The Partisan Divide on Issues

[Bob Butler 54]

(07-28-2020, 06:13 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: You wouldn't happen to be the descendant of a rich white person. Didn't the rich and famous Kennedy's have a place by Cape Cod?

My great grandfather Alton Butler at one point owned a Studabaker dealership, but let go of it.  They were getting too involved in the new fangled horseless carriage fad, and not concentrating on their traditional core enterprise.  He was also a Massachusetts state legislator for a while.  Not really up there in wealth or government responsibility with the Kennedys, but in the junior leagues.  But he was sort of the exception.  Most of my family tree is full of working guys.  Lots of phone company people on my father's side.  Lots of fishermen on my mother's.  All three of my father's kids got to college, as did many of our generation and very few of previous generations, but that is more a function of our time than something unique to the family.

The other oddity was Alton's wife Alma.  Believe it or not, the young kids on horseback liked to drive fast even before the automobile.  Her father was rich.  Her horse was really good.  She was small and light.  She was for a time the fastest thing on the streets of Brockton.  The males at the time were not amused.  This was scandalous in a time when ladies were not supposed to behave that way.  To make her behave, they dosed her with something called laudanum.  Must keep in one's place.  Must have decorum.  Grrrrrr...  Someone was born too soon.

I still have her pocket knife and a cup he won for having the best cow in Brockton.  They are the highlight of the family tree.  Most of the tree is fairly boring.  Well, maybe I should make an exception for John and Pricilla Alden.  They got caught up in some sort of argument over religious freedom that left them taking a ride on a ship called the Mayflower.

Would you believe that Alma was a direct descendant of Pricilla?

(07-28-2020, 06:13 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: So, did the blacks you worked with stay in their place as you say or were they free to challenge you?

The one guy who came closest was a former military person.  He was a procurement guy in uniform, turned boss of a contract selling a rack in civilian life.  He didn't really challenge me nor I him.  He was more the boss of my boss.  He likely tweaked the software development somewhat.  He certainly helped define the requirements that defined my work writing software.  But if we bumped heads I don't remember it and would have brought the woman in charge of software into the loop.  

The requirements really had to do with how various types of telephone lines are supposed to act and the military rules for priority that they wanted to add.  For some reason they wanted the general to be able to kick the private off a needed line.  Everything was very well defined. The only thing that might have come up was to point out something that was missed.

But this was my second project after college, so my memories of that time are vague.