Tuesday 4 ~ Memories of Days Gone By

This is Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo.

 

1. What was life like for you as a child of elementary school age? Friends, games, TV, music, food, interests?  Tell us about it won't you?

Life was active for me as a child.

I had a few close friends but in those days we didn't play together at one another's houses so often. I lived the farthest from school and sometimes my friends would ask me to stop at their houses on the way home from school.  I don't remember a lot of what we did except we usually had a snack and would then retreat to the bedroom where we would gab as girls like to do. 

On the occasions my friends would come to my home, my mother would often invite my friends to join us for a meal and then she would chat them up too. I remember one Italian girlfriend in particular. My mother made spaghetti just or my friend and I and served us on a table outside on a lovely summer day.  She gave us water to drink and while we ate she convinced my friend that she was part-Italian by speaking a few words of Italian. It was funny because my friend really bought into her prank and on the sidelines I was splitting a gut laughing.  It was all in good fun and mother eventually told my friend the truth. 

At home my siblings and I played together outside a lot and we also played games with the neighbourhood kids most of whom were younger than I. Reading and learning was always an interest of mine and I would pretend to play 'teacher' with the smaller children.  I mostly liked reading so I could continue learning new things and that interest continues to this day. I have a lot of memories of friends and I spending a lot of time together after school, often we were doing homework. in those days we had to be home by a certain time after school, before dinner and certainly well before dark.  At night after the evening meal, I would tie up the phone line for hours doing homework with my best friend. My parents didn't mind me tying up the phone because I was doing something constructive.  In the daylight hours at home we also played a lot of action games like tag, dodgeball, hide and seek and tether ball.  My dad put up a tether ball post in the yard and when I was at school, I loved to play tether ball at recess and lunch.  My younger brother and I also played a lot of ping pong with two of the local teachers who taught ping pong to the youth.  We didn't have our own ping pong table at home and we did this at a local community organization.

I believe we got a television when I about 6 or 7 years of age and we only had two channels. I remember western shows like The High Chaparral and Davey Crockett. The main television shows for kids were on Sunday night though. I loved Ed Sullivan and the Wonderful World of Disney. I learned a lot about the culture, the popular music and so on by watching Ed Sullivan though I think my favourite segment was when Ed Sullivan would talk to the puppet Topo Gigio. My heart would melt. I thought Topo Gigio was so sweet. Of course Ed Sullivan show is where I heard about all the singers of those days including: Mahalia Jackson, The Supremes, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Janis Joplin and The Rolling Stones as well as many others.

 

I used to love the Topo Gigio segment on Ed Sullivan

 

Food was anything my mother made. She was an excellent cook and we were never bored with the menu.  She didn't make fancy dishes, just good home cooking with substantial stick to your ribs kind of food.

2. Moving along to the teen years would you mind sharing some of the same things with us? What were you interested in?  What did you watch on TV or listen to on the radio?  Tell us all about you as a teenager.

I got saved in my early tween years and church took up a lot of the week. By this time I was going to church about 4 times a week which is the norm in Pentecostal circles (Sunday morning and evening, Wednesday and Friday night). I also was part of our small church choir so we had practise on one of those nights and of course there was always the Christmas and sometimes Easter plays at church and school. I didn't really enjoy being in the plays and I still don't. But I did love singing in the small choir. In summer we went to a wonderful Bible camp. It was always such fun; the food was great, sermons were motivating and friends and activities were plenty. 

My siblings and I were basically well behaved kids.  If anyone did get into mischief we were made to be accountable for it and make things right.  It was mostly my younger brother who got into a bit of mischief here and there. We were all kept very busy babysitting and with required daily chores around the house.  After we completed our chores we were free to do homework or play.  We were in great demand as babysitters but when I think about it now I shudder. We were just children looking after children and in those days people usually had several children at home. But the times were very different then.  Rules around child care were not as stringent as they are today and thankfully nothing bad happened.

I never did like radio much though I listened to it every morning before setting of for school.  We would have to get up very early for school. Once we woke up we would wash and get dressed, make and eat breakfast and gather our school books, bags and lunches . All the while the radio would be on so we could listen closely to the weather report and be alert to any school closure announcements due to inclement weather. At times it would be so very cold.  I can still remember being so annoyed when the DJ played certain hits songs over and over again.  One of the songs was by the late BJ Thomas entitled, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head".  Meanwhile, it was in the dead of winter with enormous amounts of snow and freezing temperatures.  This experience led me to dislike that song forever though I did come to enjoy BJ Thomas' other hits. 

More my style in the later teen years were the Rolling Stones and Janice Joplin. By this time I was no longer in church quite as often.  My world and tastes were expanding somewhat though I never really strayed too far into the 'world'. I remember I had an 8 track player and 2 'albums' and I played them again and again at top volume.  I cannot believe that my mother and father never once complained.  They just let me listen to the same songs over and over again. I think if the shoe were on the other foot I would not be so understanding. 

My siblings and I were very sheltered from the bad things in the world.  There were a lot of opportunities for kids to get into bad habits but my parents made sure they kept a watchful eye over us and protected us as much as possible.  I thank God for that because mother and father did not go to church themselves yet both of them believed in God and in a decent way of living. They also tried to be understanding and supportive of whatever we wanted to do as long as it was reasonable and lawful.  They supported my musical tastes at the time too.  I had absolutely no idea about the kind of lifestyle that rock n rollers were living when I was in my rock n roll phase.  When Janis Joplin died at such a young age I am not even sure if I knew why or how she died. I just remember being shocked and saddened. My mother was also saddened on my behalf. We had both liked the song "Bobby McGee"by Ms. Joplin. In fact, mother and I had started playing acoustic guitar and singing together for fun at home and we learned that song. We never sang for an audience unless it was a visitor or two. I was simply too shy for that. But my mother had a wonderful voice and her own singing style. She grew up singing country or country gospel songs at public events like rodeos. She and I began to sing many songs together all for fun and for a hobby.  Though she sang a lot in her youth she didn't want to sing for the public anymore as she had not kept her voice muscles in good condition.  Other hobbies I started during these years were crochet and beadwork.  Mother and I liked to bead together and we made earrings and necklaces which we sold here and there.

I still remember hearing about the death of Janis Joplin. So young but she had made a mark.

 3. Would you share your college or young working years with us?  Did your interests change or grow in your late teens or early 20s?  Did your friend come or go?  Did you live at school or home or have a place of your own?  So many questions only you can answer.

As I grew up and started university, I was still very studious and still did a lot of babysitting.  By this time my entire family had moved far away from where we all grew up.  We moved because I was going to go to university.  My father had recently died in a vehicle accident and my mother wanted a complete change and new start too and my need to go away for study coincided with the family's needs. I lived at home for the first two years of study before moving south to Vancouver to complete studies.  At this time my musical tastes changed from rock n roll toward folk music and I also began listening to more classical music. I had also returned to church life and many of my family members came to know the Lord during this period as well. Country music and country gospel were popular in the household and I kept on singing and playing guitar in private for fun. In act my brother did the same. My sister was left handed and found it hard to play the guitar but she loved to sing too.  Playing an instrument and singing were just things that so many people did back in those days.  Though many of us were never that talented we all enjoyed it immensely.

I kept in touch with a few friends through letter for awhile but gradually we all drifted apart as we all got busy with our own lives and new friends.  This was in the days before Facebook or social media and cell phones. I still retain fond memories of all my childhood friendships.  From time to time, I do wonder whatever became of 'so and so'.  Now and then I have tried to locate one or two old friends but haven't had much success in that regard.

After completing university I moved east to begin my career but after a few years returned to Vancouver and have been there ever since.  During all these years I had great work opportunities but worked too hard.  I didn't have any time for a personal life or for cultivating hobbies. I love working and when I work, I tend to over do it.  I had no idea about work life balance as I'd been trained to always do an excellent job. When you are working and there aren't enough staff or resources to do an excellent job it means you yourself have to put in the time and energy. I'm also a "recovering" perfectionist and have been very hard on myself and others who don't give their best efforts at all times.  In retrospect I wish I had learned about the need to pace oneself and take care of the body, the mind, the emotions and spirit at the same time as earning a living.  All the emphasis on work took a toll on my health and since those years, I've been in a  process of learning to be content with my physical limitations as much as I try to improve the physical body.  I am learning firsthand the meaning of 2 Corinthians 12:9 and God has been faithful. I've also learned that not everything needs to be done to a very high standard. Some things can be done to an okay standard.

4. And lately... what are the topics occupying your mind right now?   How have things changed in your life in the not to distant past. Are you okay with the changes?

The topics occupying my mind right now primarily relate to health, family and faith. Of course the broader things going on in the world are never far from my thoughts and prayers.

Books picked up at the library on February 15, 2022

 

Now that I am no longer working and we've all had to stay home for a few years, I have lost touch with so many people.  I try to look on the bright side of things and do what I can to keep in touch with people through technology.  If one cannot get together with others in real life we are so fortunate to have technologies that help us meet others and stay connected. It isn't quite the same thing but it is a good thing.

Last, but not least, I always have the Kenyan missions needs on my mind. As time goes on I wonder how much I will continue to be able to do  to help the grassroots people in Kenya. God knows and I try to leave it all with him. I also try to look for small ways to save funds to send to the mission field or small ways to earn funds for that purpose. Along that vein, I have recently added advertisements to the blog in case you are wondering.

My post is a very long one and I was late to preparing it.  In the next day or so I may change it up a bit as I review for errors or things that aren't clear. Thanks so much for your visit today. I appreciate it!

Joining in with Tuesday 4 here.