Author Archives: jjohnston001

As I said before, my father accumulated a lot of miscellaneous stuff in the basement. Tools, woodworking and metal working machinery, an industrial air compressor, bits and pieces of wood and metal, old car parts and what not were all part of the trash stash. When I was about fourteen, my Dad and I participatedContinue reading “Trash Stash and the Motor Bike”

For some mysterious reason, my folks bought me a bow and arrows when I was about twelve years old. For all their concern about my safety it was a rather odd gift. Nevertheless, I loved the bow and eventually became a reasonably good shot. A few years later they bought me second more powerful bow,Continue reading “Outdoor Fun and Mischief – The Bow and Arrow”

Another pastime I fall far short on that also requires good hand eye coordination is pool, or billiards as it is also sometimes called. With an engineering background, I understand very well the physics behind the game, angles, velocity, spin (“English” as it’s called) but there is a huge gap between my tacit understanding andContinue reading “Mark Twain on Billiards”

I can’t recall much of the fourth and fifth grades but from what I remember it wasn’t an altogether unpleasant experience. The most vivid image in my mind was the playground surrounding the Franklin Elementary School. It was unpaved and every year the township would spray the area with petroleum oil to keep the weedsContinue reading “Back to School – 4th Grade and Beyond”