Announcing sports in high school

Another activity I did during high school was announce sporting events. When they were held at our school, I got to sit with the scorekeepers and over the PA system emcee the game.

I started by doing wrestling in my sophomore year then added boys and girls basketball as well as boys and girls track my and junior and senior years. I had a notebook in which I worte out my script for the game.

During this time, I also wrote wrestling stories for the sports section of the local newspaper.

When I graduated, I received a "leadership award" from my high school for my promoting sports and school spirit in part for the announcing gig.

My friends during high school

Who our friends are change over time. One of the reasons, as you know, is because sometimes when parents move, the child ends up in a new school or neighborhood.

But our friends also change because we as people change. Sometimes we find that we have more in common with new people we meet and so start hanging around them more. That can be very sad if you're the one losing a friend.

In much the same way, my friends changed over time when I was in high school. Carl Tilseth, Mike Gansberg and Dave Almquist were my closest friends in ninth and tenth grade. That began to change, though, in tenth and eleventh grade when Darcy Brown - Dave's friend - became one of my best friends. By the end of eleventh grade and through my senior year, I wasn't hanging out much with Carl, Mike or Dave but with Darcy and a couple of his friends, Mark Fenton and Joe Dahl.

And then when I graduated and went off to college, I got a whole bunch of new friends!

Who are your friends?

My involvement in the FFA

Did you know that I went to high school I was in the FFA or the Future Farmers of America? I lived on a farm, and my dad was very involved in FFA when he was in hgih school, so I was sort of obligated to be involved!

I entered all of the speaking contests. I want first pace during during eleventh grade in the conservation district's speaking contest and went on to sectionals I think in my senior year.

Another kind of speaking I was in was the FFA's parliamentary procedure team. A group of five of us would demonstrate how to use parlimanetary procedure in a meeting! I know it sounds kind of boring, but it was a real challenge to learn it and use it as a team, and that made it a lot of fun!

And yes, I even wore one of those blue FFA jackets.

The picture above shows an award I received as a graduating senior year for my involvement as a speaking contests.

Remember going on the swings?

One of my fondest memories of us together is when being able to push you on a swing when we went to parks. Oddly enough, for me it was very relaxing and seeing you have so much fun brought great pleasure to me.

Often you'd pretend you were a fighter pilot or were one of the Rebel pilots trying to shoot down the Death Star. You'd be making all kinds of fire and explosion noises and talking in your mic to the other pilots. I didn't mind it a bit - I did the same thing when I was a little boy!

A fun ritual we always had when you wanted to get down from the swings was that I'd pretend to try to catch your legs but would miss and say "Too high!" Then I'd pretend try to catch your legs again but would miss and say "Too low!" Then I'd connect with your legs but not grip them so you'd slip right through. Finally, as you were now going slow enough, I'd actually grab your legs but pretend that you were dragging me as you swung back, and go "Oh no! I'm going to go airborne!" You always had a big smile on your face and would laugh as I did that.

Going out for debate in ninth grade

During the past several entries, you may have noticed that I've been telling a little bit about me as growing up. As I don't know how long we'll be kept apart - and especially if something should happen to me in the meantime - I want to share with you the story of my life so that you may know me a little better.

After junior high, in the fall of 1980, I entered ninth grade at Menomonie Senior High School in Menomonie, Wis. That autumn I went out for the debate team!

My debate partner was Suneel Arora, who is now a successful attorney in downtown Minneapolis. We were the "negative" team on a four-member team (The other two were partners who argued the "affirmative"). In short, Suneel and I argued against proposals that the other team made.

Our four-member team took first place at three tournaments - St. Croix Falls, Durand and New Richmond! Unfortunately, our school district cancelled the debate program after that year, so that was the last season the program was offered at our school.

Would you like to go out for debate or forensics when you;re in high school?   

My time in junior high school

After attending Knapp Elementary School, I went to Menomonie Junior High School. Our school district had nine different elementary schools in it, and when students reached seventh grade, they went on to the junior high school. That was the fall of 1978.

In seventh grade, I went out for track in spring and in eighth grade I went out for football in fall. Ultimately, though, I decided sports wasn't for me! I also ran for student council but didn't get elected.

Maybe the most exciting thing I did in junior high was wrote a petition in seventh grade asking for more student dances and then in eighth grade led a boycott of school lunch! I was into politics and very interested in national and international politics at the time. I guess I was a very serious young man!

My best friends in seventh grade were Brian Lindo, Kirby Quinn (who I went to elementary school with), and Troy Hathaway. In eighth grade, my friends gradually changed, and my two best friends were Carl Tilseth and Mike Gansberg.

My email sent to you on Nov. 24, 2012

Here is the email I sent on Nov. 24, 2012, just in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

Hope all is going well for you. I miss and love you very much.

I’m glad to hear you had such a fun week! Sky Zone sounds like a good time, especially with all of your friends were there. What did you get Milo for a birthday present?

I have not seen “Penguins of Madagascar III” yet, though I remember us watching the previews for it when we went to the movie theaters in Lancaster. Was the penguin Ringo in the movie? What was your favorite part of the film?

A black lab sounds like a great dog to play with, especially fetch. Your Uncle Chris has a black cocker spaniel that always brings me a small football to me to throw. Though she chases after the football and gets it, she doesn’t always bring it back to me – sometimes she runs back to me and looks up at me wondering why I’m not throwing it again for her to chase! Cocker spaniels don’t have a reputation for being the brightest dogs in the world.

Did you have turkey for Thanksgiving? I did. I also had mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie (well, two pieces of pumpkin pie). I also read a really great book called “Mousekin’s Thanksgiving,” by Edna Miller. The story is all about how a wild turnkey helps a little mouse and all of his friends find something to eat. That’s because a mysterious creature has eaten of the mouse’s food that he stored for winter!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is rapidly approaching. Have you made a list of presents you might like for Christmas?

That is all for now. I miss you!

Love,

Dad

My best friends in elementary school

One of the best things about going to school is that we get to make new friends. Often when before going to kindergarten, we don't have many friends at all, maybe just the next-door neighbor child, as we typically spend most of our time around our parents.

My best friend in Elmwood was Ronald Wolfe. He lived next door to me, and we were in the same grade. In first grade, we weren't in the same classroom (We had two first grade classrooms in my school), so we couldn't wait to see each other at recess and lunch time!

After moving to Knapp, my best friend for a couple of years was Marc Livermore. We played lots of games together at recess, and he introduced me to "The Six Million Dollar Man."

Marc and his family moved, though, and Jim Falkofske became my best friend in fourth grade. We both loved "Star Trek" and got to sleep over at each other's houses. But he was a year younger than me, so we didn't go to junior high together when I entered seventh grade. More on that in an upcoming entry!

Who are your best friends? What kinds of fun things do you like to do together?

Happy Thanksgiving, Kieran!

Happy Thanksgiving, Kieran! I hope you're enjoying the holiday with a big turkey dinner.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful holiday in our house when we were together. We usually spent the morning putting up and decorating the Christmas tree. You always loved to help. Usually the Disney parade and then the football game played on the television in the background.

One year you discovered a bunch of little snowmen ornaments that we had for a small Christmas tree that we no longer out up. You started to play with them, and as they didn't have any hooks on them, I just let you keep them in your toy box.

The highlight always was when tuned on the Christmas tree lights. You always were so impressed by them and would gaze in awe at them forever.

We also always went out to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. Making a meal for just us - though I did it one year - was just too much work with a lot of wasted food.

I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with you again in the years ahead!

What are the best movies ever?

Tonight I went to see the James Bond movie "Skyfall" at the movie theater. It was a lot of fun to watch, and because it was the 50th anniversary of James Bond movies, the film made a lot of references to past Bond flicks.

The James Bond movies certainly are among my favorite movies (I especially like "For Your Eyes Only"). So , of course, are the "Star Trek" movies and because of all the times we watched the "Star Wars" films together, so were they.

Last winter we started seeing a lot of fun movies together, going to see "The Phantom Menace 3D" and "Journey 2 the Mysterious Island" together. You really liked "The Lost Island", and we even played it and made up stories about it afterward!

What movies are your favorites? I can't wait to find out and to take you to tons of them in the years ahead!

Our elementary school basketball team

Do you like to play sports? When I was a boy, I did. In fact, I even went out for basketball in elementary school.

Actually, I got our school to start a basketball team! The girls in our school had a team but the boys didn't. So I convinced a bunch of boys to promise they would go out for the team and to speak to the principal with me about starting one! I was in sixth grade.

As most of the boys on the team were only in fifth grade, we had to play in the fifth grade league. Grandpa Bignell helped coach the team. Our nickname was the "Cardinals."

We were lousy! We won only one game all season out of the six or seven games we played. But boy did ever we celebrate when we won! And we still had lots of fun and made some great memories along the way!

Going to a new school in Knapp, Wis.

Just as you had to switch schools from California to Minnesota, when a little boy I also had to switch schools! When I was in second grade many years ago, my parents bought a new farm outside of Knapp, Wis. We moved there from Elmwood in March 1974.

Switching schools was very difficult. Not only did I leave all of my friends behind and not know anyone in my new school, but it also was very small. There were only 10 or so kids in my class at Knapp by more than 25 in my Elmwood class! The teacher at Knapp also was teaching different things than I was learning in Elmwood.

The Knapp school building was very old while the Elmwood school was brand new or only a few years old. To reach my classroom, I had to go up a long flight of stairs to the second floor. The Knapp school I attended isn't there anymore, as it was replaced by a new building.

But I made new friends and figured out all of my lessons, and it all worked out!

Moving from Elmwood to Knapp, Wis.

In March 1974, my parents moved from Elmwood, Wis., to a new farm outside of Knapp, Wis. Grandma and Grandpa Bignell still live there today!

They moved because the farm was much larger and could better support us. While I was little anxious about going to a new school, I was excited because I got my own room in the farmhouse we lived in (Though during winters I had to move back in to the room with my brother because it was better insulated and so warmer).

The farm was very large with a road running through it, so the barn and farm buildings were on one side while the house was on the other. It also was surrounded by woods, which were very fun to explore.

I do not have many pictures of the farm because our farm house burned down in 1985. But here's one for you of my brother (your Uncle Chris) and me (I'm on the left) sitting on the front lawn with the camera looking roughly northwest; the girl in the middle was a neighbor's daughter, and her name was Missy.

My email sent to you on Nov. 17, 2012

Here is my weekly email sent on Nov. 17, 2012, to you, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

Hope you had a good week. I miss you very much and think about you every day. I did not receive your email response to my Saturday, Nov. 10 email. Perhaps you could ask you mommy to resend it. In addition, your mommy hasn't sent the responses to a number of my previous emails - perhaps you could ask her again to resend those emails, too.

How are the guinea pigs doing in school? What do they eat? I bet you have some funny stories to tell about them!

What new things are you learning in school? Have you learned any new things about space? Right now you can see the planet Venus in the morning. It is the brightest light in the sky (other than the moon), and you might spot it on the way to school.

I had lots of fun building Bioncles and taking them on adventures with you when we got together last week. Have you taken them on some new adventures? I would love to hear about them!

There is a new movie called in the theaters called "Lincoln." It is about Abraham Lincoln, who was a very important president a long time ago. He helped free slaves and keep our country together when it looked like it might fall apart. Maybe you read about him in your presidents book?

Have you read any good books lately? I just read “This is the Turkey” by Abby Levine. It is about a little boy named Max and his family as they prepare a Thanksgiving meal. Dad stirs the cranberries, Max plays with his cousins, and guests bring all sorts of good food to eat.

You have a fun Thanksgiving on Thursday. I love and miss you!

Love,

Dad

My family's house near Elmwood, Wis.

You might recall a few entries ago that I mentioned I went to kindergarten, first grade, and most of second grade in Elmwood, Wis. Well, I just found a picture of the house I lived in outside of Elmwood (see photo at right)!

The photo was taken from the living room and shows your Uncle Chris (on the left) and me sitting at the kitchen table. The front door is beyond us.

The house was very small - just a kitchen, living room, master bedroom, bathroom and bedroom with a half-basement. My family lived there from March 1971 to March 1974.

I shared a room with Uncle Chris. It was painted a light, turquoise blue. We also got very few television stations - two to be exact!

Where I went to kindergarten

Do you know where I went to kindergarten? When I was a little boy your age, my family lived on a small farm, and I went to kindergarten in Elmwood, Wis.!

Kindergarten was only a half-day, and I went in the morning. We had a class of 25 children, and there were two teachers. My best friend, Ronald Wolfe, who lived next to me, walso went to school there. Unfortunatley, I don't remember the name of my kindergarten teachers (Though I think my teacher was Mrs. Thompson.)! That's pretty bad, isn't it?!

I do remember my first grade teacher's name, though. It was Mrs. Rheil.

I liked going to school in Elmwood. My dad took me to lots of high school basketball games there. We had a very good team that won a lot of games. Our team name was the Raiders, and our school colors were red and white.

In second grade during March, my family moved to a new farm, outside of Knapp, Wis. (Grandma and Grandpa Bignell still live there!). At that time, I stopped going to Elmwood Elementary School and went to Knapp Elementary School!

Recall Charlie Brown Farm's dinosaurs?

Do you remember visiting the huge ceramic dinosaurs in Little Rock, Calif.? Three years today after a long hike, we stopped at the Charlie Brown Farms fruitstand in Little Rock to get a close look at the giants.

Each dino was nicely fenced in for our safety. Among the dinos was a nine-foot tall velociraptor, an apatosaurus, a flying pteranodon.

Charlie Brown Farms was a great place to go, as it was full of fun junk to look at it, lots of candy to pick out (and we always pigged out!), and all kinds of cool sodas to choose from. We usually grabbed a root beer!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from out visit to the roadside attraction!

Remember hiking Piute Butte?

Watching a bug cross the trail on Piute Butte.

Two years ago today we hiked the base of Piute Butte, the site of ancient Indian villages and the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, during the early afternoon. The butte is in the Mojave Desert, a few miles from where we used to live in Lancaster, Calif.

One of the neat things about the hike was the musuem, which was built into the side of the butte. So when we weent inside, we actually got to walk up and across boulders that were "inside" a building!

You were fascinated by all of the Indian artifacts that had been collected and were on display in the museum. During the hike, you looked for the numbered markers that told what was at specific viewpoints and made a game out of finding the next one!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our hike!

Remember visiting the 'Star Trek' bridge?

Kieran takes command.

Three years today (Nov. 12, 2009), we visited the "Star Trek: The Exhibition" presentation in Hollywood, California. A traveling exhibition, the exhibition featured costumes, props, ship models, video footage and stage sets from the the show's various incarnations.

While I was really into the "Star Trek: The Original Series" displays of costumes and props, you were really into the mock-up sets of the Enterprise-D from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." How could you not be? It was like a cool playground! In fact, you didn't want to leave when we got to the Enterprise bridge set and wanted us to make up an adventure together.

You might recall that we got "Star Trek" shirts and hoodies there. Sometimes I wore the hoodie, and you always asked if you get one like that, too! Unfortunately, they didn't have a shirt that was small enough to fit you, so I bought one that you might later wear. Sure hope you still have it!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure.

Recall visiting Museum of Man?

A year ago today we visited the Museum of Man in San Diego's Balboa Park. I admit, a month before I was a little concerned about taking you there, worried that you might not find it very interesting. Boy, was I wrong! You had a blast and literally begged me to take you back there!

We began the day with a trolley ride to the park's central square. Then we walked through the park's arcade to an open area at the art museum where we had lunch and looked at the sculpture garden. Then we went into the Museum of Man itself.

A good amount of time was spent at the Egyptian exhibit. You loved looking at the mummies and playing in the kids' learning area about Egypt.

The museum also had a neat exhibit on bones and a permanent exhibit on the evolution of man that you enjoyed. It was a long car ride there from Palmdale, though, plus you had a cold, so you were awful tired but still made the best of it!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our visit.

My email sent to you on Nov. 10, 2012

Here’s a copy of my email sent to you on Nov. 10, 2012, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

I had fun seeing you, too, and am glad you liked the toys and candy. I will bring the Battleship game and some Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa Bignell the next time we get together.

I’m glad you got a chance to “vote”! Did you know that you actually voted for President Obama when he ran for office in 2008? I took you to vote with me and let you push the “buttons” on the screen for the candidates I wanted to vote for! Voting is very important and something we should do every election, so I’m glad you’re getting into the habit.

I can’t wait to see your Ninja costume pictures. I bet you looked cool! In the past, you’ve gone trick or treating as a Jedi knight, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a doctor, Elmo and as Tigger (when you were a baby).

Speaking of Jedi Knights, I believe I mentioned that three new “Star Wars” movies will be coming out. The first one will be in movie theaters 2015, or three years from now. That’s a long time to wait, isn’t it?! A “Star Trek” movie comes out next year in 2013.

I’m glad Como Park Zoo has refurbished its kids’ area. When I was a little boy your age and went there, they had a cool kiddie roller coaster. My cousin Barry always got sick whenever he went on it, so his dad would take me instead. I always held my hands high up in the air when we went over bumps. In fact, I think your mommy and I went on that kiddie roller coaster together just before they closed it down.

I am a little concerned about this bully Logan you told me about. You should tell your mom about him so she can bring it up to the teacher or principal at your school, okay?

I had fun building and playing Bioncles with you on Friday. I hope you take them on lots of adventures! And I can’t wait to see your new skateboard. You always liked to watch the older kids do skateboard tricks when you were a toddler and we went to the park in Santa Clarita.

I love you and miss you very much! Have fun this weekend!

Dad

Recall your shuttlecraft Galileo toy?

Do you remember the fun shuttlecraft toy with Captain Kirk action figure that you used to have? Here's a picture of it at right.

When you were two, you discovered that in the garage at the green house (in Lancaster) that I had all of these old Star Trek action figures and toys in totes. You begged me to let you play with them, and I figured there was no need to keep them in packages anymore, so I let you have one a day. Among the larger sets was the cool shuttlecraft and Kirk figure from The Original Series.

We'd often take them on adventures to other "planets" - namely the beds and tables in the house - where they'd have to fight off pillow monsters and strange alien action figures. Often you put your Star Wars action figures in the shuttlecraft for a Clone Wars adventure!

I don't have the shuttlecraft anymore, but I'm fairly certian that I still have your Captain Kirk action figure.

Photo shoot of you in Santa Clarita

Here's an old picture I found of you from 2009. We were at the mall in Santa Clarita, Calif., when walking past a photography studio and were asked if they could take pictures of you with no obligation that we purchase the photos. Of course, we took them up on the offer.

Some of the photos taken were of you sitting on a toy car, playing with a green frog, and looking at the flower (see photo at left). You actually had a lot of fun being the center of attention in the photo shoot!

Of course, we bought the package of pictures anyway! One of the photos of you was turned into a black and white and framed; I had it hanging in my office at our green house in Lancaster and in the trailer I rented in Encinitas. I still have that great picture of you, so you'll soon see it hanging in my new place once we are together again!

What is your favorite color?

When you were a little boy, you always told me that you liked green the most. When you were old enough, you'd even ask me to put you in a green shirt when I dressed you! The picture here, taken in 2009, shows you wearing one of those many green shirts you liked so much!

Once you got into preschool, you told me that you like blue the most. That's my favorite color, too, though I also like burgundy and forest green. Actually, I like lots of colors - it's how they're used together that's interesting!

You learned your colors from a very early age. When only a year old, I'd point out the colors of cars to you, and eventually you'd start telling me the colors of cars everytime we passed one as driving down the road!

What is your favorite color?

Recall laying on a bed of nails?

A year ago today we visited the California Science Museum in Santa Ana, Calif. The day was a bit cold and wet still had lots of fun.

The first part of the expedition was spent indoors exploring and playing with the cool science exhibits. One of them was a bed of nails that you bravely laid upon! There also was a sand/water tp demonstrate erosion. We then watched a large IMAX showing of a dinosaur movie that kind of freaked you out, but by the end you wanted to see more!

We then went outside to the dinosaur part of the exhibit. I'd last taken you there about two years before, so I was neat to see how big you'd grown since then!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our visit.

Remember dressing up as a knight?

Sir Kieran, a brave Knight of Ni.

A year ago today we got in touch with our Medieval selves at the Escondido (Calif.) Renaissance Festival.

I dressed you up in knights costume I found at Target and let you carry around a stiff cloth sword we purchased a year before at another Renaissance festival that you used mainly as a light saber!

We had lots of fun at the Escondido festival. We played games and on the playground (including a relaly cool tire swing), watched a huge battle, and found a great cloth pirate set to play with. All fo the Renaissance Festival participants thought you looked so cool being all dressed up!

Here are some pictures from the festival.

The first place I remember living

I suspect the first place you remember living in is the "green house" (as you called it) in Lancaster, Calif. Well, the first place I remember  living as a little boy was a farmhouse in rural Plum City, Wis. The picture at right is of me as a four-year-old in the living room of that farmhouse at Easter 1970.

All of my toys fit in a cardboard box and were kept in the living room, where I spent most of my day playing. My bedroom was upstairs on the second floor.

I had a dog named Scotty when I lived in the farmhouse. We went on lots of adventures together! But winter in the Midwest is long, so I only got to go outdoors for maybe five months during the year!

The house is still standing, though the garage, small barn and various trees that were there when I was a little boy are gone. When we are together again, I will show you the place!

My email sent to you on Nov. 3, 2012

Here's a copy of the email I sent to you on Nov. 3, 2012, just in case you don't receive it:

Hi Kieran,

It is wonderful to hear from you! I hope you are doing well. I love you and miss you very much!

I am very glad Mom has got the email all worked out.

Freeze tag is a very fun game to play! I played it in school, too! We also played dodgeball and kickball a lot. I bet you are very good at freeze tag!

The guinea pig sounds like a fun classroom pet. What does the guinea pig eat? What color is it?

I used to go to the Como Park Zoo, too, when I was your age. They didn’t have a Minnesota Zoo back then! I always liked to see the chimpanzees and the giant tortoises. I heard that the carnival rides have been remodeled and are now open again. They have penguins, now? Cool!

I bet the Halloween party at school was fun. Which costume did you decide on?

Skippy Jon Jones books are the best. His group of imaginary Chihuahua friends is very humorous. Speaking of a book about presidents, there is a big election Tuesday! Who do you think will win?

That is all for now. Write back soon!

Love,

Dad

 

 

Watching splashdowns on television

One of my favorite things to watch when a little boy your age was the return of the astronauts from space. We were sending people to the moon during those days, so when they returned from their expedition, it was big news and on TV!

The astronauts would come back to Earth in a capsule that sort of looked like a cone. They would "land" in the ocean - which is why it was called a splashdown - where a helicopter would pick them up and take them to an aircraft carrier.

As the capsule descended toward the ocean, three parachutes would hope up to slow its descent. Once the capsule hit the water, the astronauts would bail out and then grab a life preserver attached to a rope and be pulled up into the helicopter. It was quite exciting to watch!

The importance of 'self-development'

Every once in a while in these entries, I like to discuss with you some important "values" to possess. Values are a sort of "rule" or guideline that you try to follow and live by so that you can lead a meaningful, happy life. A couple of values I've already mentioned are honesty and persistence. Another important is self-development.

A person never should think of himself as "finished," meaning that they've learned all that they need to know. The world is constantly changing, and we always meet new people. Because of that, we have to personally evolve or we will find ourselves isolated and left behind.

There are a lot of ways we can "self-develop" or "grow." For example, we should always keep learning about the world. We should always keep mastering new skills. We should always keep trying to understand ourselves and others (rather than limit ourselves to just being with a few people who we've known for a long time).

I know this is a heavy topic for a five year old! But I'm also writing these entries in case something ever should happen to me and we're unable to talk. When you're older, hopefully they will be useful guides and reminisces.

In what ways will you try to grow and evolve today and in the months ahead?