November 11, 1918. As World War I comes to an end, and the United States of America having won, it left our nation strong and patriotic as our boys came home. We will never forget the pain and losses we suffered, but nonetheless, we won the war, our boys were coming home.

The roaring '20s has the nation captivated. Business is good. Industry is moving forward as technology from the industrial revolution shows no sign of slowing. Things are great in America. Economy - how shall we describe it? The economy is booming toward the end of the 1920s.

Having grown up post World War I when the United States was rebuilding, people saw an economy that was on an upswing in the roaring '20s. Even today, in the history books, it is something coveted by modern America. But in 1929, all that came to a screeching halt with the crashing of the stock market, and the United States entering into what now is labeled "The Great Depression".

By 1931, the United States was no longer roaring. We did not have government intervention as we do today, with programs, bailouts, and welfare. In short, the nation was starving, and with no jobs, there was not much to look forward to, and hope was fading fast. Now imagine you’re in the deep South where, even prior to the depression, it was considered poorer than much of the nation.

Now, imagine you are a poor black man struggling to live and feed your family. In fact, make that two. At a time long before civil rights, long before Dr. Martin Luther King, long before these two men would even be allowed to speak with me of such matters or tell their stories.

Already struggling to get by when times are good, what to do when times get bad? As for these men, they would say at that time, “impossible”. They had a solution. A solution that would carry them through 60 years together as best friends. That solution was devotion, trust, love, and friendship. The other was they were fighters. And they were good at it. They did not win all their battles, but they won the war. Enjoy their tales.