Fights

     Having a younger brother has not always been the easiest. When we were younger, Chris and I found many ways to antagonize the other. One time, we were pulling into the driveway, when I unbuckled my seatbelt and tossed it his way. It happened to hit him in his "privates." I don't think this was on purpose, but I was not always the innocent one! But while he was screaming and carrying on, he picked the seatbelt up and threw it at my face, hitting me near the bridge of my nose and eye. I must not have been as vocal about the injury because my mom started yelling at me for what I had done to Chris. She sent me right up to my room, while he got to go outside and play! Finally, when she had cooled down, my mom called me to come down to the kitchen. She took one look at me and couldn't believe what she saw! I had a black eye and a scrape on my nose. "What in the world happened to you?" she asked. "I tried to tell you! Chris hit me in the face with the seatbelt!" I exclaimed. She immediately sent my brother to his room. I guess we both got what we deserved that day! 

Two-Wheeler

      I was a bit of a late-bloomer when it came to learning to ride a two-wheel bike. I was in 2nd grade and almost 7 years old! We lived in a farmhouse in rural Gobles. It was a challenge to find a spot to learn to ride a bike when we had no sidewalks! I tried to ride with the training wheels in the yard but it was just too hard. Finally, my dad took the training wheels off and I would just coast down a little hill in the front yard. When I reached the bottom, I would just fall over, get back up, and push my bike back to the top of the hill and start it all again. One fall day in mid-September, I coasted down the hill but this time I felt something different...I felt the sensation of balance! Now I knew what it felt like to ride a two-wheeler! I came to the gravel parking spots we had and I called to my mom to show her that I could do it! I remember her standing on the cement block steps to our house, very pregnant with my sister, cheering me on. I find it ironic that I learned to ride a bike just days before my sister, Kathy, was born and now she is my very best bike riding partner. The day that my sister came home from the hospital and I met her for the very first time, I was still bearing the wounds of my learning to ride "wipe-outs" on my elbow and knee. 

The Peacock

      The oldest memory that I have is that of a visit to the zoo. I may have been around 2 or 3 years old. I'm not sure of the zoo's name, but Deer Park Funland could very well be the place. We would have been living in Kalamazoo at the time and Deer Park would not have been far from us. (Deer Park Funland is now Michigan's Adventure.) I remember standing at the fence and watching the peacock in with its feathers down and relaxed. I really did want to see the feathers all opened and beautiful. I asked repeatedly, "Peacock, open your fevvers. Peacock, open your fevvers!" Suddenly, the peacock fanned out his train of feathers. It happened so quickly that it scared me half to death! I'm not sure I've ever looked at a peacock in the same way again!