One Hundred Years Ago Today

Today would have my final living Grandparent’s 100th birthday. 

I had very close relationships with ALL my grandparents, but from the age of 13 until 36, my Grandma Betty was my last living grandparent.  I was fortunate enough to have a relationship with her both as a child and as an adult.  I truly enjoyed the unique time I got to spend with her as an adult.  She meant a lot to me, and still holds a very special place in my heart. 

Happy 100th Birthday “Grandma-Grandma” – I miss you (and love you) very much!  

(Special thanks to my sister for the “gentle reminder” about this special date – and I’ll have a better scan of this photo up in a day or two.)

Garden 2012 – #1

After last year’s gardening success, the Mother of Five and I have kept some plans for gardening in 2012 in the back of our minds throughout the winter.  We talked about what we wanted to do with the garden, knowing that we had to do some planning ahead of time to make gardening a successful endeavor again this year.

Yes, yes, yes… We have had a mild winter indeed – and the days are now starting to warm up again – but it’s still early March, and this is Minnesota…  So our plans are still just that.  Plans.  Today though – I took the first step in this year’s garden plans. 

I was on my way home from a Boy Scouts of America summer camp informational meeting (and having found a couple of GeoCaches) when I remembered that I needed to stop at the local Home Improvement Center for a replacement part that I was needing.  It was there, on my way to the cashier lanes when the large display of garden seeds and supplies caught my eye. 

As I looked over all the ordinary and unordinary selections of vegetable offerings, I could not help but remember that the Mother of Five was at work for the day, and that one (or more) of our brood would be at various other locations, so I started thinking about planting seeds as a fun little project for the kids that were home.

Much like AtHomeDaddy’s experience (and still riding the “high” of last years succes – and the thought of making a fun afternoon out of planting) – I was unable to turn away from the siren’s song, and was lured head first into the seed packet isle.  Also much like AtHomeDaddy’s experience – I walked away from the isle twenty dollars poorer, but seven seed packets, two seedling trays and two bags of starter material richer!

Since we had not fully decided on what we were going to do with or in the garden, I picked up what I considered to be basic garden staples.  Tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, pickle sized cucumbers (the Mother of Five picked up a end of season clearance priced canning set last year so I thought pickles would be an easy fun idea), and Zucchini.  I figured it was a safe bet because the bell peppers were my only “me” choice.  We both like tomatoes, green beans, and lettuce.  The cucumbers and pickle cucumbers, and Zucchini were specifically chosen for the Mother of Five and various children in the house (but not me).

Who knew there were so many varieties of the same vegetables? Seeing as this was my first foray into the seed buying experience – I went with whatever option looked most like what we buy in the grocery store.  I still have LOTS to learn!

---

Once I got home with the booty, I took inventory (of the kids) and found I had two out of five home with me.  #3 of 5 and #5 of 5. 

#2 of 5 had a friend over the night before (i.e. an all night long XBox360 fest) so given the option to plant seeds, he was less than interested – and proceeded to curl up on the couch and fell asleep.  That left #5 of 5 and I to do the “dirty work”!

We had a blast!  We filled both seed starting trays with the seed starting mixture, and got one of the trays planted with seeds.  We left the other seed starter tray for when the Mother of five and #4 of 5 can be home to partake. 

 

 

 

#5 of 5 (seen above) asked if I would leave some of the cardboard I used to make the labels so she could make a sign that read “#5 of 5 and Daddy’s Garden”. 

I said we sure could!!

Science Fair - 2012

Today was St. John the Baptist’s annual Science Fair.  The fifth and sixth grade students can work solo or as a pair and come up with a Science Fair Project.  They are required to identify a problem and use their project to come up with a solution.

#4 of 5 decided to team up with one of her closest friends.  Together they came up with a project that tries to solve the age old problem of stain removal. 

The project consisted of staining twenty fabric squares and treating a portion of each cloth with one of ten different stain treatment options.  One set of ten were washed in hot water and the other ten in cold water.

They conducted the experiment a second time and documented their results, wrote a project paper, constructed a display board, and then presented their project to two independent judges.

 

---

The above video was taken for our local newspaper, the Jordan Independent.

The girls (along with a few other contestants) were featured in an article for the paper.  Be sure to visit THIS LINK to check out that article!

---

The result?

They tied for first place!!

The girls and their project move on to the Regional Science Fair in Mankato in April!

I am so proud of these girls!! 

(And special thanks to the other girl’s mother who’s washing machine was used, and who put a lot of work into helping make this project so successful!)

 

 

 

 

Our previous year’s Science Fair Projects…  (#2 and #3 of 5’s Science Fair)

Science Fair – 2008

1991 – St. John the Baptist Time Capsule

December 1991. Where were you?

I was still a free man single, but dating my now current wife.  I was still living at home, and commuting 90+ miles a few times a week (each way) to see the previously mentioned love-of-my-life.  I had finished my Minnesota POST board SKILLS course (police academy) and was working at Coast to Coast Hardware and Canterbury Downs Racetrack while looking for a job as a police officer.  I was driving a 1984 2wd 4cyl 5spd Ford Ranger (which after searching this blog and Facebook I was unable to locate a photo of… Mission accepted!). 

---

In December 1991 the students and staff of St. John the Baptist School in Jordan Minnesota assembled a Time Capsule for National Geographic’s “National Geography Week”.  The contents were collected and sealed in the box with instructions that the box was not to be opened until 2011.

Back then, school was still held in the old building (In fact, #2 of 5 is old enough to still have had classes in that building).  St. John’s has since built a new school (attached to the church) while the old school still stands (looking so lonely) across the street.

---

For twenty years the time capsule has been stored in the vault at what is now known as Frandsen Bank & Trust (formally known as Valley Bank) in Jordan, Mn. 

Announcements were made to families, friends, former students, parents, and the Jordan Independent (our local newspaper) to join the staff and students of St. John’s for a special assembly to open the time capsule! 

 

On February 3, 2012 Principal Bonita Jungles and our own parish priest Fr. Timothy Yanta (who is adored by the students) led the assembly.  Fr. Yanta warmed up the crowd by asking the students to make guesses at what may be inside the time capsule. 

Adding to the excitement, Local businessman Allen Houdek of American Family Insurance donated some movie tickets to the school to give out as prize incentives for the kids who accurately guessed the contents.

The students’ guesses included…

- St. John the Baptist clothing items
- Computer equipment
- a Smurf
- a video game
- a movie
- pictures (photographs)
- books
- student made books & projects
- world series items
- a suitcase
- and one student even guessed a mouse
    (they said a “live mouse” but I wonder if they meant a real mouse who may have chewed
    their way into the box sometime over the past twenty years but never found it’s way out)

Tensions were high as the moment all were waiting for arrived!  Fr. Yanta and Principal Jungles CRACKED THE SEAL peeled off the masking tape – exposing the 1991 contents of the time capsule to 2012!! 

There were ooohs and aaahs from everyone!!   

 

Items inside the time capsule included…

- a copy of America - Past and Present (a social studies book)
- a copy of the February 25, 1991 Minneapolis Star Tribune
         Headline “Allied Troops Advance In Kuwait, Storm into Iraq”
- a copy of the March 11, 1991 Minneapolis Star Tribune
         Headline “Arab nations back Bush plan”
- a copy of the March 4, 1991 Minneapolis Star Tribune
         Headline “Iraq agrees to all UN terms”

Fr. Yanta commented “It’s kind of sad.  It doesn’t seem like things have changed in twenty years.”

- a copy of the October 20, 1991 Minneapolis Star Tribune
         Headline “Kirrr-bee does it!”
- a copy of the November 4, 1991 Sports Illustrated documenting the Minnesota Twins World Series victory
- a copy of the March 18, 1991 Time Magazine - “A Moment to Savor”

- a small stuffed teddy bear
- a 5.25 inch floppy disk (I’d LOVE to see what is on that!)
- a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book (which was a regular 4th grade reading assignment
     at that time)
- a ticket to a University of Minnesota vs San Jose State University football (a game that was played
     in the HHH Metrodome)
- a small “Big Bird” figurine
- a 1991 Minnesota Twins Homer Hanky

- some student artwork
- a cassette tape (labeled “words of wisdom by the students of St. John’s)

- a Jordan Minnesota High School Hubman & Jaguars Homecoming Button
     (The Hubman and Jaguars are our town’s mascots.)
- a VHS cassette labeled “Crisis in the Middle East”
     (believed to be special news coverage of the first Gulf War)

- a Minnesota Twins button
- a student’s art project on the Mayflower
- a student’s research project on the Mayflower

- a small plastic Toy Soldier
- a Homer Simpson magnet
- a copy of a photograph of one of the brothers of a student who was killed in a motor vehicle accident
     (There was a hand written message on the back from the student that she was putting his photo in the box
     as a reminder.  The subject of the photo just so happens to also be the brother of our good friend and former
     next door neighbor.)

- a list of Vocabulary words of the 1990’s
     (including such items as Rad, Bodacious, and D’oh, and Kawabunga)
- a Where’s Waldo sticker
- a Garfield sticker
- a Minnesota Twins pen
- a small flag and letter from a soldier fighting in the Gulf war
- a St. John’s lunch menu…  

After reading the monthly menu out loud to the assembly, Principal Jungles commented on how the lunch menu “has not changed much”.

- a third grade phone book
- a list of the favorite movies of the day (including Home Alone, and Dances with Wolves)
- a student written poem titled “Learning in 1991”
- a student’s project highlighting his experience with the1991 Halloween Blizzard
     (a record smashing snow storm where 30 inches of snow fell over two and a half days)
- a construction paper Alaskan Flag and student’s research project on the state of Alaska
- a drawing made by several students
- a student’s research project on the region of Asia (dedicated to Mrs. Warden who not only still teaches at
     the school, she is #5 of 5’s second grade teacher!)
- a First Communion class project (a construction paper chalice with the names of all the students receiving
     their first communion in 1991 signing the paper)
- a 1991 penny
- a list of the first grade students (they wrote their own names)
- a print out of the first grade student roster
- some dinosaur stickers
- a dinosaur eraser

---

The time capsule was emptied of its historic contents.  Principal Jungles thanked the Frandsen Bank & Trust staff that was present (sorry, I did not get his name) – and asked about the possibility of refilling the time capsule with items from 2011 to be placed back into their vault and reopened in 2031!  The staff member seemed to love the idea!

I am very excited about the potential of this project and am hoping that St. John’s holds another assembly – this time to document what would be going in the time capsule (and why) before sealing it up!  I would LOVE to be on hand when those little bits of life in 2012 get sealed up and entombed for the next 20 years!

Previously, I mentioned that our local media (the Jordan Independent) was on hand to document this momentous occasion.  The professional staff at the paper beat me to getting an article put together for public dissemination.  For additional coverage, be sure to stop by and check out the JI’s Article on the time capsule (featuring some additional action-packed photos!)

As a reward for having read all the way through this post – I have for you a video of the first 2:58 seconds of the opening of the time capsule.  I was hoping to have more, but neglected to clear off my memory card.  Thankfully I remembered to bring a small “back up” memory chip with me and was able to get the pictures I have.

And finally, this post would not be complete without having thanked the WONDERFUL staff of St. John’s School and Church for EVERTHING they do for our kids!  St. John’s is like a second family, and I cannot say enough good things about being part of that family!          

Thirty Five Minutes

I was already working as a Fire Dispatcher for a fire alarm as when my partner took a call of a “fully involved engine compartment fire”.  He shouted over to me that I have another fire call to tone out.  As I pulled the call up I realized that the location of the Vehicle fire just so happened to be directly under under one of MnDot’s freeway cameras!!

While I was putting out the initial dispatch, my partner pulled up the freeway camera!

Once I had the first unit on the scene, I was able to check the camera.  I took some screen captures to send to the Fire Fighters inside the responding engine.

I sent the photos home, and arranged them into a “A 35 Minute slice of life a Police Dispatcher”.

---

 

 

 

“Engine one arriving, laying a quickline”.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Not long afterwards I heard “Water on the fire” over the radio.  I checked back and sure enough!!

 

 

 

---

 

 

Engine 1 – “Dispatch, the fire is out.  We are completing an overhaul.  Dispatch, order a tow please.”

Dispatch - “10-4”

 

 

 

---

 

 

Then the owner is taken to their vehicle with Engine 1’s crew and gets their first look at what used to be their vehicle…  They are likely retrieving some personal belongings out of the vehicle before it gets towed off to “car heaven”.

 

 

---

 

 

 

With the property out of the vehicle (in a little pile on the curb next to the slider), and the owner awaiting a tow truck – the firefighter begin cleaning up.

 

 

---

 

 

 

The tow has arrived.  Here you can see the tow truck driver cabling the vehicle.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The tow truck driver beings winching the vehicle for removal.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The tow driver doing some last minute clean up.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Here, the tow has pulled away, and the Police Cruiser (who was blocking traffic) is now clearing the scene.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Thirty five minutes after we get call, the fire extinguished, the vehicle has been towed away, all units have cleared the scene, and the road is opened to traffic again.

 

 

---

Thanks go out to the members of BPD / BFD and my dispatch partners!  Each of you do an amazing job keeping all of us safe!!

There you have it – a thirty five minute slice of a day in the live of a Police / Fire Dispatcher!  Hope you enjoyed.

A FOF Definition - Trifecta Friday

Trifecta Friday - It’s a term I use once every six weeks.

 

Some of my readers are co-workers (or former co-workers) and know exactly what a Trifecta Friday is.  Others have had it explained to them, and still others may not know what a Trifecta Friday whatsoever.  Today (and I am not sure why it did not occur to me to do this years ago) I’ll officially define the term “Trifecta Friday” and how it came to be.

 

Let’s start with the word “Trifecta” itself.  Trifecta is (according to Wikipedia)…

 

In horse racing terminology, a trifecta is a pari-mutuel bet in which the better must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order…   …It is also used in sports to describe scoring three points at one time, or succeeding at anything three times in three consecutive attempts, such as in cricket.

 

Well, since I’ve never once played the ponies, and am anything but a sports enthusiast - you may be wondering where would I get such a term added to my vocabulary?

 

Once I graduated High School and was awaiting my term in SKILLS (police academy) to begin, I took a second job working security at a horse racetrack.  I started off working the first half of the season in the grandstand during race days and times, and later moved to work the backside where the barns housed the horses and living quarters of the trainers and horsemen.   It was during my time working at the Racetrack that I picked up on a few terms I have never heard (or used) before.  Examples include the aforementioned “Trifecta”, and another new one - “Stoolstepping” (WARNING:  Don’t google the latter term while you are at work).

 

---

 

The second term is Friday.  Friday is (according to Wikipedia)…

 

Friday is the last day of a five-day working week, and is viewed as a cause for celebration or relief (leading to the phrase "TGIF", for "Thank God/Goodness It's Friday").

 

My current work schedule operates on a foundation of a rotating shift.  The number of hours-per-day, days-per-week, day off pattern, and day off rotation can very significantly.  The shift I prefer to work is an eight hour day, 7-day-on, 3-day-off, 7-day-on, 4-day-off pattern.  The three days off always fall on Wed-Thurs-Fri and the four days off always fall on Sat-Sun-Mon-Tues.  It sounds more confusing that it really is.

 

Many of you have also seen or heard me say “It’s my Friday” on various days of the week.  Well, in my current shift selection – my “Fridays” currently fall on Tuesday, or Friday. 

 

Because my work schedule is on a three week rotation (meaning it starts over ever three weeks) I get MY Friday on a CALANDER Friday once every three weeks.  When it is my Friday on a calendar Friday it is followed with a four day weekend!

 

Every other “Friday on a Friday” is also payday Friday.  With a three week rotation - every other “Friday on a Friday” equates to once every six weeks.

 

---

Now, let’s put this all together.  Picture, if you will, a scene fading to FOF standing at what appears to be a crowded betting window at a race track (as unlikely as that sounds).  From some unknown corner of the room, a loud “Race Announcers voice” booms over a tinny sounding bullhorn.

 

AAAAND, as they cross the finish line -  

It’s FOF’s Friday in THIRD place by a length! 

It’s FOF’s Friday on a calendar Friday in SECOND place by a neck!

And it’s FOF’s Friday on a calendar Friday and it’s payday Friday in FIRST PLACE by a nose!

 

FOF looks down at his betting ticket in disbelief, and quickly proclaims…

 

WAIT!  WOULDJA LOOKIE AT THAT!!  COULD IT BE?!?  IT’S A TRIPLE WIN!

I bet on my Friday, on a calendar Friday and payday Friday!!

I JUST WON THE “TRIFECTA FRIDAY”!!     

“Family” (Quotation Marks Intended) Reunion

Last November, I wrote a little blurb about my “Family” (Quotation marks intended). 

Unfortunately, a recent urgent situation has befallen one of the members of that “Family”.  Due to the circumstances this classmate has been in my thoughts and prayers quite a bit in the past week.  This has triggered a flood of emotions and memories from days gone by – and has motivated me to complete this “partial” post that I started before Christmas.   

Not long after that previous entry four delightful gals from my “Nativity family” (who organize a “girls night out” from time to time) decided to not only have one of their nights, but to open it up and invite as many of our class members as they could for an impromptu get-together!     

Initially, I felt a little trepidation about this.  Being socially anxious, and an introvert normally has me a little uneasy about such gatherings.  On the other hand, there were a number of friends I had not seen in years decades – and have been enjoying reconnecting with them on FB, so I was TRULY looking forward to seeing them in person again! 

I sucked it up (and my gut in – after all, the years have not been good to my “circumference”) and attended the event despite my anxiety.

I had a FABULOUS time!  We stuck around for several hours, and there was not one person I did not THOUROUGHLY enjoy catching up with.

The first photo is of myself with three of the four gals who set this whole thing up!  The fourth is gal is behind the camera.

Of my closest group of buds from elementary / junior high school, two of us went on to high school together, two more went to another high school together, and the fifth went to a third high school.  Unfortunately, only four out of the five of us made it to the get-together.  I was disappointed not to see the missing classmate and friend, but the four of us present talked about getting all five of us together some time for a “guys night out”.  This would really be something to look forward too.  Guys, if you are reading this – let’s make SURE this happens once it warms up again!

Afterwards a number of photographs (the ones from above – “stolen” with permission) from the get-together started showing up on FB.  One of the ladies who organized the get-together made an observation…  She said the photo above reminded her of an old photo I have (and posted a long time ago) of the same group of friends – apparently we were all standing in the same formation!

I checked back, and sure enough – there it was!  Not only were we standing in the same formation, but we were standing in front of a red-brick backdrop in each (and even a doorway on the right side of the pic) !! 

---

WOW!  Talk about Deja-Vu!

     

Top photo – 2011
Bottom photo – 1983
28 Years Later!

---

I cannot call this post complete without a couple of last shout outs.

First – to the gals who gave up their “ladies night” and coordinated this (first of hopefully many) get togethers – a HUGE thank you!!

Finally, (but certainly not least of all) I’d like to send out a very special prayer and wish for our classmate who has fallen ill.  My thoughts and prayers go out to D.D. (and his entire family) for a FULL and SPEEDY recovery.  I have high hopes that when we do get our little “Family” (quotation marks intended) together again – that you will be there!

---

For those of you who where there – THANK YOU!  Despite all the years, you still all feel like family to me.  For those of you who were not there, you are never too far from my thoughts and prayers – and I hope that one day soon our paths will cross again!

It Was Only a Year Ago…

This was one year ago…

---

This is today…

---

The top video was taken January 18, 2011 – after a slight warm up in temps allowed me to get out and chisel away an almost 6 inch crust of hard packed snow off my driveway (link).  The driveway looked so good (cleared off in the middle of January) that I had to take a video – well, that and the almost four foot mounds of snow on the edges of the driveway.

Fast forward one year and two days.

The second video was taken January 20, 2012 – after a trifle of snow fell upon us.  As you can see in the video – you can still see GRASS in our lawn.  True Minnesotans are embarrassed by this winter. 

The good news is that I have heard that February may be a very snowy month for us.  Let’s hope it will make up for the lack of snow over the past two months…

Mother Nature, are you listening?

E-Reading

It’s time I share my plan to resolve the LACK OF READING in my life.  (Link to previous post)

---

It’s not often that we spend our money on frivolous items.  When we do, it usually has something to do with the kids.  Yet, I’m a guy, and like most guys, I love “gadgets”.  While I cannot deny that I enjoy (and have been known to collect) my fare share of gadgets, I have seen (and know) many fellas who put me to shame.  I like to think / believe that I am on the low end of that bell curve.  Unfortunately, gadgets = frivolous items and frivolous items = money.  You do the math.    

But (like I said) I am a guy, and guys love their gadgets.

Over the past couple of years I have been completely intrigued by the concept of the e-reader.  I kept hearing about how convenient they are for portability, how much easier they are on the eyes (over LED/LCD screens), and the whole concept of easier access to reading materials equating to more time reading.

I have had a hard time justifying the cost / benefit ratio of such a device, but the gadget guy in me (who does a pretty good job of justifying the “need” for such frivolous items) has kept an eye on the e-reader market.  Kindle, Nook, and a smattering of other various generic names have come and gone from my radar.  I have scoured the refurbished markets, the discount and closeout websites, the clearance isles of department stores, and various other “brick and mortar” outlets, but gadget guy just has not been strong enough to convince the practical side of me to take the plunge. 

Throughout this past holiday season, there was a lot of talk about this year’s “hot item” – the e-readers.  Of course that piqued gadget guy’s interest.  I did a little research on them and would sneak off and spend a little time with each of the Kindle’s and the Nooks while we were Christmas shopping. 

Thanks a few extra hours of overtime, I decided to step outside of the box, and do something a little unexpected.  I decided that not only was I going to buy myself an e-reader – but I was going to buy one for the Mother of Five too! 

Yup, you read it right!  TWO of them!            

Since I was going to buy two units, I decided we would pick up the entry level model.  While shopping (not for an e-reader but looking at the e-readers) another customer told us about a 20% off “bag sale” at a nearby retailer that also included the e-readers!

That 20% off was just enough to allow Gadget guy to overpower my practical side, and we decided to splurge and take the plunge.  We decided upon the Kindle Touch (with special offers).  

We have had them for a couple of weeks now and I am LOVING mine!!  Even the kids want to read on them!

Around Thanksgiving, an “anonymous” donor generously donated ten Nook Colors for the kids school (St. John’s)! The kids enjoy spending time on them at school already!

What I really like about the Kindle is Amazon’s selection of e-books!  Not only do they offer the best sellers, they offer copies of the “royalty free” classics, and a lot of new and inspiring author’s work at low prices, discounted promotions, and some even at no cost! 

Every day I get email updates from various websites highlighting books that have been discounted or free for the day!  Our Kindles are filling up faster then I expected!  

So far I have already finished one book and am half way through my second (which, if you are keeping score is more than I have read in the past two years).

1.  Learn Me Good by John Pearson

This was a great read!  It is a comedy written as “chapters” in the form of e-mails sent by a first year elementary school math teacher to his friend (a former co-worker) from a previous career as a mechanical engineer.  As I read this book, I could not help but think of AtHomeDaddy (who is currently in his second year teaching elementary school math, and I loved hearing about his first year experiences!)

 

2.  Letters From Alcatraz by Michael Esslinger

There is something about the mystique of Alcatraz that caught my attention.  This book is about the history of, and views of the infamous prison through the eyes of both prisoners, their families, or the Correctional officers through copies of actual correspondence letters to and from those somehow touched by “the rock”.  So far it has been a great read! 

Once I finish Letters From Alcatraz – I have so many choices to choose from I don’t know where I ‘m going to go.  Since the first book was a comedy, and the second was a non-fiction, I think it’s time to get back to my “go-to” genre – Horror.

As of right now there are two books “on deck” – not sure which one comes next.  It will either be…  Forsaken – A Novel of Art, Evil, and Insanity by Andrew Van Wey or The Red Church by Scott Nicholson.

From there, I’d like to take a look at that list of “Lowlights” from high school and see about making good on some of those “assigned, but never read” list!

I’m not sure how or when, but I’d like to install a “currently reading” widget on the side of the blog – that way (if you want to) you can keep up with what I’m reading (and I can keep track of how much I have been reading)!!

The only real problem I have with this Kindle is that my reading list is growing faster than I can keep up!!  It has been really fun seeing how something so simple can (and has) reenergized an interest in reading!!  If you are on the fence about e-readers – I say go for it!  We have not had any regrets!

I Used to Read

When I was young lad (kindergarten through third grade) I was classified as a “strong reader” by my teachers and was clumped with the advanced readers in my class.  It was in the middle of my third grade year that our family moved from Minneapolis to Bloomington and we ended up switching schools.  I am not sure what happened (well, other than moving and switching schools) but the categorization of being a “strong reader” disappeared afterwards.  It’s a theory, but I suspect it may be because this is about the age that reading gets separated from “leisure” to “assigned”.  I often struggle with “assigned” reading.  In a nutshell - If it does not catch my interest, there is little chance I will finish what I have started.

Looking back now, I can see that even as a young child I have always been intrigued with the horror genre.  One of my earliest memories of finding a book I wanted to read was at the point where I was still having books read to me and/or I was just starting to read Dick and Jane books on my own.  I remember seeing a book in the “teenage” section of the public library with an illustration of a human skull surfacing through the cracked mud of a dry river bed.  Every time I went to the library, I tracked that book down and stared at the cover (sometimes multiple times per visit).  I do not remember the title or author of that book and (as an adult) I have tried to search that book out to no avail.  I’d LOVE to find that book and read it – just to satisfy the “five year old” in me!

One of my favorite early reader books (and I still have a copy of it) is The Ghost of Dibble Hollow.  Doing a quick Google search on this title shows me that I was not alone.  There are LOTS of references to that book!  Recently (within the last ten years) I have even re-read that book.    

There was another book I read that I would LOVE to track down.  I do not recall the title or the author.  My parents bought it for me at a department store (J.C. Penny’s or Sears) It was a discount hard cover book with a terrible quality binding, and I believe it had a purple cover.  All I recall is that the book was about a haunted “Ghost Town”…      

In 1979 (at the ripe ol’ age of 10) Steven King’s Salem’s Lot was made into a TV Mini-series.  While I am certain that my parents would have NEVER allowed us to watch it, we had a babysitter both nights it aired, and we watched it.  It scared the bee-jee-bees out of me.  I had to cover my eyes, and peek through cracks in my fingers, and had nightmares for weeks afterwards, but I could not resist.  This was foreshadowing a sign of things to come.

In my early teens our family took a summer vacation road trip.  I grabbed a book to take along with me from the library.  There was nothing more than then name that initially intrigued me.  The book was titled The Dead Zone.  It was the first time I remember being COMPLETELY captivated by a book.  Intrigued by the author’s style, I sought out more.  That’s when I noticed he was also responsible for Salem’s Lot.  I latched on to anything Steven King wrote!  I could not get enough of his work.  

In high school, under the tutelage of my Literature teachers Ms. Hanley and Mrs. Hanson, I was “assigned” a number of literary pieces to read.  (Assigned being the key phrase here.)  Much to their chagrin (and reflective in my Lit grades), I am living proof that “assigned” does not always result in actually having read these works. 

A few highlights – I did complete (most of) and found at least a moderate interest in Julius Caesar, and The Lord of the Flies.  I actually finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) Flowers for Algernon and Frankenstein.  (Flowers for Algernon? Really?  Why?  It is such a complete departure from what I usually enjoy.  I have NO idea what it was about that novel that caught my interest, but it did.  Mrs. Hanson was THRILLED!)       

A few lowlights – I never did read a word of The Catcher in the Rye, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Scarlet Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, Death of a Salesman, Twelve Angry Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Ethan Frome, The Glass Menagerie, and a number of other titles that seemed so utterly forgettable that I (embarrassingly) cannot even recall their titles.

As you can plainly see, the list of lowlights is much longer than the list of highlights (and remember, some of the highlights were only partially read).  But worry not dear readers, while I did not partake in the works listed above, I did manage to read The Dead Zone, Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand, Pet Cemetery, Cujo, Christine, Firestarter, and a number of other Steven King horror classics!

This highlight / lowlight pattern continued through high school and into my college years.

I was once chastised by a college professor for reading Steven King’s It in her class.  I had the book nestled in the class text book, but I was so engrossed in the book that I did not notice her wandering around the class room (where she noticed me reading it).  It was not until she returned to the front of the classroom and proclaimed (for all to hear) “Mr. Father-of-five, I know I am not as engrossing as Mr. King, but I would appreciate it if you put his work away until after my class”.  

I worked my way through King’s collection of works, and then latched on to a hodgepodge of various other authors and titles.  During and after college, my attention was drawn away from reading and redirected towards my friends, work, and later marriage, fatherhood, homeownership, and so many other responsibilities I cannot begin to count. (Remember folks, I only have twenty fingers and toes in which to count upon.)  This downward spiral in reading continued until my transformation to the busy Father of Five that you see before you was complete.  I don’t like it, but My life has pretty much consumed any time / mental capacity / and energy I once had for reading.  I think (at this point) I am lucky if I average (and I am being generous with myself here) one book / novel a year.     

I hope that is about to change!!  (Stay tuned…)

If you are / were voyeuristic enough to have actually found this post interesting – be sure to check out The Horror in My Life – an older post (from 2007) dedicated to my love of the horror literary genre.

Legacy

Relatively speaking, I reside in “small town” Minnesota. 

Yes, I am still part of the “seven county metro area”, and our town is what I consider to be within the furthest reaches of the “rings of suburbia”, but nevertheless we are a fairly isolated little city with a population slightly over 5000, and surrounded by rural farmland. 

Ever since I was a young boy I have been intrigued by the history of the cities I have lived in.  I own a copy of “Bloomington on the Minnesota” (where I grew up) and I own both volumes of “Jordan, Minnesota:  A Newspaper Looks at a Town” (where we live now). 

On a “historical” note - I attended one of #4 of 5’s basketball games a few days ago.  While seated and waiting for the game to start, a couple of our town’s “ol’ timers” came up behind me and asked if the seats ahead of me were taken.  I turned around and noticed the grandfathers of two of my daughter’s team-mates (and a couple of her closest friends). 

As these men settled into their seats, I was suddenly aware of something I guess I always known, but never put together before.  These two gentleman (sitting here side by side) have some very deep roots in, and have had an amazing influence upon our town.  They are what I would consider pillars of our community, and each are the patriarchs of families that have become synonymous with our little town.   

I could not help but contemplate (and marvel at the thought of) just how much of our town’s history was sitting right in front of me.

It is out of respect for them and for their families that I won’t be posting their names here, but I am confident that if you spend any amount of time here in Jordan you will have some sort of (positive) interaction with something or someone that can be associated with these honorable men. 

I can only hope that one day the legacy of the Father of Five family name will be viewed as favorably as these two and their extended families.