Everything goes back to Mt.Vernon. We moved there before my first birthday. The community of Mt. Vernon is about 7 miles from town. My mom and dad still live in that same house today. My sisters were 2 and 4 when we moved out there. That small brick house, on 20 acres is where we all grew up. Before that we lived on Eddie Street, kind of behind the Sonic on West Lincoln St.
Some of my first memories, maybe age 3 or 4, are running out the back door of the house, into the corn field that was only a few feet away. The stalks were way taller than my head. The tassles were brown, and it was always dusty and dry. I'd run fast and make turns to the right and left, never slowing down. Then, I'd spend the next several minutes trying to find my way back out. Sometimes it took a long time. That was one way I entertained myself. Our closest neighbors were 1/4 mile away. They were not a happy family, and I learned how to cuss by hearing their arguments from a distance. I would later work one of those new words into a conversation. My mom for a moment, would be unable to speak. I learned later that she was actually hyperventilating. I still have the ability to make her do this today, though now I do it with humor, or a some sort of surprise, not by slipping a curse word into a sentence. I can't imagine growing up anywhere else. There were characters, events, and lessons learned that shaped me.
One thing is for sure. No one in Mt. Vernon could have ever imagined the technology that we have today available to so many people. When we first got dial up internet service, that was huge. I remember our other neighbor Nancy, having been logged on for a long period of time, explaining to me why her phone was busy. She said, "Why Steven, I been out on the Net." It made sense to me, and it seemed like she must have really been out somewhere, like on a trip.
Hopefully, in this blog I can draw from the hidden corners of my mind a picture of the people, events, sounds, and sights from those days. Maybe the memories will emerge, a little dusty and tired, like a little boy, happy to be finding his way out of a cornfield. If you care to join me, it should provide some entertainment, just like back then, in Mt. Vernon. ** Yes that is really me in the picture.
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