Chapter Thirty-One Do your homework first.

Chapter Thirty-One
Do your homework first.

These memories of N. Allen I’m sure are out of chronological order. Burbank Elementary was only about five houses north of us on Allen and Brad went there for a couple of years. Dad liked to tell a story about when visiting with us he would look after Brad when he got out of school. Brad would come home from school and start to watch TV. Dad would say, “Your parents said you were to do your homework before you could watch TV. Brad would then go do his homework.” He told that story many times.

Throughout childhood and adult family life we’ve had different pets, but the one that stands out the most to me was our black cat Barney. Like a typical cat he would come to you when he wanted to come to you. And of course when you wanted to do something that was when he wanted to come to you and get right in the middle of it. We had a floor to ceiling tree house pole which he did like to use. We all had affection for Barney and at times he would display affection towards us. As I remember after Sue and I divorced Barney went with them and one day he got out and never came back. I’m sure if I’ve got that wrong Brad will correct me.

Brad and I did a few typical father and son type things while living on Allen. We joined some kind of Indian group that met in the neighborhood where the boys would wear a headband with a feather and we did pseudo Indian activities. I don’t think it click with Brad nor me. We didn’t stay in the group very long. We also tried the Cubs or Boy Scouts (I don’t remember which level it was). I think what really turned me off about the group was the psychology of the day to award kids for anything. They would give them awards for just showing up. It just didn’t live up to my memories of scouting. We didn’t stay in that group very long either.

One activity that we both anticipated with great excitement was when we got a gas engine model airplane and went up to the playground at the Burbank school to try it out. But try as we may we could never get the engine to work and it never got off the ground. That was a huge disappointment for both of us.

One year Joe, Ginger, Sue, Brad and I all wore homemade Elizabethan costumes to go to The Renaissance Faire when it was located by Agoura. We looked pretty good and had a ball. A real crowd favorite was a physical balancing game where you tried to climb up a rope ladder and ring a bell at the top. The challenge was that the rope ladder was attached at the bottom and top by just a single rope and thus if you didn’t equalize your weight properly you would flip over very easily. The guys working the game made it look so easy. Later while the faire was still in the Agoura area Ann and I took Eric, Jennisha and Eddie to the faire and had a great time. Recently Brad and Tina took Aidan , Tristan and visiting grandparents to the faire at its new location east of LA at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area.

Once we got inspired and held a casino night at our apartment on Allen. We invited about ten friends over including by brother. We had a roulette wheel, poker table and/or black jack and I believe we had a crap table. We made up play money and everybody started the evening with a certain amount of money. At the end of the evening I think we had some prizes for those who had the most remaining money. I think everyone had a good time.

I had Brad in all the major sports at one time or another. He played football, softball, basketball and hockey. I think I even tried him at tennis but not as an organized sport. The only sport he really took a liking to was Hockey. To be a part of hockey at a young age (I think Brad played from about 5 to 7 years old) you really had to be dedicated because the only time you get the ice for practice was early in the morning. I think Brad has fond memories of playing hockey. He played goalie a lot and his memory of his level of expertise at that position and my memory aren’t quite the same. But he insists that his memories are right. I unfortunately began to shows traits of becoming one of those hockey dads who forget that the boys are out there to have fun not to be pro’s. I think I got it under control before it got too bad.

I started Brad out on the path of being a gamer at a very young age. I’ve always been a proponent of the idea that playing games helps develop thinking logic and following rules while having fun. We were into card games, board games and miniatures. At one point I made a table for our miniatures. We would make hills from styrofoam and use pieces of cloth to represent bodies of water. We played medieval knights era and some times World War II miniatures. We spent a lot hours painting lead miniatures. Early on I think Brad would play primarily because I wanted him to play. We went to conventions for gaming. I remember Sue going with us at least once. She liked to play a game called “Kingmaker”. When Brad was a young adult, we went to a gaming convention in San Jose and one of the highlights for us was playing a board game called “Civilization” by Avalon Hill. I guess all that gaming took affect on Brad because he’s now raising a new generation of gamers, his sons Aidan and Tristan. Also, recently Brad and I have started designing board games together.

In the next chapter I’ll move on to a major change in both my personal life and career path.