Wooden Red Rocking Horse

     Recently we went on a weekend trip with close friends to St. Joseph and Boonville, Mo.  It was just a relaxing weekend trip, not meant to be anything special, just kick back with good friends and enjoy each others company.  We visited a number of interesting places like the Glore Physiatric Museum, Clydesdale Breeding Farm and The Pony Express Museum. 

     While at the Pony Express Museum I stumbled upon a wooden red rocking horse.  So why is that special, there are many different kinds of rocking horses for kids, we bought one 30 years ago for our kids but it was plastic and whinnied when it rocked back and forth as long as the batteries were good.  The red rocking horse caught my eye and brought back forgotten memories because I had on exactly like the one in the museum.  It didn't look as realistic as the plastic horse we bought our kids and didn't have any whinny sound but it still made me smile and laugh a little so it was special to me.

     I have a faint memory of rocking back and forth holding the reigns or handles by the horses head but I have a much more vivid memory of the springs attached to the front and back which allowed the horse to rock.  Specifically, what I remember is how the springs would pinch your fingers giving you blood blisters when you grabbed them by mistake.  Sometime the springs could pinch the skin on the back of your legs if you riding like a maniac.  That was the most tender part of my leg.  There weren't enough bad words in my vocabulary at that time to describe the pain.  It didn't take long for a kid to realize to beware of the badass springs. Even knowing that I would still ride the horse and invariably get my finger or leg pinched every so often.  Let's call it my badge of honor given to you by the rocking horse. If you rode with the right amount of gusto you could make it hop across the floor but if you rode with great gusto you could tip the horse over which usually resulted in spring pinch.  A double whammy sprawled on the floor from tipping over and a spring pinch.  Oh, Mother of God that would hurt like hell.  Sometimes lessons learned by experience make a much bigger impression than those learned from someone’s sage advice.

     The rocking horse my kids rode had some improvements but it still had the four springs that would pinch but not with the enthusiasm of my red rocking horse.  They learned just like me to keep their hands away from the springs. Nowadays the rocking horses are more subdued and they have the springs covered for child's safety, that's an improvement but I'm sure they won't remember riding their rocking horse as vividly as I have, unless of course the horse has a built in GPS and IPod docking station.  Giddy up! Hi Ho Silver! or Text me Later!

Our Hangouts (growing up in the 50/60’s)

     In our neighborhood (Walnut Park) we had various gathering spots that you could likely find friends if there was nobody at their homes.  The Lot was always one of the first places you would check, which was just an empty lot on the corner of Mimika Avenue.  Maybe it was a parking lot but I don't remember seeing any cars parked there.  It had a big hill and in the summer we would get a big cardboard box and ride it down the hill.  During the winter we would throw snowballs at passing cars from the top of the hill.  That could be a little dicey since some people in the cars would stop and yell at us or chase us on foot.  Well, they probably only ran a few feet just to scare the crap out of us.  In any case we just took off running, only looking back after being a block away.

     Herzog’s school yard was another favorite hangout where we played whiffle ball, fuzz ball or basketball, but sometimes we just sat around and talked.

     Sometime throughout the day we would end up at the corner store on Mimika, (Shetterly’s), just sitting outside sharing a soda or splitting some penny candy that we bought trying to decide what to do next.

     We spent as most days outside but we also enjoyed playing games so you might find us over at O’Toole’s playing Monopoly, which in some cases would go on for a couple of days.  Playing poker was pretty common in those days as well and we frequently had card games in my basement, which also had a pinball game without a glass top.  We spent time in my garage building things (see my story on “Building a wood crate”) or having club meetings about nothing.

     We played a lot of ball and sometimes it was over at Calvary Cemetery to play or just roam around.  

     None of us every had much money so most of the time we just ran around outdoors but on occasion we would cobble together a few dollars and go bowling at Spencer’s Bowl or Northland Bowl. 

     As we got older we would go swimming at North Shore sometimes getting a ride but sometimes hitch hiking (not approved by parents), which was a way to get around town.  I hitch hiked occasional but for others it was a normal means of transportation.  You would frequently see people (kids or adults) hitch hiking when I grew up which I rarely see now.  It seemed we always had a big crowd when we were at the pool and when we went and we spent most of the day there goofing around, great times.

     There was also a small wooded area by the railroad tracks behind the Jennings hardware store that you might find some kids hanging out but they you might also run into a few unsavory characters there as well.  I didn’t go there very often.

     I don’t remember being fearful about any danger throughout my daily travels unless it was from kids from other neighborhoods but that was most likely an imagined fear.  Staying out of trouble with my parents was my big goal.

Appreciate the Differences

     It’s no surprise to anyone to find out each of us are uniquely different from each other, some in subtle ways others in more dynamic ways.  We continually change physically, mentally and emotionally hopefully growing in to a better you. 
     We all tend to gravitate to others with similar interest and personalities but over time I have learned to appreciate the differences in others, which widens my perspective on life.  Even family members can be completely different with a variety of quirks so it’s wise to expect the same from others.  If we can learn to ignore other people’s quirks and appreciate the differences, we might learn something new.
     Something that works for me is to be quick to forgive and slow to anger.  Encourage and celebrate the differences in others but avoid comparisons especially to yourself.   Most of all celebrate your own unique qualities.  You're all you have so make the best of you.  “Just Saying…”

Turtles, lizards and my other pets

     As a kid growing up I always had multiple animals, which included box turtles, little water turtles that I kept in a fish bowl and many chameleons, a hamster and my chicken (Peep Peep the City Chicken), which is in a previous post and of course our dog Trixie.  The chameleons (lizards) used to come with a little string around it’s neck and a clip that would fasten to your shirt so they could climb around without getting lost.  I doubt that you will find these anymore I'm sure that would be considered cruel nowadays.  Chameleons would change colors depending on the color of the surface they were on which was cool.  Their color change was slight which to me was a little disappointing because I expected an exact color match.  These were much smaller than the gecko’s you see on the TV commercials for Home Depot or Toyota.  The chameleons were available at any pet store and at carnivals but they never lived very long.

     We had 2 box turtles that lived in the basement and eat bugs, which was pretty common in those days.  We would throw some lettuce down to them occasionally, turtles need their veggies too, they can’t just live on bug meat. I’m sure we named the turtles but I don’t remember their names.  They were working turtles clearing the basement of bugs so I didn’t play with them like I did the little water turtles.  The box turtles didn’t like each other because they got into a big fight and chewed each others shell up and we got rid of one or it died I don’t remember exactly.  Maybe turtles are territorial I’m not sure or maybe there weren’t enough bugs or lettuce to go around.

     The water turtles were more fun to watch because they seemed more active.  I kept them in a fish bowl with some rocks to climb on as well as pool of water to swim around in.  At times I would have 3 or 4 in the bowl, which turned out to be a problem when they would climb up on each other and escape the fish bowl.  It was hard to find those little buggers when they crawled under the bed or some other obscure place. 

     I also had a hamster but mine had a nasty temperament and didn’t like to be handled by a young boy.  I guess I didn’t have a gentle touch with it.  The hamster bit me once so that kind of changed my interest in it but I didn’t tell my parents that he bit me because I was afraid they would get rid of it.  He died a few weeks after the bite so I informed my parents then and they took the corpse to get checked for rabies but nothing was found. 

    Our dog Trixie was the family pet we had for many years but she had to be put down in her later years when a tumor was discovered on her stomach.  Just as today our pets were part of he family but I don’t remember ever dressing them up in clothes or costumes like people do today.

Impossible Questions for men

     Some questions posed in life are easy to answer, others are hard and some are impossible.  Here are some examples:  What is this dirt on the chair cushion?  Why are there spots on the carpet?  What’s wrong with my phone?  Who got dirt on the wall?  Where are my keys?  Why is this broken? What’s that funny noise in the car?  Movies even reference these impossible questions as in "Christmas Vacation" when the question is asked  "How did the carpet get all wet, Todd".  Answer "I don't know Margo".

     There are many more questions like these that are usually posed by a loved one.  When I’m ask one of these questions my go to gut response is “I don’t know, it wasn’t me” or  "That's terrible, what will we do" or something equally useless.  The truth is those dirt spots could have been me, but those things don’t always register with guys, so I really don’t remember.

     The question asked by women and heard by men can be completely different.  When a woman ask “Who got dirt on the wall, chair or carpet?”” a man hears “How did you get dirt on the wall, chair or carpet?”  It’s a subtle but a critical difference.  So how does a guy answer that question, is there a right answer, I usually rely on my gut response “I don’t know, I didn’t do it.” 

     Some of the impossible questions you may get are more difficult and tricky to answer, What’s wrong with my phone?  Any questions regarding the phone or computer always gets my usual response “Must be operator error” which is over used and seems lame at best.  Well I’m not sure if there is a right answer but my go to answer is not working so I need to come up with a more interesting or entertaining response.  Here are few new (untried) responses that may help you answer those impossible questions or may get you in trouble for being a smart ass, but be careful it might just get you "The Look".  Let me know how they worked out for you.

"Negatively charged floating ions are the cause of your electronic issues."

"Forest fire soot has permeated the air causing a spontaneous transference of dirt to all clean surfaces."

"Ninjas could be involved in some way but we shouldn’t talk about it."

"I suspect global warming to be the culprit."

"Atmospheric changes have affected my memory and decisions skills so I do not recall and I should not be held responsible."

"Thank you" or "Your Welcome" 

"Sounds like rich people problems"  

     Some of these answers don't make any sense but lately, my answers lean toward ridiculous responses, which I find to be more fun although offering no worthwhile help.  However many of these questions won't have an acceptable answer anyway so why take it seriously.  “Just Saying…..”

Positive Thinking versus Positive Action

     I have always believed in positive thinking even reading self-help books that supported my belief.  Positive thinking helped me have a better outlook on life, which is an important part of life but there’s more to it than thinking positive. 

     You could go through life with a positive attitude but without positive action your achievements might be diminished.  You need a positive attitude to take positive action so that attitude is important but it’s only the first step.  It’s not always easy to take that all-important step toward positive action but it is rewarding and gets easier with each step you take.

     Some people are blessed by knowing what they want in life but others (including me) tend to meander through life without that internal knowledge of my personal objective.  Positive thinking helped me be open to possibilities and positive action makes some of those dreams possible. 

     Even though I wasn’t sure what life would bring I was anxious and somewhat tenuous about the experiences that lay ahead but in the end those positive actions always lead me to be more confident.

     Positive thinking and positive action can help everyone but who is better off the person that knows their purpose in life early on in life or the person that tries many things looking for their purpose.  Which is sweeter knowing your purpose or finding your purpose? I’m not sure it really matters as long as you don’t give up your search.  “Just Saying…”