Memories of Yesterdays

About the Book

Memories of Yesterdays is a book containing 17 of my true life short stories, divided into four parts. Part I is titled ‘The Early Years’ and includes 6 stories which contain references to my memories of events that occurred in the 1930’s or early 40’s. The 1930’s was a time when the country was suffering through a deep depression and with very high unemployment people had little money. Few could afford anything beyond the necessities of life. As a child growing up during this time period my problems were shared with my friends, who were all in the same situation. Faced with the strong childhood desire to have fun and entertain ourselves (without access to money) we developed many games and activities that required no cost. At that time there were few cars on the street so we usually had a clear space from curb to curb for our field of activity. Although all the happenings occurred over 70 years ago, I still remember them very clearly in my memory bank. The first story ‘The World of Creative Imagination’ tells of the necessity to be creative, and how imagination opens the door to many possibilities, and they both expand the brain for further and future intelligence. ‘It Was Only Yesterday’ and ‘Broadway & 42nd Street’ is my recollections of where I lived and grew up. Thanksgiving day in New York City was once a time for ragamuffins and ‘Anything for Thanksgiving’ explores what would happen on that day. At the ending of the baseball season in 1942 the NY Giants announced free admission to there last games - a double header against the Boston Braves - to anyone who brought 10 lbs of iron for the war effort. The story ‘10 lbs of Iron’ describes our struggles in securing, and then carrying the iron to the Polo Grounds. ‘The Car I Loved the Most’ relates to my experiences with my first car, a 1931 Ford Model A Roadster, with a rumble seat, a crank, and only a four cylinder engine under the hood. Part II is titled ‘Family Remembrances‘, and includes three stories which relate to my memories of raising a family of 7 children on Long Island in the 1960’s and 70’s.The first story ‘Family Day‘ mentions all the challenges and demands that each member of the family felt was competing for their time. I realized that it was important to set aside a specific period when all the members of the family would spend time together (with no other distractions) and enjoy an activity as a family. I called this period ‘Family Day’, and the story tells of places we would visit, games we would play, and the enjoyment we all experienced. Children often say and do things, that adults think are very amusing. I have accumulated a collection of these occurrences and present a number of them in the next story ‘Cherish the Memories‘. The title of the last story in this part is a statement that most every parent has heard when starting on a days trip “Are We There Yet?”. Children do not have a good concept of time and once a trip is started they expect to reach the ultimate destination in a very short period of time, also they may be cramped or bored. I have even heard the question asked before we exited our driveway. The book mentions some humorous comments that have followed the asking of the question. Part III is ‘Adventures After Family Time’ and includes five stories that describe true life experiences hiking, canoeing, and/or camping, in scenically rugged and beautiful remote locations. ‘Hike To Havasu Canyon’ tells of a 9 mile backpack hike that I took with three other family members into the Hualapai Indian Reservation, at the southwest end of the Grand Canyon. The homeland of the tribe is in beautiful Havasu Canyon where the waterfalls and pools are a blue-green color, and the high cliffs all around are red sandstone. The hike was very strenuous and involved a long twisting descent, but the joy of exploring for four days, i

About the Author

William Richard Brazill was born in 1926 in Astoria, New York City and grew up during the financially depressed years in the 1930’s, He searched his memory to reveal how children at that time created and enjoyed their own way of life. Later after a period in the Army Air Force he used college credits accrued to help him secure a degree in Civil Engineering, which was earned after 6 years of night school and fulltime day work. Raising a family of 7 children during the turbulent 1960’s and 70’s required his full involvement both at home and in sports, clubs and on many interesting trips. His memory provides us with many humorous and entertaining experiences. The years that followed allowed Bill the time to satisfy his great curiosity and desire to hike and explore the Grand Canyon, the vastness of New York’s Adirondacks, Mexico’s Copper Canyon, and other natural wonders. He concludes the 17 true life stories book with his memories of the World Trade Center, and final thoughts on ‘life‘.