I was on Facebook the other day and saw a picture a girl put up of her father ” Thomas Burgess” that made me remember my teenage years. As I think upon it now I realize that I experienced the tail end of old Americana at its best. They were the days of hard work and mom and pop stores where you received real customer service and the old saying that the customer is always right was still in effect. I can remember being 13 years old and working in a Western Auto and a drug store part time after school where they treated me like I was one of their own kids. In addition to those part time jobs I helped out in Burgess grocery where i heard stories that every young man needs to hear and a funeral home when asked. And when I wasn’t hanging around the parts store with my uncle and daddy I was lucky enough to be talking to the sweetest kindest angel I ever knew down at the flower shop. As I think of these days I remember what great times they were and the fact that most all of my folks were all still alive. It was also around this time that one of my most bestest buddy first walked up to me and introduced himself and gave me part of his snicker bar to break the ice because it was my first week at my new school.  I know that because of those great times I am where I am today and was lucky enough to have first met my other bestest buddy through his father. Right now all of this makes me think of the Kenny Rogers song “Twenty Years Ago”.  Oh it almost seems like yesterday, where do the good times go. Life was so much easier twenty years ago…..