I still haven’t finished growing up
In the 60s, from 5 - 15:
I ended up in a group home for 2.5 yrs, from 8 to 11. Most of the other kids were girls. It was there that I first played a bunch of girl games. Jacks, Ken and Barbie, Skipping rope (with songs), Hopscotch, Doctor and House. We mixed house with baseball. Forget about the first three bases, we went to home plate every time, almost. (and you thought you were kidding Baltic :))
For some reason they decided to send me back to my mother at 11. It was there that I first learned to watch the CFL and play touch football. Almost made it worthwhile being back with my mother.
At 13, met my one and only foster family. Walked through the front door on Wednesday, on my wife’s birthday, at around 11 p.
It was in the 70’s, that I did the most different things:
I went to live on a 1 section dairy and grain farm in Manitoba for 6 months and then to another 2.5 section pigs, chickens and grain farm also in Manitoba. Did a heaping helping of farm chores. Learned to drive a farm tractor and grain truck before I ever got a licence to drive on the road. Most of the time, most of the chores were kind of fun. Specially working in the fields.
Rode a bus from Vancouver to Brandon. Never again. Awful trip.
During that decade, I hitchhiked from Manitoba to Vancouver twice. From Toronto to Manitoba twice. From Toronto to New Brunswick and back once. First time from M to V was with a friend. WE had no money between us. We had a blast. I never had any money when I started out on a trip.
Also during that decade, I flew for the first times. Terrace to Vancouver,Edmonton to Toronto to Vancouver and back and forth between the last two. Always flew Standby on CP AIR. Never a problem.
Then there was my first train trips. Vancouver to Terrace. Vancouver to Toronto and back, Vancouver to Winnipeg and back. Toronto to Winnipeg and back. Always rode CN Passenger, back before there was VIA. My favorite way to travel long distance.
Then there was a short stint of 6 months in the army. Drilling, cleaning, drilling, marching, drilling, etc
not for me, I quit. During the 70’s one of my pastimes was quitting. Quit high school 3 times, quit college twice, quit many jobs.
I went wild in Toronto, spent much of the time there unemployed and hanging around with street people, hookers, bikers, girls at the nearby hostel or YWCA. Had a lot of fun, but not proud of everything I done. Didn’t do any real crime tho. The occasional petty thing. We hung out at a park a couple of summers and lots of complaints about our late night noise.
Bought a moped. Really enjoyed riding it all over Toronto as fast as I could.
Went to Winnipeg in 77. Tamed up, went to church, spent lots of time hanging with church young people, playing sports in the summer and various activities in winter. Got Baptized.
That’s just some of the highlights