Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
It is sometimes that when we get older, we sit back and wonder, “Where have I been? What have I done and Where am I going?”
Our stories usually begins at birth and some people say they can remember as far back to the age of 2.
As I sat here one rainy afternoon, I began to think about my life’s journey and how I got to where I am today.
First of all, I do remember singing a song at church at about age 3. The name of the song was, “Hand and hand with Jesus.”
Of course, I started kindergarten when I was 4 and I was scared to death of the big bad wolf and the 3 bears. In fact, they had to take me out of kindergarten for a while.
My Mama, my little brother and I moved in with my grandparents when I was about 5. I remember walking to school with another little girl.
Every day we would pass this little red box hung on a pole with a lever on it. Everyday we would wonder what that little red box was for.
One day we decided to find out. My little friend was taller than me, so I got up on her shoulders and pulled the lever. All of a sudden we heard the sirens and horns and saw several fire trucks go by. Hmmm.
The next morning at school the teacher asked all the students what street they lived on. If they did not live near that little red box, they could sit down. Oh my! Soon I was the only one standing and I was sent to the principal’s office. I was so proud! I thought I must have done something great.
Well that was not the case. The fact was that I had pulled a lever on a box which reported fires. That was probably my first trip to the principal’s office.
Another outstanding memory also happened in first grade. We all got to go to a school circus. One of the entertainers at the circus was a clown. Everything was fine until the clown put a firecracker down his britches and caught his pants on fire. I jumped from my bleacher seat and ran out of that gymnasium and all the way home. Was I a scaredy cat? Yes I think I was and still am.
Through the years I used to go in grandma’s parlor and practice playing the piano hour after hour. We had an old record player and I would play all of grandma’s gospel albums and learned to pick out the tunes of songs.
Of course I graduated from high school, got married and had kids. I worked in a restaurant 6 days a week and attended a computer school in Ft Wayne on Saturdays. The computers at that time were as big as a room and we had a vast card system.
I got a job at General Telephone in Ft Wayne and could tell so many stories about my experiences there. I never would have guessed that in years to come, computers would get so small you could carry them in a suitcase. Wow thinking about right now, I can type my column and send it by email to the newspaper. We have indeed progressed.
However, I have always said that I was always the shortest in my school class, probably the poorest in my class and indeed the nosiest.
Well enough about me for now. Stay tuned for some more of my adventures next week.
Tell me about yourself and your escapades and I will give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
