This year starts in my last year at Anson Jr. High and will end up with me starting my Sophomore year at the Marshalltown High School. It's so exciting! Marshalltown had about fourteen grade schools, three Junior Highs and only one High School. So, all of the teens of Marshalltown eventually are all merged together into one building. One Super School, if you will....Go! Bobcats!
Finishing up at Anson Jr. High was just more continuation of what had been happening before....it seemed like it might have lessened up a bit. But, there was always one more shoe to drop....
I had mentioned that I took some sort of refuge in the mixed chorus classes I had been taking. I really liked Mrs. Wright and appreciated that she seemed to give me a chance when others did not even notice me at all. Which was what I was attempting to do most of the time anyway....be invisible. She encouraged me to audition for the school play. I did and was cast in a one line role....which I slept through the rehearsals for later that week and I was replaced. I would always go and visit with Mrs. Wright....and a lot of other kids did too. She was a straight shooter who would talk to you like you were an adult. So, when the kids taunting started up in the Fall, I was devastated by the comments I was hearing.....the bullies were laughing at me....and said they were talking to Mrs. Wright and she had mentioned feeling sorry for me "because I was so gay". I felt violated. Usually, the harassment only came from the kids.....now I was hearing that one of my favorite teachers was saying some of the same things! I did not want to believe it....but something inside me could actually visualize her saying something like that...not being mean....but actually, probably trying to get the kids to give me a break. And it backfired.
I went back to that same old guidance counselor who told me I could not be gay since I was not "walking around in high heeled shoes".....I did not know where else to turn. I mentioned to him about the incident and how upset it made me to think that it even could possibly be true. He did little to calm me. And really, I asked him not to address the Mrs. Wright....I did not want to discuss it anymore. But, just one hour later I was called to her classroom. Mrs. Wright had me sit down. She asked me if I had a problem with her. I told her I did not. And then she proceeded to tell me how she was mad that I would believe what I had heard. I told her I did not want to believe it.....but I had got so used to hearing these things. She basically ended this talk by telling me that I have to be stronger than that.....I was so embarrassed that I am not sure I even heard what else she said. Our friendship was ended though.....I never did feel comfortable talking with her like we used to....
It was at the end of this school year that some big things happened around me....There was a boy named David who lived in my neighborhood. He was a little overweight and kind of nerdy. He reached out to me a few times to be friends. And I basically just ignored those requests. I was not looking to create some kind of nerd posse. I wanted to be invisible, not part of a larger group of outcasts. I failed to see the solidarity in numbers. And near the end of my 9th grade year, David had a brain aneurism and died instantly. I carried around some guilt over not being nicer to him....I wondered what could have been different if I had made other choices.
Another person in my extended circle was a girl named Terri. She was also a bit of an outcast. She was involved in chorus and school theater. She was funny and she cutely teased me about singing "Step By Step"....she would do a little step, step dance and hum the tune....I did not mind being teased by her since she was not trying to be mean. She might have even been flirting a little. We got along well, but we were not really close. Over the summer, Terri also had an aneurism and died.
This made me really think about what was important. People could just die at a moments notice without any warning. It had happened twice in just a few short months. And seeing my mother take up so much time and energy fighting against my father....it just was a lot for a teenager. Even though all this was going on, it never occurred to me to be a "bad kid". One who would act out or do drugs......I just would not have known how to do that.....I was trying so hard to be good....and invisible. But invisible is like wanting to not be at all.....and even if a thought of suicide had crossed my mind, I knew I did not want to be dead. I think this time ended my fleeting thoughts of suicide forever. Death was never a viable option to deal with problems.
Another thing that happened this year, after what seemed like years of waiting.....Marshalltown got cable TV! We had an HBO box and then shortly afterward....full fledged cable TV! After my dad had left the house, I took over doing some of the light maintenance around the home. It was a big house that had been wired for our rooftop antenna....each room had an outlet to connect to the antenna.....well, after a little investigation of the wiring for the cable....I was able to connect the cable into the main house wiring and I enabled cable television through the whole house!
My television addiction was well established.....and having more channels just fed the beast all the more....but it would still take Marshalltown another year before it would get MTV. I mean even my grandparents in Olathe, KS had MTV!!! I was insatiable! I would stay up as late as possible and watch anything I could find on any channel.....
Friday, August 19, 2011
Year Fifteen - 1981
Well, this year starts out where we left off. My parents were getting a divorce. My father had moved out and my mother became a raving lunatic of rage and anger. Anything bad that happened was immediately blamed on my dad. Any time one of us kids did something bad, it was because we took after our father. My mother has no filter to the things she would say about my father. She shared all of her suspicions and confirmations with me. These are things I should have never known about my father. Things kids should never hear about their parents.
My mother wanted her children to be her allies in this war she was creating, yet she resented the fact that she was the one now with all of the responsibility for three children on a daily basis. She started to go out more frequently. I got to see my mother drunk for the first time. She started to date and occasionally she would not even come home until the next morning. She was living the single life she never had before. And she was acting like she had no responsibility to her children. I was a teenager. So, she did always have someone around to babysit. But, it was a reckless situation that could have had horrible consequences. Somehow, my brothers and I managed to get to school every day and stay relatively out of trouble. I really am not sure how.
With all of this time alone at home with no parents around. Our place became the hang out for some of the neighborhood kids. This was of course, when they were not harassing me and calling me names. I took it all in....the good and the bad. I was resigned to believe that I must deserve everything that I got....including one close friend.
One of the boys in my neighborhood, let's call him "Max", well.....we became close friends. We would talk on the phone for hours at a time. We would hang out and go to movies together. And we had started to experiment being physically intimate with each other. Of course, this all had to be done in secret. No one could know that we spent that much time together. And no one could ever know that we were fooling around....that would have been tragic. So, in public around other people....we became more and more distant. But alone, we always knew just what was happening.....and it happened pretty often.
During the summer of this year, my aunt Charlene came to visit from St. Louis. She is the mother of my cousin who is ten days older than me. I guess she did not like the situation that she saw when she came to visit. And she asked me if I wanted to come back to St. Louis with her....I was ready to take a break from my mother. So I said yes.....and I ended up in St. Louis. There was no plan to the end of my visit. I was just moved to their home. I tried to hang out with my cousin, Kyle. We used to have so much in common. Well, not anymore. Kyle was into heavy metal music. He hung out with a fringe crowd. And he smoked pot. He was protective of me....but he also knew we did not have anything in common anymore. I was very preppy and pop music....and he was depressed and dark. Goth.
After about a month in St. Louis, talk came up about school and the fall. I was asked a few times if I wanted to stay in St. Louis with them and go to school there. I did not know how to answer that question. I liked living with my Aunt and cousins, but I did miss my family too. I was not sure that being in St. Louis was going make things any better for me. And the larger city made things seem more dangerous. Well, fate made the decision for all of us very soon.....
My dad was playing tennis one Sunday when he experienced a burst blood vessel behind his eye...I guess it was an aneurism. It was near his brain and he fell unconscious. He experienced blindness in one eye. And he was immediately taken to the hospital in Des Moines and put on blood thinners. He was under observation for three days. It was unclear if he would have other attacks. Once I heard the news, I knew I was going back to Iowa. I was on a plane the very next day. My dad recovered from this episode. And I was right back at home.....in the middle of the divorce again, babysitting my brothers again, and back to school at Anson Jr. High again.
I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I had stayed in St. Louis.....
My mother wanted her children to be her allies in this war she was creating, yet she resented the fact that she was the one now with all of the responsibility for three children on a daily basis. She started to go out more frequently. I got to see my mother drunk for the first time. She started to date and occasionally she would not even come home until the next morning. She was living the single life she never had before. And she was acting like she had no responsibility to her children. I was a teenager. So, she did always have someone around to babysit. But, it was a reckless situation that could have had horrible consequences. Somehow, my brothers and I managed to get to school every day and stay relatively out of trouble. I really am not sure how.
With all of this time alone at home with no parents around. Our place became the hang out for some of the neighborhood kids. This was of course, when they were not harassing me and calling me names. I took it all in....the good and the bad. I was resigned to believe that I must deserve everything that I got....including one close friend.
One of the boys in my neighborhood, let's call him "Max", well.....we became close friends. We would talk on the phone for hours at a time. We would hang out and go to movies together. And we had started to experiment being physically intimate with each other. Of course, this all had to be done in secret. No one could know that we spent that much time together. And no one could ever know that we were fooling around....that would have been tragic. So, in public around other people....we became more and more distant. But alone, we always knew just what was happening.....and it happened pretty often.
During the summer of this year, my aunt Charlene came to visit from St. Louis. She is the mother of my cousin who is ten days older than me. I guess she did not like the situation that she saw when she came to visit. And she asked me if I wanted to come back to St. Louis with her....I was ready to take a break from my mother. So I said yes.....and I ended up in St. Louis. There was no plan to the end of my visit. I was just moved to their home. I tried to hang out with my cousin, Kyle. We used to have so much in common. Well, not anymore. Kyle was into heavy metal music. He hung out with a fringe crowd. And he smoked pot. He was protective of me....but he also knew we did not have anything in common anymore. I was very preppy and pop music....and he was depressed and dark. Goth.
After about a month in St. Louis, talk came up about school and the fall. I was asked a few times if I wanted to stay in St. Louis with them and go to school there. I did not know how to answer that question. I liked living with my Aunt and cousins, but I did miss my family too. I was not sure that being in St. Louis was going make things any better for me. And the larger city made things seem more dangerous. Well, fate made the decision for all of us very soon.....
My dad was playing tennis one Sunday when he experienced a burst blood vessel behind his eye...I guess it was an aneurism. It was near his brain and he fell unconscious. He experienced blindness in one eye. And he was immediately taken to the hospital in Des Moines and put on blood thinners. He was under observation for three days. It was unclear if he would have other attacks. Once I heard the news, I knew I was going back to Iowa. I was on a plane the very next day. My dad recovered from this episode. And I was right back at home.....in the middle of the divorce again, babysitting my brothers again, and back to school at Anson Jr. High again.
I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I had stayed in St. Louis.....
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Year Fourteen - 1980
On this year, many small changes happened and one big one...
At the start of this year I was still delivering papers for the Times Republican. The job was pretty boring and I had started to get a back issue from carrying over 100 papers a day. The Saturday edition was the only morning delivery and there was no Sunday edition at this point...One Saturday, I heard my papers being dropped off in my driveway around 3am. I was up....why not just go out and deliver the papers? So, I went about my route....which had me walking past a lot of basement apartments on the Plaza Drive area. I guess I scared someone when I walked by and they called the cops....It was pretty scary. They ran up to me with their flashlights all pointed at me.....and they called my parents to let them know their child was out delivering papers at 4am in the morning....I was not allowed to do that again.
Later, in the summer, my boss from the TR came to the house to tell me that they had chose to give my paper route to another carrier. And that I would be training that person.....I just handed over my paper bag and told them I would not be training anyone.....and they could do it themselves. That was the end of my paper route. My brothers both still ended up with routes for at least three more years.
The harassment of me at school was ongoing. Being dumped into a trash bin or having my locker slammed on me.....regular happenings. There were a few that would corner me one on one too. Follow me after school. And on one morning while we all waited outside in the cold for the school to open....one kid took out a pocket knife and held it to my throat. He demanded that I declare for the whole school that I was a "faggot". I refused. I somehow knew that this kid was not really going to cut me. I was upset, but I had got so used to this kind of treatment....I just wanted it to go away. One of the teacher's aids had witnessed this exchange and it caused me to be called to the Principal's office to give a statement. I also went to go see the school counselor. I told the old man school counselor that I was being called these names.....and what he said to me made me more confused than ever.... He said "I don't know why people would call you these names. I don't see you walking around the halls in a dress and high heeled shoes."
I had no idea what this old man was talking about. Inside, I knew that some of these comments were probably true....no matter how hateful they were to say or hear. But, I knew I did not want to be a woman. And I did not pretend or act like I was a woman. In this day and age, when we hear the stories of children being murdered over homophobia. I guess things have not changed too much in 30 years.
Because of the unwanted attention that I got in school, I tried my best to not get any attention at all. I kept quiet in classes. I did just enough to get by.....and no more. My teachers noticed this and they called in my mother to address the issue. I would score high on tests, but not participate in class or do much homework. My mother immediately insisted that I be tested for a learning disability. I had to go through a whole battery of tests and examinations. And the end result was that I was being "lazy". But, no one ever hit on what was really happening. And to top it all off, my mother seemed upset that I was not going to be placed in the special education classes in school.
At home, things were not much better. My parents had begun to argue on a regular basis. Usually over really mundane things. Both of my parents displayed some really immature behavior in these times. I have to keep in mind that my parents are both only 17 years older than me. So, they were 31 at this time. My mother could be very picky and demanding. My father could be really distant and dismissive. Both could be very self centered at these times. Well, my mother discovered that my dad had an affair. And that was the beginning of the end.
My mother was so upset. And ultimately obsessed with my father. She followed him. And then eventually she hired private investigators to follow him. I really don't know what she wanted to learn. The marriage was over. All of this information she got just made her more upset and hurt. My dad started a new life. He started dating. And my mother made sure to make the biggest production about the things she learned.....she called out many nights to husbands whose wives worked with my father to warn them that my father was now separated from her and he could be a threat to their marriage. And of course, my mother had me there by her side through all of this mess. At a time when I should have been protected from all this drama, my mother chose me to be her closest confidant. At the time I felt important and grown up to be hearing all of the sordid details. Today, I think what she did was nothing less than child abuse.
There was one place that was not horrible this year. I signed up for mixed chorus as one of my elective classes. In this class we would sing traditional and popular songs. We would prepare for two concerts a year. And in this year the instructor, Mrs. Wright, asked if anyone would want to sing a solo. Well, I loved to sing. I always sang in the car....to every song I heard on the radio. And I felt this could be a way for me to do something positive. Something people might appreciate. I went out and found sheet music to a few contemporary songs. I just did not know that the sheet music I bought was not the accompaniment, it was just the notes for the vocal. I ended up having to sing along with the original recording. The song was "Step by Step" by Eddie Rabbitt. It seemed to go over well. And it was really the first time I chose to stand out as an individual in front of a crowd and entertain.
At the start of this year I was still delivering papers for the Times Republican. The job was pretty boring and I had started to get a back issue from carrying over 100 papers a day. The Saturday edition was the only morning delivery and there was no Sunday edition at this point...One Saturday, I heard my papers being dropped off in my driveway around 3am. I was up....why not just go out and deliver the papers? So, I went about my route....which had me walking past a lot of basement apartments on the Plaza Drive area. I guess I scared someone when I walked by and they called the cops....It was pretty scary. They ran up to me with their flashlights all pointed at me.....and they called my parents to let them know their child was out delivering papers at 4am in the morning....I was not allowed to do that again.
Later, in the summer, my boss from the TR came to the house to tell me that they had chose to give my paper route to another carrier. And that I would be training that person.....I just handed over my paper bag and told them I would not be training anyone.....and they could do it themselves. That was the end of my paper route. My brothers both still ended up with routes for at least three more years.
The harassment of me at school was ongoing. Being dumped into a trash bin or having my locker slammed on me.....regular happenings. There were a few that would corner me one on one too. Follow me after school. And on one morning while we all waited outside in the cold for the school to open....one kid took out a pocket knife and held it to my throat. He demanded that I declare for the whole school that I was a "faggot". I refused. I somehow knew that this kid was not really going to cut me. I was upset, but I had got so used to this kind of treatment....I just wanted it to go away. One of the teacher's aids had witnessed this exchange and it caused me to be called to the Principal's office to give a statement. I also went to go see the school counselor. I told the old man school counselor that I was being called these names.....and what he said to me made me more confused than ever.... He said "I don't know why people would call you these names. I don't see you walking around the halls in a dress and high heeled shoes."
I had no idea what this old man was talking about. Inside, I knew that some of these comments were probably true....no matter how hateful they were to say or hear. But, I knew I did not want to be a woman. And I did not pretend or act like I was a woman. In this day and age, when we hear the stories of children being murdered over homophobia. I guess things have not changed too much in 30 years.
Because of the unwanted attention that I got in school, I tried my best to not get any attention at all. I kept quiet in classes. I did just enough to get by.....and no more. My teachers noticed this and they called in my mother to address the issue. I would score high on tests, but not participate in class or do much homework. My mother immediately insisted that I be tested for a learning disability. I had to go through a whole battery of tests and examinations. And the end result was that I was being "lazy". But, no one ever hit on what was really happening. And to top it all off, my mother seemed upset that I was not going to be placed in the special education classes in school.
At home, things were not much better. My parents had begun to argue on a regular basis. Usually over really mundane things. Both of my parents displayed some really immature behavior in these times. I have to keep in mind that my parents are both only 17 years older than me. So, they were 31 at this time. My mother could be very picky and demanding. My father could be really distant and dismissive. Both could be very self centered at these times. Well, my mother discovered that my dad had an affair. And that was the beginning of the end.
My mother was so upset. And ultimately obsessed with my father. She followed him. And then eventually she hired private investigators to follow him. I really don't know what she wanted to learn. The marriage was over. All of this information she got just made her more upset and hurt. My dad started a new life. He started dating. And my mother made sure to make the biggest production about the things she learned.....she called out many nights to husbands whose wives worked with my father to warn them that my father was now separated from her and he could be a threat to their marriage. And of course, my mother had me there by her side through all of this mess. At a time when I should have been protected from all this drama, my mother chose me to be her closest confidant. At the time I felt important and grown up to be hearing all of the sordid details. Today, I think what she did was nothing less than child abuse.
There was one place that was not horrible this year. I signed up for mixed chorus as one of my elective classes. In this class we would sing traditional and popular songs. We would prepare for two concerts a year. And in this year the instructor, Mrs. Wright, asked if anyone would want to sing a solo. Well, I loved to sing. I always sang in the car....to every song I heard on the radio. And I felt this could be a way for me to do something positive. Something people might appreciate. I went out and found sheet music to a few contemporary songs. I just did not know that the sheet music I bought was not the accompaniment, it was just the notes for the vocal. I ended up having to sing along with the original recording. The song was "Step by Step" by Eddie Rabbitt. It seemed to go over well. And it was really the first time I chose to stand out as an individual in front of a crowd and entertain.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Year Thirteen - 1979
In 1979 things started to change. Everything was changing. My body was changing. My home life was changing and by the end of the year, my school would be different. I would be in Junior High!
First, let's end things with Hogland Elementary School. At the end of your time at Hogland, when you are a sixth grader, the school used to sponsor a three day long camping trip. This was a fun three day adventure with my classmates out in the wilderness of Iowa. It was a chance to be away from the parents and walk for many miles each day. It was fun, but it was a lot of work and at the end of three days.....all of us kids were pretty dirty. But we did get to go away.....and carry a backpack....and eat freeze dried foods for three days. It is one of my favorite memories of the end of my time going to Hogland Elementary.
Shortly after the camping trip, we were off on summer vacation. I was delivering papers for the Times Republican and this was not always an easy job. On a regular basis my mother would take the paper to task for various things....and that left me with a little bit of a reputation there I think.....I was not their favorite paper carrier. However, I did have one of the largest routes in Marshalltown (117 papers every weekday and Saturday) and when the TR would run contests for its carriers, I was always high in the probability to win. At the start of this summer I won a ten speed bike. And right at the end of the summer, I won a weekend bus trip to Kansas City to watch a pre-season football game between the Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings. I really could care less about the game....but I loved the travel. I liked feeling independent and experiencing new places.
As Fall approached, it was time to go back to school. And for me that meant going to Junior High back in my old neighborhood at the Anson school complex. It was about a two mile walk from my new home to Anson Junior High. As opposed to Hogland Elementary, which was basically in my own backyard. At first making this trek was not much of a problem. It was pretty much a straight shot....but as the weather got colder and wetter....it was not as much fun to walk two miles in those conditions. I usually walked alone. There were others from my neighborhood who went the same way....but some got dropped off by their parents...and others just walked in groups with their friends. I started to get used to being alone. And things did not get better once I got to school.
This was the start of some of the worst years of my life. I tried to keep a low profile and not draw attention to myself....but the bullies always seemed to find me. From knocking my books out of my hands when walking in the stairwell to outright spitting on me in the hallways....it was really kind of a nightmare that never seemed to stop when I was at school. And the names they were calling me...."gay" and "fag" and "queer". I knew these were not the things you wanted to be called....and yet, something in me knew there was some truth there.....I WAS different. I just did not know why....or what it meant to be different in that way.
I started to withdraw in class and classwork. And at the same time, my parents had started to argue more.....and it was becoming clear that they were going through something serious.
First, let's end things with Hogland Elementary School. At the end of your time at Hogland, when you are a sixth grader, the school used to sponsor a three day long camping trip. This was a fun three day adventure with my classmates out in the wilderness of Iowa. It was a chance to be away from the parents and walk for many miles each day. It was fun, but it was a lot of work and at the end of three days.....all of us kids were pretty dirty. But we did get to go away.....and carry a backpack....and eat freeze dried foods for three days. It is one of my favorite memories of the end of my time going to Hogland Elementary.
Shortly after the camping trip, we were off on summer vacation. I was delivering papers for the Times Republican and this was not always an easy job. On a regular basis my mother would take the paper to task for various things....and that left me with a little bit of a reputation there I think.....I was not their favorite paper carrier. However, I did have one of the largest routes in Marshalltown (117 papers every weekday and Saturday) and when the TR would run contests for its carriers, I was always high in the probability to win. At the start of this summer I won a ten speed bike. And right at the end of the summer, I won a weekend bus trip to Kansas City to watch a pre-season football game between the Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings. I really could care less about the game....but I loved the travel. I liked feeling independent and experiencing new places.
As Fall approached, it was time to go back to school. And for me that meant going to Junior High back in my old neighborhood at the Anson school complex. It was about a two mile walk from my new home to Anson Junior High. As opposed to Hogland Elementary, which was basically in my own backyard. At first making this trek was not much of a problem. It was pretty much a straight shot....but as the weather got colder and wetter....it was not as much fun to walk two miles in those conditions. I usually walked alone. There were others from my neighborhood who went the same way....but some got dropped off by their parents...and others just walked in groups with their friends. I started to get used to being alone. And things did not get better once I got to school.
This was the start of some of the worst years of my life. I tried to keep a low profile and not draw attention to myself....but the bullies always seemed to find me. From knocking my books out of my hands when walking in the stairwell to outright spitting on me in the hallways....it was really kind of a nightmare that never seemed to stop when I was at school. And the names they were calling me...."gay" and "fag" and "queer". I knew these were not the things you wanted to be called....and yet, something in me knew there was some truth there.....I WAS different. I just did not know why....or what it meant to be different in that way.
I started to withdraw in class and classwork. And at the same time, my parents had started to argue more.....and it was becoming clear that they were going through something serious.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Year Twelve - 1978
It has been a while since I posted in this blog...I think my efforts to complete my life story in one year are going to be futile. But, I do think this blog needs to continue. I have so many that are reading and following along, even though they do not post comments. I also feel a need to tell my story....but we are approaching some cautious material.....puberty is right around the corner.....and being from a small town.....and being from a specific neighborhood.....there is a chance that people might start to read things about themselves in the narrative of me telling my own story. It is not my intention to disparage anyone....even those who openly disparaged me at the time. But, I do want to tell the story fully....and that will mean including some details that are uncomfortable for me to share....and it might be uncomfortable for others to read. Please feel free to comment.....but I am probably going to change the names of some of these people just to protect their identities.....so understand and please be respectful.
The year now is 1978. My family and I have moved off of Fairmeadows Road and we now live on South 5th Ave. We live just across an open field to a large park and Hogland Elementary School. We actually moved here in the fall of 1977, but this was our first full year here. This neighborhood had a whole lot of kids living around....most houses were families and many of the kids were around my age. I had already started developing crushes on boys at this time. I still admired and was fascinated by some girls, but when I saw a boy that I thought was attractive....well, that is what seemed to stir me up inside chemically. Those were the people that caught my interest and held it.....if I thought of someone romantically, I thought of one of the boys I knew and not a girl.
Now romance for me at that stage in my life was generally fantasizing about kissing and touching. All pretty innocent stuff. I had already experienced some awkward sessions of playing "doctor" in my old neighborhood. And although that was interesting, it was not what I would think of as romantic...just basic curiosity with both boys and girls.
My new neighborhood was dominated by teen boys. Within about three blocks there were probably 20 boys my age. Most of these boys I had met through my tepid sports careers.... And living right next to a huge open field meant that I would often see these boys out throwing a football, or baseball, or golfing, or really anything sports related that boys would do.....Sometimes I would be able to join in and other times these boys were already aware that I was not too great at sports and they did not want to be bothered with my less than proficient efforts.
Around this time my family bought a huge eight man tent. I guess we thought that someday we would take some big camping trip together. That never happened, but we did set up the tent and I was able to have a sleep over and invite four friends over to sleep outside. In a tent. With electricity and lots of snacks.....we were hardly experiencing "camping". But it was fun.....and it allowed for more fun....maybe sometimes not so innocent. Games like "Truth or Dare" seemed to always evolve into making someone....or many people go streaking outside the tent. Goofy growing up stuff....but I had a secret....and this gave me access to those I was most attracted to in a way that boy/girl interaction would never have allowed. Needless to say, I chose those four boys each year based on our friendship and also on who I thought was pretty cool....in every way. I was constantly trying to be part of the popular boys group. And even though I was able to occasionally hang out with popular people.....I was never considered one of them.
Onto other things from 1978. It was not all about my burgeoning puberty.....really. I now lived only about a mile from the Marshalltown Mall.....and the Mall theaters! I was also old enough to go there on my own. And in the summer of 1978 there was a movie released that would change my life....the film was "Grease". Oh, my God! Grease was a phenomenal experience for me. Just about every aspect of the movie seemed to reach out to me....the music was my instant favorite. In the summer of 1987 I went to see "Grease" a total of four times.....and when it came back to theaters in the fall, I went two more times!
I started a paper route this year and by the end of it I had taken on two routes. I delivered the Times Republican and the Pennysaver. This gave me a little bit of spending money and kept me busy in the afternoons when the papers were delivered. In addition to delivering the papers, I was tasked with "collecting". Going door to door and asking for money.....not the most glamorous thing to do.....but all of this walking gave me time to daydream and listen to my cassette player....it was "building character" is what I was told.
In the Winter of 1978, Hogland Elementary held auditions for a holiday school musical called "The Loneliest Christmas Card". I auditioned and got the boy lead part! How exciting it was for me.....This was the first time I would really perform in front of an audience. And I was hooked!
This production takes us through to the end of 1978. And onto age thirteen next.....
The year now is 1978. My family and I have moved off of Fairmeadows Road and we now live on South 5th Ave. We live just across an open field to a large park and Hogland Elementary School. We actually moved here in the fall of 1977, but this was our first full year here. This neighborhood had a whole lot of kids living around....most houses were families and many of the kids were around my age. I had already started developing crushes on boys at this time. I still admired and was fascinated by some girls, but when I saw a boy that I thought was attractive....well, that is what seemed to stir me up inside chemically. Those were the people that caught my interest and held it.....if I thought of someone romantically, I thought of one of the boys I knew and not a girl.
Now romance for me at that stage in my life was generally fantasizing about kissing and touching. All pretty innocent stuff. I had already experienced some awkward sessions of playing "doctor" in my old neighborhood. And although that was interesting, it was not what I would think of as romantic...just basic curiosity with both boys and girls.
My new neighborhood was dominated by teen boys. Within about three blocks there were probably 20 boys my age. Most of these boys I had met through my tepid sports careers.... And living right next to a huge open field meant that I would often see these boys out throwing a football, or baseball, or golfing, or really anything sports related that boys would do.....Sometimes I would be able to join in and other times these boys were already aware that I was not too great at sports and they did not want to be bothered with my less than proficient efforts.
Around this time my family bought a huge eight man tent. I guess we thought that someday we would take some big camping trip together. That never happened, but we did set up the tent and I was able to have a sleep over and invite four friends over to sleep outside. In a tent. With electricity and lots of snacks.....we were hardly experiencing "camping". But it was fun.....and it allowed for more fun....maybe sometimes not so innocent. Games like "Truth or Dare" seemed to always evolve into making someone....or many people go streaking outside the tent. Goofy growing up stuff....but I had a secret....and this gave me access to those I was most attracted to in a way that boy/girl interaction would never have allowed. Needless to say, I chose those four boys each year based on our friendship and also on who I thought was pretty cool....in every way. I was constantly trying to be part of the popular boys group. And even though I was able to occasionally hang out with popular people.....I was never considered one of them.
Onto other things from 1978. It was not all about my burgeoning puberty.....really. I now lived only about a mile from the Marshalltown Mall.....and the Mall theaters! I was also old enough to go there on my own. And in the summer of 1978 there was a movie released that would change my life....the film was "Grease". Oh, my God! Grease was a phenomenal experience for me. Just about every aspect of the movie seemed to reach out to me....the music was my instant favorite. In the summer of 1987 I went to see "Grease" a total of four times.....and when it came back to theaters in the fall, I went two more times!
I started a paper route this year and by the end of it I had taken on two routes. I delivered the Times Republican and the Pennysaver. This gave me a little bit of spending money and kept me busy in the afternoons when the papers were delivered. In addition to delivering the papers, I was tasked with "collecting". Going door to door and asking for money.....not the most glamorous thing to do.....but all of this walking gave me time to daydream and listen to my cassette player....it was "building character" is what I was told.
In the Winter of 1978, Hogland Elementary held auditions for a holiday school musical called "The Loneliest Christmas Card". I auditioned and got the boy lead part! How exciting it was for me.....This was the first time I would really perform in front of an audience. And I was hooked!
This production takes us through to the end of 1978. And onto age thirteen next.....
Monday, May 16, 2011
Year Eleven - 1977
Year Eleven - 1977
1977 also brought us the epic which is "Star Wars". This was the first film I wanted to go back and see repeatedly in the theaters. It seemed to transport me to a completely different reality when I was in there watching it. Every time I seemed to see something new and interesting. Some times I just watched the background action after I had memorized the main focal point of each scene.
This year was when I turned eleven. In true Marshalltown rearing, every male child shall be subjected to "little league" sports....to find where your true talents lie. And my parents (mother) was not immune to this indoctrination. She made sure I was signed up for everything from pee wee football to little league baseball. Let me run down them individually so you can get an idea of my success in each one...
First up, FOOTBALL!
I was first registered for flag football. There were no real try-outs. Everyone that paid, played. I was put on the Raiders team....way back when the real Raiders were first in Oakland, CA. We got jerseys and helmets. We had to get mouth guards, which were a rubbery plastic with a slight mint taste and scent. These were heated up in water and then molded by putting the hot plastic right in your mouth and biting down into the molten substance. We all had to wear a belt with Velcro flags attached. There was no tackling. There was hardly any strategy at all. Basically we were set up on the scrimmage line pointed in the direction of our goal....and told when to start moving. I imaging that it all looked pretty ridiculous. And since I had about zero interest in the sport, I am sure I just moved in the direction of the ball mindlessly. At the end of the game, win or lose, we all got treat tickets to get candy at the snack bar.....that was the main thing for me. And after two seasons of doing this, I was allowed to not register to do it any more. Which was a good thing.....most of the other kids who cared about football were starting to actually play the game and they would not have wanted me out there anymore than I did.....so, not a football player.
Next up, BASEBALL!
Little league has a long tradition in my family. Or that is what I am told. My mother's father had coached little league for many years when they lived in Marshalltown. He had some kind of reputation still when I became of age to start playing. I can remember someone referring to me as "Ed Lindsey's grandson" and that made me feel good. I thought I probably belonged playing this game. I got my glove and started playing catch on a regular basis. Then came the games themselves. The fields for little league were basically the same ones used for pee wee football. Except, baseball is played in the Spring. When everything is growing. And bugs are flying about quite a bit since the fields were near a creek. That means bees. And if you remember, I was deathly afraid of bees. And paranoid about bees. So, of course they play me in the outfield....were most of the bees would be. And when I was not looking over my shoulder for bees....I would occasionally glance into the infield to see what was happening with the game. Or the ball would be hit out in my direction.....and much yelling would ensue to get my attention to retrieve the ball. What I became infamously known for was the one move I made which I thought was genius.....I put my glove over my face to protect it from the bugs.....I could see through the webbing.....and if a ball came I would just move the glove off my face and try to stop it.....of course I had no clue how this would look to those watching the game. Well, it was seen as hilarious and ridiculous.....and I guess my parents were mortified. After two seasons of baseball, I was allowed to stop playing that game.....if only to save my parents from further embarrassment.
And finally, BASKETBALL!
In the winter, past football season....and before baseball season. That is basketball season. Our little league basketball was sponsored by the YMCA. And it had a pretty extensive try-out process. Basically, each player was asked to dribble the ball down the court. At one end they would do a layup and then rebound the ball and dribble to the other end of the court and take a jump shot from around the six foot zone. This was meant to show off your basic skills and then the adult coaches would take notes on who they liked and each player was selected by preference. Well, I had dribbled a ball and taken a few shots in my time.....but I was in no way a practiced player. But, I took to the court to do my thing.....dribble....all good....layup? Went ok.....even though I missed, I had good form......dribble back.....all good....now for the jump shot......I was a little nervous.....I stopped about fifteen feet from the hoop.....I closed my eyes and tossed the ball up.......SWISH!!! I nailed it......nothing but net!!! There was an audible gasp from the spectators.....it felt kind of amazing. I became a first round draft pick that year.....I got placed on the winning team of the season......and I never made another basket in a game. Ever! I was the booby prize......and I was allowed to quit basketball three seasons later.
Marshalltown, like most midwestern small towns, liked to center it's local attentions on children's sports. I know that each of my attempts to participate became another badge of failure for my parents, but I never did miss playing any of these sports. And really, I never caught on to the strategies of any of them until long after I had played. Later on I would attempt golf, tennis and track & field......all to similar success.
My focus was not going to be competitive sports......that much was known. But, I did know after this year that I wanted to spend as much time as I could in a movie theater. And I have been an avid fan ever since. I watch and critique movies the way some people follow sports.... And it all started in 1977.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Year Ten - 1976
I am quickly falling behind in my goal to write one of these once a week. I am going to keep going though and hopefully I will find time to catch up and finish by the time December rolls around...
So, year ten! It was 1976, the bicentennial. Oh, how the country was in a big swell of patriotism and glory. I guess we were just coming off of that whole Nixon thing too. People had a lot of reasons to wave a flag and put up some red, white and blue! Kids seemed to be the easiest targets to get involved in the whole thing. I feel like I remember the whole school year leading up to the Forth of July was one long USA nostalgia campaign. Well, it was an event that was pretty innocuous and it made everyone happy. So there really did not seem to be any harm in the whole thing.
I was entering third grade at this point. Still at Anson Elementary School. My younger brothers were getting older and bigger. There was talk of possibly moving at some point. My mother had taken a job at JC Penney in their old location on Main Street in Marshalltown. She was an inventory clerk. I think that meant that she processed all of the new merchandise that came into the store and put price tags on it. It was a part-time job and she still was mostly in the home when us kids were there. Dad was not often left to take care of the kids on his own. Not that he couldn't....but he worked the main bread winning job....and he always seemed tired and reserved when he was at home.
I started my big television watching around this time. I got some gift money of around $50.00 and chose to get a 4" screen black and white camping version television for my bedroom. The thing looked like a cross between a short wave radio and a car battery. But, it had a little screen and could pick up all of the television stations with it's telescopic antenna. I loved it. I really really loved it!
Finally! I had a television in my own bedroom. I put it on a table right next to my bed and I would watch TV until I fell asleep. Usually, that meant that around midnight my dad would open my door and yell at me to "turn that damn thing off!". I could never figure out exactly why that bothered him so much. I imagined that the cost of the electricity must have been so expensive that he felt I was just wasting it running the TV in the dark while I slept. I never had the volume up so loud that it could be heard in any other room. I did not even really stay up much past ten o'clock. Today I think it was probably just an annoyance for him that I constantly defied his directions. But, anyway....I would watch everything I could. I quickly became a huge fan of almost every show. I started watching things like Saturday Night Live, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Charlie's Angels, Bionic Woman, Sonny & Cher, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley......etc.
Things have not changed much. Today I still watch a whole lot of television. When I lived with my grandparents after high school, I found out that my grandfather also watched a whole lot of television. Usually by himself....and usually he would fall asleep watching television. That fact made me feel a whole lot closer to my grandfather....and seemed to explain a lot about why I did those things too....
And today, I still currently fall asleep with the television on in my room. Except now it is a 37" flat screen that is playing.....and I use a sleep timer to turn it off after an hour.
So, year ten! It was 1976, the bicentennial. Oh, how the country was in a big swell of patriotism and glory. I guess we were just coming off of that whole Nixon thing too. People had a lot of reasons to wave a flag and put up some red, white and blue! Kids seemed to be the easiest targets to get involved in the whole thing. I feel like I remember the whole school year leading up to the Forth of July was one long USA nostalgia campaign. Well, it was an event that was pretty innocuous and it made everyone happy. So there really did not seem to be any harm in the whole thing.
I was entering third grade at this point. Still at Anson Elementary School. My younger brothers were getting older and bigger. There was talk of possibly moving at some point. My mother had taken a job at JC Penney in their old location on Main Street in Marshalltown. She was an inventory clerk. I think that meant that she processed all of the new merchandise that came into the store and put price tags on it. It was a part-time job and she still was mostly in the home when us kids were there. Dad was not often left to take care of the kids on his own. Not that he couldn't....but he worked the main bread winning job....and he always seemed tired and reserved when he was at home.
I started my big television watching around this time. I got some gift money of around $50.00 and chose to get a 4" screen black and white camping version television for my bedroom. The thing looked like a cross between a short wave radio and a car battery. But, it had a little screen and could pick up all of the television stations with it's telescopic antenna. I loved it. I really really loved it!
Finally! I had a television in my own bedroom. I put it on a table right next to my bed and I would watch TV until I fell asleep. Usually, that meant that around midnight my dad would open my door and yell at me to "turn that damn thing off!". I could never figure out exactly why that bothered him so much. I imagined that the cost of the electricity must have been so expensive that he felt I was just wasting it running the TV in the dark while I slept. I never had the volume up so loud that it could be heard in any other room. I did not even really stay up much past ten o'clock. Today I think it was probably just an annoyance for him that I constantly defied his directions. But, anyway....I would watch everything I could. I quickly became a huge fan of almost every show. I started watching things like Saturday Night Live, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Charlie's Angels, Bionic Woman, Sonny & Cher, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley......etc.
Things have not changed much. Today I still watch a whole lot of television. When I lived with my grandparents after high school, I found out that my grandfather also watched a whole lot of television. Usually by himself....and usually he would fall asleep watching television. That fact made me feel a whole lot closer to my grandfather....and seemed to explain a lot about why I did those things too....
And today, I still currently fall asleep with the television on in my room. Except now it is a 37" flat screen that is playing.....and I use a sleep timer to turn it off after an hour.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Year Nine - 1975
Now we get to second grade. Here is where I really started to make some choices in my life. I started to define who I was and what I preferred in life. I started to sing along with more songs on the radio. I had songs that I really liked (Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers). And watched television shows that I enjoyed (Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries).
This was also the year that I developed one of my first crushes. And it was on a girl. I know! I was surprised too. Her name was Julie Long. She was an adorable little girl with curly blond hair. Kind of like Cindy on the Brady Bunch. She seemed very cute and nice. And popularity was starting to happen in our social circles. I thought she was probably one of the most popular people in the second grade. I remember sitting in class and staring at her. And then one day near Valentine's Day, I made her a card out of notebook paper. I asked her if she liked me. Yes, it was all about me. I did not include how I daydream about her.... And then I circled my question in a pencil written heart. I remember giving her the card in a daze. And waiting hopefully for her to return it to me with her answer. Well, I got my answer. "No!"
That was a cold splash of water on my ego. Suddenly I felt insecure and paranoid. I was rejected by someone I thought was so nice. What did that say about me? I would look over at Julie still and every time she would laugh I though she was mocking me. I went from having a crush....to being crushed. I thought I must have done something wrong. A few months later I remember telling my mother that I wanted to get a small tin of candies for someone at school. I am sure she was thrilled and amused. She bought me a fancy tin of hard candies wrapped up in clear cellophane. It looked very nice and kind of expensive to me. School was going to be taking a break for a week. Probably spring break. And at the end of the day I got the gift out. I walked right up to Julie before she got on her school bus. And I handed her the candies. I said "I wanted to give this to you". And then I turned and walked away. I could not even stay a moment longer to see what her expression was....other than total surprise that I was handing her this gift with no real reason. And then, I never spoke to her about it ever again. Man, I had some kind of passive aggressive thing happening. I still had a little crush on her....every time I saw her through the rest of our school years. But, I avoided every really talking to her ever again.
Julie was great. I remember her always being popular. She was athletic and excelled at gymnastics. I kind of doubt she even remembers much of any of this....
I have seen recently that we have many common friends on Facebook. She is married and has children. Looks like she has a great life and I am happy for her. I requested to be her Facebook friend a few weeks ago.....and I got my answer. No. LOL!
This was also the year that I developed one of my first crushes. And it was on a girl. I know! I was surprised too. Her name was Julie Long. She was an adorable little girl with curly blond hair. Kind of like Cindy on the Brady Bunch. She seemed very cute and nice. And popularity was starting to happen in our social circles. I thought she was probably one of the most popular people in the second grade. I remember sitting in class and staring at her. And then one day near Valentine's Day, I made her a card out of notebook paper. I asked her if she liked me. Yes, it was all about me. I did not include how I daydream about her.... And then I circled my question in a pencil written heart. I remember giving her the card in a daze. And waiting hopefully for her to return it to me with her answer. Well, I got my answer. "No!"
That was a cold splash of water on my ego. Suddenly I felt insecure and paranoid. I was rejected by someone I thought was so nice. What did that say about me? I would look over at Julie still and every time she would laugh I though she was mocking me. I went from having a crush....to being crushed. I thought I must have done something wrong. A few months later I remember telling my mother that I wanted to get a small tin of candies for someone at school. I am sure she was thrilled and amused. She bought me a fancy tin of hard candies wrapped up in clear cellophane. It looked very nice and kind of expensive to me. School was going to be taking a break for a week. Probably spring break. And at the end of the day I got the gift out. I walked right up to Julie before she got on her school bus. And I handed her the candies. I said "I wanted to give this to you". And then I turned and walked away. I could not even stay a moment longer to see what her expression was....other than total surprise that I was handing her this gift with no real reason. And then, I never spoke to her about it ever again. Man, I had some kind of passive aggressive thing happening. I still had a little crush on her....every time I saw her through the rest of our school years. But, I avoided every really talking to her ever again.
Julie was great. I remember her always being popular. She was athletic and excelled at gymnastics. I kind of doubt she even remembers much of any of this....
I have seen recently that we have many common friends on Facebook. She is married and has children. Looks like she has a great life and I am happy for her. I requested to be her Facebook friend a few weeks ago.....and I got my answer. No. LOL!
Year Eight - 1974
Ok, this writing once a week is hard. I get really bogged down in the other things that take up my current life and it makes me too busy to stop and think about what to write about my previous years of life. Sorry I have made you all wait so long for this year.....it's 1974 and things are starting to happen...
So, we left off with me doing all kinds of fun kid stuff. Roller skating, bowling, and seeing movies. Yeah, I did all that. In addition, I continued to take swim lessons when ever my mother could find new ones for me and my brothers to take. Around this time we took lessons at the YMCA and through the Red Cross at the local outdoor pool. Man, we took a lot of swimming lessons. As a result of these lessons, I developed a condition called "water on the ear". Basically, I had water trapped behind my eardrum and because I was still developing it would probably not drain on its own...so, I had to have surgery to drain the water and install very very tiny tubes in my ears to allow future water to drain. I remember having to travel an hour to Des Moines to have the surgery done. We got there early in the day....we had just listened to Minnie Riperton sing "Lovin You" on the radio in the car. I remember just being amazed at the clarity of her high notes and the lulling quality of the lyrics. Contrast that with the sterile atmosphere of the hospital. The surgery preparations and the ultimately being put under and wheeled into surgery. ZZZZzzzzz...... Once out, all I remember is being warned not to let my ears get wet for the next month. Jeez...that meant covering my ears in medical tape every time I took a bath. And no swim lessons. It was quite a production there for a little while... And then, I never thought about those tubes in my ears ever again. They say they just fall out naturally as you grow up.
This year I also had my tonsils removed as well. It's funny how I don't remember that surgery at all and the ear one is so clear to me....
This was also the year I was in first grade. Finally, real school! I had a homeroom and a class schedule with different teachers. No more pseudo babysitters who pretended to give instruction. These teachers were giving actual lessons. Learning to read. Learning to do math. Learning very basic science. Practicing how to write. I liked school. I like the social atmosphere. And I had fun there....this year. I was at Anson Elementary. I walked about half a mile to school each day....alone or with the neighbor kids.
I don't remember really making any decisions yet in my life. I just followed the schedule that was made for me by my mom or the school or whoever....I was still a soft ball of clay....and anyone could mold me.
So, we left off with me doing all kinds of fun kid stuff. Roller skating, bowling, and seeing movies. Yeah, I did all that. In addition, I continued to take swim lessons when ever my mother could find new ones for me and my brothers to take. Around this time we took lessons at the YMCA and through the Red Cross at the local outdoor pool. Man, we took a lot of swimming lessons. As a result of these lessons, I developed a condition called "water on the ear". Basically, I had water trapped behind my eardrum and because I was still developing it would probably not drain on its own...so, I had to have surgery to drain the water and install very very tiny tubes in my ears to allow future water to drain. I remember having to travel an hour to Des Moines to have the surgery done. We got there early in the day....we had just listened to Minnie Riperton sing "Lovin You" on the radio in the car. I remember just being amazed at the clarity of her high notes and the lulling quality of the lyrics. Contrast that with the sterile atmosphere of the hospital. The surgery preparations and the ultimately being put under and wheeled into surgery. ZZZZzzzzz...... Once out, all I remember is being warned not to let my ears get wet for the next month. Jeez...that meant covering my ears in medical tape every time I took a bath. And no swim lessons. It was quite a production there for a little while... And then, I never thought about those tubes in my ears ever again. They say they just fall out naturally as you grow up.
This year I also had my tonsils removed as well. It's funny how I don't remember that surgery at all and the ear one is so clear to me....
This was also the year I was in first grade. Finally, real school! I had a homeroom and a class schedule with different teachers. No more pseudo babysitters who pretended to give instruction. These teachers were giving actual lessons. Learning to read. Learning to do math. Learning very basic science. Practicing how to write. I liked school. I like the social atmosphere. And I had fun there....this year. I was at Anson Elementary. I walked about half a mile to school each day....alone or with the neighbor kids.
I don't remember really making any decisions yet in my life. I just followed the schedule that was made for me by my mom or the school or whoever....I was still a soft ball of clay....and anyone could mold me.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Year Seven - 1973
Ah, the blissful years of youth. My parents are married happily at this point. My mother works from home babysitting kids during the day. I am starting real school now. I am in Kindergarten. Socializing with other strange new people. Exploring the world in ever bigger loops on my bike.
During these years, I spent a lot of time with my cousin Kyle. He is the cousin who was born ten days earlier than me. Our parents would take turns watching the kids. Since we were basically the same age, we had a lot of things in common. But we went to different schools. So we did not see each other until weekends. But on those weekends we really had some fun. I will dedicate this weeks blog the three activities we did most often...
Totem Bowl
We were registered into a junior league bowling. I mean, really junior. Basically, the moms would drop off the kids at the bowling alley and then the kids were grouped up into teams of three or four. We would then spend the next three hours "bowling". Not that any of us were any good at it. But, they did play music and it was fun to see the pins go down and get reset. And I guess I did learn the basics of the game. This was before automatic scoring machines. So, someone else probably had to keep score. If anyone was keeping score at all.
Plaza Theaters
When I was five or so, our little Marshalltown Mall opened up. It was a nice venue with three anchor stores and a handful of other retailers. It was exciting and made Marshalltown feel more like a big city...like Des Moines. Well, in this mall was a new movie theater. It had two screens! TWO! The old Orpheum theater only had one...now our town supported three indoor movie screens and even a drive-in theater in the summer months! We were movin' on up! Well, on weekends this theater would show kids movies or movie marathons for kids. Again, mom would drop us off and give us a few dollars for candy and leave us there for the next few hours. It was great fun to see so many movies. I grew a real appreciation for the Disney live action films of the day. This was before the days of the VCR, so the only real way to see movies was to go to the theater.
Skatetown USA
The third location where our mothers would drop us off for hours at a time was Skatetown! This place was the best! Rollerskating was at an all time high in popularity. The place had a great concessions stand. And it was probably my first exposure to a disk jockey. The DJ booth was right on the corner of the skate rink and you could go up and actually make requests! We would get dropped off there around noon and picked up again at 5pm. Usually all of that skating left us hungry and tired. But, ready to do it all over again the next week!
Those past times were good times for sure. A great way to hang out with your cousin and get away from two younger brothers. I think there was some kind of a discount card that our parents bought which allowed us to go to these places more often. I remember taking that card out and getting it punched off each time we went to any of these three places. And then when the card was done....so were we.
Times have changed. Now Totem Bowl is still much the same....although it seems run down by comparison. The Plaza Theaters moved to a different part of the mall and now feature eight screens! And Skatetown closed a few years ago and was not replaced by anything. No more skating indoors in Marshalltown. Awe...
During these years, I spent a lot of time with my cousin Kyle. He is the cousin who was born ten days earlier than me. Our parents would take turns watching the kids. Since we were basically the same age, we had a lot of things in common. But we went to different schools. So we did not see each other until weekends. But on those weekends we really had some fun. I will dedicate this weeks blog the three activities we did most often...
Totem Bowl
We were registered into a junior league bowling. I mean, really junior. Basically, the moms would drop off the kids at the bowling alley and then the kids were grouped up into teams of three or four. We would then spend the next three hours "bowling". Not that any of us were any good at it. But, they did play music and it was fun to see the pins go down and get reset. And I guess I did learn the basics of the game. This was before automatic scoring machines. So, someone else probably had to keep score. If anyone was keeping score at all.
Plaza Theaters
When I was five or so, our little Marshalltown Mall opened up. It was a nice venue with three anchor stores and a handful of other retailers. It was exciting and made Marshalltown feel more like a big city...like Des Moines. Well, in this mall was a new movie theater. It had two screens! TWO! The old Orpheum theater only had one...now our town supported three indoor movie screens and even a drive-in theater in the summer months! We were movin' on up! Well, on weekends this theater would show kids movies or movie marathons for kids. Again, mom would drop us off and give us a few dollars for candy and leave us there for the next few hours. It was great fun to see so many movies. I grew a real appreciation for the Disney live action films of the day. This was before the days of the VCR, so the only real way to see movies was to go to the theater.
Skatetown USA
The third location where our mothers would drop us off for hours at a time was Skatetown! This place was the best! Rollerskating was at an all time high in popularity. The place had a great concessions stand. And it was probably my first exposure to a disk jockey. The DJ booth was right on the corner of the skate rink and you could go up and actually make requests! We would get dropped off there around noon and picked up again at 5pm. Usually all of that skating left us hungry and tired. But, ready to do it all over again the next week!
Those past times were good times for sure. A great way to hang out with your cousin and get away from two younger brothers. I think there was some kind of a discount card that our parents bought which allowed us to go to these places more often. I remember taking that card out and getting it punched off each time we went to any of these three places. And then when the card was done....so were we.
Times have changed. Now Totem Bowl is still much the same....although it seems run down by comparison. The Plaza Theaters moved to a different part of the mall and now feature eight screens! And Skatetown closed a few years ago and was not replaced by anything. No more skating indoors in Marshalltown. Awe...
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Year Six - 1972
In this year I attend pre-school. This is a hot button issue right now in Iowa. The new (old) Governor wants to eliminate all funding for pre-school programs. With most parents working these days, I think a program that starts kids off with social and educational programming early is an excellent way to support our children and families. I hope something is done to preserve the pre-school programs. It would be a shame if they were eliminated.
Well, my pre-school was a private one held in a home. The Wantese (sp) Preschool. It was run by a nice older lady. The house always smelled like paste. The kind of homemade paste you make with flour and water. A little musty. There were about twenty kids that attended preschool there. We would play games. We would do arts and crafts. And each day after we had a snack, we would lay on our mats to take a nap. Usually for a half hour. I don't think anyone really ever fell asleep. We would just lay there and listen to the farm report playing on the transistor radio. "Corn is up 1.5 cents today, wheat is up 2 cents today, hogs are trading at $37 a head." I think I may have drifted off a few times I guess...
Also, this was the year that I started taking swimming lessons. See, my mother did not know how to swim. She probably still does not know how to swim. And she made a declaration that her kids were all going to learn how to swim. Well, after being attacked by a nest of sandflies on the beach when I was two and living with a woman who was afraid of the water herself....I was deathly afraid of the water. I would cry and kick and scream if anyone tried to take me into a pool. So, making me go to swimming lessons was not something I looked forward to doing. I was stressed and upset just pulling up to the building where they were held. I would sit on the edge of the pool and not move. The instructor was a local middle school gym teacher whom my mother had (and did not like) when she attended school. Her name was Mrs. Hasenwinkel. She was a beast. She was a tall woman. She had pasty white skin and a big curly afro hair style. She just seemed mean. She did not appreciate that I was afraid of the water. She would drag me into the pool and take me to the deep end. There she would hold me about six feet from the side of the pool and tell me if I wanted to get out, I would have to swim there. Well, she would let go of me....I would start kicking and flailing about....and I would sink to the bottom of the pool. At some point I don't think I even tried to make it to the edge anymore. I did not want this method to work out for her.
Many lessons later, I just eventually began to swim. I know it was independent of Mrs. Hasenwinkel's instruction. And I know she was there to see it. At this stage, she just seemed to tolerate me and did not insist on "teaching" me anything anymore. I felt vindicated somehow. I had learned how to swim and also not given in to her methods. I was really developing my rebellious nature already.
Soon, I was hearing that I would be ready to play sports......oh no!
Well, my pre-school was a private one held in a home. The Wantese (sp) Preschool. It was run by a nice older lady. The house always smelled like paste. The kind of homemade paste you make with flour and water. A little musty. There were about twenty kids that attended preschool there. We would play games. We would do arts and crafts. And each day after we had a snack, we would lay on our mats to take a nap. Usually for a half hour. I don't think anyone really ever fell asleep. We would just lay there and listen to the farm report playing on the transistor radio. "Corn is up 1.5 cents today, wheat is up 2 cents today, hogs are trading at $37 a head." I think I may have drifted off a few times I guess...
Also, this was the year that I started taking swimming lessons. See, my mother did not know how to swim. She probably still does not know how to swim. And she made a declaration that her kids were all going to learn how to swim. Well, after being attacked by a nest of sandflies on the beach when I was two and living with a woman who was afraid of the water herself....I was deathly afraid of the water. I would cry and kick and scream if anyone tried to take me into a pool. So, making me go to swimming lessons was not something I looked forward to doing. I was stressed and upset just pulling up to the building where they were held. I would sit on the edge of the pool and not move. The instructor was a local middle school gym teacher whom my mother had (and did not like) when she attended school. Her name was Mrs. Hasenwinkel. She was a beast. She was a tall woman. She had pasty white skin and a big curly afro hair style. She just seemed mean. She did not appreciate that I was afraid of the water. She would drag me into the pool and take me to the deep end. There she would hold me about six feet from the side of the pool and tell me if I wanted to get out, I would have to swim there. Well, she would let go of me....I would start kicking and flailing about....and I would sink to the bottom of the pool. At some point I don't think I even tried to make it to the edge anymore. I did not want this method to work out for her.
Many lessons later, I just eventually began to swim. I know it was independent of Mrs. Hasenwinkel's instruction. And I know she was there to see it. At this stage, she just seemed to tolerate me and did not insist on "teaching" me anything anymore. I felt vindicated somehow. I had learned how to swim and also not given in to her methods. I was really developing my rebellious nature already.
Soon, I was hearing that I would be ready to play sports......oh no!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Year Five - 1971
Ok, the year now is 1971. I am turn five years old this year. I have two younger brothers and we have just moved into a new house. In a new neighborhood. We live on a street that has many modest sized homes and most of the families have children in my age range.
Of the peers I have on this block, there are a few become people I still know to this day. Tracy Liter was a pretty little girl my age who lives two doors down to the left of my house. She has an older sister and a younger brother. Her parents became friends with my parents. I spent a lot of time hanging out at her house. We got into so much trouble. I think we had the bad reputations in the neighborhood. Always getting into things...
One such time was when we got some of those wonderful stick matches. The ones that smell so funny when you strike them on the box. Both of our houses had large backyards that ended by a large field. In the spring, before the green grass had come back, we went far out into that field and used the matches to light some paper on fire. Of course, we were standing in knee deep brown dried up dead grass at the time. And of course the grass caught on fire. And it started going up quickly. Well, we just stood back and watched the flames and smoke as it spread. And then someone came up from behind and yelled at us to go home. So we took off running while he stomped out the fire with a big board. It was exciting and scary. And then when I got home, I just went to my room and waited. I knew what was coming. As soon as my father got home, he came into my room with a flyswatter. The kind with the rubbery flap attached to a wire loop handle. Well, he turned that handle around and whipped me good on my bare bottom. OUCH!
This year was also really the first year I became aware of popular music. I fell in love with my first 45 record which I played in an endless loop. The song was called "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies. I had no idea that they were not a real band. I was not even aware of the cartoon or comic books of The Archies. All I knew is that I loved the music. The opening chords. The loopy silly chorus. And the repetitive nature of the whole production.....I played that song all the time....I learned every word. Every note. And I sang it when ever I could! I count this as the first record that I owned. Even though I did have a nice collection of Disney listen along books and records that I played on my little red record player that had the needle and arm in the hood of the case. You would put the record on....close the lid....and then the record would play. This also is some of the first technology that I ever owned. I love technology!
These are the easy years. Not much drama for right now. Just growing up and having fun....
Of the peers I have on this block, there are a few become people I still know to this day. Tracy Liter was a pretty little girl my age who lives two doors down to the left of my house. She has an older sister and a younger brother. Her parents became friends with my parents. I spent a lot of time hanging out at her house. We got into so much trouble. I think we had the bad reputations in the neighborhood. Always getting into things...
One such time was when we got some of those wonderful stick matches. The ones that smell so funny when you strike them on the box. Both of our houses had large backyards that ended by a large field. In the spring, before the green grass had come back, we went far out into that field and used the matches to light some paper on fire. Of course, we were standing in knee deep brown dried up dead grass at the time. And of course the grass caught on fire. And it started going up quickly. Well, we just stood back and watched the flames and smoke as it spread. And then someone came up from behind and yelled at us to go home. So we took off running while he stomped out the fire with a big board. It was exciting and scary. And then when I got home, I just went to my room and waited. I knew what was coming. As soon as my father got home, he came into my room with a flyswatter. The kind with the rubbery flap attached to a wire loop handle. Well, he turned that handle around and whipped me good on my bare bottom. OUCH!
This year was also really the first year I became aware of popular music. I fell in love with my first 45 record which I played in an endless loop. The song was called "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies. I had no idea that they were not a real band. I was not even aware of the cartoon or comic books of The Archies. All I knew is that I loved the music. The opening chords. The loopy silly chorus. And the repetitive nature of the whole production.....I played that song all the time....I learned every word. Every note. And I sang it when ever I could! I count this as the first record that I owned. Even though I did have a nice collection of Disney listen along books and records that I played on my little red record player that had the needle and arm in the hood of the case. You would put the record on....close the lid....and then the record would play. This also is some of the first technology that I ever owned. I love technology!
These are the easy years. Not much drama for right now. Just growing up and having fun....
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Year Four - 1970
We left off with me, my mother and new baby brother back in Marshalltown, IA. I mentioned that my newly adopted dad was home for the holidays. That fact was reinforced by the news shortly into the year that my mother was pregnant again. My brother Jason had just been born in October and by December my mother was set to have another child. Seems like a short window, but these crazy kids were in love. That and my dad was away in the Navy most of the time in the previous year.
With my father away and two kids at home, my mother was not rushing back into the workplace. We were living in a single wide trailer in a small trailer park placed right next to a creek. At age three, I loved going down to the creek (really just about 20 feet from our home) and I would marvel at the little minnows and crawdads in the water. The creek never got very deep, so you could wade into the water. It was located at the bottom of a ravine that was about a three foot drop from the bank of the stream. The ravine was probably the more dangerous of the elements of this natural playground. Falling from there onto the rocks in the stream was the easiest way to hurt yourself. There were many trees that lined the creek. Trees to climb and build forts in.... Of course, I was strictly forbade to play in or around that stream. That never seemed to stop me.
To make extra money, my mother took in other children to care for during the day. She would babysit these kids and take care of my brother and I. Sometime in this year I learned how to lock the front door to the trailer. I thought that was the funniest thing. Locking my mother out of the house. She would pound and yell. I would laugh and laugh.
One time, my mother had gone to the wash house to do laundry. While she was gone I got out the Flintstone's chewable vitamins. I poured them all out on a paper plate then me and the other kids my mother was watching proceeded to eat all of our favorites! I liked the car. Well, you can imagine what happened when my mother came back to the trailer....she was mortified and rushed us all to the emergency room. We had to have our stomachs pumped. I guess the vitamins had iron in them as well and too much iron is a bad thing for kids.
In the midst of this year, my father returned home full time. With a third child on the way....we were quickly outgrowing the single wide trailer. So, we arranged to move into a house. A house located just on the other side of the creek!
A few other things that happened this year. I had a teenage babysitter who showed me her Barbie collection. I was amazed and instantly hooked. When ever she babysat for me I asked her about her Barbies. The clothes and everything were fascinating to me. I then found that my grandparents also had a lot of Barbie toys as well. I was told that these things were not for boys....but that never stopped me from wanting to play with them. I loved all the little clothes and shoes! But, I always had to leave the Barbies at grandma's house at the end of the day.
Also, I am told I got up in the middle of the night and placed a can of soup in the oven and turned it on. The trailer was filled with smoke from the burnt label on the can and everyone was really freaked out that I would turn on the stove. No one was hurt and I guess I just was hungry for some soup.
My youngest brother, Joseph Donald Frohwein, was born on August 5, 1970. And by the end of the year we were moved to a new home. A real home. One with three bedrooms and a basement! This is the first address I ever remember having as well. 1208 Fairmeadows Road. This is where the next few year of my life would take place....
With my father away and two kids at home, my mother was not rushing back into the workplace. We were living in a single wide trailer in a small trailer park placed right next to a creek. At age three, I loved going down to the creek (really just about 20 feet from our home) and I would marvel at the little minnows and crawdads in the water. The creek never got very deep, so you could wade into the water. It was located at the bottom of a ravine that was about a three foot drop from the bank of the stream. The ravine was probably the more dangerous of the elements of this natural playground. Falling from there onto the rocks in the stream was the easiest way to hurt yourself. There were many trees that lined the creek. Trees to climb and build forts in.... Of course, I was strictly forbade to play in or around that stream. That never seemed to stop me.
To make extra money, my mother took in other children to care for during the day. She would babysit these kids and take care of my brother and I. Sometime in this year I learned how to lock the front door to the trailer. I thought that was the funniest thing. Locking my mother out of the house. She would pound and yell. I would laugh and laugh.
One time, my mother had gone to the wash house to do laundry. While she was gone I got out the Flintstone's chewable vitamins. I poured them all out on a paper plate then me and the other kids my mother was watching proceeded to eat all of our favorites! I liked the car. Well, you can imagine what happened when my mother came back to the trailer....she was mortified and rushed us all to the emergency room. We had to have our stomachs pumped. I guess the vitamins had iron in them as well and too much iron is a bad thing for kids.
In the midst of this year, my father returned home full time. With a third child on the way....we were quickly outgrowing the single wide trailer. So, we arranged to move into a house. A house located just on the other side of the creek!
A few other things that happened this year. I had a teenage babysitter who showed me her Barbie collection. I was amazed and instantly hooked. When ever she babysat for me I asked her about her Barbies. The clothes and everything were fascinating to me. I then found that my grandparents also had a lot of Barbie toys as well. I was told that these things were not for boys....but that never stopped me from wanting to play with them. I loved all the little clothes and shoes! But, I always had to leave the Barbies at grandma's house at the end of the day.
Also, I am told I got up in the middle of the night and placed a can of soup in the oven and turned it on. The trailer was filled with smoke from the burnt label on the can and everyone was really freaked out that I would turn on the stove. No one was hurt and I guess I just was hungry for some soup.
My youngest brother, Joseph Donald Frohwein, was born on August 5, 1970. And by the end of the year we were moved to a new home. A real home. One with three bedrooms and a basement! This is the first address I ever remember having as well. 1208 Fairmeadows Road. This is where the next few year of my life would take place....
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Year Three - 1969
We join our story again in Charleston, SC. The new Frohwein family has just re-located there while Don Frohwein is active duty in the Navy. We were located near the white sandy beaches. And many photographs were taken of me atop a pyramid of cannon balls and an actual cannon. The first pictures of me on the beach are taken here and a sailors cap is my favorite accessory. For many years after, I was told the story of being at the beach and my family basically washed my cloth diaper out in the ocean. My new dad loved to kid me that there was a shark out there chewing on my turd. Lovely.
I can't say for sure that I have a lot of genuine memories of my time in Charleston. But, I did have one incident happen to me that I still carry the emotional scars for to this day. I was playing in the sand one day and I happened to dig into a nest of sandflies. I was bitten over a large percent of my body and I was treated at a local hospital. Here is what wikipedia says about these bugs "Sandfly bites may leave large, red itchy bumps that may turn into a rash. These bumps are frequently several times as itchy as mosquito bites, and tend to last longer as well."
Although I do not remember the actual attack, I was plagued for years after with an extreme fear of all flying insects. I did not like the beach or sand for a long while. And I think this also led into my fear of swimming and of water that would come up a few years later. I still get an anxiety pulse whenever I am around a bee or a wasp. But, unlike my youth, I do not go screaming away in rabid fear anymore.
Also, in this year my mother discovered that she was pregnant. She and Don had created a honeymoon baby, I assume. And by the end of the summer there, my pregnant mother and I had planned to relocate back to Marshalltown, IA. My mother wanted to give birth around family and friends. The short time we spent in Charleston would be the last time my mother would live anywhere else besides Marshalltown, IA - as she still resides there to this day.
So in the early fall my mother and I left my new dad in South Carolina and boarded a plane to return to Iowa. I remember some things about this experience. I remember dressing up like we were going to church. People chose to dress nice when they flew in a plane back then. I remember the flight attendants paying a lot of attention to me. I got free pilot wings and I think I even got to go to the cockpit and meet the pilots as well. And one other thing....I got to have as much 7-Up as I wanted! It was a very exciting trip for me then and even today when I fly, I am very excited about the whole flying process.
My brother, Jason Edward Frohwein, was born on October 16, 1969. I was happy to have a brother. We were living in a single wide trailer in a small trailer park next to a creek. We did not have much of anything, but we were happy and I believe Don (here on out to be referred to as my dad) was able to come home over the holidays. Well, he would have had to have been there in December...
More on why.... next week!
I can't say for sure that I have a lot of genuine memories of my time in Charleston. But, I did have one incident happen to me that I still carry the emotional scars for to this day. I was playing in the sand one day and I happened to dig into a nest of sandflies. I was bitten over a large percent of my body and I was treated at a local hospital. Here is what wikipedia says about these bugs "Sandfly bites may leave large, red itchy bumps that may turn into a rash. These bumps are frequently several times as itchy as mosquito bites, and tend to last longer as well."
Although I do not remember the actual attack, I was plagued for years after with an extreme fear of all flying insects. I did not like the beach or sand for a long while. And I think this also led into my fear of swimming and of water that would come up a few years later. I still get an anxiety pulse whenever I am around a bee or a wasp. But, unlike my youth, I do not go screaming away in rabid fear anymore.
Also, in this year my mother discovered that she was pregnant. She and Don had created a honeymoon baby, I assume. And by the end of the summer there, my pregnant mother and I had planned to relocate back to Marshalltown, IA. My mother wanted to give birth around family and friends. The short time we spent in Charleston would be the last time my mother would live anywhere else besides Marshalltown, IA - as she still resides there to this day.
So in the early fall my mother and I left my new dad in South Carolina and boarded a plane to return to Iowa. I remember some things about this experience. I remember dressing up like we were going to church. People chose to dress nice when they flew in a plane back then. I remember the flight attendants paying a lot of attention to me. I got free pilot wings and I think I even got to go to the cockpit and meet the pilots as well. And one other thing....I got to have as much 7-Up as I wanted! It was a very exciting trip for me then and even today when I fly, I am very excited about the whole flying process.
My brother, Jason Edward Frohwein, was born on October 16, 1969. I was happy to have a brother. We were living in a single wide trailer in a small trailer park next to a creek. We did not have much of anything, but we were happy and I believe Don (here on out to be referred to as my dad) was able to come home over the holidays. Well, he would have had to have been there in December...
More on why.... next week!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Year Two - 1968
We last left our story with my mother a newly divorced woman around eighteen years of age. She was working at a manufacturing plant in Marshalltown, IA and her newborn son (me) was living with her parents in Kansas. She also lived with her younger sister. My mother met and began dating a man named Don Frohwein. He also worked at the manufacturing plant (Marshall Manufacturing.....what a creative name!). Don Frohwein was around eighteen years old too. He was a farm boy from a neighboring town. His family owned a farm in a rural area about ten miles out of town. He worked at the manufacturing plant and on the farm. Then he was a Navy reservist on weekends as well.
Don and my mother (Kathi) began dating and things heated up fast. I returned from Kansas and the three of us moved into the Frohwein family farm. Shortly after that, Don was informed that he would be going into active duty with the Navy and they stationed him in Charleston, SC. Well, the whole romance of the officer and gentleman thing must have taken hold.....Don Frohwein and my mother were married and we all prepared to move out to South Carolina for a year.
But, before that happened...it seems that I had had very little (none) visits and connections with Dave Presnall. I guess with me living in Kansas and then the rural farm, there were few chances for me to hang out or bond with my biological father. And in learning new words, I had started to attach "daddy" with this new man, Don Frohwein. A call was made around this time from Dave to my mother.....without much emotion or fanfare, Dave suggested that he would not object to Don Frohwein petitioning to adopt me as his own. And so it was.....
One of my earliest memories is one where I was sitting on top of a large desk. There was a man there who asked me if I wanted this Don Frohwein person to be my father.....and I think I remember a reply in the affirmative. Much paperwork and a shake of the hand.....and my last name officially changed to Frohwein.
We settled into housing on the base there in Charleston. Many pictures were taken of me on cannons and at the beach. A new family had been formed.
Don and my mother (Kathi) began dating and things heated up fast. I returned from Kansas and the three of us moved into the Frohwein family farm. Shortly after that, Don was informed that he would be going into active duty with the Navy and they stationed him in Charleston, SC. Well, the whole romance of the officer and gentleman thing must have taken hold.....Don Frohwein and my mother were married and we all prepared to move out to South Carolina for a year.
But, before that happened...it seems that I had had very little (none) visits and connections with Dave Presnall. I guess with me living in Kansas and then the rural farm, there were few chances for me to hang out or bond with my biological father. And in learning new words, I had started to attach "daddy" with this new man, Don Frohwein. A call was made around this time from Dave to my mother.....without much emotion or fanfare, Dave suggested that he would not object to Don Frohwein petitioning to adopt me as his own. And so it was.....
One of my earliest memories is one where I was sitting on top of a large desk. There was a man there who asked me if I wanted this Don Frohwein person to be my father.....and I think I remember a reply in the affirmative. Much paperwork and a shake of the hand.....and my last name officially changed to Frohwein.
We settled into housing on the base there in Charleston. Many pictures were taken of me on cannons and at the beach. A new family had been formed.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Year One - 1967
Ok, so in this first year we have my seventeen year old mother and her new seventeen year old husband living in a trailer with my sixteen year old aunt. And my grandparents have up and moved to Kansas. Can anyone imagine anything like this happening today? You can not just move your teenage kids into some shoddy single-wide aluminum shelter and take off. But that is what happened in 1967 in Marshalltown, Iowa.
Without school to go to, my mother sought out employment. She took advantage of some social connections my grandparents had with people who worked at a small manufacturing plant in town. But, in 1967 it was not common for a woman with a new born child to be out of the home working. So, the company suggested that they could hire my mother if she did not have a baby at home which would be a distraction from the labor and such. My grandparents agreed to take me in for the better part of this year so my mother could work. My mother's plan to stay in Marshalltown and have a child was probably not working out exactly as planned, I would guess.
So, without the baby around, two seventeen year olds living together and being teenagers....well, their relationship soured. Big shock! Who would have thought that two seventeen year olds would fail at marriage under these conditions? Vegas odds makers would not take that bet.
But fear not, somewhere across a crowded manufacturing building my mother finds favor with another fellow worker. Don Frohwein. Hmmmm.....that last name sounds familiar.
Without school to go to, my mother sought out employment. She took advantage of some social connections my grandparents had with people who worked at a small manufacturing plant in town. But, in 1967 it was not common for a woman with a new born child to be out of the home working. So, the company suggested that they could hire my mother if she did not have a baby at home which would be a distraction from the labor and such. My grandparents agreed to take me in for the better part of this year so my mother could work. My mother's plan to stay in Marshalltown and have a child was probably not working out exactly as planned, I would guess.
So, without the baby around, two seventeen year olds living together and being teenagers....well, their relationship soured. Big shock! Who would have thought that two seventeen year olds would fail at marriage under these conditions? Vegas odds makers would not take that bet.
But fear not, somewhere across a crowded manufacturing building my mother finds favor with another fellow worker. Don Frohwein. Hmmmm.....that last name sounds familiar.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Year Zero - 1966
I am starting a blog to recount my memories from each year of my life. These are things I have been told and things I actually remember. I am going to attempt to blog once a week, so by the end of 2011 I will have covered each year in my 45 years on the planet.
I am not doing any extensive plotting or planning to recount these memories. Some things might actually be a generalization of the events for that year or time of my life. I am going to attempt to make each year unique and include the important events that happened to me or around me.
I do not plan to offend or disparage anyone with these blog posts. Anyone who is featured in my blog that has a different take on how or what happened - you are welcome to make corrective remarks in the comments section. I will not be offended and I hope you won't either, if I happen to recall something incorrectly.
So, on with the blog......
Year Zero
I was born on November 23, 1966 in Marshalltown, Iowa. It was the day before Thanksgiving. I remember my mother telling everyone in later years that she had to have Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital that year. But they did serve turkey and stuffing. Thanksgiving has thus become my defacto birthday week. I Try to celebrate the whole week and have regularly taken that week off from work. For many years I have made the entire Thanksgiving dinner including a whole turkey, even if I am celebrating alone.
My birth was a whole dramafest in itself though. Being a November birth means that my mother got pregnant in February. Possibly a Valentine's Day baby...I guess. But the drama was that my mother was only sixteen years old when she got pregnant. See, my grandparents had made a decision to relocate the family and my mother was simply not interested in moving. She was a strong willed young woman and made the declaration that she would not be moving. She would do anything to make sure that she did not move - including getting pregnant! Well, she made good on that promise. I guess she wanted to stay in Marshalltown, Iowa with her friends and possibly graduate with them instead of moving to some new town where she knew no one. I can kind of understand her view, but not really the methods she went to to achieve her goal. Even though they did result in my birth.
My mother had a boyfriend named Dave Presnell. I hear they had been going out for a while. And upon learning of my impending birth, Dave supposedly did the right thing and proposed to my mother. Not really the order things happened in at that time. My mother was summarily dismissed from Marshalltown High School. Pregnant girls were not really welcome in the public school system at that time. At least my mother was not shipped off to some secret birthing home as you see in some old movies and tv shows.
My mother was set up with a nice trailer to live in and her younger sister, Patty, stayed in Marshalltown too and lived with us. My mother's older sister, Charlene, was pregnant at the exact same time. She gave birth to my cousin Kyle on November 13th and it is legend that both women were at the hospital on that day with labor pains. Only I was not born, the pains I made were considered false. Ten days later I was born.
Well, I was born. That is the start of this story. I hope you enjoy the ride this year. It's going to get bumpy pretty fast. As if year zero was not already a roller coaster.....
I am not doing any extensive plotting or planning to recount these memories. Some things might actually be a generalization of the events for that year or time of my life. I am going to attempt to make each year unique and include the important events that happened to me or around me.
I do not plan to offend or disparage anyone with these blog posts. Anyone who is featured in my blog that has a different take on how or what happened - you are welcome to make corrective remarks in the comments section. I will not be offended and I hope you won't either, if I happen to recall something incorrectly.
So, on with the blog......
Year Zero
I was born on November 23, 1966 in Marshalltown, Iowa. It was the day before Thanksgiving. I remember my mother telling everyone in later years that she had to have Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital that year. But they did serve turkey and stuffing. Thanksgiving has thus become my defacto birthday week. I Try to celebrate the whole week and have regularly taken that week off from work. For many years I have made the entire Thanksgiving dinner including a whole turkey, even if I am celebrating alone.
My birth was a whole dramafest in itself though. Being a November birth means that my mother got pregnant in February. Possibly a Valentine's Day baby...I guess. But the drama was that my mother was only sixteen years old when she got pregnant. See, my grandparents had made a decision to relocate the family and my mother was simply not interested in moving. She was a strong willed young woman and made the declaration that she would not be moving. She would do anything to make sure that she did not move - including getting pregnant! Well, she made good on that promise. I guess she wanted to stay in Marshalltown, Iowa with her friends and possibly graduate with them instead of moving to some new town where she knew no one. I can kind of understand her view, but not really the methods she went to to achieve her goal. Even though they did result in my birth.
My mother had a boyfriend named Dave Presnell. I hear they had been going out for a while. And upon learning of my impending birth, Dave supposedly did the right thing and proposed to my mother. Not really the order things happened in at that time. My mother was summarily dismissed from Marshalltown High School. Pregnant girls were not really welcome in the public school system at that time. At least my mother was not shipped off to some secret birthing home as you see in some old movies and tv shows.
My mother was set up with a nice trailer to live in and her younger sister, Patty, stayed in Marshalltown too and lived with us. My mother's older sister, Charlene, was pregnant at the exact same time. She gave birth to my cousin Kyle on November 13th and it is legend that both women were at the hospital on that day with labor pains. Only I was not born, the pains I made were considered false. Ten days later I was born.
Well, I was born. That is the start of this story. I hope you enjoy the ride this year. It's going to get bumpy pretty fast. As if year zero was not already a roller coaster.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)