Even as a child I knew there was something different about me. As I sit and reflect, I now realize I wasn’t different, I was just a holy terror. I know when I would go to Woolworth’s or the Five and Dime store with my Mom I would run and hide in the clothing racks. When Mom would find me and try to get hold of me, I would run from one rack to another to keep her from catching me. Sooner or later a store clerk would get hold of me when Mom would flush me out of one rack and I was headed for another. I would then be turned over to my Mom and promptly be turned over her knees and get a good spanking. At that point we would leave the store, go home, and I would be sent to my room. I was allowed out for supper and then sent right back. Eventually I began to understand that when we went to Woolworth’s or the Five and Dime if I hung with Mom and was good, or at least some version of good that was in my head, I could score some candy or some sort of toy. Every now and then I would test Mom out to see what I could get away with only to find out in the end I would get the same results; a stinging in my rear and time in my room. It was just the way it was. I was always into something.
When I was old enough to start pre-school, I managed two days. The first day Mrs. Hodges, the teacher, called
my Mom at lunch and told her to come and get me because I was disrupting class and she could not control me. Mom promptly took me home, which was only two blocks away, and sent me to the back yard to cut her a switch from the peach tree that my Dad grew there. At this point in my life I had figured out that I had better get a good switch. If I brought an inferior switch to Mom and she had to go and cut one the blistering I would get was going to really hurt. She tried everything and nothing fazed me. I was a royal pain. I was allowed to return to pre-school the next day only to have my Mom called again. When she picked me up Mrs. Hodges asked Mom to please not bring me back. You can guess what happened next. I never did fit in very well and was always in some sort of trouble.
For the longest time I always thought the peach tree was so we could have peaches for cobbler. As I got older I realized that peaches grown in our back yard were really bad. When I ask Mom why we had a tree that produced peaches that had no flavor to them, her reply was that the tree was not planted for fruit but to keep her with a supply of really good switches.To top it off, she said this with a huge smile on her face.
By the 9th grade I was being kicked out of school again. There were so many restrictions being enforced on me by now that I was beginning to think I was never going to see the outside of my room again. My high school years consisted of getting up at 5am, getting ready for school, going to the high school long enough to report to my truant officer, and then riding my motorcycle 21 miles to the Vocational School in Eustis, FL. At the end of the school day the process was reversed. I rode 21 miles back to the high school, signed out after I was counseled by Mrs. Buckley, my truant officer, then back home. Upon arriving home I was allowed to spend the rest of the day under my Dad’s supervision.
Then one day my life changed. I had just arrived home from school, which were welding classes. I was dirty, sweaty, and just overall grimy. My sister-in-law came into the house with her two small children. She explained that she was stopping by to let us know that the youngest child, Butch, was OK as he had fallen off a swing or something. At this point I was not sure what she was saying. My world had stopped because right behind her was this absolutely gorgeous blonde dressed in a fuzzy purple sweater and bell bottoms with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure what to do and I really have no idea what I did at that point. I do know that after they left, I think I must have called my sister-in-laws house 42 million times trying to get her to fix me up, which she finally did. The night Judy and I went out was magic. When we returned to my sister-in-laws house I walked her to the door and asked her if she would marry me and without skipping a beat her answer was yes. From that day to this we have had many adventures in our lives with many more to come.
My wish for the world is that everyone is fortunate enough to find their soul mate in life.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
When I was old enough to start pre-school, I managed two days. The first day Mrs. Hodges, the teacher, called
my Mom at lunch and told her to come and get me because I was disrupting class and she could not control me. Mom promptly took me home, which was only two blocks away, and sent me to the back yard to cut her a switch from the peach tree that my Dad grew there. At this point in my life I had figured out that I had better get a good switch. If I brought an inferior switch to Mom and she had to go and cut one the blistering I would get was going to really hurt. She tried everything and nothing fazed me. I was a royal pain. I was allowed to return to pre-school the next day only to have my Mom called again. When she picked me up Mrs. Hodges asked Mom to please not bring me back. You can guess what happened next. I never did fit in very well and was always in some sort of trouble.
For the longest time I always thought the peach tree was so we could have peaches for cobbler. As I got older I realized that peaches grown in our back yard were really bad. When I ask Mom why we had a tree that produced peaches that had no flavor to them, her reply was that the tree was not planted for fruit but to keep her with a supply of really good switches.To top it off, she said this with a huge smile on her face.
By the 9th grade I was being kicked out of school again. There were so many restrictions being enforced on me by now that I was beginning to think I was never going to see the outside of my room again. My high school years consisted of getting up at 5am, getting ready for school, going to the high school long enough to report to my truant officer, and then riding my motorcycle 21 miles to the Vocational School in Eustis, FL. At the end of the school day the process was reversed. I rode 21 miles back to the high school, signed out after I was counseled by Mrs. Buckley, my truant officer, then back home. Upon arriving home I was allowed to spend the rest of the day under my Dad’s supervision.
Then one day my life changed. I had just arrived home from school, which were welding classes. I was dirty, sweaty, and just overall grimy. My sister-in-law came into the house with her two small children. She explained that she was stopping by to let us know that the youngest child, Butch, was OK as he had fallen off a swing or something. At this point I was not sure what she was saying. My world had stopped because right behind her was this absolutely gorgeous blonde dressed in a fuzzy purple sweater and bell bottoms with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure what to do and I really have no idea what I did at that point. I do know that after they left, I think I must have called my sister-in-laws house 42 million times trying to get her to fix me up, which she finally did. The night Judy and I went out was magic. When we returned to my sister-in-laws house I walked her to the door and asked her if she would marry me and without skipping a beat her answer was yes. From that day to this we have had many adventures in our lives with many more to come.
My wish for the world is that everyone is fortunate enough to find their soul mate in life.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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