Wednesday, Nov 8, 2023
Did You Ever Have A Babysitter Or Nanny?
Since I was the fifth of six children and I had three older sisters I don’t ever remember having a babysitter. I do know that I was occassionally left with my Aunt Margrete but I was very young. I probably would have forgotten those times but I think Aunt Margrete and Uncle Devere developed a special relationship with me because of it and every single time they saw me they would talk about the times they used to watch me. I think my memories of being there, are more memories of the stories they told me than actual memories.
I have to share one story that Aunt Margrete has told me many times. Apparantly Uncle Devere had been tarring the roof and he left his work for a bit. Meanwhile I climbed the ladder (I would have only been two or three) and was playing on the roof. At one point I got into the tar and had it on my hands. When Aunt Margrete finally noticed I was missing she came looking for me and saw me standing on the roof. When I saw her I held up my tar covered hands and said, “dirty”.
What Childhood Activity Did You Enjoy That Kids Do Not Seem To Enjoy Today?
I think kids today would enjoy any of the games I played as a child but the games seemed to have morfed into different versions of the games. My all time favorite activity as a kid was “kick the can”. We played a version of this game with the family at the last reunion in Waterton at Justins cabin.
You place a can in the middle of a large open area and one person starts out as “it”. He wanders around the agreed upon area looking for everyone else. When he finds someone it is a race to the can. If the person who is “it’ kicks the can first then the person he found is a prisoner. If the person who was hiding kicks the can first then everyone who was a prisoner goes free.
Another game I remember playing was “Red Rover” where you have two teams in a line facing each other from about 30 feet away. One team calls out “Red Rover, Red Rover, send (someones name) over”. The person who was called out, runs to the other line and trys to break through the line who is all holding hands. If he breaks through he goes back to his line, if he can’t break through then he becomes a part of that line.
I also remember playing “Fox and Geese” where you would make a simple maze in the snow and one person is a Fox and the rest are geese. Everyone has to stay on the path and the Fox tries to catch geese who then become Fox’s.
What Did You Do When You Were Home Alone?
I was never really alone because it was always me and Lester. While Lester and I were always close, we had very different interest. When Greg went on his mission in 1969 I would have been ten years old, I inherited is laboratory. Dad was hired to year down the old Leavitt School House and he kept everything in the science lab for Greg. Greg comandeered the storage room in the basement and set up his lab. Mostly he had a bunch of chemicals and glass ware but I rapidly expanded that to include much more. Every spare minute I could, I spent in the lab.
Some of my additions included chemicals I “borrowed” from school or bought at the drug store (which you can’t buy now), a steam engine, 12VDC power and a high voltage (30,000 volt) transformer. There are many stories (that I have already shared) of some of the things I did in that lab.
Is There Something From Your Childhood You Wish Was Still Popular Today?
I can’t think of any activity I did as a child that I wish was still popular, but there are changes in society that I think are causing kids today to miss out on important things.
First, because of the risk of pedofiles, drugs and kidnappers, children today have little freedom when playing outside. I used to ride my bike all over town and the only rule I had was that I had to be home before dark. I lived in a small town and everyone knew me and even though my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing, I was completely safe.
Second, I think organized sports keep kids so busy that they don’t have any time to just play outside. They have outdoor activities but they are all organized. I know my kids spent a lot of time in the surrounding canyons but much of their time was taken up by practices.
Third, electronics now keep many kids (especially boys) indoors and alone. Many kids spend every spare minute on a phone or computer, alone and indoors. I think that is very harmful for kids and especially boys who are geared to play rough and hard. I don’t know the answer to that problem, but I’m glad I raised my kids before electronic devices became so prolific.
I love technology but it can be a curse.
Did You Ever Sneak Out Of The House When You Weren’t Supposed To? Where Did You Go?
There was one time in waterton when I did sneak out in the middle of the night. I didn’t have anything specific in mind, I just wanted the thrill of doing something forbidden. Lester and I got up around 2:00am and wandered around Waterton at night. It was quite surreal wandering around a completely abandoned town. It was interesing and I love the memory of doing it but I then decided that I’d rather sleep instead of wander around a ghost town.
One other experience I had in Junior High School is when Lester, Tom and I (and maybe Rick Cahoon) played hooky. We road our bikes out to the St Mary’s bridge on Highway 5 a few miles north of town. We played in the river and had a great day. No one ever questioned where we were and why were weren’t at school. I never played hooky again either because I didn’t want to miss too much school.
What Was The Most Significant Problem You Worried About When You Were Young?
I had a carefee youth and I don’t remember stressing about anything. I only had a couple of close friends and at times I wondered why I didn’t have more friends but I never lost any sleep over that.
If there was anything I worried about it was because I wanted to have a girlfriend and I didn’t know why I had no friends who were girls.
Looking back on that I now realize that I just didn’t know how to talk to a girl. In fact I really didn’t know how to talk to anyone, but being terrified to talk to a girl made that all worse. I had zero social skills. My social skills aren’t a whole better even now but at least I’m aware of that and I can try and talk to people with a bit more grace and be less offensive.
At the same time, I say that I wanted a girl friend but in reality, I don’t think that was all that important to me.
Who Did You Look Up To As A Child And Why?
The person I most wanted to be like was my older brother Greg. He was everything I wanted to be, he was confident, smart and he loved science and technology just like I did. As I got older I also realized that my dad was a very good man and I wanted to be as good a person as he was.
Do You Still Admire Them Today?
I still admire my father to this day and I do still want to be like him in every way. While I do still admire my brother, his life took a very different direction when he got married. Even still, Greg is a good person, has a strong testimony and would do anything for me if I needed help.
What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved technology. In elementary school my favorite subject was always science and then in sixth grade, when we broke into different classes and I had an entire class just for science I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I knew right then in sixth grade that I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up.
In high school I took every science class offered, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. I took automechanics and drafting. I loved them all. I wanted to take wood shop but I couldn’t fit it into my schedule.
Once I knew the difference between Engineers and pure scientists, I realized that Engineering was for me. Engineers take the knowledge gained by the scientists and make it into practical items. I am less worried about how and why something happens and more worried about what I can do with that knowledge. I’d rather make a rocket engine than I would like to understand the chemical reactions that take place in the rocket nozzle. Of course, I love it all but I want to make things.
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