Thanks to God and my Houston cardiologist, I have 92 reasons to celebrate this Thanksgiving. That’s how many Thanksgivings I’ve enjoyed because of good health and good fortune.
I grew up during the post-Depression years. We didn’t realize we were poor because everyone else we knew at that time was in the same boat.
LaGrange High School was in the country at that time. I was there for grades one through three and spent the next three years at Cooley Elementary School after it opened. Then it was back to LaGrange.
A couple of scholarships got me into McNeese State College in 1951. Lether Frazar was president of McNeese, and I was lucky enough to get into his class on Louisiana politics.
Frazar was a close friend of Gov. Earl Long and he served one term as lieutenant governor when Long was governor from 1956 to 1960. Frazar’s class increased my earliest interest in Louisiana politics.
While at McNeese, I served lunch at Secondo DiCarlo’s Pizza for my free meal and enjoyed his famous hot dogs. He may have introduced pizza to this area.
I met Jo Ann, my late wife, while at McNeese. She worked in the ROTC office. I got my first date with her at a fraternity party. We got married in 1954 and celebrated over 65 years as man and wife.
Two years in the U.S. Army followed McNeese graduation. I then taught American history, civics and English for 4½ years at Vinton and Marion high schools before joining the American Press full-time in 1961.
Bill Mc Mahon, a close and lifelong friend, got me a part-time job covering high school sports for the newspaper in 1958. Lloyd McMahon, his dad, was the managing editor who offered me that full-time position.
My parents called me Jimmy and others called me James. However, I decided I would write under the name Jim Beam. Because of the whiskey by that name, it was the right decision.
One night after a McNeese-Northwestern football game, I met a Northwestern student who clearly had too much to drink.
“I may not remember what else happened tonight,” he said, “but I won’t forget I met someone named Jim Beam.”
My family has been another of God’s blessings for which I am extremely thankful.
Jamie, my daughter, taught school and was director of the St. Luke-Simpson United Methodist Church Child Care Center. Bryan, my son, recently retired as administrator of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.
Dr. Joe Fierro is Jamie’s husband. The former Edith Pavy is Bryan’s wife.
Our readers are familiar with my two grandchildren — Jessica Meek Walker and Andrew James Beam.
Jessica and Adam Walker, her husband, are the parents of Aurora and Eleanor, my two beautiful great-granddaughters. They are a lively pair who have enriched all of our lives.
Yes, God is good and you can see why I have many reasons to be thankful, and I know many other families can say the same thing.
Good friends are also a rich blessing. I grew up with some, went to school and college with some and worked with more than I can remember. Bill McMahon lives in Baton Rouge.
Those who are no longer with us include Mural Cormie of Cormie’s Grocery from our LaGrange days. Ward “Buddy” Threatt and I were co-editors and there were many others at the American Press who were good friends.
Wade Shaddock and I are both 92 and we both grew up in Lake Charles. However, we only met a few years ago and became good friends. We have shared many lunches together.
Health issues have sidelined Wade, but we are still in touch. We have talked many times about how fortunate we have been to have lived in the best of times.
Wade is a great American and a West Point graduate. He has introduced hundreds of area citizens to the nation’s military academy by taking us on weekend trips to West Point. It’s the kind of thing you never forget, and it helped all of us become prouder Americans.
The United Methodist Church has been a big part of my family’s lives. It has helped us know God and Jesus well and given us reasons to try and be better Christians. We thank God again this year for life’s many blessings.
Jim Beam column:Thanks for family, friends
