Though a child is shaped by his parents, siblings, friends, school, religion, and other societal factors, no foundation laid by mankind in a child is immutable. Some are replaced or altered by society as a child grows. However, Almighty God remains the ultimate authority over the course of each individual as dictated by the course a person chooses to take. Though we all go astray due to our will, He lays His own foundations.
At home, where we lived on 5th Street, I could see the top of the Empire State Building. I was worried it might fall on us, although I had seen Mighty Mouse in his TV cartoon introductions place the building back up when it was falling over.
Image from the author’s personal collection
Just across the street were numerous railroad tracks. Some trains were powered by electric. But, if I am not mistaken, there were some diesel powered ones that were quite loud and sometimes the vibrations would shake the windows.
At that time there were some stockyards not far from our home. Occasionally an animal would get loose and loud horns would sound repeating three blasts in a row. I remember one time someone saying a bull had gotten loose.
The TV itself had a few scary things for children. I specifically remember two.
One was to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated against polio. There was some type of a puppet on a string which moved about fine until a big pair of scissors cut one of the strings and the puppet went limp. That was frightful to me.
Just as frightful was some type of plea for Radio Free Europe. In whatever nation became communist, their people were denied freedom of speech and the freedom to hear uncensored news. However, on the shortwave, and probably mediumwave, bands was Radio Free Europe that would beam into Europe the other side of the story they were hearing. Well, I’m watching the TV and this commercial comes on about Radio Free Europe. On the TV screen is a radio playing what I guess was a news broadcast in a European language. Out of nowhere comes this axe and smashes the radio. While the intent was to show how communism silences freedom of speech and the press, all I got from that was a mighty good scare!
Please keep in mind that none of us were Christians. So with that perspective, I respectfully say my parents added to my nervousness by their occasional and vehement arguing. Grandpa would get angry too, stomping his feet at times. I think him and Grandma, whom I called Nanny NooNoo (don’t ask me why–I don’t remember), would have some hefty disagreements too.
My family lived with my Dad’s parents in the same building. In my earliest years we lived upstairs, and they lived downstairs. Then, for some reason, we switched.
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