Inasmuch as many of the Broyles clan have passed away and the memory of those remaining is declining, I thought it necessary to put pen to paper and preserve some rather random stories for younger generations who do not have a clue about life as it was in the earlier part of the last century. Even to hear these stories will be a stretch of one’s cranial matter for younger folks addicted to computers, I phones, I pads, and those little roachlike earphones that make everybody think you are talking to them when you are not. However, I will attempt to visualize some of these experiences with descriptive pictures to present some feeling for rural farm life as we knew it. Stories will jump about in random fashion following my memory and impressions made on my life. To begin with, it is beyond most people to picture a family of seven growing up normally in a small four room house with no running water, no locked doors, all water carried from a spring about fifty yards from the house, no bathroom, only an icebox in the early days where an ice block had to be brought in every couple days, no air conditioning, coal stove heat, linoleum covered floors that required mopping every day, only a large floor radio for technical entertainment and connection to the outside world, an eight party phone line, no TV, a mail box a quarter mile down a rough driveway, when postage was two cents per letter, a Model A Ford car where flat tires were common when you drove any distance, only antique farm equipment, mostly horse drawn, and a house in the middle of a 102 acre farm where you could not hit a neighbor’s house with a rifle – not that the brothers tried! Yet, if we were ever poor or lacking, we never knew it. The change every generation sees is shocking! It is almost a necessity to gain at least a small appreciation for the experiences of your previous generations to even begin to be grateful for all the conveniences, resources, and technological advancements that one takes for granted. It is also shocking to realize that what former generations did without was little or no deterrent to their success in becoming mature people enjoying life, producing loving families contributing to others and the nation, and knowing God and the eternal life he offers. No matter what age one lives to be, the Bible has over fifty-five clear illustrations and symbols cautioning us about the brevity of life. Life is short for those who live to be a hundred years old. Ask them and they will all testify to this. So, it behooves us to appreciate life as we live it each day. We need a relationship with Christ that is eternal because this trip will soon be over. We need to live in gratefulness for life with or without many resources. With faith in Christ and his principles as many in the Broyles clan have followed, when this life ends, one will immediately be with the Lord and all those family members who have gone before us after living by faith in Jesus Christ. We will be where God provides every resource needed, himself being the source of it all. It will be fulfilling life sharing and working with and enjoying God, his redeemed family, and everything he creates new to complete our lives forever as only he our Creator can provide. May God bless you and your family now and forever through your faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.