The top photo is the beautiful mountains that 8013 loved so. As a kid he was nearly obsessed with them.
The lower photo is the main shopping street in Altoona, Pa. The city nearby where specialops was born, went to school, and grew up.
Note to younger readers or from another country. The store Mongomery Ward went out of business many, many years ago. This is a very old photo.
The story starts as a young lad living in the hills of Pennsyvania programing his fate. From his beloved mountains to travels over much of the world. As we go on there will be a tendency to ask how this can be?. Oh! there are vaque connecting links mixed with large contradictions. The story fits the blog design as we go from episode to episode. Actually, life is that way. Incidently, Special Ops 8013 identifies the key subject of the story.
Family, School, Mountains and 8013
8013 was born into a family of 10, 6 boys and three girls. The boys and one sister were all older. The next brother was 8 years older. So they were leaving home by the time he was in 1st grade. So his family consisted of 3. Specialops8013 was blond haired, blue eyed boys in a sea of kids with black hair and eyes. Many fights from a young age. After he fought back in the 3rd grade, things were a little better. Both set of grandparents were born in Holland. His father was a successful contractor who stopped his formal education very young. He was mostly self-taught. He worked from a young age.
His mother was a very proud and caring individual who took care of the family. This included nearly all of the discipline. For some unknown reasons 8013 hated school from 1st grade on. He often stated that he learned to read and write because of this extreme dislike. He wanted to write to his first grade teacher and it wasn't until 3rd grade that he could. He just said :" I told her where to go."
8013's mother was very embarrassed by his behavior. He loved the mountains from a young age. They lived somewhat in the country where it was easy to walk to the mountains. Lots of snow in the winter months. Even in the winter months 8013 would play hooky from school. On some occasions as early as 5Th grade when he received his jacket for recess outdoors he would take off. Hours later cold and hungry. but hesitating to go home to an angry Mom. To be sure his mother was very angry. She did not understand his strange behavior. There were two oppossing factors that were quite simple. 1. He hated school. 2. He loved and enjoyed the mountains.
At times school authorities would suspect that he might be retarted or have a brain malfunction. Except he was an excellent reader and scored high on non-verbal intelligence tests. 8013 read the text books and scored high on exams if they related to the text. 8013 had friends who also enjoyed hiking and camping out. However, he probably was the only one who went alone.
They rode bikes and sleds together in the hills and mountain areas. There was a 7 mile 2 lane blacktop road with an S turn at the bottom. Many a kid did not make it. The road was used by coal trucks going up and down. At times, a up truck was passing a down truck. The bike rider could not stop. Sometimes there was space on one side of the road. Exciting, you bet.
During the high school years 8013 considered running away. He worked cleaning wall paper, sellig berries and whatever came along. One summer he worked in a local chocolate factory. Saving nearly every penny. Nearly everything, but school was not wonderful, but ok. 8013
saw a movie where runaways were sent to reform school. He decided he had to go by train and as far as possible. Seattile on the map looked far away so he checked the cost. He also knew he needed to have money in his poctet. So he made plans to go by train to Seattle. He is a little over 15. Only a long time friend knew about his planning. A girl whom he knew forever. He often was invited to go to her family's summer cottage. Her parents really liked him. She was an A student but seemed to understand 8013's plight.
At around age 15 Specialops8013 started making concrete plans. He managed to save quite a lot of money for a 15 year old. It was hid in a can under a large tree. Around $300 and a train ticket with a schedule. Plans included getting even with a friend's big brother who broke his nose.
He spent hours observing the friend's house and the where abouts of the brother. The brother worked and came home at a certain time.
Plans were firmed up with his telling two of his older friends the nignt before he planned to leave. They could not quite accept that he was going. They were very concerned. They were older and about to be drafted. They considered Specialops8013 as very young and immature. They took him out and together they drank several beers as usual. Special8013 was tall and well built and could be served in the some of the local bars. He is 15 and 6 months now. This was the final goodbye.
Specialops8013 had a bag and suitcase packed and hid in a little shack with garden tools. He was up early and dressed for school. It was cold out. He had one task to perform before leaving. He did act a little strange around his parents. They never noticed. He knew his friend's brother would be leaving for work soon. He was in the tree in his back yard when he came out of the house, Specialops8013 hit him on the head with a 2x4 as he came by. Specialops saw him laying there bleeding and had regrets that never went away.
Off to pick up the bags and to the train station. It was a long train ride to the West coast city of Seattle. Had to change trains in Chicago. Actually this was his firsr train ride. The family always travled by auto. Slept some, waked around some but mostly looking out the window. Free but so sad and already homesick.
The story starts as a young lad living in the hills of Pennsyvania programing his fate. From his beloved mountains to travels over much of the world. As we go on there will be a tendency to ask how this can be?. Oh! there are vaque connecting links mixed with large contradictions. The story fits the blog design as we go from episode to episode. Actually, life is that way. Incidently, Special Ops 8013 identifies the key subject of the story.
Family, School, Mountains and 8013
8013 was born into a family of 10, 6 boys and three girls. The boys and one sister were all older. The next brother was 8 years older. So they were leaving home by the time he was in 1st grade. So his family consisted of 3. Specialops8013 was blond haired, blue eyed boys in a sea of kids with black hair and eyes. Many fights from a young age. After he fought back in the 3rd grade, things were a little better. Both set of grandparents were born in Holland. His father was a successful contractor who stopped his formal education very young. He was mostly self-taught. He worked from a young age.
His mother was a very proud and caring individual who took care of the family. This included nearly all of the discipline. For some unknown reasons 8013 hated school from 1st grade on. He often stated that he learned to read and write because of this extreme dislike. He wanted to write to his first grade teacher and it wasn't until 3rd grade that he could. He just said :" I told her where to go."
8013's mother was very embarrassed by his behavior. He loved the mountains from a young age. They lived somewhat in the country where it was easy to walk to the mountains. Lots of snow in the winter months. Even in the winter months 8013 would play hooky from school. On some occasions as early as 5Th grade when he received his jacket for recess outdoors he would take off. Hours later cold and hungry. but hesitating to go home to an angry Mom. To be sure his mother was very angry. She did not understand his strange behavior. There were two oppossing factors that were quite simple. 1. He hated school. 2. He loved and enjoyed the mountains.
At times school authorities would suspect that he might be retarted or have a brain malfunction. Except he was an excellent reader and scored high on non-verbal intelligence tests. 8013 read the text books and scored high on exams if they related to the text. 8013 had friends who also enjoyed hiking and camping out. However, he probably was the only one who went alone.
They rode bikes and sleds together in the hills and mountain areas. There was a 7 mile 2 lane blacktop road with an S turn at the bottom. Many a kid did not make it. The road was used by coal trucks going up and down. At times, a up truck was passing a down truck. The bike rider could not stop. Sometimes there was space on one side of the road. Exciting, you bet.
During the high school years 8013 considered running away. He worked cleaning wall paper, sellig berries and whatever came along. One summer he worked in a local chocolate factory. Saving nearly every penny. Nearly everything, but school was not wonderful, but ok. 8013
saw a movie where runaways were sent to reform school. He decided he had to go by train and as far as possible. Seattile on the map looked far away so he checked the cost. He also knew he needed to have money in his poctet. So he made plans to go by train to Seattle. He is a little over 15. Only a long time friend knew about his planning. A girl whom he knew forever. He often was invited to go to her family's summer cottage. Her parents really liked him. She was an A student but seemed to understand 8013's plight.
At around age 15 Specialops8013 started making concrete plans. He managed to save quite a lot of money for a 15 year old. It was hid in a can under a large tree. Around $300 and a train ticket with a schedule. Plans included getting even with a friend's big brother who broke his nose.
He spent hours observing the friend's house and the where abouts of the brother. The brother worked and came home at a certain time.
Plans were firmed up with his telling two of his older friends the nignt before he planned to leave. They could not quite accept that he was going. They were very concerned. They were older and about to be drafted. They considered Specialops8013 as very young and immature. They took him out and together they drank several beers as usual. Special8013 was tall and well built and could be served in the some of the local bars. He is 15 and 6 months now. This was the final goodbye.
Specialops8013 had a bag and suitcase packed and hid in a little shack with garden tools. He was up early and dressed for school. It was cold out. He had one task to perform before leaving. He did act a little strange around his parents. They never noticed. He knew his friend's brother would be leaving for work soon. He was in the tree in his back yard when he came out of the house, Specialops8013 hit him on the head with a 2x4 as he came by. Specialops saw him laying there bleeding and had regrets that never went away.
Off to pick up the bags and to the train station. It was a long train ride to the West coast city of Seattle. Had to change trains in Chicago. Actually this was his firsr train ride. The family always travled by auto. Slept some, waked around some but mostly looking out the window. Free but so sad and already homesick.
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