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Gentle Wonder

Those were the times I was king of the ants, watching my subjects ‘till there were holes in the knees of my pants

Times when I could soar on eagles wings looking down upon many little things

I played, I danced -I don’t any more- I lived at ease for it was a time of inner peace

I remember when mom and dad were making up again, staying up all night sitting under the stars and I played outside until the sun rose and it was time for school

I didn’t know then that it was a night I would always remember fondly

One of five kids but I felt like I had our parents to myself even if I was all the way across the front yard

It was a time when I was the ruler of my little world, my imagination, where I could retreat and retain my innocence.

I didn’t know what a cruel world awaited... or did I know the crazy things people do

It is a feeling of contentment and pureness than we should all go through... at least for a while

Those were the times I remember as the happiest of my life still.

And I probably always will.

I remember staying out all night at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi to celebrate the Bicentennial in 1976. I was 10. There was a carnival and air show. Dad’s squadron had a soft-drinks booth, and I worked serving Pepsis, iirc, until they shut down. I found a $20 on the ground, and my parents let me keep it because there was no chance of finding who dropped it, among the thousands.

After the official event closed, the pilots and wives walked over to the golf course and sat around and drank, and the kids ran around in the dark. We weren’t usually allowed out after dark, except for 4th of July fireworks (also on the golf course).

I don’t know how we got home, but Dad was always a great driver, even having drink taken, until he started having blackouts before he got his pacemaker.

I know the feeling. I feel as if the ugly realities of the world started to push in on me after my 10th birthday. Much of my teenagerhood was spent thinking about how great it was before I turned 10.

I think that’s why Timothy Leary’s call to “Turn on, tune in, and drop out,” became so popular.

But the world needs adults. Preferably those who can help keep that place for children - that place that the world seems to be trying to take away as we speak.