Chapter V continued

I was beginning to view the world with a sense of wonder,because there was now the possibility of unseen things,aside from those things that emanated from the radio,that were said to be real in some far off place I'd never seen or been too.In terms of my reality,it made my world much bigger.

Downtown Moncton was shadowed by huge buildings,that towered over all and imposed themselves on all who passed.They were made from gray,aged but permanent stone blocks,looking solid and unmovable,and I wondered from an early age who had cut the stones,then placed them one on top of the other until they reached up into the heavens,competing with each other to be the tallest buildings in town.The height,the stony presence,the shadows impressed me,I held them in awe.Some were pointed on top,some squared off,but all seemed to say that they knew all,that there was nothing in Heaven or Earth that they could not speak of with authority.

At some point my mother began to speak of God.I'm unsure as to when,thinking that it must have been from the start,since she was in some form a religious person.But I don't recall much about the early part of it,much before 1965.Then talk of God and Jesus began to find it's way into our daily lives.At first,I think it was just stories.Stories from a book called Bible Stories For Children.

Church used to be a much bigger thing back then.It was considered odd if you said you didn't attend.Some people would look at you askance and you would know they were voicing unsaid questions in their mind.Bible Stories For Children was not just found by our bedside,where my mother would read from it in the evening.For years it was found on tables in the waiting room of nearly every doctor's office.It was even in the dentists office,and the optometrist's.It was a beautifully illustrated volume,or perhaps even two volumes.It's pictures were captivating:Men and Women and apples,a man inside of a whale,a young boy throwing a rock at a giant,a bearded old man holding up stone tablets.Time spent at the doctors always passed quickly,because I was carried away by those pictures.

Other unseen things were said to be as well.Santa Clause,The Easter Bunny.And my father,being partly Irish,from a poor background,Shanty Irish they might have called it in some other time or place,spoke of things like elves and fairies,leprechauns,small people,pots of gold,angel and demons,whether he believed in them or not,for poor Irish are a spirit haunted people.

My first memory of church is of being in the church nursery,with babies and toddlers.I was not really either,but nor was I truly big enough for Sunday School.For some reason I recall men and women dressed in crisp white uniforms,and playing great brass instruments.They were The Salvation Army,though we did not attend A Salvationist Church.But they played their horns and we sang some majestic sounding songs which I did not understand.Then we went home,to a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches.