I was a weird kid

As I sprint toward the end of the semester, I am so happy to see sunlight and warmth again. It's been a long winter.

Of course, I've spent much of it coding, which makes it even colder.

Today I was thinking about some of the things I believed when I was a child that I know are no longer true. There are the normal things that every child learns the truth about, but I also had some odd beliefs that perhaps simply verify the fact that I was a very strange child.

1. I believed my Uncle Walt sold anvils door to door.
Yes, anvils like the coyote dropped on the roadrunner. Those big metal things that I think are used for blacksmithing? I think that's right. Anyway, I thought my Uncle Walt sold them door to door and I always used to wonder just how he was able to carry them in a suitcase (because he had to have more than one for selection purposes, correct?). I marveled at his strength!

In reality, my Uncle Walt works for a company that does security systems, among other things. To this day I have no idea where my previous job description came from.

2. I thought I would never be hungry again after First Communion.
I am Catholic, and in school we prepared for our First Communion as second graders. A lot of emphasis was put on the fact that taking the Eucharist allows us to quench our spiritual hunger. I must have missed the hunger part. The day of my First Communion, I came home to a fabulous party with a huge cake, and didn't feel hungry for any of it. Because, of course, I was never going to be hungry again. I'm sure I got over this quickly. I'm still bitter about missing out on the huge cake.

In reality, I am, of course, hungry constantly. This is one of the reasons I need to work out more. And whereas I still take the Eucharist every Sunday, I do not have a period of non-hunger after it. Maybe it only works the first time?

3. I thought the mean old man was going to shoot me if I stepped into his yard.
Doesn't everyone have a mean old man? The rumors in our neighborhood abounded about the mean old man, who lived close to us. He yelled at Kenny and the other boys. He fired warning shots into the air to make you run off his lawn. We didn't even know his real name -- he was simply the mean old man.

In reality, I never saw the mean old man, and was obviously never shot by him. I did venture into his yard several times on dares (I was quite the daredevil!).


There are many things like this, of course. These are just a few while I'm thinking about it. I need to get back to work now.

What kinds of things did you believe as a child that you know are no longer true?