With the exception of his mom and dad and a few minor details I feel as though I'm looking in Thomas Carter's mirror.
Good job Mr. Carter, thanks for the memories. - Norman E. Hooben
I read as a child. Almost solely for entertainment. I never thought much about the fact that I read so much. After all I didn’t think it counted if it wasn’t a school book. Before I ever started school the folks would read Little Golden Books to my brother and I until we both had those memorized. Mom was the main reader and she took time to point out the words and which were which. I remember begging Dad to read the Sunday Funnies to me. That was hit or miss and most frustrating because, well, it was Sunday and it was all about church and Mom cooking and often going to visit someone (Dad’s folks usually). Dad was often busy and on call for his business. He was also a deacon and involved with church business, etc. etc. and so I taught myself to read well enough to master the funny papers and a short time later, comic books (5¢ and a dime each. Giant ones were 15¢ or annuals were 25¢. All silver). When l reached First grade and started the “Dick and Jane” books, I thought l was stupid. I didn’t get it. They went over and over them a few pages at a time. The teachers asked many questions about them. It was all so obvious. What was l not getting? Why did they keep on about these boring kids in the books? God, l was utterly lost in school. We weren’t allowed to read ahead but I did anyway. I had surreptitiously read the entire book by the first week. I still did not understand the heavy analysis but they were relentless for a year. Second Grade was ANOTHER Dick and Jane book, equally as boring. I think they added a baby sister, a dog and a cat. I hated school. I had San Joaquin Valley Fever in the Second Grade and missed half a year. I was home schooled. I was so far ahead of my class , when l returned they parked me at a table with clay and for weeks l did nothing but sit there and make animals, rocketships, guns, boats, airplanes, dinosaurs, snakes, lizards, birds, etc. finally the class caught up to where I had ended my home schooling with Mrs. Hayden. It never became exciting. Meanwhile, at home, when I wasn’t off playing, building a treehouse, fighting with my brother and so on, l was reading. I read “All About” books. I Read All About Dinosaurs, All About the Forest, All About Birds, Insect, Dogs and so on. My mother had started college and I started trying to read her college books but l would get in troublefor handling them… and No l didn’t understand them, not really except for anatomy. meantime I also read about tropical fish, reptiles, arthropds and I finally talked my Dad into letting me look at his National Geographics! Pictures and words! I loved them. And there was always the Bible. At family meals, at bedtime, every Sunday at Sunday School, Church and Wednesday night Prayer meeting, kids version. When in third grade, my brother was in fifth and he discovered the Hardy Boys a series of juvenile mystery novelettes! Hot Dog! He began to collect them and the folks made him share with me. I think there were about thirty in the series. He got them all and we finally had to wait for new ones. Agonizing wait. Then we discovered Nancy Drew. Same thing but for girls. We never let it be known that we were reading girl books, but we were! They were serialized and published by the same outfit, same writers who were prolific. Then my brother discovered my Dad’s books on World War II and our reading took a new and much more sophisticated turn. We were still so young that it was all entertainment but the exposure was important. At some point John (brother) got a copy of “Catch 22”. It was two years before I read that. Backtracking to the third grade, we had a field trip to the library where my teacher, Mrs. Butts introduced me to Dr. Seuss, nonsensical to me but fun and imaginative nonetheless. I read all available.
Growing up I managed to read several serries of books including everthing Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote, Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, the Pellucidar series and others. I discovered Doc Savage in mid teens, Louie Lamore, Zane Grey and others. There real kick for me as a kid were the science books. I learned anatomy, biology, botany, loved geology, was blown away by astronomy in the eighth grade (actually before then when quasars were first discovered). Loved rocketry, ballistics, military history. I loved art and discovered the great artists ( Mom studied Art History). It wasn’t until later in my youth, about 19 that l learned about music. That was or seemed to be a forbidden fruit but it’s a long story. But l slowly began a deep appreciation for all sorts of musical expression. In addition to all the above l read dictionaries, the Encyclopedia Americana and earlier The Book of Knowledge, a kid’s encyclopedia of about 12 volumes. I read everything like an addict. And when I wasn’t reading I was doing, don’t ask what. I was always in hot water at some level. Mom finally had to stop college to ride herd on two kids that were too restless to tame. Often my brother and I alternately went to the Welding Shop to work there. This granted Mom some relief. I first helped Dad when l was seven, grinding plow shears, readying them for hardfacing. It’s too bad it was made to seem like punishment because, as l found out later, there was much to learn here. Enough for now. - Thomas Carter
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