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....