justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

A blanket on the bathroom window

and a flashlight face down in the tub

I grew up during a time when the west coast of California was considered a possible target for the enemy during World War II. Families experienced “black out” nights, when there was to be no light emanating from our houses. We would gather in the bathroom, with a blanket over the window, and place a flashlight lens down in the bathtub. Not much to do but read – and I let my little boy imagination go to far away places and support the fighting that was taking place around the world. There were even block wardens wearing old WWI helmets and armbands, who walked around the neighborhood to reinforce the requirement to have no lights showing from our homes.

I’ve watched my children and grandchildren play increasingly detailed video games that allow them to simulate how they’d perform in battle. I cannot help but wonder, “What’s left to their imagination?” I was not blessed with these types of games, and maybe I’m better off for it.

I used my mind’s eye and listened to a radio serial on the wartime experiences of “Sky King.” Any old stick was used for a weapon, and the weeds we’d pull up in the field by my house made neat “bombs” to toss at my friends, who were hidden behind a neat cardboard refrigerator packing box from my neighbor’s yard.

I know my imagination was filled with all the “actions” that a child of five could handle. Just one example - my dad bought a war surplus five-cell communication light with a trigger for a switch and a red cellophane lens that I used to signal various small planes that flew quite low over my house. (I even mastered the Morse code for SOS.) 

Different experiences for different times, and I continue to hope that my “old time” experiences will translate to wisdom as I continue as a lifelong learner, and a servant-leader to youth of all ages, without the admonition “when I was your age” to stifle the creativity of youth.