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Ricky's World
Neatness Freak......Often people come down on me for being organized and call me a "Neatness Freak". I wasn't always organized but became that way for a very good reason so let me explain. My desk at school was always a mess and my teacher came down on me to clean it. Sometime I missed recess or had to stay after school. Actually it wasn't as messy as some of the other kids desks as I recall. Apparently one day my teacher told me to come in on my lunch hour early and clean it......I honestly don't remember her saying that so after lunch I returned to school and played wall tag with the other kids until the bell rang. Once in the class room the public address speaker located high above the teachers desk blared and the unmistakable voice was that of Mrs. Atkinson requesting my presents in her office....NOW! ...Oh shit, what did I do? Mrs. Atkinson was our principle and she was VERY strict and scary and had a reputation to match her demeanor! As I entered the office her beady black eyes pierced me and I began to melt and she said " Mr. Boos why didn't you come in and clean your desk today? I was momentarily speechless and wondered what she was talking about. Was I going to meet the famous rumored "paddling machine" that was located in her office? I told her I honestly didn't recall being told to come in......and I honestly didn't!!!! What you have to remember, I was never a trouble maker and quite shy so this was a scene out of a scary movie!!! Pete Lanaza, the boys gym teacher, stood by her side and bellowed out " I will help you to remember..... Tomorrow you WILL forget about lunch and run laps for me! Pete was a big man straight out of the Marine Corps honest to God! You didn't dare cross him! So the next day at dinner time I reported to the gym as ordered. Pete said he wanted me not only run laps around the gym but also up and down the balcony steps at full speed! As I ran around the gym and up and down the many flights of steps he yelled out "Pick it up!!!" 45 minutes Latter I was totally exhausted my face was beat red, my legs were like rubber, and I thought my heart was going to pop out! Pete said " I hope that helps you to remember and that you keep your desk clean!" I sure the hell wasn't going to tell him that I still didn't remember her telling me to come in so I returned back to the classroom all red faced and legs like rubber. To this very day I have to wonder if the teacher actually told me to come in or not.... I just didn't hear her if she did but one thing for sure I never had another messy desk! By the way I really have nothing but love and respect for Mrs. Atkinson and Pete Lanaza....they were both great even though there was an apparent misunderstanding. From that moment on I became what some people refer to me as a "Neatness Freak!" Oh, by the way I found out that day that the famed "Paddling Machine" was nothing more then the P.A. system and other office equipment! The real paddling machine was the board of education that Pete Lanaza had in HIS office .....a wood paddle with swiss cheese holes bored in it! I never experienced it! The above speaker is from the very room I got that scary request to report to the office. I kept it as a souvenir of this memorable event!
The Dollar Bill......I had an uncle that I never met named Eddie. Uncle Eddie was killed during World War two at Guadalcanal, and dad always told me that I reminded him of his brother. As a kid I was always fascinated by this man, the man that I never had the privilege of meeting. At grandma's and Grandpa's house they had a huge certificate hanging on their wall signed by President Roosevelt commemorating his death. I would always gaze at it in awe and allowed my mind to drift. Out in the driveway during those early years his car was still there. One day I opened the door and sat in it. Man it was so different then cars of today! In one of the bedrooms pictures of dad, uncle Eddie, and grandpa hung on the walls, three brave men during the war days. Man I was fascinated! Hanging above the head of the bed was a one dollar bill that caught my attention. It was in a weathered homemade frame. I asked grandma and grandpa why that dollar was there and why it was so important. They said it was a dollar bill that uncle Eddie sent my grandfather for Father's day. Grandma and Grandpa or dad did not talk about the war days and uncle Eddie that much. What information I gained over the years was is what I picked up in conversations when the adults were talking among themselves. In latter years I learned the whole story after it wasn't as painful for them to talk about it. Well I'm still fascinated by uncle Eddie, the man that I never met, and I kinda feel close to him knowing what dad told me years ago. I have visited his and and his crew mates grave site at Arlington several times. They have a huge monument in their honor as you enter that historic place. Right before my grandmother died she gave me that framed dollar bill as a keepsake. I will keep it forever! After she passed away we were cleaning her house out, and I was allowed to keep all the photos of dad, grandpa, and Eddie that hung on the wall. In latter years mom gave me the items that dad kept of uncle Eddie's including his little Bible he was issued during the war. These are real treasures to me and I will always cherish them! When my son Scott was born I made sure to give him a special middle name in honor of my uncle. Uncle Eddie...you will always be my special hero!!!!.....P.S.......As a little kid I carried on the same tradition and gave my dad a one dollar bill for Father's Day and wrote him a note on it. He carried it in a special place in his billfold his entire life. When he passed away, mom gave me the billfold and the signed inscribed dollar bill.
Fishhook In My Finger....... I loved to go going fishing in my younger years in life. Every year we spent two whole weeks at Coldwater, Michigan. Every year I'd get a new fishing hat just like grandpa did. I had to because my mom would always throw the well broken one away....something I could never understand! It was a big deal to go to town and buy a new one, I think they cost a whole dime back then! Ron and I always fished with came poles back then and it was a lot of fun. We would fish from the dock, sometimes in the water, and if we were real good dad would take us fishing out in the boat with grandpa! The water in the lakes up in Coldwater, Michigan were crystal clear and quite deep. When we went out in the boat with dad and grandpa the water was around 100 feet deep! That scared me because at that time I could not swim a lick so I had to wear a life jacket. We used all kinds of bait back then and if we ran out of worms and crickets we could always resort to marshmallows from the cookies we had and it worked!!!!! One day I was fishing on the dock and the hook somehow got caught in my finger and I couldn't get it out. What to do? Well I did the worst thing possible and took off running up to the cottage dragging the cane pole behind me. By the time I got to mom and dad the hook was buried in my finger big time! Off we went to the hospital and I was scared to death! When we got there the doctor looked at it and did the worst thing possible he gave me two shots! One to numb the area and the second one was a tetanus shot that really hurt! Well I was a big boy and didn't cry so dad took me A&W Root beer stand afterwards. Gee don't you just love happy endings?
The Gyroscope......As I said in my previous post, the gifts I liked the best at Christmas and birthday were not always the more expensive presents and more times then not were fill in gifts that cost under a dollar! As a kid I was always fascinated by the gyroscope and the many tricks that it could do. For that matter I still am! Of course I knew the importance of the gyroscope in guidance systems in rockets and spacecrafts but, none the less, I was still amazed. I would spend hour upon hour playing with mine and trying to figure out what new feat that it could achieve. Yeah I still have mine but the outer rim has tarnished over the years. I am presently surprised that you can still buy the original all metal one but not surprisingly they are a bit smaller. Don't waste your money on cheap plastic ones, you get what you pay for!
Stuffed Animal Fights......My brother and I always had had a blast when our cousin's would come over and visit in the evenings. We would play outside until it got dark and got called in and after a snack it was off to bed. Well the fun didn't end there as you will see. My cousin's slept in one bedroom and Ron and I another while my aunt and uncle and mom and dad played cards downstairs. Well we were always wound up and believe me we were far from ready to drift off to dreamland. Often we would go to their room or they would come to ours and we would always ended up getting into stuffed animal fights. Ron and I were blessed with stuffed animals over the years so there was plenty of them to go around! Well needless to say the parents heard us and would come up stairs end our fun... or at least for the moment. Usually we would wait a while and then continue where we left off. After a couple times of them warning us the spanking threat was issued. They meant business and we usually obeyed them.... until the next visit! Eventually dad got smart and put hook latches on the top outside of both doors. Damn what a dud! There was absolutely no way for Ron and I or our cousin's could get to the latches and unlock them.....or was there? Ron and I found out that our door could be partially opened a crack and that if we used a yardstick and push up we could unlatch our door! Fun time begin anew! Well good old dad got wise to that as he would notice that our door was unlocked and he repositioned the latch hook and made sure the door couldn't open at all! The next time our cousin's came over Ron and I had a brilliant idea around that problem! Both bedrooms were positioned over our front porch. We simply opened the window and climbed down on the porch roof and walk over to our cousin's bedroom window and had them open their window up! Surprisingly we never got caught as we knew if we got caught that would be grounds for a real spanking! We came close one time as I recall, but Ron and I managed to crawl back through the window and close it and hop in bed before dad entered the room. Ron and I would act like we were asleep but dad knew better. What he didn't know is that we went outside on the porch roof and to this very day I doubt it if he ever did find out! Those stuffed animal fights were something to behold and a cherished memory!
Early Morning Aroma........As a kid growing up in 50's I can still remember the early morning aroma in our house on a cold winter morning. The smell of homemade bread, coffee cake, yeast donuts, bacon and eggs, or pancakes and of course coffee! Man you didn't need an alarm clock at our place because the house smelled like a bakery! Sitting back and thinking about it today I don't know how mom did it, but then again she always reminded me of the energizer bunny, and still does! Mom was a tremendous cook and as a kid I took it for granted. She always made sure we had great meals and and quite often we had great deserts like homemade cakes, pies, or cookies! Even on Sundays with her going to Church we would have a beef or pork roast or chicken dinners with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and always some veggies. It's been many years now since those early morning aromas but I will never forget them. Even at age 91 she still has outstanding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter meals! I'll always remember these memories mom, they didn't go unnoticed!!!!!.....Thank you!
Who remembers W.W.Mac?.......Lots of childhood memories there! [W.W. MAC located on East Third Street-Dayton, Ohio]
I'm Drowning......The year was 1961 and I was 11 years old and on summer vacation and the Orville Wright swimming pool was giving swimming lessons. Mom and dad had just bought a cottage at the lake and they thought it was a good idea for my brother Ron and I to learn to swim. The Orville Wright pool was brand new and only about four foot deep. As I recall, the weather was less then cooperative and it was very chilly early in the morning. Ron was a natural at swimming while I had a tougher time of it. If we completed the course successfully we were to be awarded a "Wally The Whale" patch for our swim trunks! I wanted one real bad! At the completion of our lessons at Orville Wright we were to take our final test at the Dayton Power and Light swimming pool which was about 14 or so feet deep. Graduation day came as as we drove to the pool Brian Highland was on the radio singing his new hit song " Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini". When we arrived there was quite a crowd and good Lord that pool looked scary to me compared to Orville Wright's pool. Ron went first and passed with flying colors and was awarded his Wally The Whale vinal patch. Soon thereafter it was my turn. Looking at the deep end of the pool I was having second thoughts. Yeah, I could swim sometimes but not all that well. What if today was one of the days that I couldn't? I really should have passed as I didn't have the confidence and wasn't that good all the time. Do I back out and make a fool of myself or do I go for it? I decided not to let Mom down and embarrass Ron so I went for it!!!! Bad move wrong choice! I sank like a rock and swallowed a lot of water. I can still remember that long trip to the bottom of the pool and looking up through the water at a surface that seemed miles away. Gosh I wanted to get to the top so bad but I was exhausted from struggling and choking on water. I thought I was a goner for sure. Suddenly I saw a huge slash above me and then I felt someone pull me to the surface. She was an angel with long blond hair!!!! If it hadn't been for her I would have been a goner! Funny thing I kept hearing that silly Brian Highland song! Well, needless to say I didn't get awarded a Wally the whale patch and I undoubtedly embarrassed my mom and brother. Weeks latter I learned to swim on my own at the beach at the lake. Ironically, my brother Ron died in 1991 by Drowning when he fell through the ice up here at the lake. I often think about the irony of it. I have always had the utmost respect for water and eventually became a water rat! To this day I wonder if my fascination with blonds is due to the lifeguard that saved my life?????? As you can see I never lived a charmed life and had to work hard for what I eventually achieved. In many ways I felt like the Beaver always competing with Wally!.....For some people things come easy and for others it's a struggle!
Christmas In July!.......As a kid I loved Christmas! Not only for the presents but I loved Christmas trees, all the pretty lights, Christmas vacation, and well it was just a happy time of year where people seemed to be different and genuinely happy!!!! It was magic for me! We always visited all our relation and that meant good times with all my cousins. Then there was homemade Christmas cookies and candy! What a neat way to celebrate Jesus's birthday! Years ago, as a very small kid, I was spending a weekend at grandma and grandpa's and as usual I had a blast! They had a dog named Blackie and that dog loved to catch apples! You could throw an apple way in the air and he would jump up and catch it. Grandma and Grandpa had a couple of apple trees and as I found out the hard way you had to watch out for the bees! Grandpa knew how much I loved Christmas and one day he went out and cut a huge branch off of a pine tree in his front yard and went to his bruder house shop and made a wood Christmas tree stand for it. He gave it to me and said now you have your very own Christmas tree! Boy I thought that was the neatest thing! Then we went inside the house and he rooted around and gave me a strand of the old 40s Christmas tree lights! Well I went home later that day and I couldn't wait to set up and decorate my Christmas tree! It was simply beautiful! I set it up in our living room. To this very day I have that old strand of Christmas tree lights and they still work and I think of grandpa! It's somewhat of a miracle that those lights still light up as they were the kind that got very hot and when one went out they all went out. Christmas is very different for me now a days. I don't get excited, I don't decorate, and instead of being happy it is perhaps the saddest time of the year for me like it is for so many others. You see I lost my brother right out of Christmas and that devastated me. My kids are all grown up and I no longer see the excitement in their eyes, and being divorced and not having someone in my life really hurts. That plus most of the people I loved have all passed away. I don't write this for sympathy but I just want to remind people that Christmas can not only be the happiest time of year but it can also be the saddest for a LOT of people.
Another Childhood Christmas Memory...... A book of Lifesavers!!!!!
The Long Walk......As a kid I loved to go to my grandparents house out in Beavercreek on Lantz road. Grandma always fixed outstanding meals and always fixed neat snacks for us in the afternoon. She would always have homemade cookies, coffeecake, or regular cakes! One of favorites was the homemade sodas she made for us with ice cream and Barqs red cream soda!!! I still make them for myself this very day and use to make them for my two boys. Grandma always made me homemade butterfly nets and back then butterflies were really prevalent especially in the open field in the back yard! Grandpa always had a project in the works and he always included me. His shop was located in a old bruder house and boy he had all kinds of neat stuff in there and would let me root through his junk boxes and keep the treasures I found!!! Wow, it was heaven on earth. Well back to the story. One day I wanted to have an adventure of my own and I asked mom and dad if I could walk out to Grandma and Grandpa's house which was 7 miles away. To my surprise they they agreed! I couldn't believe it! There were some ground rules though. Do not take a detour, don't accept rides from a stranger, and call us when you get there, I agreed. Now a days a parent wouldn't allow their kid to-do such a thing as it is far to dangerous. Well off I went. Walking was a lot different then riding in a car and I was amazed seeing things that I overlooked in the car! The urge to explore these sights was strong but I kept my promise to my parents and stayed on the designated route. I don't recall how long it took me to get there but 7 miles was a long ways to walk. Well I arrived safe and sound and had one heck of an adventure! True to my word I called home and told them I arrived. Mom and dad would pick me up latter that evening. Wow, I had the remainder of the day with Grandma and grandpa by my self! Life is good! And guess what? Grandma made me a soda!
Rain On A Metal Roof....... Going on vacation to Coldwater Michigan was one of the highlights of my life as a kid and I have many Childhood Memories of that place. Going to bed was something I never looked forward to but it was neat at the old cottage we stayed in because it had a metal roof! Mom would tuck us in and make sure we'd say our prayers. The men folk should sit on the screened in front porch swapping fishing stories and the ladies would prepare a evening snack and lots of coffee. We usually went on vacation in June and July and there would be tremendous thunderstorms with heavy-thunder lightning and rain. I wasn't afraid because I had my brother Ron with me. As a matter of fact I thought it was neat because you could hear the rain pounding on the metal roof. The next thing I knew it was morning and another exciting day awaited me. It may not seem like much to you but for this kid it was heaven on earth and yet another Childhood Memory.
It was study hall room 204 at Wilbur Wright High School the year uncertain......I was listening to the Indy 500 on my transistor radio and really enjoying the race when suddenly a shadow appeared and a gruff voice rudely interrupted my concentration. I looked up to see our Vice Principal Thomas Herman stearing down at me....."Oh shit!" was my reaction! "I'm in trouble now!" The Indy 500 was rained out over the weekend and I was bound and determined to listen to it! Without hesitation Mr. Herman took my radio away! "crap!!!" I thought I was going to get detention but lucky for me he only confiscated my radio until the end of the school year!.....If memory serves me right he wanted to know who was winning!....Yep I got it back at the end of the school year and still have it!
Thank You Davy Crockett!!! .....Mom and Dad had a strict rule about fighting at school, put simply "Don't do it or you will get it when you get home!" I hated that rule and for good reason. Once kids learn that you won't defend yourself you instantly become a target....and so it was for little Ricky! One time I was leaning against the brick wall at school and this "hood" (we called them) came by and tried to pick a fight. I didn't give him the satisfaction and he turned around and hit me smack in the chest... how many times I can't remember. When we returned to class I was in real pain and was having trouble breathing. Last period of today was gym class and today was special as it was trampoline day and then spring break! I was feeling terrible but I wasn't about to squeal on the guy that hit me. I mounted the trampoline slower then usual and started to raise my arms for the first bounce and I collapsed in ungodly pain. I think they must have thought I had a heart attack or a appendicitis. Long story short, I was diagnosed with multiple cracked and broken ribs. As I said earlier at the end of the day was spring break and my grandparents offered to take me to the lake with them while I healed. Well that incident didn't stop the trouble makers from wanting to pick a fight and build up their reputation. Do you know what kind of hell a guy goes through knowing that you were going to be beat up after school? This happened to me many times and they never got caught or were turned in. One Sunday evening I was watching Walt Disney and they played an episode of Davy Crockett and I watched intently when he fought. I made up my mind the hell with it, I'm NOT going to be a punching bag anymore. The next day sure as shit I got called out and this time I accepted the invitation! I literally beat the shit out of the poor guy and the traffic boys had to pull me off. I felt great even though the traffic boys turned me in and I got in trouble at school and with dad at home!!! It was worth it! I made a point of telling my boys in later years never start a fight, talk yourself out of one if possible, but if that fails, go for it or it will never end. Sure enough I was called into school one day and had to face their principle for allowing my son to defend himself. He tried to give me the school policy routine and believe me I stood my ground and let him have it. Guess what? No more fights for my boys! These liberal policies that schools have that both parties will be punished is WRONG! Everyone has the right to defend themselves! Thank you Davy Crockett!!!!!! NOTE: Editor of website remembers this event as I was a spotter along with Rick's other classmates to prevent jumpers from falling off of the trampoline. He did indeed collapse!