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Hello, everyone:
Someone just sent me a list of 30 questions to answer, so I'm going to try to answer them here on my blog page so that everyone can see them in case they had similar questions. I only want to have to do this once.
Okay, here goes...
I was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada January 13, 1951.
My childhood home was on Beacon Hill in Seattle above Boeing Field. It was a nice house and each of my brothers and I got to have our own room upstairs. I filled my room with models, posters, and all the various projects that I used to build out of empty cereal boxes. One of my crowning achievements was a model of the Century 21 exposition including the Space Needle, the Coliseum, and the monorail.
We had a few dogs when I was a kid, as well as a few cats, but we didn't have much luck with them. The dogs kept running off and the cats kept dying. We did have a parakeet named Friday who was extremely tame and friendly and could talk. When my sister Lisa was born, she got all the attention, so we eventually gave Friday away.
I grew up in Seattle and I liked it. We lived in a neighborhood with hills and sidewalks that were perfect for bicycling and skateboarding. There were also some nice woods nearby where we could build a camp and go exploring.
My favorite activities when I was a child were building things and making up stories. I told you about building things out of empty cereal boxes: some of these things included a spaceship, a jet airliner, a haunted house, a Mercury space capsule, and a Fred Flintstone puppet. I used to type stories on my mom's portable typewriter and I also drew pages and pages of comics. I spent more time in my room than anywhere else.
My favorite outdoor activity was skateboarding. I remember playing a little bit of basketball in our driveway, but I was never very good at it.
I went to church all my life. Ours was a churchgoing family, and our church was the Brighton Assembly of God in Rainier Valley in Seattle. I still remember the old songs, the smell of the pews, and the prayer room in the back where I spent many hours getting saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and basically straightened out in every aspect of my life.
My parents were a loving couple who love their kids and took very good care of them. My Dad started out as an Assembly of God minister, but stepped down from that after I was born and worked at Boeing for over 30 years. After he retired from Boeing, he went back into the ministry. My mom was the sweet, loving, stabilizing influence in the family. Any time something was wrong or I was troubled about something, she had a way of knowing it. We had many conversations with her sitting on my bed before I went to sleep at night. And now I'm getting all misty so I think I'll go to the next question.
My strongest image of my father was when I stumbled upon him kneeling by his bed and seeking the Lord's help. I don't remember what the problem was, but I remember our family was going through a pretty severe struggle, and it has meant so much to me over the years to know that my father was a man of faith who relied on the Lord. (Well, he still is! Both my folks are still living and I'm glad to have them around.)
My mother had a few jobs when we needed the extra income, but for the most part she was always around when I came home from school.
I never knew my grandparents - Dad's folks - very well, but I sure remember their house and how we used to run around in that place. My grandmother almost lived to be a hundred. She was a sweet lady and very devoted to the Lord.
I had pretty good friends when I was growing up and my folks liked them. Rob Woodard and Bob Elder were my buds in grade school, Richard McMahon was as close as a brother for most of my youth. I guess most of my friends were in my youth group at church.
I don't recall that at any of my friends ever got me in trouble - well, wait a minute: Bob Elder was swinging on a closet rod and broke it, spilling a bunch of stuff, and then there was Melinda who tried to swing on a water pipe under the back porch and broke it open causing a flood. But usually I didn't need help to get into trouble; I could do that pretty well by myself.
One of my chores was burning all the garbage out in the burning barrel in the alley. I didn't mind it. No, I never got an allowance, but I guess I never missed it.
I went on my first date when I was 15 or so. I took a girl to some kind of youth banquet and then to the Seattle Center where she met another guy and dumped me. Teenage love can be so heartbreaking!
My first job was at McDonald's. I think I was paid $1.25 an hour and the job lasted six hours before I was fired. They never taught me how to use the cash register so my balances were all messed up. The boss may have thought I was stealing from the till, but I couldn't help it if he didn't know how to train his employees. Oh well. I hated that job anyway.
In my free time, I play the banjo, bicycle, rollerblade, fly an ultralight, and go for walks in the woods.
Crazy fads I went through: Long hair, Bell bottom pants, wearing two watches, yo-yos, the Beatles.
I admired Walt Disney and wanted to be a Christian version of him when I grew up. He was a storyteller and could take us all on such wonderful adventures. I wanted to do that, and I guess I have.
I don't remember pulling any mischievous pranks on anyone, but I'm sure I must have. Oh! Once on a scout hike we locked a guy in an outhouse - it didn't work. He was so big he was able to break the door open. Let that be a lesson to you: don't pull any pranks that could destroy property. Somebody had to fix that outhouse after we were there, and that's not a very good example.
Our family finances were OK but we did struggle from time to time. At least I didn't get spoiled by having everything I wanted exactly when I wanted it. I think I grew up with a much better appreciation for the value of a hard-earned dollar.
I met my dear wife Barbara in youth group at the Bethel Evangelical Free Church on Vashon Island in 1969. I thought she was silly and she thought I was stuck up, but we eventually grew on each other. I asked her to marry me on June 22, 1970. She was only 16 at the time. Kids, don't try this at home.
All my memories with my wife are my fondest.
Favorite color: red.
Favorite ice cream: strawberry
favorite book: depends on what I'm reading at the time
favorite movie: at the moment, Seabiscuit.
Favorite song: It Is Well with My Soul
Favorite sport: football - watching it, not playing it.
There are lots of things I wish I could do over again, but I guess the main point is to learn from the mistakes and not repeat them. That, and pray that the people I have hurt will forgive me for being such a klutz.
I didn't think I would ever live in a log house, and now that I do, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Log houses may look cool, but they are a lot of trouble and expense. Yes, this is kind of a silly answer, but it's the only one I can think of.
A moment in my life I will never forget: there are so many it's difficult to choose one. When I married Barb; when I received my honorary doctorate degree from Indiana Wesleyan University; when I got my pilot's license; when my new baby sister Lisa came home for the first time; when This Present Darkness was accepted for publication; when I walked out of the ski factory for the last time; my first day as a full-time author.
Changes in our society that I have seen in my lifetime: The tumultuous 60s, the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War, 9/11, the acceptance of homosexuality, the legalization of abortion, the restriction of Christian free-speech in the public square. Hmmm ... did anything good happen? Personal computers - I wrote This Present Darkness on a typewriter; cell phones, widescreen TVs, video cameras - when I was making movies as a kid, it was all in 8mm movie film without sound and we had to have huge, powerful lights to film indoors. Praise God for video!
Historical events in my lifetime: I guess I've already named a few, and yes, I do remember where I was when I first heard that President Kennedy had been shot: in my seventh grade music class taught by Mr. McFaden.
I'm really proud of my nephews and nieces. For the most part, they all turned out pretty well.
Goals I am still working toward: being a film director. I started out wanting to do motion pictures but became a novelist instead. I'd like to see if I can fulfill that original dream before the Lord takes me home. I also have some more books in mind, but right now it's motion pictures I'm thinking about.
When people look back at my life, I would like them to remember that I honored God and always did what He wanted me to do.
OK. That's enough questions and answers for today. Hope this helps.
Frank |
