Father's Day 2022 Podcast (Pastor Keith Interviews His Father)

Father’s Day Podcast Introduction

Hey everyone, it's Keith here and I want to tell you today's episode is different than anything we've ever done. So stay tuned conversations with the Calvinist begins right now. Welcome back to conversations with the Calvinist.

My name is Keith Foskey and I am a Calvinist. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with my father and Talk to him about his life and his experiences. Now I'm bringing this up because it's Father's Day weekend, and I wanted to share Some of what my dad told about his life story with you all now again as I said in the opening This is different than anything that I have ever done.

A lot of this is not really Going to focus so much on his spiritual background because he didn't become a believer until later in life. But he has such an interesting story going from a situation where he grew up basically homeless from the age of 12 and he's going to take us through what it was like living a Very difficult life and yet still coming out being a very good father.

So I hope that you enjoy this interview that I did I did it with my brother and my father and I hope that this is a blessing to you as I said, it's something different and Keep this in mind. Conversations with the Calvinist comes out every week.

Sometimes we do multiple shows but we do at least one show per week and if you have questions or anything that you would like for us to Go over you can email us at Calvinist podcast at gmail .com. And we do have a new website now that you can actually go and access our Podcast directly at Calvinist podcast.

Calm you can go and find all of our podcast or how's there and You can use that as a platform to share if you have people that you'd like to share podcasts with. Thank you for listening to conversation with a Calvinist.

Here's the interview with my father for this Father's Day. May God bless you.

Growing Up After His Parents’ Divorce

Today is Father's Day. We said that while ago. Yes, we did.

And so what I would like to do is I would like to talk to you my father about your life. Several years ago we Talked about maybe writing a book about your life. Yes. Yes. Well, we were thinking maybe instead of writing down your thoughts We would actually have an opportunity to record your story.

Bobby and I are your sons and we are here to hear your stories and we want to ask you questions and just go through your life and.

Hopefully maybe gain some wisdom throughout this. No, you're not gonna gain. That was okay. I'm not about talking to me anyway. How old are you?

77 77 years old. Yeah, this is this is how it's gonna go. Yeah.

Go off to a good start man. I'm glad he's having a good day. No. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

Okay, so you're 77 years old. Tell us when you were born on my birthday.

June 2nd, 1945 June 2nd, 1945 in Macon, Georgia, okay.

Now you didn't grow. You were born in Macon yes. But you didn't grow up in Macon. No, okay. I.

Grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.

Now I thought you grew up in Lovett, Georgia. No.

Moved here and then we went back and forth to Lovett. But we were just living here. Okay, cuz daddy was a bus driver. Okay, that's where they had buses. They didn't have none up there.

Okay. Hey, all right. See this is different, right? I'm not not different, but this is part of part of what we want to do is we want to be able to sort of Put your life together in a narrative that we can share with our kids and also, you know share with people.

So so you're born in Macon, right. And How long were grandma Janice and Papa or Grandpa Foskey married? Because were that we're actually were they married when you were born? Yes, they were.

We probably have family for till I was about seven years old six years old with me. Okay, and then they got a divorce.

And I went back then. That was a pretty big deal, right? I mean, it's not as common as yeah. Yeah, it's back then.

Men didn't get custody of the kids. I mean it just just didn't happen. So I got my mother got custody of me and as time went on she began drinking taking pills and drinking and taking pills and smoking and.

My life went downhill from then. Mm-hmm, so when we moved back to Lovett, Georgia a couple of times.

Her mom and daddy and that was Lovett, Georgia, you know, what were their names?

I always called him Pomack and Momack because his name was McDonald Mormon.

So that was Momack and Pomack. So his first name was McDonald. No, I Can't remember. What. Wait a minute. His last name was Mormon. I Had to be yeah, you know, all right. Yeah, I'm not trying to leave you out.

No, no, go ahead. I'm just listening and.

Mainly listening to parts right where I've been told before because I mean I've heard a lot of the stories and. Yes, you know as they come up the other day we were driving on.

Hane Street, we went to get some crates from a Factory that was selling some crates we can use for chicken pens. While we were there dad said yeah I used to run down that road. What was the name of the road?

It was Columbus or something.

I don't know, but it's somewhere off of Hane Street Expressway. Yeah, there used to be a school over that me and Pat used to go to. I think she went Franklin Franklin Street School or something like that.

And he said the first time you ever smoked a cigarette was on on the roof of that building. And you never were a smoker. I remember growing up you always you. I never saw you smoke. I never saw you drink very much either, but I never ever saw you smoke a cigarette.

Well, I took a I took a puff off of that thing and choked and gagged. I said why in the world Would anybody want to do this. Ain't no fun about this. That burned my eyes and made me maybe snot run out my nose.

I said no fun in.

That was me too. I was at granny's house the children yours and Jennifer's old house. Yeah, I snuck one of granny's tried it and I was like these people are dumb. Yeah, what's the fun of this. Yeah, right cuz I did not do it.

I'm a kid.

No, so I remember you talking about and. What not it. Now who was it? Who was the one granny Harris? That was my grandmother and Joshua my daddy's mom. So is that who you were living with in your here?

Or did you. Yes, well, they had their own place. Okay, but as time went on like I said when they busted up I Used to go to granny Harris. I'd stay with her for once a while and mama was always drunk. And so, you know, it's just it's just a mess and I was here and there and here and there over I never was no worse for a long very long.

The Fire-Escape Fall and the Scar on His Head

Yeah now when you were.

Seven I guess you said when they when they busted up was that before or after you got the mud ball in the eye.

You know that was after yes, but before that I'm gonna tell you else by my. My experience when I was a little fellow living in Macon just before we moved to Florida. I Was on a escape. Pretty company got an escape where you come down the stairs and get out of it on the fire escape fire escape.

Yeah, and so there's a bunch of little kids airplane and I was hanging on the outside of their stairs. With my hands on the rail little girl hit my fang with a shoe like that girl and so I Don't know why I did but I just turned loose both of them and smiled at her and fell over backwards.

And when I fell over backwards, I landed on a pile of bricks broken bricks, but it was repairing the building and I Remember looking down and seeing them BAM. And then I'll turn my head just like that for I don't watch her my head.

But when I next I remember I was in the doctor's off for a hospital. I don't know. I don't remember. But I was kind of hovering up here in the corner. Kind of like a dream I guess and I could see the see me laying on the table.

And I can see my mom was saying on one side table doctor standing on our side table nurse at the foot. I think she's down there foot. And I could see everything, you know, I could see myself and I thought that's me.

Can't be me. I'm up here.

Anyway, so when I've hurt my hair right here, is that when that scar came to my head? Yes.

And So the doctor they had a couple of big old heavy towel to have my head soaked in blood towels. So the doctor said we can't give him run to kill the pain. We gotta hold him down to sew it up clean it out said because if we give him any of that He's lost so much blood.

He's gonna die. Hmm. We'll give him any painkillers. So that's what I did.

And that's about all I remember that and of course, but I remember you telling me years later. That that experience felt like you really come out of body experience. I mean, yes, I'm different people have different Different people describe it but often similar like yeah very similar.

Well, I didn't know it then.

Of course, I was a baby more or less and I didn't know it then but as time went on with my life you came along and And Bobby's mama came and we got married and Bobby came, you know. And that's when you was born.

I kind of that when I got the idea God's looking out for me. Because I've done a bunch of bad stuff anyway when I when when I got about 12 years old. I Think I finished the seventh grade. I Couldn't take mama no more.

She was drunk all the time. She didn't cook. I was living by myself with her drunk.

Where was this at? Where were we all living at that time?

I think it was in Georgia best I remember some of this stuff. Is a blur. Yeah, you know, I can't remember everything this far. Plus I had a stroke too. But anyway, when you told me this story before.

I think you told me it was in Georgia. So make sure.

Cuz cuz Paul Mack and Maumack were helped raise you after. I guess that yeah, they they weren't they weren't raising type people. Oh, okay. No, they they didn't they didn't like me because they didn't like my mother.

She used to go up on quip them once in a while and of course it took it out on me. But anyway. So I grabbed a white t-shirt And put it my back pocket of my jeans and I left and that that I Didn't. I didn't leave town right away.

I kind of hung around here. I don't know why I Just didn't want to go out. I was scared by myself, I guess I can remember Going to the grocery store when they'd bring them up treats and stuff and danishes and stuff.

They delivered a big grocery store before they opened. I always I found out about that and I could go get me a couple of them to eat. You know, I know we're stealing but so anyway, I Did that for a little while.

I found out this ain't gonna work. I got to go from here because I was afraid every time I seen a cop car had run, you know so anyway. Then I got started out hitchhiking towards El Paso, Texas. I remember that I don't know where I was going, but I remember the name El Paso, Texas.

And I used to wait at bus stations Grand watch stations and The people would go in there and order food and sit down and and the bus they'd call a bus. They'd have to get up and leave their food up. That's how I ate.

Ate food off these people plate. So this is hitchhiking at 12 years old. Yeah across the country. Yeah. Yeah.

And and during during this time. I learned a few things like I Learned what makes somebody fight? What makes somebody really fight is being scared somebody scare a kid and anyway, I Used to do that grand bus stations and I I made my way to El Paso finally and I got to El Paso I got a job in a car wash And I Was I was a guy that scrubbing tires because I was younger a little and it was a big old guy and a bully type guy and We got our money in a brown envelope or at the end of the day I think I made three dollars a day or two dollars.

There's something like that. And he come along there Yeah, teasing us with you know treat. He's me with it. You gotta get this you gotta jump and get it and I said I got too much pride. But I ain't gonna jump to beg for my money.

I earned I took me one of them brushes and hit him upside his head BAM. He fell down on one knee and dropped my money. I Got my money left. I never go back, but I didn't beg for my money that I.

Hitchhiking West, Survival, and the Sailboat to Hawaii

So I think if I remember right you told me you hadn't eaten. Huh like a day or so you hadn't eaten. Yeah, you were starving.

What when I got that money finally got in my hand. I wouldn't got me a hamburger. And I thought man, that's the best thing I ever eat but at some point in time, I can't remember exactly when it was. I Got a little money and I went to the to the grocery store big grocery store and told a guy What can I what can I buy for.

I think it's like $4 .00. I accumulated some kind of way. I said, what can I buy for $4 .00 that will last me a long time? And I said it won't go bad. I Can't take it with me and open it. I go and eat it.

He said well the only thing we've got is cranberry sauce. I Said cranberry sauce. He said it won't spoil comes in these you have one every day. Alright, I bought me a case of that stuff, but he was very nice about it, though.

He gave me the jelly and the berries and mixed together. He said so you won't get tired of this stuff so quick. I thought well that's pretty nice. And so I kept going on out to El Paso, Texas. And I went to Imperial Valley in California, but I'm getting ahead of myself getting ahead of myself.

I Went to El Paso, Texas, and there's a cop picked me up for runaway. Hmm. Yeah big old guy and had cigars in his pocket. Did your mom report you missing or something? Probably so probably so that's where I had to go because I was gonna be in trouble.

They wouldn't believe she done nothing. I was a I've been juvenile or something so He stopped me and he put me in his car. He said I got you down a runaway. I said, well, you may have me down a runaway and I said, I guess that's what I did.

He said that's I'm gonna put you in jail. I'll hold you and they'll send somebody to get you or another police officer come and get you and Bury you back to where you came from county by county. I said you can you can put me in jail.

I said you can do all that stuff. I said, but I ain't going back. He says yeah, you're going back. I said no, no, I ain't going back. And he said you got to go back. I said Why do I have to go back? Anyway over a period of time me and him talked he let me out of the cell.

Every time he'd bend over the big old cigar to fall out of his pocket I'd be doing because he couldn't pick him up. Too fat and I'd pick him up and hand him back to him. I said why don't you butt in that pocket so they don't fall out?

Anyway, make a long story short. The next morning he got up. He said I'm gonna drive you to the county line. They said and don't come back this way no more. I said I ain't coming back this way. I'm going that way I wish I ain't coming back here so he He carried me to the county line and he gave me some money and He told me how I said how much further can I go?

He said you can go to California if you want to. I really didn't know that. I didn't know nothing about California. I said well that's where I'm going then so I went to Imperial Valley and stopped there for a few days and there's a bunch of Boy Scouts having a I think they call it a jamboree.

But it was camping out and cooking out and one thing or another. So I'll just walk around talking to the guys and they said are you a Boy Scout? I said no, I'm not no Boy Scout. He said you want to hang around with us.

I said sure. So they fed me and let me sleep in a tent for a couple days. And of course when the jamboree was over all the Boy Scouts left I was still standing there. So I got Headed out that way again California.

I got to California and I used to go to the blood banks and give blood so I could have something to eat and They finally got most of the place I was at got smart and they figured out they can't you can't do it so many times.

You know, they will only do it so many times. So I said well, I gotta try to do something different. Because this ain't worth it they didn't they caught on to me. So I said well. So I used to hang around this little restaurant.

Because there's a girl working her name was Rusty and She kind of like Adopted me and let me stay sleep on her couch, you know, which I was thankful for that and she fed me too. So Oh, no, no, she was a grown woman.

No, okay, and she used to have sailors in there. I think all the time, you know it and When she had sailors there, I had to leave. But I can't say anything for good night or two. I go back and get my shower.

You know, so one day sailor left the paper in their newspaper and it said on there so-and-so Advertising for a crew just helped sail a sailboat to Hawaii. Now there's a bunch of stuff. I can't remember.

I'm probably leaving out some of it. But I'm trying to remember it as it as it happened. But anyway. So I called a guy and he says have you ever been on a sailboat? I said no. He says well, how old are you?

And I tell him I was 16. He said well, can you get a note from your mother? I thought oh man I'm gonna do that. He said if you can get a notarized note from your mother and her sign it. He said I'll let you go with me and we'll both learn how to sail a sailboat him and his family so How was I gonna?

Oh, yeah, so then I I told Rusty about. I said rusty I got a chance to go to Hawaii free and he said when you get over here. He said when we get there if you really want to come when you get ready to come back I'll buy you a plane ticket wherever you want to go.

That's all okay. So anyway, I told Rusty I said I gotta have a notarized letter from my mother. She said well I can sign it. I said. She said I'd get it notarized too. I knew somebody would notarize it so anyway not exactly the most most honest notary.

Anyway, I carried it to him and I told him I said he said we're gonna leave in such-and-such a date. He said will you be ready to go. I said I'm ready to go now. He says where's your bag. I still got the bag at the house.

Yeah, it's a little canvas looking thing great. Now I like a stuff and that's what I had my stuff in. But anyway my underwear and I didn't have much but anyway, so he said what you got not to say this.

He says he said we're gonna leave on such-and-such a date come back. I said, okay. He wouldn't know he didn't want me to go then. So I went back to our son's boat too a 65 foot sloop. I think they call it so I Met up with him and when he said he wanted to go and and he had a motor on a boat.

So he didn't try to sail it to start off with. So we went out to the ocean and as we was in the ocean had a little young daughter about a little bit older than me probably two years older than me and I had my own little bunk on the boat.

And away from the family and yeah, him and him got out there sailing around. We're pulling them sheets in and dropping the sheets out whatever you call that stuff.

I said, hey, I said, you're gonna call it hoisting the mainsail. Yeah, but anyway.

We finally got where we could make it go where we wanted to go. And we cut the motor off and went to Hawaii. It took 11 days. I think I think it was 11 days to get there. Went to Honolulu. So when we got to Honolulu by that time me and him had been friends.

I said well, he said I'll buy you a ticket and you can go back. I said I ain't got nothing to go back to. He said well, what about you stay on my boat as part of my crew because I know you know how to sail now.

He said when we get ready to go out. He said I'll call you and you get everything ready. We'll go out for the weekend, whatever, you know so. That's what we agreed on. And he let me stay on the boat, but he didn't give me as much money as I wanted.

He gave me a little allowance, you know, of course, I wanted more, you know. So for for extra money, I bought my scrub brush and I would go not scuba diving. But a snorkeling around a boat scrubbing their bottom barnacles and stuff off and they'd pay me for that.

Of course, they knew that I wasn't doing nothing. You can't take a barnacle off with a brush. So they would just let they would let me think I was doing something and pay me a little something and While I was there, I don't know what year it was.

I can't remember but anyway, Hawaii had a tidal wave. And you can look that up probably. That's when I was there. So they had a big alarm. You know and all the people's hurrying around their boats getting ready and I didn't know what to do with this boat.

But I got some people to help me and we made it through the night it's come at night and The water would come in and the boat would go up and they'd go out further and come back in further. It got to one point where it would come in so far to look brooks is about to break and Then it would go back out and then the last last time or two it came in the boats.

Started we loosened the ropes on the boat so it wouldn't break them. They tried to float toward the dock and I saw now if it goes back out, it's gonna come down on that dock. Yeah. So anyway, we got a bunch we got together and we pull ropes and we got through that night.

And like I said It was called Ala Moana Boat Harbor in Hawaii, and I used to Get coconuts for the tourist out of a Ala Moana canal. I Had a stick with a I mean a nail on it not stick it and give it tourists.

I thought I was very saying the world Oh Coconut out water. No way. I did that for a while and tourists would Pay me a little something and Then oh, yeah, they had dried dried octopuses. We like jerky, but they had dried salted octopus hanging on a string and I could get one of them.

Thanks for I think it's 25 cent. Like it was I could chew on that thing all day long. So I used to do that eat coconuts. So So Then I got what a bunch of people That was going to go around the island and tour the island.

So that says where should we go? Of course everybody figured by this time I knew everything about the island and all I knew about was sailing on a boat. So I'd take him to these two places I heard about and they thought I was the greatest thing in the world.

They didn't know no difference. They had a place called I think of Ala Moana Waterfalls, I think it was in there brother and you had to hike in there to it and there was about 80 foot high. The waterfall was and the trick was to get up there on the top.

Show you brave jump in the water because the bottom of the thing wasn't as big as this room. And you don't know where rocks are. That's not very. That's why. Yeah, but that that's what the young people thought that was good.

That was exciting to them. And I come up with the idea one guy jumped off. He got water up his nose. That time I said man, I said, you know how to keep him doing that? He said hold my breath. I said no put a leaf underneath your nose get it wet stick it up under there.

It worked for him so from then on that's what everybody did. Put a little where they needed or not they put a like that. They would hold over their finger even I knew it.

Is this about the same time as you learned how to surf.

Well during the during that all this time was all that stuff. I had a surfboard and I learned how to surf and I wasn't never no good at it.

Oh, yeah, I would pay money to see you surfing.

But back then they didn't have these little bitty boards they got now. Yeah, and mine was somebody gave it to me. Some lady gave it to me. It was like a boat. Like what they're paddling around. I stand up and paddle.

I thought it was so heavy. I couldn't tell that. Drag one in the dirt.

But anyway, that's before they put styrofoam. Yeah.

Anyway that thing was so heavy and I surf with it anyway. It don't matter and I got in trouble in Waikiki Beach one time for digging a hole. It's against the law to dig a hole on the beach. There was a little girl had a bucket and she was well, I was took the bucket.

She wanted to get her feet in there and cover them up. I Give her the bucket. I took the bucket put your feet in the cover. First thing I heard I'm these guys. From one of them hotels up there. You can't do that boy.

You got. Anyway, they made me leave the beach. And back back way back when Kaiser Aluminum had a bunch of catamarans on the beach. They were pink and white and I got part out because I could sail a little bit.

I got on crew on one of them things and we just take tourists out there surf back in here in the waves. So we did that. I did that for a while. And I said what up? Something else. We got a sailboat man the guy did.

It was sunk at the dock. Old man said I sure wish I could get that thing out of here. It's blocking my way. I told him I said if we get it up and Can we have it? That's probably a 14-foot sailboat. Maybe just big enough to people laying in front of it.

He says yeah, so me and this guy got in it. I says how we gonna get it up. I said what we needed a little compressor. Back when I started short I said we'll get some old inner tubes and stuff down in the cubby holes of this thing and leave the vag stem sticking out.

And we'll dive down there pump that things up. Well, it'll raise up and the water should go out. Did it work? Yeah. Did you put a leaf on your nose? No, not for that not for that thing. But once we got it up the guy let us put it up on this little dry dock looking thing and fix it.

So it wouldn't leak no more. So me and him got the idea. Well, what we're gonna do now. We're gonna leave Hawaii the island of Oahu because We're gonna leave there and we was gonna go all over the Hawaiian Islands in that little boat and We sailed and I think about two days.

I'm not sure about how long it was but we had a How. There's a beach there and we had a little rowboat and we went to the rowboat and was gonna row to the beach and these people come just running down to the beach and I look at.

I told a guy I said What's wrong with them people? Some of them didn't have hands. Some of them didn't have feet. How are they running with their feet? Well, that's what I'm saying. The ones that's able to run, you know but anyway We got almost to the beach probably about 300 feet from the beach and I got looking at him.

I said that people ain't got no feet no hands. I had some ears gone. So I tell myself we don't stop there so we rode back out and Left and come to find out what it was. Yeah come to find out later. I'm just saying I'm trying to do this where it happened.

Okay, so we left there and We got talking to people and they said yeah, that was Molokai. I Said what is Molokai? They said that's a leper's colony. I said So We went from there. We decided we don't want to go to a bunch of islands.

We're tired of that stuff already. After two days. Well, it don't take long when you're hungry. Anyway we went back to the boat harbor.

I just have to say and it's not that I doubted you for a moment, but I wanted to see if you were how to visit the Molokai leper colony in Kalapapa, Hawaii. That is Wild. Do you believe what I'm telling you?

No, it's not that I don't believe you. I believe you but that was so fantastic. Just see my wow. I never heard. Yeah, I've never heard that part of the story.

You've never heard a lot of the story. So I know that that's. I don't talk about it much. I know.

But anyway, so this one are you done on the big sailboat?

No, okay. We went back and I went back to living on a big boat with him the guy I said my He said you you want to live here? Yeah. No, I said, yeah. My big big adventure is over. Yeah a little sailboat ain't for me.

Anyway, so then in part time I used to crew get crews on big sailboats people. They knew I could sail, you know, or basic so John Ford, I don't know you to who he is. He's a movie director. He directed a bunch of John Wayne movies.

Yeah. So I Got to talking to him or one of the guys who worked for him. I said I said what chance getting on going job once in a while. He said well, yeah, you can do that. He said but we don't you bother the movie stars I said I didn't know about movie stars I didn't know what John Ford I did.

I just want to work on a boat a lot of hell pirate, but what a lot. You know, you can view this. Anyway, so He said don't bother the what do you call them actors. You would be starstruck anyway, you know, I care about that stuff.

Anyway. So we left we left one time and left went out and I think John Wayne was on it. And they got a pleasure of gunsmoke was on it Marshall Dillon. Yeah Matt Dillon. And Lee Martin was on there. Lee Martin was on there.

And they was all drunk dummy. They drank all the time.

Lee Martin played in Eraser I guess. I was going to say he played in Maverick with Noel Gibson. Oh, I don't know but anyway.

He was. I went sailing on that boat for a while and I did all that stuff for a while. I finally got tired of it. I said so the guy said I told him. I said I'm ready to go back somewhere. I said I can't go that way because I can't speak Chinese and all that stuff.

He said well, I said well, I'm gonna go home go back to Jacksonville and and the Florida wherever I was at and I'm gonna stay at my grandmother's house and I'm gonna get a job and then I'm gonna go in the military.

That was Granny Harris. Yeah. So I didn't realize how much Jacksonville was in your story before. I Didn't. I guess I didn't think about Granny Harris living here and and Grandpa Foskey working for Graham.

Right, so I didn't realize how much played into the story. I didn't put the two together either. I just imagine you've lived and loved it forever. Yeah, I remember being at Granny Harris's house.

That's where I got the scar over my face. Yep.

When we rented when you me and your mama rented an apartment next door. Yep.

And then we went. I was running through the house. I fell. I hit the corner of the coffee table. You took me to the Imerson Primary Care. But then you got mad at the doctor because he said you weren't paying attention.

I cared we carried you in there and He was he said he said I'm not gonna dead in there. It's not like I ain't gonna anyway. I told him I said get dead in that thing cuz it's gonna hurt. He didn't want to do that.

So he didn't he dead in it, but he didn't wait for it to take effect. He took the needle stuck in your eye and you hollered. I said whoo-hoo. We ain't doing that. He said you got to go out in the waiting room.