As a infant I weighed in at 8 lb. 3 oz. I’m not completely sure of the “3oz” because the nurse kept getting in my way when I was trying to read the scale. That’s why I was crying so much at first; it was pure frustration. Somebody was always getting in my way while I was trying to find out about myself. I know that some of the other babies were heavier than I, but most of them had been born days before me. But, then again, some were lighter in weight, especially those they called “preemies”.
I was awkward at that age, but it wasn’t my fault. They would not give me any decent shoes, just those dumb booties, as if they were any good. Besides that, I was only fed milk for the longest time when what I needed was something to chew on. It took me the longest time to get a set of teeth, and, by the time I got a good set to work with, I had gotten so use to milk, I wouldn’t eat anything else. Besides, my Uncle Henry, who was supposed to be watching me while I was lying on the dining room table, let me fall off the table right on my head. Anyone knows that this could stunt anyone’s desire to get around the neighborhood.
When I was finally given the wherewithal to move around the house and the backyard, I became very athletic. That was, until I learned to read. After that I wanted nothing more than to stick my nose in a book and let the rest of the world go by. My older cousin would get on my case and pull me out the house to play softball. I had one great talent in that sport; I was a home-run hitter. I needed to hit home runs because I wasn’t a fast runner.
My biggest problem in my early youth was that I needed and wore glasses from the time I was about eight years old. Actually I only needed them, at that time, for reading, but that meant I had to use the glasses when I was in school. My worry was that someone would call me “four-eyes” and then I would have to prove that my wearing glasses did not change my situation too much. Besides, I was always a few inches taller than most of my classmates. and that made it much easier for me when a protective stance was called for.
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