The Dark Side of Imagination
Building Plastic Models In our room we assembled model kits. My brother liked to do cars. I did ships and other things that I’ll get to in a minute. My…
Play’s the Thing
The Place for Play Play’s the thing. And what else is a boy’s room for, if not play? Especially on days when it rained. The playground was between my brother’s…
Ambush on Lafayette Street
Speed Walking On that short walk between school and our apartment, I developed a habit of walking swiftly, which is something I’ve kept up since then. I would pass up…
Me in the Details
Adventure in Books I never used my Classics Illustrated comics for book reports. I reported on books from the library. The branch library nearest to us in Salem was across…
Dreaming in the Corner Drugstore
The Watering Hole As I mentioned, there were businesses on the ground floor of our apartment building. I dropped in on one religiously once a week. The corner drugstore. I…
Head Quarters for Adventure
The Apartment Our apartment in Salem was also on Lafayette Street (like Saltonstall School in last week’s post). So it was a short walk to and from school every day.…
Saltonstall School and the J.D.s
Going to School in Salem Mass Saltonstall School in Salem Massachusetts was located (and still is) on Lafayette Street, one of the main thoroughfares leading south out of the center…
Research and the Curtiss P40 Warhawk
Research Comes First Since that time in California long ago, I have learned a lot more about the P-40 pursuit fighter (a lot more than about that Hellcat fighter I…
My First Script
It All Starts with an Idea Some time in those four months that we lived in San Jose I wrote my first script, an historical adaptation. It was a road…
The Fourth Grade and Dealing with Change
A Tough Year The fourth grade for me was a tough year. I began the school year in Spokane. My father’s job of ferrying minuteman missiles around to the silos…