“No, No, Tip,” is from a 1940s -1950s primer school book called “Tip and Mitten.” Tip was, as best I can remember, a devilish scatter-brained puppy who romped and played as most puppies do.
Tip was a boy dog puppy who was scolded for his antics. Tip’s buddy was a kitten named Mitten. Those primer books were written by Paul McKee, who was a professor at the Universities of Iowa and North Colorado. Tip was my first dog encounter.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
A Once Upon a Time video on You Tube by Kenny Vance contains this verse in this beautiful song, “Once Upon a Time there was a Love Sent Down to Earth From Angels Above.” During the late ’50s and ’60s there were lots of Doo-Wop and country songs comparing girlfriends to angels. Try to record a song today that has angel or Biblical phrases and you will be run out of any recording studio in Nashville, LA, Dallas, New York or Chicago. Referring to a teenage girlfriend as an angel only happened once upon a time 70 years ago.

The song of Eddy Arnold’s “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away” reminds me that spring can’t be far away. We’ve had a rough winter with the biggest snow (which started January 14) since the blizzard of 1993.
The snowstorm of this past January left ten inches on our deck. The temps went down below zero for two nights, but we made it through, and now let’s hope we have a long spring this year.

By James and Ellen Perry
It was a cold cloudy morning February 3, 1959. The best I can remember it was on Wednesday morning, and my brothers and I were at home. Our mom was at home cleaning the house, as she had been laid off for a short period from her job at Knox Porcelain Plant. I had our Philco radio tuned to WIVK in Knoxville.

A Good Dog. Every man should sometime in his life be blessed with a good dog. A dog that is as smart as Lassie. Every dog isn’t as smart as Lassie. Most are dumb as a block and lazy to boot.
There are large dogs, medium size dogs and some that resemble a dust mop. Some dogs belong to blue-haired women who put ribbons on their heads and paint their toenails pink. I don’t think the dogs care what color their toenails are or what color the ribbons are. They (the dogs) still like to sniff each other and eat roadkill. They’re dogs.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
Good music soothes the soul and makes you happy.
“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” The first lyrics from Nat King Cole’s, “The Christmas Song.”
This article provides a list of Christmas songs. Some are still played during Christmas on the radio. Some aren’t anymore. There’s info on when these songs were played and where they came from. One of the better known artists actually played on the Mid-Day Merry-Go Round in Knoxville.
I hope you all enjoy these songs.
1. White Christmas by Bing Crosby-1952 version

I’m sitting on my front porch this morning enjoying a cup of coffee as my mind wanders back in time to a spring morning in May of 1955.
My father, my three brothers and I were heading to Sharps Chapel to help our grandfather, who we called Pap, plant his tobacco crop.
Pap was getting old and couldn’t work as he had in the past.
Dad stopped at Bill Graves’ General Store in the Chapel, pulled up to the only gas pump, cranked up three gallons of gas to the top and let gravity put it into the tank of his 1932 Ford Model A Truck.

We are now in high school and it’s Wednesday, October 14, 1959. The Wednesday morning chapel has begun and there’s two boys, one freshman and one sophomore on stage ready to perform.
I know the sophomore. He is Don Kiser, with whom I attended Rose Hill grammar school. The other young man with the electric guitar was L. J. Beeler. After high school he became a professional musician backing lots of big stars from Nashville.

Here it is September again. Again, the nights are cooler with warm afternoons. It’s now dark at 6:30 a.m. as the days get shorter with nights getting longer. Time is marching toward fall and then winter.
The kids are back in school, terrorizing the teachers and waiting for fall break. The school buses are loaded to the brim as there’s a shortage of school bus drivers. Knox County started school in August with a shortage of 31 drivers. Less drivers/more kids means problems for bus contractors. Many contractors have to combine different loads to be able to get the kids home. So parents, allow a little leeway for the bus drivers.

“Hat, did you see Sputnik go over then or were you asleep?”
“Heck no, I seed it blinking, same as you.”
Hat was Hat Russell. Hosea was myself, James Perry. All us boys who went to Rose Hill Elementary School together had nicknames. Dan Patch Cooke, Jerry Killer Keller, Hat, Johnny Milton Russell, Jerald Hobock known as Hobock, Howard Wyrick Esquire, Pig Larry Perry, Bobcat Bobby Perry, and Pigtail Dennis Perry. The only boy from our group without a nickname was Wayne Hurst.