It is doubtful that this autobiography will ever be concluded. I started it in the middle on 1994. Today is July 18, 1995 and while I have written nearly 50 pages, I’m still re-writing the first paragraph. I promise a renewed effort!
I feel good about my life and what I have been able to do and I want to tell others about it, thus, this measly effort to write my biography. As the little boy once said, “It ain’t no big thang, but I’m proud of it”!
Now, at age 60, in 1994 (and probably 1995), I truly feel good about myself and it’s time to share it with others. It has been a wonderful life and, for an old country boy - - a fairly successful one. I didn’t do it by myself. My family, my dad, my mom, my Betts, my Mike, my Donna, my Chuck, and all of my many friends - they made it possible for me to be where I am. They gave me confidence and a reason for pushing on. I’m a pretty lucky guy and I want to tell you about it - and, later on I’ll tell you why I’m telling you about it! For now, let’s get started!
He was a gentle man. Thin and well built. Not a lot of muscles, but strong. He was a religious man, but he did not preach to you. He let his daily life be an example for others. He was a soft-spoken person. He never raised his voice. He loved to tease and have fun. If there was ever a man made in the image of God, it was him. He didn't have much of an education. He probably finished the sixth grade at the most but he was a brilliant person. He could walk on water! He could climb the highest mountain. Few people will ever be as great as he was! I loved him very much. I miss him today, 30-plus years after his death. He was one mighty man. He was my father. He was Elbert Ruble Shanks and he was called Ruble. He died from lung cancer at a very early age. He was 66 when God called him home.
She was a beautiful lady. She was so perfect in so many ways. Thin in her early years but a little "plump" in her later years. She was a great cook. Her cornbread would melt in your mouth. She loved her God. She wanted the best for her children. She worried a lot. She was liked by all that knew her. She was smart. She was respected by everyone. She loved her husband and he loved her. I loved this wonderful woman. And, I miss her so very much. She was my mother.
She was Letha O'Dell Williams Shanks and she was called Letha. She died, after many years of suffering, and went to be with Dad at the age of 92.
In their lifetime they gave to this world six wonderful children. They were A. J., Thelma, Glen, Carroll, Don and Wayne. And, they, in turn, gave this world and Mom and Dad, a whole host of wonderful and beautiful grandchildren.
I was the fifth child and they named me Donald Mike Shanks. Everybody called me Don. I never really used Donald. It always sounded a little "sissy" to me. Now that I think about it, Mom and Dad never did tell me where the name came from. I don't remember it ever coming up in any conversation in my lifetime. What the heck, I like it and regardless of where it came from I have always been pretty proud of it and it seems to have served me well. In later years, I dropped the “ald” off of Donald and used Don M. Shanks. That sounded a little better to me!
I must have been “planned” because little brother Wayne came along after me. He often worried about missing out on life since he was the last. What if they had stopped at Don, he would often ask!
I was born at home on September 28, 1934 in a small rural community called Union Temple in Greene County, Tennessee. The area was rural in the truest sense. The house was huge, white and had a big wraparound porch. It was truly a farmhouse.
Union Temple was a farming community and the houses were about a mile apart. There were no stores, nor do I ever recall seeing any type of commercial operation in the community. Just beautiful, beautiful farms! We didn't stay there very long after I was born - probably 3-4 years. Dad bought a 110-acre farm in another part of the county. As I recall, I think the price was about $3,000.00. It was located in a community called Milburnton and we moved there when I was a very young kid. That would have been sometime around 1938. I was about 4 years old.
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