I Bet You Didn't Know I ........
10-29-2013, 06:51 AM
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: St. Louis suburbs
Posts: 6,084
When I was a child, all I wanted to do was see the world, and we were dirt poor. I have now been in all 50 states many times, traveled twice to China, Taiwan, India, Russia, Africa and all over Europe, including England, Wales and Scotland many times. I still travel all over the US, camping in our RV and travel trailer, yes, we have each, and stay away from home about 5 months a year. As a child, I remember the ice man coming to load our icebox and eating chips from his truck. I also remember a vegetable man coming by with a horse and cart loaded with veggies for my Mom to buy. We also went down into the Ozarks to find my stepfather's sister and walked over many hills to find her log cabin which was covered in flat cans to protect it from the elements. This was in 1962 and she wore a bonnet and long skirts, her log cabin had just one large room with a fireplace and a loft to sleep in. No electricity or running water. I will never forget that log cabin, how colorful it looked in the sunshine. I was determined to get an education and finally graduated with honors at the age of 45 years old from the university. Never give up your dreams, life can be difficult but it's important to have dreams and to strive for your goals.
10-29-2013, 07:24 AM
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,430
My claim to fame was climbing all the way to the top of our largest barn and dancing on the small loading platform where the hay came through on the huge fork and was pulled across the roof and then the hay would drop off onto the floor of the loft. When my mother saw me dancing up there on the 3 x 4 platform, she nearly turned white haired that moment. I was at least 45 feet up in the air.
10-29-2013, 07:34 AM
#13
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 177
Boy Wannabee Quilten I can relate to your story. I am 65 and grew up in the Sierra mountains, about 2 hours from civilization. My dad was a PG & E worker (in the power houses, one was underground). My mom cooked for Crew men. We got our groceries by making a list and two days later the stage coach would bring our groceries to our home. There was only about 14 houses there and nothing to spend money on but a coke machine (one of those sliders where you put in 10 cents then slid the coke out. I spent my youth playing outside, looking for artifacts (where I lived was an old Indian camp site) swimming in the two rivers and whatever. I feel very lucky to have had the life I had as a child and to live so remotely. In the elementary school there was only a few students as not all 14 houses were occupied. I traveled 4 hours a day to travel to high school and home again. The bus driver always stopped the bus and let me try to kill the rattle snakes that we crossing the road. I would throw rocks at it to kill it and then cut the rattlers off and take them home to my dad for his rattle snake rattler collection! Oh the things I did as a child yet I feel so blessed for my childhood! I was excited to move from there as a teen ager but since have lived in big cities and worked as a social worker (medical social worker , child protective and adult protective services). Needless to say my adult adventures make me treasure my youth even more! Now retired and enjoying life and teaching myself to quilt! Living close to the Sierra Mountains is a must for me as those mountains hold my heart! Thanks all for sharing your stories!
10-29-2013, 10:08 AM
#14
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Front row
Posts: 14,646
My grandfather put a lot of 55 gallon barrels in a field and told all us kids we had to learn to walk the barrels all around the field, even turning. We were told we had to so we did. My siblings and I could walk a barrel as easily as walking up steps. Then we were given big squares of mirrors. We held them up in our hands, looked down into them and had to walk through the house and then the woods around the house just looking in the mirrors. I don't know why but it was fun. We had to carry a bucket filled to the brim with water and was taught to hum while doing it until no water was spilled. Then we had to find water using water witching ways with a peach tree branch. Crazy as it sounds we loved it doing all these tasks. My cousins and siblings all lived around my grandparents and I guess it was their way of keeping us out from under foot and not to be bored. We were never inside the house saying I'm bored. LOL
10-29-2013, 10:12 AM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: New Milford, CT
Posts: 501
Originally Posted by tessagin
I did a lot of no nos with my Uncle B! I had my first motorcycle ride with my uncle B (dad's brother) at 6 years of age on his new Harley Davidson back in 1956. Not sure if anyone on the board knows what a gyrocopter is but is a one seat helicopter. I was 10 when my uncle gave me a ride! I was little so I was able to sit on his lap and he showed me many times after that how to make it work. We were going down the highway one day when my uncle saw my parents heading back to my grandparents. (My uncle lived with them) By the time I was 12-13 years of age, I knew how to fly it. My GPs told Uncle B he needed to find a place to store it. I told my Uncle D about it and since Uncle D wanted to see it and learn to fly it, he let Uncle B store it in his barn on outskirts of town. One day the 3 of us were at Uncle D's and were taking turns flying it. That was our reckoning day! Uncle D and B flew right at radar and the sheriff was informed of a UFO. They investigated. I had just finished my turn (I was 15 at the time) when the deputy showed up, my dad showed up with my mother and Uncle D's wife, Aunt E. They all gave my uncle's a reprimand. Then I was so proud of myself. I opened my mouth and the look on their faces was priceless. My uncles started laughing. The deputy just gave them a warning because he didn't know how to write up a citation. No one got hurt! My dad gave them the whatfors! My dad stated I couldn't do it and my uncles said she just did. So I proved it. Dad got upset so I brought it down. I got upset and started to cry then took off on my Uncle B's bike, Yep the HD. I turned around and came back remembering I left my Uncle B behind. All the while some people were saying you can't do that as I was doing it. I was grounded for a long time and was not allowed to visit my Uncle B (bad influence). Miss them! He always said if "Rosy" the Riveters" can do it, you can too!
10-29-2013, 10:56 AM
#17
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Tucson, Az
Posts: 36
I was able to teach my entire 2nd grade class how to catch bees safely.. all you had to do was sneak up on them grab them by the wings then go to the fountain and wet your belt tab and let the bee sting the tab.. the bee was then safe. We would then let the bees crawl around on us and drive the teacher nuts.. I got thrown out of second grade for that one.
10-29-2013, 11:15 AM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
Posts: 832
I spent a lot of time at church functions when I was a kid, my Grandfather was a pastor and Grandmother played the piano, organ, and guitar by ear, she would play anything she heard even with her knotted up arthritic fingers. I wanted to play the piano desperately!!! I can remember sitting on the steps of the porch pretending the step was my keyboard/piano, Mom said I couldn't take lessons until I was 6, so I had to wait a long time- so it seemed. I finally got my lessons, had them for years. Learned how to play, when I became a teenager forgot all about it-those were the wild times. Until I was about 36, then I retaught myself again. Now I am teaching my grandkids how to play the piano. My favorite all-time song is still "How Great Thou Art".
10-29-2013, 02:43 PM
#19
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Happy Valley, South Australia
Posts: 186
When I was a kid girls didn't do this and girls didn't do that, but my parents were of the thinking that gender didn't matter, if you wanted to you could. I have three sisters and dad passed a lot of skills on to us. We were a formidable spotlighting team. My eldest sister would drive the Vanguard (back cut out especially for spotlighting), another sister was very good with the rifle so she had the job of shooting over the rabbits ears, and myself and our youngest sister used to run out and catch the rabbits before the ringing stopped in their ears, sometimes we had to chase them for a while. We used to keep the rabbits alive in a yard on the property and they were kept in style until they were needed for food. We were taught how to skin and gut a rabbit, we also went fishing, ocean and river and had to clean and fillet our own fish. We were taught to drive at an early age, during the winter we had to drive on the mud flats to learn how to control a vehicle in the wet and during the summer we had to drive the sand hills to learn how to control the vehicle on loose ground. We have been taught to use a shotgun and chainsaw, how to drive a speedboat, how to water ski (dry start for single ski, trick ski and barefoot). We did do Calisthenics (me for about 15years), two of my sisters also competed in National Titles for Calisthenics, one of my sisters and myself also did swimming training almost everyday. I wish that my kids could have had these experiences, but I did bring them up to believe that if they want to do something gender shouldn't come into it. My daughter is a petite thing who was Australian Womens Motocana Champion and my son even though he loves playing Squash (similar to Raquet Ball) and fixing and driving motor cars also loves to design and make bikinis for his girlfriend. I have enjoyed reading other peoples stories, thank you.
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