THOSE WERE THE DAYS
Author Robert Ray Moon
Copyright 2013 Robert Ray Moon
ISBN: 9781301342815
All rights reserved: No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any form or by any means - - electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording or by any other – except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the permission of the author.
Dedicated to My loving wife Hazel Irene Moon who is my Editor
Chapter 1 Arrival
Yes, those were the days with the daily events displayed for all to see and secret things too private to be shared at least in the now.
Such as the secret thoughts that Logan a three year old kept to himself; the world he could escape to when life became too taxing.
Today the greater wisdom is that three year olds desire to please, but if that is true then Logan was either retarded or far advanced beyond his years.
Logan's world was all about him, he was the only thing that mattered. His way was the only way. He insisted on raising himself for he knew what was best for him.
One might ask, “How did he get this way so early?
It is understood this attitude should be reserved for adults not for children.
To understand this phenomena we must start before the beginning.
Logan's mother was young when he arrived upon the scene, and while she should have been past the stage of playing with dolls, she wasn't.
She would make up her bed, fix the pillows just so and put her favorite doll on the bed with it's head on a pillow. There it would rest until she felt the need of comfort that only her dolly could give.
Being a tweener, she wanted the best of both worlds; to cling to her childhood while becoming a woman, and responding to attention heaped upon her by young gentlemen.
She strained at trying to understand the mating dances performed by these outlandish male creatures; that were accentuated by strange lies and bodily movements.
Their display of the unseemly provoked little interest for her and she questioned their sanity.
During one of the more entrancing displays she became overwhelmed by unknown emotion and entered the state of M.R.S.
Unbeknownst to her she possessed a fertility nature, and after participating in the fertility rite, she expelled a male child not unlike the male in her life.
While she was disinclined to part with her favorite doll because of her past relationship with it; there was at this time another interest in her life.
Now it would be up to the new born Logan to prevail in the conflict between him and the favorite doll who had an edge because her sweet doll could say, “Mama.”
The favorite doll routine went forth everyday, but Logan was determined to win out and while he had not mastered the word, “Mama,” as of yet, he could make screeching sounds that would always draw attention away from the doll to himself. He further could say “Goo goo” in several languages and was daily adding to his repertoire of words.
Logan finally prevailed in this his first battle, and the power of strong determination became his main stay. The doll was done in by it's limited abilities which were in part: passivity, wetting itself, closing it's eyes and saying mama.
Logan on the other hand had almost unlimited resources. He could do everything the doll could do, and so much more. His need for sustenance and sanitation alone gave him a great edge due to the time involved factor.
Being victorious Logan could now do a case study on his mama that lasted long after he left the nest. He tested her at different levels and recorded how she responded and the time it took.
For faster response he would turn up the screeching volume which signaled urgency. After Logan had mastered techniques of control over "mama" he was now in control of his world and ready to go forth.
Chapter 2 - Starting to grow
Having arrived at the age of one and mastering much of the language needed at that stage, he laid out the process and his methodology for the future life ahead.
It was a little early for plans to be made, but his process was to consider every step as a battle to be won.
He was determined to always make the best use of the tools at hand. Those were tiresome days while waiting for his mind and body to develop.
Mama was trying to teach him new words, one of which was papa and she tried to associate that word with a person who Logan felt he had no need of.
He didn't need papa for he had mama.
After another tedious year Logan was two years old and realized that sometimes more than one word could refer to the same thing. For instance da da and pa pa was the same in some instances. But he still had no need for either word because of who it referred to.
He discovered something that he later learned was called pain, and should be avoided in most cases. It was one thing to be taken out of the comfort zone but pain was in a class of its own. He acquired all this useful knowledge in response to his stubborn willfulness.
Slowly days passed, and he arrived to the age of three. The uphill battle to become this person he now was had been taxing, but had been worth the struggle for he was now prepared to rule his domain.
As far as he was concerned the world revolved around him and was subject to him and his wishes.
While the dolly had lost it's strong influence, it still occupied it’s place on mama’s bed and each day it bothered Logan more and more. The very presence was an irritation till one day his mother was taking him shopping.
While she was getting ready, he climbed on the bed and ripped the arms and legs from dolly and hid it in his jacket.
While traveling to the store he tossed the dolly out the window. When mother discovered what he had done she took him to papa and woefully described what his actions had been.
As it turned out papa felt the same way as Logan about dolly and wasn't concerned about what Logan had done.
It wasn't pleasant for Logan for several days but he thought it was worth it.
Mama had taken dolly to the doll hospital and one day she proudly returned with it all healed and well.
When she saw Logan looking at the doll in her arms she threatened him with great violence. With that mama placed dolly in the great trunk and locked it securely. Although dolly returned home, she never was laid on the bed with her head on the pillow again.
Logan observed that as each year passed, mama would change a little so he had to change with her in order to always get his way.
With him and papa things were different, for most of the time neither one acknowledged the other's presence and both liked it that way.
Visiting the kin folks was nigh unto torture for he had to sit quietly and act like it was a special treat when given a stale cookie.
Chapter 3 - Socialization
It was stage three in Logan's life.
He went through each stage starting with the "Helpless" stage where he was dependant on others for everything.
Then in stage two he had to learn words and how to put them together so as to express him-self without as much body language.
His personality was apparent before, but was now begging to assert itself and was to a great extent emotionally driven.
He had very little contact with other children, and when he did he displayed the, “Mine, me, my,” syndrome.
He wouldn't share his toys with other children while they visited, and when he went to be with other kids he felt their things were his, and he had to be forcibly separated from them upon leaving.
This attitude continued until he enrolled into pre-school. There he encountered children who felt the same way as he did and they refuse
d to share with him.
This was something he had never experienced before. When he tried to forcefully take something from the other children they would strike him giving him pain. He would go home and cry and say I never want to go back to school again.
While his mother would console him his father after all these years spoke up and said, “Logan you are going to have to learn to fight for this is ‘a dog eat dog’ world.”
The images of a dog eating a dog was quite disturbing to Logan, but from that time on his father took interest in him, and taught him to stand up for himself. Logan liked his father taking interest in him and wondered where he had been all these years.
He finally made it to the first grade where he had to modify his behavior so as to be socially accepted.
Another thing of interest was there was a girl living next door whom he played with and he learned that boys and girls were different.
Then when he discovered why this was so, it was confusing to him but he just accepted it as a "That's just the way it is,” thing.
After the first grade his father moved them closer to where he worked.
Instead of living in a big house they lived in an apartment in a self contained neighborhood where everything was within walking distance. This new environment changed the way he had lived before.
Men, women and children were all crammed together, and he knew all of his schoolmates by name. This close association with people caused him to modify his attitudes even farther to the point you could scarcely tell him from all the others.
This loss of character was grinding against his basic nature, and a certain uneasiness permeated his whole being. Upon visiting a doctor the decision was made on how to control his agitation, and the doctor prescribed Logan some pills.
He now had to deal with his agitation and with the side effects of the drug.
An event that was shortly to happen caused another big change in his life.
One he had no warning that it was on his horizon.
Chapter 4 Mom is Gone
Being in close contact with other people affected Logan's parents as well as him. Innuendo was the common language due to familiarity with one another.
Then one day Logan came home and discovered that his mama was gone. Her closet was empty and the savings was missing. She was never seen or heard from again. The one person he thought he could depend on, had left the premises.
Until that moment he never realized how important she was to him. She was always there, something that was for his benefit, and her world depended upon him.
Without him, her world didn't exist. He never considered her as a person apart from himself, and discovering this deflated his ego to the point where his self worth would take years to recover.
Shortly after his father arrived home, and when he realized what she had done he went through his full range of emotions, enhancing each of them with language Logan had never heard his father say.
Under his father's breath Logan heard his father say, “I was going to be the one who left, and now she takes my money and leaves me with this kid, damn, damn, damn.”
Logan managed to withdraw enough to keep out of harms way while his father vented his anger upon the furniture and one window. After all that outrage, the landlord rather forcefully requested that they leave and not come back.
His father had met a young widow named Hattie whose older husband had died and left her a big house with many rooms but little else. She decided to rent out some of the rooms, and would supply meals if they so desired.
Because of so many single people around she quickly filled her rooms and had a nice income. Because of all the additional work, she hired some help to do the extra chores.
Several of the rooms were empty part of the time because the occupants would travel because of business. They wanted a place they could call home and enjoy the “comforts of home” atmosphere she provided for them.
Of course on occasion some lothario would want to pay for his room by wooing her, to which she would reply, “A room with wooing will be double the price.” Needless to say that was the last she heard from them.
Since they had to move quickly, his father approached Hattie saying, “I would like to rent a room with board for me and my son.” She looked at Logan and said, “I don't rent to people with kids for they are too much trouble and children destroy things.”
It took his father over a half an hour to convince her that Logan was well behaved, polite and would not damage anything or upset the other guests.
Finally she gave in and said, “There is a cot in the basement you can set up for the lad on a trial basis. If there is any trouble out of you or him, out you go.”
Logan was motionless and didn't look up all the while this conversation was going on. It wasn't until she came over and raised his chin and said. “Let me look at you.”
He lifted his head and stared into her face. As she looked him over, a chill went through him, and it was then he decided that he would never cross her.
Chapter 5 - Papa is Gone
After Logan and his father moved into Hattie's boarding house things settled down, and Logan missed his mama less each passing day.
Hattie had taken a liking to him and since she had no children of her own she began to have the feeling of a mother for him.
After school she always had a treat waiting for him, and would help him with his homework. Logan began to relax in her presence.
Then she did something that he had longed for, she kissed him on the cheek as she sent him off to school. He had never felt so loved in his life. After that he would hug her as he left for school, and when he returned.
One day Hattie told Logan's father it was time for Logan to have his own room, his father started to protest saying. “I can't afford two rooms.”
Hattie said, “Sure you can, because you make plenty of money, and are saving it up for something, You can pay for half and I will pay for the other half so the deal is done.”
The father didn't want to rile Hattie for he knew he was living very cheaply, and they had everything they needed so he agreed. Afterwards he thought about it and decided it would be nice to have a room to his-self.
About two weeks later the room next to Hattie became vacant and Logan moved in. Later he found out that Hattie had encouraged the man who had the room to leave.
Days turned into months and one morning Hattie found a letter under her door from Logan's father.
It said that he needed to get on with his life, and he couldn't do that with Logan hanging on to him. He said he was sorry about this, but he never wanted a kid anyhow; even though Logan was a fine boy. He said he went to a lawyer and had signed all of his parental rights over to her, and if she didn't want the boy to turn him over to the county.
Enclosed in the letter were a few dollars and a thank you. Hattie had mixed emotions about what had just happened.
She hated him for what he was doing to Logan - - tossing him away like trash, but still wanting to thank him for giving the boy to her.
She didn't know how to tell Logan about his father leaving him in a way that would ease his pain, so she gave him the letter to read for himself.
He started to read the letter and then while still reading it he abruptly went to his room.
Hattie wanted to go in and hug him but felt it would be better to let him have a few minutes to himself.
There was much to do, so she went about the business of preparing the evening meal because she would soon have a bunch of starving people wanting to be fed.
She knocked on Logan's door and said, “Come to dinner before it gets cold.”
He came out and got a hug and a kiss on his cheek, and went in to eat his dinner.
Afterward he asked her if that meant that he belonged to her, and was she now his mom? Now Hattie was the one who was overwhelmed.
The realty of this was more than she could fathom, and
was disturbing to her. The idea that she had a child of her own was a dream far beyond anything she ever expected or imagined.
She gathered herself together, reached out and pulled him to her and said, “That was exactly what it meant.”
From this day forward it will be him and her forever, and they wouldn't be parted.
She was now "Mom" to him, and both couldn’t have been more pleased.
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