Here is a special double family portrait with me right in the middle. Hazel was acting a bit silly at the time. Fred Park and his wife Suzanne are on either side of Daddy.
The photo below shows me taking a rest after going Christmas tree hunting with Hazel watching nearby. We always went to Louis and Pauline Calico's farm outside Berea, where we had to jump across the creek, wade through tall brush, bypass an electric fence, and dodge horse poop in search for the perfect tree. At this age, I was probably being carried by Mommy. As I grew older, I got quite skilled in crossing these obstacles myself, with family members holding the lines of the electric fence so I could duck under it. I've loved leaping across the creek with my crutches. This red truck was the truck of my early childhood, before Daddy exchanged it for a green truck, and then a green Volvo, a blue Pathfinder, and now we have a blue Volvo. Our parents have secured our huge tree on top of each of our cars in turn. One of the things I remember about going tree hunting as a child is that I would rush far away whenever Daddy would start chopping down the tree, so the giant tree wouldn't fall on top of my head. The trees are high enough to be just a little short of our sixteen foot ceiling. I think I ran much further than sixteen feet.
Sadly, Louis and Pauline sold their farm several years ago, where the area is now taken over by a commercial business and suburbs of identical looking modern day houses. I still cherish the memories of the farm. We now go to another tree farm quite far away on Redlick Road. It also has a creek crossing through its property. We often walk on a narrow wooden bridge that lacks railings. One year, I had to cross it when it was completely covered in ice. That satisfied my desire to have adventure while going tree hunting. I was quite scared and certainly glad Daddy was right behind me. He was holding out his arms in case I started to slip on the ice and tumble over the side of the bridge into the freezing waters below. I got back and forth on that bridge all right that year, but I wouldn't have wanted to try it alone. Most of the times we go out there, the bridge is safer to cross. I just miss the old farm. I have grown up proud of the fact that my family would go Christmas tree hunting the old fashioned way instead of going to a commercial Christmas tree lot in the middle of a city.
Here is a winter scene back at home of Hazel and me posing with a rather short snowman that we built. The snowman was just the right height for me sitting down. I love the grin on my face. It looks like we were having fun with our new pal.
Here is a winter scene back at home of Hazel and me posing with a rather short snowman that we built. The snowman was just the right height for me sitting down. I love the grin on my face. It looks like we were having fun with our new pal.
It would be nice to post more of my childhood photos if we could get them scanned into the computer. My blog is like a digital version of a scrapbook that I can share with anybody who's online. I can tell the stories of growing up too. It's a great way to share my past as well as the current times.
