My first article on this topic which appeared last month dealt with the 1950’s and 1960’s and America’s direct involvement in the Vietnam War. In last month‘s article I told of the position of President John Kennedy’s opposition to the USA being involved in a war with Vietnam and had started pulling advisors out of Vietnam. Another island country that President Kennedy wanted no war with was Cuba. The night that a bunch of Cuban refugees and a few mercenaries tried to engage Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, President Kennedy did not order our Air Force to provide air cover which led to the ill-fated failure of the invasion on April 17, 1961. I think President Kennedy heeded the outgoing President Eisenhower’s advice to keep the military industrial complex of the United States who wants conflict.

Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry

Sitting here at my desk and remembering our five-inch snow. Then our deep freeze that happened on January 10 with the deep freeze lasting for the following week. It was a beautiful and very frigid February of 2025. It started with a bang as the temps for the second week of February was more like early April. Mother nature can be harsh or very pleasant. Depends on her mood.

I’m sitting in my bedroom looking out through the glass door at the gray afternoon with snow outside. Snow is not only beautiful but puts lots of nitrogen in the soil. This helps provide nourishment for spring flowers, grass and trees. Also, gardens for spring. While sitting here contemplating God’s work, my mind goes back to 1959 when on February 3rd at around 1:00 am at night a V33 Beechcraft Bonanza airplane lifted off the airport at Mason City, Iowa bound for Fargo, North Dakota. The plane a 1947 Beechcraft V33 Bonanza crashed only moments later killing all four aboard.

Still sitting in my bedroom at my small desk looking out at a lowering sky with a squall line approaching from the northwest and strong winds with lots of rain heading our way. As most folks I have developed a case of winter doldrums. We’ve had so far a cold winter and even a two-inch snow the morning of December 11th. A kid on my school bus ask how I liked the snow and I replied,” I love the kind of snow we experienced yesterday; It snowed two-inches early morning and melted by afternoon.” Kind of like being visited by relatives.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
Sitting on my porch listening to “Analog” by Brennen Leigh. Brennen is a songwriter, singer and excellent guitar player. She is a breath of fresh air in country music. Brennen left Austin, Texas, for Nashville and I hope Nashville doesn’t ruin her. Brennen released a tribute album to Lefty Frizzell and it’s a great album. Brennen has lots of her songs on the internet. Here are some of her songs, “Same Dream,” “In Texas in a Band,” and “Carole With an E.” Check her out. Brennen is also a 5-ft.-10-in. beauty.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
“Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind
Memories sweetened through the ages just like wine
Quiet thoughts come floating down
And settle softly to the ground
Like golden autumn leaves around my feet
I touched them and they burst apart with sweet memories
Sweet memories

Country Connections
By James and Ellen Perry
As I sit on my front porch listening to Santo and Johnny playing “Tear Drop” on my computer, it puts me in a melancholy mood.
It’s now late August of 2024 and all of my flying friends are coming through on their way to their over-wintering homes either in the deep south of the USA or the butterflies and hummingbirds are heading south crossing the Gulf of Mexico to the Latin Americas or northern South America.

The weather forecast for today, September 27, 1948, is a high of 75 degrees with clear skies and going down to 52 degrees with clear skies. Annie Crawford, wife of Sam Crawford, birthed a boy child, her fourteenth. Little did Sam and Annie know this baby would grow up to greatly affect the lives of people from an island nation over 1400 miles from Union County, Tennessee.

“Grandma, I’m hungry,” the little five-year-old girl said to her grandma. “Honey,” her grandma said back to her. “We are about out of food, but we will make it some way ’til Monday and get help with food from the Union County Food Pantry. You see, grandma and her husband, called Grandpa, were raising three grandchildren, the children of their daughter who left her kids with Grandma and Grandpa three years ago due to her being a heavy drug user. Her whereabouts are unknown and they don’t know if she is still alive.

“Boys it is time to go home and eat dinner, get some rest, then come back and finish plowing and hoeing this tobacco patch.” This tobacco happened to be on a 30-acre farm in Kettle Hollow that Dad had bought for the tobacco allotment. We unhooked the mule, put her in the pasture, put up our hoes, climbed into Dad’s 1948 Dodge panel wagon and started home. It was early July of 1958. Arriving home about 11:45 a.m. Daddy said, “Boys it’s about mail time and I forgot before driving up the hill to our home. So, you need to go and meet Edd and bring the mail, while I get dinner ready.”