I didn't know.

44:29 So I think we got it wrapping up in a second because it's almost at a 45 minute mark.

44:34 But anyway, I'll tell you yourself then you can edit if you want to. But right before her funeral, I went up to the house and went through it because I wanted that, because it's such a joyous place. You go in there and the walls and everything speak to you. But it still wasn't the same. The reason was why it wasn't. She was.