IWH: The Call

We were all very young. I was one of the youngest and I was about four years old. The oldest of the kids were ten and eleven years old. It was a typical day in the nursery for us. That meant there twenty to thirty kids being watched by one supervisor. We were outside playing in the yard and the day had been pretty uneventful up to that point. The older kids had gotten together and were playing games and the younger kids were roaming about playing with whatever captured their curiosity. After being outside for a while one of the older kids, one who was known for mischief making, asked our supervisor if he could go inside and use the bathroom. He was gone for a short while and returned without anyone paying much attention. Within ten minutes we heard sirens come screaming down the street, and much to everyone's surprise, two fire trucks pulled into our driveway. Firemen jumped out and came rushing around to the back of the house wanting to know from our supervisor where the fire was. The supervisor looked absolutely bewildered and asked the firemen what they were talking about. She wasn't aware of there being a fire. The kids all gaped at the firemen, jaws dropped and eyes as big as saucers. The head fireman informed her that they had received a call saying that the house was on fire and there were a bunch of kids inside who couldn't get out. The supervisor again said that she didn't know of any fire and that all the kids were outside with her. It soon became very clear to the firemen that there was no fire anywhere and someone had made a prank call to the department. Our supervisor seemed absolutely mortified and kept apologizing to the firemen. The firemen were not happy at all and had all the kids gather together. They asked who had made the call. No one said a word, no one came forward. There was a long pause as the firemen stared at the kids and the kids stared back. After a few moments, the head fireman broke the silence by informing us that making a prank call to the fire department was a criminal offense and we could get in a lot of trouble for doing something like that. He asked us if we all understood how serious the situation was and there was one giant nod from the group of kids. The firemen packed up their gear and headed out. Still shocked, the supervisor shuffled us inside and quickly got on the phone. The next thing we knew we were all bussed to the church and filed into the main sanctuary. We were lined up at the front. There were several elders and parents there and the pastor's wife, whom we referred to as "Grandma", was there as well. She wanted to talk to us. She sat on a bench in front of us and asked us one by one what had happened. No one seemed to know. She then told us that they had spoken with the fire department and the dispatcher had told them it was a child who had made the phone call. All the adults wanted to know who that child was. There was silence from the kids. Not one of us said a word. "Grandma" then informed us that the lead elder was going to go down to the station and listen to the recording of the phone call. He would then know who had made the call. She assured us that it would be better if whoever had called just came forward now because they would eventually be found out anyway. At this point one of the youngest of the kids began to tremble and he walked towards "Grandma" and with the most pathetic voice said, "Grandma, I din't call 1 1 9." "Grandma" laughed and said she was sure of that. Several of the adults were fighting the smiles that were creeping onto their faces. The little boys earnest plea was so innocent and somehow in the midst of a tense situation it breathed some relief. There never was a confession and the adults had to come to their own conclusions about who made the call. Amongst us kids we had some pretty good ideas about who had made that call, but we certainly weren't talking to anybody about it. This would be one of those days that went down in infamy at IWH.

The Boogey Man

One of my earliest memories as a child happened when I was about three years old. My parents and my aunt and uncle all lived together, so there were four adults and seven children living in a rather large house together. At night my mom usually had me and my cousin and my older sisters at home. The house we lived in was a 1950's style house with a laundry room by the back door. One night we were home and my cousin and I were playing in the kitchen while my mom ran laundry; she would go back and forth between the laundry room and the kitchen checking on uo. We were happy playing in the kitchen floor, but every once and a while we would venture into the laundry room to ask my mom a question. On one such trip into the laundry room my cousin and I were standing at the door and noticed a man peering into the back door of our house. Of course we were a bit curious as to who he was and why he was standing at our back door, but my mom wasn't saying anything, so maybe it was no big deal. Of course, being three and four years old neither me or my cousin deduced that perhaps my mom was not saying anything because her back was to the door and she couldn't see the man peering inside. We asked our question and then left the laundry room. When we got to the kitchen we began discussing the strange man at the door. If mom knew him, why did she not let him in? If she wasn't letting him in, why was he at the door?
After a few minutes of this sort of talk my mom entered the kitchen and overheard our conversation. She asked, "What are you girls talking about?" We calmly looked at her and replied that we were discussing the strange man at the back door. She looked at us with a puzzled look on her face and asked, "What man?" "The one at the back door," my cousin replied. My mom again asked what we were talking about, informing us that there was no man at the back door. "Yes, there is," said my cousin, "I'll show you." The three of us then walked back to the laundry room and there was no man to be seen. My mother laughed and called us fanciful little girls, and then we left the laundry room.
A short while later we were getting ready for bed with one of my older sisters when we heard a commotion in the front part of the house. We raced down the hall to see what was happening. My mom was on the phone to my dad insisting that he come home and call the police because there was a Peeping Tom running around outside the house. Within a few minutes there was a friend of ours from the police department at the house checking it out. Of course we were not going to bed until we knew how things would end up, so we waited in the kitchen for the report. My cousin and I looked at each other knowingly. We really HAD seen a man and now no one would disbelieve us.
After what seemed an eternity, the police officer came inside the house. He and my mom walked into the laundry room to talk, I'm sure so we kids wouldn't hear them. My cousin and I slipped up to the laundry room door and listened as best we could. We heard my mom telling the police officer about our earlier sighting and how she had not believed us until she saw the man for herself. The police officer assured her that the man was no longer outside but that they had found footprints in the front and back yards around the windows. My cousin and I looked at each other again. We had been right! A man had been watching us! The chills went up and down our spines. Wow! At that moment the officer spotted us outside the door and asked my mom if he could ask us some questions. She said that was fine and he then questioned us on what we had seen. We felt pretty important at that moment. We had seen the man the police had come to check on. We had seen the Boogey Man and had even been talked to by the police officer and had helped them in their search for the man. How many little girls get to do that in their life time? Certainly not too many; but we had! This night would forever stay in my memory as one of the most interesting nights of my life.

Growing Up At IWH

Most people have interesting, fun, or weird experiences growing up. I am no different. My childhood years were the usual mix of good and bad, exciting and mundane. However, there are several things about my upbringing that I feel are truly unique, and I wish to share them with you in a series of stories. The stories I want to share are the comical ones because those are the memories that I hold dearest to me and the ones I want most to remember. Perhaps you will not find them funny at all, but I would wager that you will find at least one or two that will cause a smile to tug at the corners of your mouth, and maybe you will even find that you relate to my stories in a way that causes you to remember your own childhood. Whatever the case may be, I hope that you enjoy these short glimpses into my very colorful and varied past.