MY NAME

Who gave you your name and why? Did you have a nickname? How did you get it?

I am not sure why I was named James. It is not a family name since I am the only blood relative I know with this name. Dad once surprised Mom when he pointed out that all of us were intentionally given biblical names. That just might be the extent of it.

My middle name is Gordon and I do know a little more about that. My mother's oldest brother's middle name was Gordon. His son also has Gordon as his middle name. I guess this just begs the question since we are the only Gordons in our family.

Other than the standard diminutives for James, I did not have any nicknames. For most of my life, people of my parents' generation called me Jimmy. Kids of my generation still call me Jim. I like to be called Jim even though when I write/type my name I almost always use James.

For a six month period, we lived with my maternal grandparents. I stayed in my grandfather's room. He was an invalid and needed a hospital bed and a lot of help. He consistently called me Boy. Although others knew this and remember this fact from time to time, it did not stick. "Boy" was more associated with Grandfather and me rather than me alone.

ENJOYMENTS

What did you enjoy doing most as a child? Did you prefer doing it alone of with someone else?

These are difficult questions but can be answered together. I enjoyed almost anything as long as I was doing it with my friends. From the time I was 10, I was very active with my church friends. I also enjoyed going to movies. However, since I was comparatively richer than my friends, I did not have to work like my friends did. Therefore, I more often than not went alone.

I enjoyed moving around my neighborhood trying to remain undetected. I did this by jumping walls or fences, climbing on top of houses, keeping low to the ground, going under bushes, cars, etc.

Although I did enjoy being alone, I also felt lonely.

I also enjoyed riding my bicycle. I would ride it almost every day. There was no part of town that I could not reach.

I really loved to travel. There were times when I caught the train I went to Marilia (1 hour away from Tupã) without letting my parents know. One of my fondest memories is travelling to the interior with the father of a friend. Seu Aquiles Tosqui was a very important father-figure of mine. His sons could not go... again because they worked. So he invited my to travel with him. He was a sales rep to a local shoe factory and had a circuit he traveled from time to time.

S. Aquiles knew that during the first half of 1972 I had nothing to do. I was in a six month hold between HS graduation and college. I often accompanied him on fishing outings. Most of these were local trips and we never caught much but it was quality time.

I had many particular interests. However, due to some type of ADD, it was never possible for me to stick to any one thing. From time to time, I was interested in gardening, stamp collecting, listening to shortwave radio, hiking, and many other things.

INTRODUCTION

NEW BLOG

I'm starting yet another blog, I wish to express several things at this point.

1. First, I want to acknowledge that I am not the creator of the sub-topics/question herein. They come directly from a book published by Word Publishing called "A Father's Legacy." 
2. I do intend for this blog to be read by my children and their families after I am dead. 
3. I will try to be as honest as I can be. Some of this will be painful and even embarrassing. It could cause pain and open old wounds.