1.0The News Journalhttps://qa.thenewsjournal.netrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="IbPCw1sWPw"><a href="https://qa.thenewsjournal.net/when-i-was-fifteen/">When I was fifteen</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://qa.thenewsjournal.net/when-i-was-fifteen/embed/#?secret=IbPCw1sWPw" width="600" height="338" title="“When I was fifteen” — The News Journal" data-secret="IbPCw1sWPw" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://qa.thenewsjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bena-Mae-mug166.jpg200300When I was fifteen It was a defining year for me, the second world war, a new town, new school, new friends, rationing, applying for my social security number, and getting my first job. It was in a restaurant a couple of doors from the home we temporarily lived in until the war was over. It was easy to get a job then. There was plenty of work in the area due to the secretive project close by, most of it in jobs that dealt with the war effort. We didn’t know what they were making and were told not to ask. We only guessed that it had something to do with the war. And it provided jobs for an influx of people from many states to build and maintain the secret project. My job, however was as a waitress for which experience was not important. I call it Psychology 101.  It was a job that framed my life in ways I never anticipated, learning to read people by their idiosyncrasies, family secrets, their likes and dislikes while carrying plates of food to hungry customers. In having my own spending money, getting acquainted with strangers from many other states who had inundated the small town in which they settled temporarily. Housing was scarce and so were many necessities we had always taken for granted. I counted the nickel tips I received, spending most of them in the juke box. The owner of the restaurant always asked me to wait on the more important customers because I was studying Home Ec in school and he thought I had learned the expertise of serving food properly. Big deal. But I soon became very popular because I would save cigarettes, which were highly rationed, for people I liked. We found ourselves having to scrape by without so many things we were used to….bacon, lard, butter, sugar, automobile tires, shoe leather, nylon hose, gasoline, and other things too numerous to mention. But we never complained, we were happy to do our part. I still remember the butter substitute the government provided. It was a large block of what looked like lard that had a small packet of orange powder with which we mixed together to give it a look of real butter. Many times it was my job to mix the concoction to make it look like the real thing but sometimes the ersatz butter came out a pale yellow and other times it was a bright orange hue. It was my brother Don’s foray into the newspaper business. My mother would buy him several of the local newspapers to sell to the horde of people getting off work at the hosiery mill across the street. He was just a little tot and people couldn’t resist buying the paper from a little blonde, blue-eyed boy with the big dimples. Little did we know that this would become a reality later on when he went into the newspaper business for real. I enjoyed school, made many friends, went to a lot of school dances during that time when the jitter bug and fox-trot were all the rage. But it seems that the dark clouds of war permeated our every thought being juxtapositioned with what we were experiencing with what was happening to our boys who were fighting on two fronts. When the war was declared over, we moved back to Corbin where I re-entered high school, thinking that part of my life was behind me. Little did I know that years later I would be returning to the place that had left me with so many fond memories. But this time my stay would not be temporary as I married, settled down and raised a son and lived a contented life to this day. Having passed this notable age I never thought I’d get to, my memory log is full. So many things have impacted my life, many of them good, some not so good. But one thing is for certain and it is this: You never know what turn or what circumstance your life will take at any given moment. In my case, and with the wisdom that age sometimes brings, I’ve come to realize that important parts of my life and values were formed when I was a mere fifteen-year old.  STRAWBERRY-PRETZEL DESSERT Filled with savory caramelized pretzels, sweet berries, and creamy whipped topping, this easy Jello dessert is sure to become a family favorite. Ingredients 1¼ cup sugar 2 cups crushed pretzels ¾ cup melted unsalted butter 8 oz. softened cream cheese 8 oz. tub of whipped topping (thawed) 6 oz. package strawberry gelatin 2 cups heated pineapple juice 10 oz. sliced, frozen strawberries (thawed) Instructions Stir pretzels, ¼ cup sugar, and butter together in a 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°. Remove from oven and cool completely Prepare Jello according to directions, substituting hot pineapple juice for hot water, and add the strawberries right before chilling. Refrigerate until partially set. Beat cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar together until smooth. Fold in the thawed whipped topping. Spread over the cooled pretzel crust. When the Jello is cool and partially set, pour it over the cream cheese layer. Chill before serving.