attended the ceremony. Our class received Communion outside of the area designated for the altar where others who previously made this Sacrament regularly accepted the Communion Host. The small to medium sized church was constructed in 1894 in the traditional style of that era. The tall ceilings made the church appear larger. Beautifully carved wood and quality stained glass windows adorned the building. The ceremony was lovely and accomplished as practiced and all remembered not to chew on the Communion Host.
I knew of two families in our neighborhood who had adopted their children. The children were given this information by their parents and so told other children that they were adopted. During this era, the recommendation was to inform adopted children of their adoption and state to them that they were selected and special. After finding out this information, I approached mother stating that the parents of these children were not their “real” parents. Mother said that she had information for me as well, stating that I was also adopted. I was upset by this new revelation and began to think about who my “real” parents were and where they might be. I began to withdraw from family conversations and resented some discipline and the required chores, believing that my “real” parents would be more understanding and nicer. A few weeks later mother confessed that she did indeed give birth to me but said that she was teaching me a lesson regarding who real parents are, as real parents are those who provide for the upbringing of a child.
One evening in early summer, father hurried into the house from outside where he was mowing the lawn to inform mother, brother, and I that he had seen a low flying meteorite racing above the cornfield moments earlier. Quickly we dashed outside and looked towards the cornfield where we saw red, orange, yellow, and pink streaks left in the atmosphere of the meteorites path. Other neighbors viewed this scene as well. Father stated that because the meteorite was so close to the ground, it probably landed in the apple orchard next to the cornfield. The police were notified about this unusual occurrence where they stated that the meteorite was reported to have landed about ten to fifteen miles away in a wooded area of another town.
In third grade, my eyes were opened to the societal problems and concerns of pollution. The teacher of this third grade class seemed to have a personal mission of teaching the class about pollution in addition to the other subject areas. I suspect that her obvious personal health problems of allergies may have contributed to a need to teach this subject area somewhat extensively to her students. We read various books on pollution, did reports on pollution, and viewed documentaries depicting smog, polluting smoke stacks, garbage strewn along waterways, and thermal pollution from nuclear facilities that resulted in detrimental changes to land and water ecosystems. The teacher discussed the relationship between environmental pollutants and the increased health problems of people. The class was made aware of the need for clean, alternative sources of energy. After receiving the above instruction, I recall becoming aggravated with a town mosquito spraying program conducted for a few years in the summer months of the second half of the 1960’s. This surreal experience began with town officials driving a car into our neighborhood and announcing by bullhorn that all people should return to their home, close all windows and doors, and remain inside their home. Shortly thereafter a truck would enter the desolate