Lawton, IA and Sioux Falls, SD

Lawton, Iowa

At the age of three or four we moved to Lawton, Iowa, which at that time seemed to consist of a couple of houses in the middle of nowhere. I started Kindergarten at the ripe old age of four in Lawton. Unlike the regiment of reading and writing of Kindergarten today, Kindergarten then consisted mainly of bus rides, playtime, and naps on mats we’d lay out on the floor.

There was an empty lot or lots across the street from our house too, which seemed like a haunted forest to me at the time. Like most little brothers, I was enamored with my older brother, Mike, and wanted to go everywhere he did. On one such occasion I attempted to follow him and his friends into the treed lot across the street. They apparently thought this was a bad idea and proceeded to pelt me with whatever munitions they could find at their feet. One of these missiles, a stick, hit me in the eye (I can’t remember which one) resulting in a loss of sight in that eye. The next thing I recall is being bedridden with patches over both eyes.

I also remember something about a tall balcony, from which I feared I’d stumble over and plummet to my death.

My Dad bought me a horse here too. Charlie Brown was purchased at auction and was tied to a tree in our back yard. I don’t actually ever remember riding him, and I suspect we only had him for a few days or weeks.

I really don’t know how long we lived in Lawton. It seems like it was only a few months, which corresponds to my memories of our next move.

Sioux Falls – Part I

My clearest, earliest memories are from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We lived in a stucco house with shag carpet, orange I think. It was the seventies after all.

I finished my Kindergarten year here. The walk to school took us past a large area with a tall chain link fence and a dime store. The reason I remember the dime store is that it is the first place I shop lifted. I suppose all kids shop lift at some point, but I distinctly remember the embarrassment of being caught stealing candy. My parents were big into the spanking thing, so I’m sure this has something to do with remembering this.

I don’t remember school at all. It must have sucked really bad or been uneventful. I do remember getting chicken pox though. Both my little brother and I got them at the same time. We’d lay butt naked on the floor covered in Calamine lotion trying not to move, an action which would make the itching even worse. The neighborhood kids would run and ride their bikes by the house making chicken sounds and yelling crap at us.

Mom bought me a new pair of orange, canvas sneakers. I was so proud of them that I ran around the neighborhood asking people to see how much faster I could run. I think I actually learned how to tie shoes with these too. Ok, maybe I learned a little late, but I got to it eventually.

There was a broken down barbeque pit in our back yard then. The neighborhood kids and I would pretend it was a hippie van. I don’t know what this means, I just remember all of us cramming into the pit, with me in the “drivers seat” with the rest of the kids going nuts behind me. We were Kindergartners after all, with no idea what a hippie really was.

I also remember swinging a chain from my swing set and accidentally letting go of it. It flew through the air with incredible velocity, right through the glass of our basement window. Incredibly, my mom was out the door, belt in hand, chasing me around the back yard like a Cheetah hunting a Thomson gazelle. This wasn’t your ordinary belt. It was the seventies, remember? It was one of these wide, white belts with gold metal holes throughout the length of it. I don’t remember the beating, but I do remember the chase.