Early Daze 1:

That’s Miss Francis from Ding Dong School. She rang the bell at the beginning of her show. It was the early 1950’s. I watched Miss Francis on the family’s new TV; it had knobs and buttons that I couldn’t help turn and push much to the consternation of my father who was faced with squiggly lines whenever HE wanted to watch a show! I was too young to go to school so Ding Dong School was it for me.

I remember crying before the enormity of a box of erector set parts and bolts and a 60 page instruction manual.

My Mother saw me, knelt down and took a 3 inch straight piece and a 2 inch curved piece and attached both with a bolt and nut to make an anchor. “See”, she said soothingly,” it’s a sea anchor”. I recognized it immediately from the tattoo on Popeye’s arm. Suddenly the erector set didn’t seem all that intimidating. I build many things over the years but never mastered reading that manual!