Aug 23, 2010

What other toys did you like to play with?

I had the rare opportunity to have a huge tire sandbox. We also had some large trucks and tractors that we could use to dig in the sand of that filled tire. We spent hours making roads that would go under the lip of the tractor tire and back out again to go under a bridge that we would make into the center of the tire. Slowly as I grew up the playtime in that tire was taken up by work on the farm but the memory of it has lasted forever. It was a good toy and a great place to play.

Aug 22, 2010

Tell about a favorite doll, teddy bear or other stuffed toy.

I still have a bear that my grandmother made from the upholstery material we took off of the family couch as mom and dad had it redone. It was a little red bear shaped animal in two dimension configuration. It had three legs in a row rather than the typical two for a two dimensioned toy stuffed animal so that it had the appearance of three dimensions. I loved that animal even though it mostly went into storage after I was into my teens. It meant more to me than just being a toy simply because it was made by a loving grandmother that passed away when I was merely ten years old. That was probably why it became a favorite simply because it brought back memories of her each time I looked at it or held it. It wasn’t soft since it was made of a material that was meant to stand the rough and tough play from children and their shoes but it still brought many soft memories of that loving grandmother whom we called “Nana”.

Aug 21, 2010

Share an early experience with shaving?

I come from an heritage of a grandfather that I was told never shaved and yet he never had a beard. I shaved maybe once in my senior year only to see how it was done and then I borrowed my father’s single edge blade that did a great job for him. I used the shaving cream and carefully removed the cream from my face but I doubt that there was much hair mixed in with it. I did later shave and do so daily now but I was well into my early 20’s before it became anything more than a ritual I was required to do as a missionary just for the principle of it. I could easily go several days before anyone noticed the light red beard beginning to break through the skin. Even now I don’t sport much of a growth even after four or five days.

Aug 20, 2010

Did you ever make a purchase that you later regretted?

I never regretted any of the candy or ice cream I purchased, yet you might say I was given good reason to regret some I made in my early years as a primary teacher sternly scolded my friends and I for buying candy cigarettes as we walked to primary. I liked the candy but needless to say we never bought anymore even if it was only sugar. I cannot honestly remember a purchase that I regretted other than now in adulthood as I am greatly regretting the purchase of a VW Passat, a mistake that will never happen again.

Aug 19, 2010

Did you ever experience homesickness?

Not that I can ever recall since we rarely left the farm for anything other than a trip to Grandpa Hansen’s or a scout camp. Then my parents would be with us, which is why most children experience homesickness from being away from their parents. Then at scout camp there was too much fun going on to think about being sick other than what you already were due to your own cooking. So, no, I guess I really didn’t ever have the chance for any homesickness to ever creep in to my away from home experiences as a child.

Aug 18, 2010

Share your childhood experiences with roller skates.

We had several pair of roller skates that were of different sizes so that as we grew we were able to fit into another pair. Our home had a sidewalk that was only about 35 or 40 feet long and had a major right angle turn in it. If you were to start on the one end under the grape arbor you could skate quite easily past the front o the house and then after getting to the side of the house make the right turn and go up the walk to the stairs to my bedroom. However if you started at the bedroom steps it was sloped just enough that you had pretty good speed by the time you went the 15 or so feet to the turn. It took a lot of practice to finally be able to make the turn and continue past the front of the house. I ended up on the lawn a lot more times than I ever made the turn. It was the only place we had to roller skate however as our road was just a dirt road and the barn though it had a lot of cement floor was divided by a gutter filled usually with cow manure, flies and larvae and landing in it was far less desirable than landing on the lawn.

Aug 17, 2001

Do you remember being really curious about something?

I was always curious about a lot of things and most of them dealt with things in nature. I became very curious about sunrises and sunsets as I began to notice the subtle differences that took place in the clouds as the process of the sun rising or going down took place. I now understand it to be a matter of angles of the light from the sun reflecting off of the clouds. However it took a photo session when I was 17 to really see it. I went over to the edge of the hill where I could easily observe the sunset and for about 15 minutes took a picture every two or three minutes. I was amazed by the differences in the clouds as I watched them more closely that ever before slowly change in color as the sun set. It was a very beautiful thing to me and one that made me appreciate the beauty of a sunrise and sunset ever so much more.

Aug 16, 2001

If you ever ran away from home tell about it.

I cannot ever remember having a need to run away from home but I suppose if I did it was probably for not more than a few minutes and then up onto the hill for my escape route. Really I do not ever remember running away from home since it was a pretty secure place to be with some very wonderful parents. Yes they did spank on occasion as needed but I always knew that they loved me and were glad that I was a part of the family. Children need spanked every now and then especially if they talk back to their parents and I believe that was what probably created the times that I was spanked. I never got the belt or the switch but the spanking hurt enough to get the point across yet not to damage my physical body.

Aug 15, 2010

Share a memory about staying overnight with a friend?

I do not believe that I ever stayed overnight with a friend. We were all pretty much farmer’s and thus stayed home at night to do the work. I did however stay overnight at grandma and grandpa Hansen’s place several times when we would go to Centerfield to visit them. There were usually other families there as well so we always had a lot of fun. There were two bedroom in their basement where we would sleep, the boys on the east side and the girls on the west or in the west bedroom. It had a hole between the rooms where we could stand up on the bed and by lifting ourselves up talk to cousins in the other room. We use to always plat red rover on the front lawn and hide and seek at night after dark. I believe we were always there during the summer as well since we didn’t travel during the winter or when school was going. It was always very fun except for the long drive to get there and back.

Aug 14, 2010

Tell about your bedroom.

I had an upstairs bedroom that was fun since we had a pole going up near the window where we could climb in or out of our room by using it. Then later I had a basement room where it was always cool and had mice running around in quite regularly. I caught an awful lot of mice down in that room. It had two rooms adjoined by a doorway with no door. Our beds (two of them) were separated by a closet and in the same room we had a shower in the corner opposite of the doorway to the other room. The second room had a desk and book shelves where we could study in relative quiet surroundings. It also had a door that led to the outside of the house where I could sneak Pee Wee our small dog into the room without mom knowing. Dogs were not house pets according to her, only small birds and not even cats were allowed in the house, if she knew about it.