In Germany

Logan says, "Jeff gets to do all the fun stuff!"

In September 1980, we left Kansas and drove across America to Redondo Beach. We stopped in Orem, Utah and stayed a few days with GG and Grant. When Kirt checked with Wayne about the house we had bought it was not quite ready, but Wayne really needed Kirt there. Since we thought Kirt would come back in a week to get us, we went ahead and sent Logan (Kindergarten) with Kirt to get him into school.
It turned out to be a month before I ever got down there with the kids- but that is a different story, for later.

While we were staying with GG & Grant they had the opportunity to go up to Star Valley to see Grant's sister, Carol and her husband, Jack. They were farmers/ranchers. They decided to take Jeff (4) with them, so then I just had Shaunika (3 months old) and John (2). When they returned Jeff told me he had ridden a horse(with someone).

Several months later, when were all settled in Redondo Beach, we were sitting around the table at supper. When I brought a plate of fried check to the table and I guess that caused a light bulb to go on in Jeff's head, and he said "When I was up visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Carol I saw them chop off the head of a chicken, and then the chicken ran around the yard and then a dog come and licked up the blood!" To that comment, Logan remarked "How come Jeff gets to do all the fun stuff!"

Logan- "when I was a little boy"

All through the years, Kirt has told kids all the interesting stories about when he was a little boy.

When we lived in Kansas, and I was pregnant with Shaunika I had had a really rough day. We had supper, and then I went upstairs and got John (20 months old) to bed. Putting John to bed was quite a routine. He really liked Sesame Street, and around his entire crib he had stuffed characters and bears and toys. He had to say good night to each one. I came back downstairs and after a little while it was time to put Jeffery to bed. I was just so tired, I asked Logan(5-in kindergarten) to take him up and put him to bed. He took Jeff up and it seemed like quite a while before he returned.

When Logan came back downstairs, he told me that he tucked Jeff in and told him "a story about when he(Logan) was a little boy." I had to chuckle.

Logan goes to the library...alone

Logan did not read at an early or precocious age, in fact he was well into 1st grade, and had really not caught on. I went to Pic-n-Save and found some black and white comic books that were classics. (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, etc) They were .19 each, and I bought every different story that they had. At home, Logan discovered that they had an interesting and fairly advanced story, but in comic form. I was glad- he seemed interested in the books himself.(Instead of being read to)I thought, OK, this might work- you read a comic from left to right, like a page in a book. By the time he had gone through all those comics he had caught on to the concept and really started to want to read everything...

Years later, to the despair of his teachers he would read 3-4 books throughout the school day- instead of the boring work that they were trying to teach.He always had several books at a time that he was reading.

At the library in Redondo Beach a person was allowed to check out 10 books with their library card. We discovered that 10 books was just not enough to keep him happy between trips to the library.

In about 4th grade we decided that if Logan could safely ride his bike to the library and home again then he could take everyone library card and get multiples of 10 books for himself. It was a little difficult to show him the way there and back because their were so many one-way streets.

With my fingers crossed and a prayer in my heart I let him ride off the the library, hoping that he would return safely, and knowing that when he did he would have 40 books with him (and that might be enough for a week or two).

I waited for his return, and it didn't happen quite as soon as I expected, but eventually he did make it home. He was so happy, he just went into his room, tossed the backpack on the bed, took out a book and started reading.

Later, he did admit that he was reading a book as he was riding home, and missed his turn and was not quite sure where he was until he realized that he could see Warren's house in the far distance- and he knew his way home from there, so he would be able to make it home ok- so that he would be able to ride the bike again to the library in a few weeks.