[July 21, 2024] I liked nothing more than riding my motorcycle out on the open road, headed to nowhere in particular. I’m just riding with the wind in my face. It was freedom like I’d never had at another time or place. I couldn’t explain it either, but going faster than a bicycle or a car was more exotic, thrilling, and illicit than anything I’d ever experienced. And my good friend David joined me whenever we rode wild. He would say, Hot Diggity Dog, time for a ride! Then, away we went.
Having moved to Texas helped me see things in a new light. I was 15, and the world was beginning to open up. It was terrific. Bright, exciting, beautiful, thrilling, I didn’t have the words to describe what I saw.
Speeding down the TX State 322 loop around east of Abilene at 140 mph listening to one of my favorite songs on AM radio, “Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones, speeding in my parents’ 429ci V8 Buick was a short thrill and a dangerous one. I was risking an expensive traffic ticket from the Texas Highway Patrol and possible suspension of my license, but, hey, it was fun and an adventure, my kind of blood-pumping adventure.
Speed is a limiting form of fun. Another was jumping off the high diving board at the city’s public swimming pool. These high diving structures are nearly impossible to find anymore except at professional Olympic pools. They are a source of severe injury and lawsuits that intimidated most pool owners who have now removed them. But I was a high diver. And every time I jumped, I would shake with the impending thrill of the dive. I knew the risks and chose to jump off the high board over the alternative of standing on the sidelines looking like a wet noodle.
My friend David was a real go-getter. He got a job for us both selling fireworks at a stand outside city limits. Mr. Browder owned several stands and was a real character; he was loud since he was hard of hearing, emphasized safety as he was missing fingers from a fireworks blast, and was a combat veteran. He was also fearless, and I liked that in him. I wanted to be exactly like him because he had something so many people lacked: courage and tenacity. Contrary to his rules, David showed me how to build a giant “bomb” using extra powder. One day, David set it off, a long way away. The explosion rang our ears, set the grass ablaze, and the shockwave from the blast knocked down the fireworks shed. We nearly got fired. It was wonderful.
The circus was the most fantastic thing I’d ever seen. I saw my first circus when I was 15 and still had no idea anything like this existed. The clowns running around the big tent, death-defying high-wire acts, a magician making people disappear and cutting them in half, elephants and horses doing tricks and beautiful women standing up on their backs, and an act of ten men getting into a small car. My mouth must have been open at what I saw. Never in my deepest imagination could I have believed such a show existed.
And I was getting into fistfights with the local bullies too at school, and I think because I was an outsider and from the Deep South. I discovered that running away didn’t work out in the long term. A good fight could be a real adventure when you’re outnumbered three or four to one. A good fight seemed the only solution to keeping them off my back. I never would give protection money to bullies, so I had a target on me. The worst one was Rick “Kick Your Face” Callahan, a local hooligan with a temper that matches his nickname. Good fortune shone on me, and I never had to fight him. I’d have been crushed like an aluminum beer can if I had.
And I would often hunt squirrels with my trusty 410 shotgun and dog. I trained him to fetch a downed squirrel since they were easy to hit at short range. To my displeasure, he just as often tried to eat the squirrel rather than bringing it to me. On one of my hunts in Fisher County near the river – west of where I lived – I ran across a crazy man poaching wild turkey out of season. I had just started hunting alone. Our eyes met, and I instantly knew he was a poacher. My Dad had warned me about unscrupulous men like him and told me to be cautious and to keep my distance. “What ya doing here, kid?” he said in a loud, gravelly voice. Having a loaded shotgun ready was lucky for me. I said “nuttin’” and walked off but kept a close eye on him.
I played baseball growing up, since before I can even remember. All the boys played, and we enjoyed being on the town’s baseball team. Better and more fun, we played pickup baseball by ourselves, with no adults around. While I loved the game, I wouldn’t say I liked formalized baseball practice. Our coach was tough, making us repeat simple plays to ensure we had the basics down like we could do them in our sleep. He would tell us that he made the practices difficult because if we were quitters, we’d quit in practice, not in the game. Smart man! One day in practice, he told me I had a good motor inside me, but I didn’t always have my hands on the steering wheel. It took me years to figure out what he meant. Indeed, I was not a great player.
I discovered I had a talent for repairing small motorcycle engines and lawnmowers. It earned me a few bucks, along with a helpful reputation. I found that most people couldn’t or wouldn’t change a light bulb, much less replace a simple spark plug. So, I was busy. These skills were the source of personal funding for my easy-rider motorcycle days of freedom. These were the days that I thought I might become a church pastor. That idea faded soon after I started noticing girls.
Hot Diggity Dog!
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NOTE: See all my letters here: https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
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God Bless you sir. This is another well-written letter that I’m sure your granddaughter will enjoy.
Hot Diggity Dog! Rev Cain you are so right. Excellent article to his granddaughter. Gen Douglas my friend sent me a picture of her and her 4 year old brother during thier visit with him
Lovely letter. I like this style today. All your letters, Gen. Satterfield, are so different from one another. That draws me in to read more of them. And thanks for consolidating them into a tab on your website.
https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
Danny, Gen. Satterfield hopes to make it easier to read these letters.
🙏 Praying for your granddaughter to have a wonderful, beautiful life. 🙏 I know that she will do well because she has such a kind, gentle, and religous grandfather. Only if all children and grandchildren were so lucky. Families are what make the world continue to prosper and folks doing well and enjoying their lives and having a good life. I will get a quick plug in here for Gen. Satterfield’s last book, “55 Rules for a Good Life.” I highly recommend the book and in it Gen. S. discusses some of the more basic rules on how to live a good life. It is not easy to do it, but once you get the good habits doing, you will do well. We are fortunate to live in America and have all the opportunities that we have to live well. God Bless.
Pastor John you are so right my friend. Children need good role models. Proverbs say train up a child while he or she is young when get old not depart from the teaching of God’s words
Adventures, scary, happy, funny …. that is what these letters are about. Sir, well done.
Otto, yep, got that right and I too love these letters to his very lucky granddaughter. I started writing my children (now young) letters that they can read later in life when they are more appreciative. BTW, good to read that Gen. Satterfield as a kid is starting to enjoy life more now that he lives in the great state of TEXAS.
RIGHT, don’t mess with Texas.
🤣 Sir, another great letter that tells the tales about you as a kid and your adventures that attracted you in your teenage years. ❤ This letter is full of love and appreciation for life and that is good for us and for your granddaughter. ✔ You check off all the boxes here with this letter; riding motorcycles, speeding in a car, hunting with your dog, the circus, and fighting in school … all those things a boy should be doing while growing up, not playing video games. 🎁 All your letters are a gift. Thank you!!!!!!!
Sir, well done. Your letters expose yourself as an adventurer. In my book, that is a good thing.
Sir, another great letter. Please keep writing them. If you would, please turn them into a book and somehow link them together with your experiences in the Army. Now, that would be a great idea …. no charge, sir. Ha Ha Ha. I know that others have written to make the same recommendation but I’ll do so now because I think many will be willing to read it. And gain from those same experiences you write about. As always, thank you and I look forward to reading the next letter #86. 👀👀👀👀👀👀
Good point Wellington. I too hope he turns these letters into a book.
Wellington and Karl, please consider me part of your camp to recommend Gen. S putting these letters into a book form. I’m not at all smart enough to tell him HOW to do it but that such a book will be a big HIT for his fans and for the general public. I do love these lovely letters. ❤ It is hard to ignore these letters that tell interesting, educational, and entertaining stories … and we enjoy each and everyone of them. Please write that book. Gen. Satterfield can get ideas from us, so let us make good and appropriate comments here in his blog to help. Keep writing. Keep the idea that these should be a book at some point. 😎
Hi all, I’m new to this website. I stumbled upon it and today read for the first time a really interesting letter. This letter. I’m from Utah. Best wishes to all.
Welcome aboard, Larry. I hope you enjoy my letters and other articles. Note that you can see all my letters at this link: https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
WELCOME LARRY !
Yes, welcome Larry Michen and I hope you get more opportunities to read these letters and make comments in Gen. Satterfield’s leadership forum. Good to know you are from Utah.
Thank you all for the welcome.
Larry
Welcome aboard my friend Gen Douglas Satterfield blog. Feel free to my comments even if you don’t agree with what he says He want get mad at disagreements.
Hot Diggity Dog!
Hot Diggity Dog!
Hot Diggity Dog!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Gen. Satterfield sure knows how to poke us in the funny bone.
Please more letters and thanks in advance.
We are now on letter #85 and counting. I’m learning more and more about Gen. S as a little boy and I’m loving it like so many others here.
Thank you, Army Vet.
He makes my head spin sometimes with all his adventures. Many of these adventures could have gotten him killed but here we are with Gen. Satterfield.
Lovely letter. Sir, thanks. I had no idea about you’re living in Texas.
Wow, Gen. Satterfield, you’ve done it again with another beautiful letter for your granddaughter. I think that I mentioned it before, but you have given me the inspiration to also start writing my grandchildren letters. I’m keeping them in a binder in my home office. So when I pass away (I’m on 63), all these letters will be available to them. Thank you sir, and have a great weekend.
I think most of us would consider doing the same thing. If we don’t then our experiences will be lost.
Yusaf, and yes I do believe that these letters – being so successful on his blog – that Gen. Doug Satterfield decided to continue them at least to number 100. As we approach that number, and now writing for more than one year, I’m starting to get a little antsy about not being able to read them any more. At the rate he is writing, October will be the last one. Let’s encourage Gen. Satterfield to keep writing them for his granddaughter and for us.
I second that.