The girl sitting across the table from me is Sharon, my first girlfriend. (One word, as I did have a bit of a crush on her.) She lived around the corner from First English Lutheran Church in the 700 block of Second Avenue North. She was a year ahead of me in school -- a first grader -- and the youngest of three children. Surprisingly, I remember her siblings names and approximate ages. Rita was in the 4th grade and Charles in 6th. (What I don't recall is the family's last name.)
From an early age, I felt comfortable visiting other people's homes. I spent a lot more time at Sharon's house than she did at mine. One memory that curiously sticks in my mind: looking out the second floor bathroom window -- our bathroom windows weren't frosted either -- which provided a view across the alley of the back sides and roofs of the business along the 700 block of 1sts Avenue North, the largest building housing a Buttrey's grocery store. I also retain another image of Sharon and I sitting on her front porch. She read a page to me and then encouraged me to read a page to her, to which I responded eagerly. I'm not sure how much she had to do with it, but by the time I started first grader, I was already an accomplished reader.
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I remember the radio with fond memories. Mom kept it tuned to a station that played popular, i.e. pre-rock-and-roll, music. Joan Weber's "Let Me Go Lover" was a huge hit in 1955. Sometimes when Dad would try to show us some affection, holding one of us tight in his arms, we'd call out "let me go", and he'd mockingly start to sing the chorus of the song.
In addition to music ("Standing on the Corner" and "The Yellow Rose of Texas" two other songs that I recall hearing frequently, I listened to broadcasts of "The Lone Ranger". It would be another year before a television found its way into the Nelson household.
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