Every species on the planet is unique.

Fishing for Bass from my backyard in Montverde in the 80s

The hunting was good although I was not much for killing animals, even for food, even then. I had been introduced to the sport by guys I worked for and I got myself a shotgun and went with them but often it was just to be with the my friends, a way to do things with the guys. I would find a spot and sleep more than I ever did any serious hunting and when I did shot something it was small game. The only thing I ever shot were a few squirrels and today I wouldn't even do that. I never did any serious hunting. Philosophically, I don't approve of killing anything, especially poor defenseless little animals. It isn't sport. It is cowardly and stupid. I do eat meat. But we are carnivores, our brains require protein and the best source of protein is meat. Personally I rather eat fish but we're killing ourselves with the mercury and I eat chicken but the way they grow chickens for food is abhorrent also - so like a lot of people I think about these things but don't do enough.

We had a garden and we rented a cold locker for storage. Many of us would buy a half a steer together and divide it up and keep it in the cold locker. The Shenendoah Valley was absolutely beautiful and a great place to live and different from anything I had experienced up to that time.

There were also trips with the president. One of the reasons, I was told, for not having any blacks in the detachment was because of segregation and to avoid that conflict when the president did travel because accomodations were separate. Bathrooms and water fountains were also separate. Racism in the country during the 50s was rampant. It was before integration became the law of the land.

I don't think "to avoid conflict" was a legitimate or adequate answer and not solution. That would come later; in the 60s, before segregation was challenged. And then at gas stations the owners would lock their bathrooms and in businesses that had water fountains there were removed. Many still refused to comply and there were mass protests.

In 1957 Eisenhower said he could not imagine any circumstances that would cause him to use the U.S. Army to enforce integration.

Ike was also a segregationist. And, the doctrine of separate but equal was the law, however separate was never equal. There was a high level of fear and disdain for blacks. I felt it with my friends and I saw it in the military in the 50s and 60s. It bothered me deeply, but there wasn't much I could do except avoid it in my own life - and most of my friends were blacks. Our best man at our wedding was a black man and was my best friend. When we were staioned in France my best friend was black, but at the White House there were no blacks and I was the only Jew.

Regardless of his personal views on segregation and sympathy with white southerners, to his credit, when governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas defied a court order to integrate Central High in Little Rock, and the governor ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent a dozen black pupils from entering the school, Eisenhower called on the 101st Airborne which he sent to Little Rock to enforce integration. And, he countermanded the governor's instructions to the guard by ordering them into federal service. This was the actions of a man of principle. I liked Ike, not just because I worked for him, but because I believed he was a man of principle.

South Florida in the 70s - All of our animals were precious. All of them were pets. We had horses, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, chickens and several dogs.