Lately, I have been thinking a lot about by childhood, partly because it's the year 2005, making the year 1985 20 years ago. In 1985, I was 11 years old. For me, 11 years old was kind of a magical age, you're still really a kid. Thoughts of girls, cars, high school, the future and such things are still far off. When you turn 12, the world starts to change, and by the time that you are 13, well, you're a teenager, so things have really changed!
In the summer of 1985, I only had a few worries, and they were so simple! Having gas for my little Kawasaki motorcycle was a top priority. My Dad is one of those cool Dad's that let his son get a motorcycle. My older sister wanted a horse, Dad didn't like horses, and was reluctant to let her get one, so when I wanted a motorcycle, that was different! As I always tell people, my Dad got me a motorcycle because I didn't ask for a horse, which isn't far from the truth.
Growing up on a farm was an excellent way to spend a childhood. From a really early age I can remember going out playing, riding my bike, riding the three-wheeler, riding my motorcycle, roaming all over the farm without coming back to the house for sometimes all afternoon. It was freedom! The only major draw back was of course, that all of your friends also lived on farms, that were most of the time several miles away. So another priority was trying to get to go play with my friends, which was only a once a week or every couple of weeks type of a thing.
The highlight of the summer was the wheat harvest. Custom harvester companies would converge on the area from all over the United States and Canada, starting out in the south and working their way up through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and into the Dakotas, Montana and Canada. The particular company (Barr's Custom Cutters) that used to cut the wheat on our farm and most farms around us was from Mississippi. The Barr's were very friendly people, in fact many years later while I was in college and my summer job that I had lined up with WYDOT fell through at the last minute, I called them up to inquire about a job with them running a combine for the summer. They not only remembered me, but were very interested in knowing how the family was and what had become of us since the farm sold. Unfortunately, they already had a crew for the summer, and I didn't get to go run a combine... Would've been fulfilling one of my childhood dreams though...
