May
7
The arc of time
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As I Got Older
1
I started doing as my mother had done: I wrote cards. I learned how a house becomes a street, a street becomes a block and blocks placed parallel and perpendicular to each other become a community. I switched to chocolate milk and toast (white bread of course) as my staple breakfast. I began to notice that my friends were getting knickers. I was happier just being ignorant on what to do with them. I learned to use a sword well enough to be paid for my services. I guess I thought of myself as sort of a rebel.
2
I didn’t think about being in love for a long, long time. I faced the temptations that most high school boys face, but in a small town you have to be careful. I sort of retreated into my bedroom. I noticed my skin colouring was different to that of my family. It became harder to get lollipops from the banks. I had several opportunities to ride in fixed wing airplanes, but to me, somehow, that didn’t offer quite the same experience. I ventured into a new challenge: catching lizards.
3
Work commitments dictated my vehicle choices. As I grew from starting with the comics to jumping to the front page, my discussions of the day’s events began to open up a new world of social possibility. I moved in to my gin and tonic days. I found I loved teaching little kids how to recognize colors and how to count to 10. I explored the villages near our house and sometimes went to the V.F.W. post to listen to the solidiers. My mother bought me a Mrs. Beasley doll. I couldn’t stop. I realized that a real, even more fascinating universe existed.
-Editor (search phrase: “as i got older”)