The Wonder Years

I was born February 27, 1968; I remember it well, it was a Tuesday. As it turns out, the entire rest of my life could be described as a Tuesday...

Dazzle 'Em With Cuteness

Life in general was bliss. No school. No work. No taxes. No awareness of taxes. I could sleep in any day of the week as long as I wanted, or stay up all night sharing the good times with people who just didn't want to slow down and enjoy life from the ground's perspecitive.

Entertainment was everywhere; there wasn't an adult who wouldn't act like a babbling idiot for a gurgle. When I tired of them, I'd drop a load in my diapers and immediately I was back in mom's loving arms.

Dad and I

Dad always gave me attention when I was the only child, especially when mom wasn't around and witnesses weren't available. He'd play such favorite childhood games with me such as "Hit the Little Baby Over the Head with a Large Piece of Ice."

Though I rarely won, I was tagged it quite often. To the right is a picture of me after winning second place.

The Spectacular Christmas

What seemed to be the most spectacular Christmas ever in the history of childhood actually marked the beginning of the longest mind game known to mankind. For the spoils of being an only child are glorious at holidays... that is until those holidays bring you two sisters.

Then you discover that the Christmas budget has suddenly been divided by three, along with all the attention you once received and were conditioned to expect as the norm.

And so the quest began to seek other life-forms. The kind that keep my hours, that can't pick up a block of ice the size of Texas, and who will respect what's yours. ...someone without a sister.

My Many Friends

Perhaps the most remembered playmate from my childhood is Neno, although his given name was Alan. He was born exactly one year after I was, to the day.

I was unable to pronounce Alan's name, and did the best I could: An-an. Apparently Alan's mother left us together quite a bit, so much so that Alan would only respond to Anan.

Alan also was quite a handful, getting into all sorts of things. His poor mother quickly found the word No working its way to the top of her vocabulary list. Too many quick repetitions of "Anan no!" melded itself into the tongue twister Neno.

As you can see, Alan, since the very begining enjoyed getting involved in whatever activities I was exporing. Results today are similar at times, but certainly not as dramatic on my part. These years, we exchange gifts, rather than taking them without provocation.

A little less than 20 years later, who would have thought we would have gone from "Well, gosh. That just wasn't flamable at all..." to starting an Internet site as Wizard Workshop and Company.

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Walt Stoneburner - wls@wwco.com, ICQ #5368391

This page last updated 20-Oct-2005 10:08:04.