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H. Neal Glanville

H. Neal Glanville's column appears in the Craig Daily Press on Mondays.

My beloved Aunt Ruthie is one of the many people who helped me make it through childhood.

She saw childhood as a moment in time that should be savored, not only by the lucky kid wading into it, but also by the grown-ups, who should be giving freely of their time and energy to help the youngster on their way into the real world.

When it came to trying new things my brothers and I would come up with, Aunt Ruthie was first in line to "give it a go." (Although there were numerous times she openly frowned on some of the stuff grandpa or Uncle Barney got us into. I shouldn't say "stuff" - it was trouble, plain and simple.)

When we discovered our cousin Mike's Superman comics, we were hooked, running everywhere with outstretched arms yelling "up, up and away."

Lovingly, Ruthie sewed each of us a bright red cape. As she tied mine around my neck, she whispered in my ear "birds work at flight, men pray at landing." I'm certain that's not what she was yelling when she caught me running toward the edge of the roof yelling "up, up and away."

My next bookworm hero was Davey Crockett, and once again, Ruthie stepped forward, sewing another outfit and surprising me with my own Coonskin Cap.

At the time, I was too young to cross De Soto Boulevard, so my being "king of the wild frontier" was limited to the patch of timber that grew just south of the house, where I'd built my own version of the Alamo and never lost a battle.

On the mornings I dressed as "Davey," Ruthie would build me a lunch and place it in the canvas pouch she'd so lovingly sewn, and off I'd go, "king of the wild frontier." My frontier days ended the afternoon the County Fire Department showed up to extinguish my burning Alamo.

"That Mexican Army sure fights dirty," I tried explaining to the firemen.

Ruthie's love for me, and the many other children (including my own) she helped through childhood never tired, nor was she ever disappointed with any of us she so graciously touched.

Maybe she was dismayed a time or two, but never disappointed.

I think about my childhood each time I hear young boys speaking of this computer game, or that Web site, or when I see teenage girls wandering aimlessly through town.

I wonder how many moments of imagination or creativity have been lost each time a kid gets dropped off at this club or that daycare center, when all it might take is a book or a handful of paper and pencils to start someone on their way.

Now for something completely different

Have you noticed the changes that are occurring in our every day language?

I give you "what's up?"

I remember Bugs Bunny saying something similar. I now reply "the cost of most everything."

Another I give you is "do you know what?" My comeback: "No, I've never met him personally, but I have heard great things about the rest of the family." My current favorite - that bored little voice that whines "May I help you?"

You need to look directly at the bored sales person and ask "Are you a trained mental health professional?" You'll be pleasantly surprised at the replies and smiles you get in return.

Until next time :

Yup, there I was surrounded by fishing fever, when I said to myself, "Self" I said, 'cuz that's what I call myself when I'm talking to myself. "Remember what Uncle Barney said: 'Yesterday was never here, and tomorrow never comes, now is what you get, and all you get.'"

Thank you for your time.