Ok, so I’m starting this blog aged 30 years. I have a little catching up to do if I want to start at the beginning. I mean, don’t get me wrong, 1986 was one hell of a year. Not that I remember these things — you know — because I was a fetus for half the year, but here is a list of some things that happened in 1986.
Spaceshuttle Challenger exploded
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first celebrated
Mike Tyson won his first boxing title
Oprah Winfrey gets her own TV show — but so does Pee-Wee Herman
Some place called Chernobyl has a nuclear accident
Da Bears won the Superbowl
The Three Hundred and Fifty Years’ War ends (Netherlands vs. Isles of Sicily)
Hands Across America happened
Patrick Sherrill “goes postal”
A lot of really annoying songs were released
Ok, that is plenty. Please feel free to comment with your favorite thing in 1986 if you think of others. So I was born in 1986 and I am the oldest of three, so I’m an only child coming into this world. My first name isn’t a reference to anyone I am related to, so I guess there isn’t a great story there. My middle name is in honor of my uncle, so that’s a start. I ended up being the only boy and my dad’s only brother didn’t have any boys, so I am the last hope to carry on the family name. I’m not sure if anyone else considers this a big deal, but it honestly has been something that I think about on a fairly regular basis. It reminds me of medieval times where the strength of a realm was dictated by the succession of a family name.
My Parents
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a nice suburb with parents who were both college-educated and had jobs that paid well. Sure we weren’t rich, but for the most part we were able to afford the things we wanted. Looking back though, I now see that my parents were very good at prioritizing where to spend their money. They still own the same refriderator that they’ve had since I was born.
My father was an engineer for Motorola and that really shaped my future (more on that in later blog posts). He has since retired but his drawing ability and just how flat out smart that man is has always been a huge reason why I admire him so much.
My mom is on the last few years of her career before retiring. She works in HR at a company in another Chicago suburb. When I was young, she went to part-time work for the last few years before my younger sisters were old enough to be left along, but other than that she had always worked full time.
When my mother returned to work from maternity leave, my parents hired a nanny to watch me. It took one or two before we settled on the nanny who is now like another grandmother to me. Joanna, a Polish immigrant who literally left everything behind except what she could carry when she fled to America, taught me to appreciate classical music and kolaches. Kolaches are an almond cookie with fruit filling. Fantastic. Every time I have one, I still think of Joanna.
Nerd Life
I was never the “cool” kid growing up. I was a smart kid for the most part and I was in elementary school when computers were just starting to hit it big. I remember going to the computer lab and using programs like Toggle Trouble Math, Math Blaster, and Mavis Beacon… I remember dying inside every time. There was Reader Rabbit and Stickybear. Then, in middle school that became the likes of Encarta and Microsoft Bob. Eventually it was the original SimCity and Civilization games.
The Family Grows
When I was two years old, my mom had a girl. Then again another girl when I was four. My sisters and I fought every once in a while, but nothing too major. That’s me saying that, but my parents might disagree. All three of us kids have been very fortunate to be smart and sane. We all are now college educated and have great careers. The middle child is a perfect representation of my mother. She can do an uncanny impression of the sarcastic “Oh brother!” that my mom unleashes from time to time. The youngest of us is probably the funniest one and that’s saying a lot. All three of us are known amongst friends for our humor, so there must’ve been something in the tater tot casserole my mom made.
Sports
I also picked up sports as a young kid. I’m pretty sure my parents wanted to get me involved as a way to stay active but pretty soon found out that I wanted to try a lot of different things. I started playing ice hockey, gymnastics, tee ball, and soccer by kindergarten. I never got into basketball and it’s a probably the one sport that I am absolutely awful at. If you matched me up against a 7 year old who had been playing for a few years, I would get my butt kicked. No doubt in my mind.
I remember the first day of hockey “practice”. To sign up, you had to complete the skating class, which didn’t yet separate the hockey players from the figure skaters. I’ve never asked my parents, but I wonder if they ever questioned which group I would end up with… Anyway, first day of hockey class/practice there was a line to go through. By now we had to have our own equipment, but they were going to provide us with our first hockey stick. Step one in this process was to hand you a youth sized stick. It was still probably five feet tall — way too tall for the ~6 year olds. So next step was to put your back up against the wall and they were going to measure you like a wall chart, except they were marking the stick. Then step three was just a guy at a table saw, chopping everyone’s new sticks to the right height. At this point, no one was really a “lefty” or a “righty”, so all the sticks had flat blades. Step four was to hand you your stick back and some tape to cover the end that had just gotten sawed. Step five was on the ice…
I am still in a men’s league close to where I live. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll play, but it is pretty much the only active time my body gets, so there’s that.
During this first post, I’ve realized that it’s difficult to write chronologically about one’s life like this. Mostly because you don’t really remember it well anymore, but also because there is a lot of jumping around from topic to topic.
Well, that’s all for this post. Once I get caught up to the present, I think things will really start to get good. Who knows. Maybe not. 🙂
