My Childhood: Dad Takes Me To Work

My father worked as a graphics artist for the civil service at Norton Air Force Base. Most of his job consisted of making slides and flip charts for presentations by air force brass. On the side, he drew pictures of the Air Force officers who worked at the base.

The greatest times of my young life were when dad would take me to work with him. He did this on a dozen or so occasions, and each time was a wonderful experience. I remember loving every minute of those visits, from the ride in the car to work to the ride home.

Dad’s office fascinated me. It was a cubicle, and was jam packed full of things which seemed, to my young eyes, designed to thrill a young boy. It was full of drawing materials, paper, pens, pictures of rockets and airplanes, plaster models of missiles and many, many other interesting things.

I especially liked to play with the little plaster letters that dad used to make flip charts and slides. He’d carefully align these letters on a piece of cardboard, along with pictures, drawings and other relevant items, and take slides of them. I used to like to see what kind of words I could make with these letters. Dad would always let me take home a handful of these so I could continue my games later. I still have a jar full of letters, carefully packed away with other prized childhood possessions.

One day while dad and I were together at his office, he gave me what remains to this day one of my most prized possessions. I had noticed a plaster model of a Minuteman missile on his desk during previous visits. Dad must have seem me looking at it with longing in my eyes, because he gave it to me. I have proudly displayed that missile, complete with the original dents and scratches, ever since then.

Finally, he gave me a book which was very important later in my life. This book was the official Air Force Survival Manual. This book was simply awesome! I must have read that manual from cover to cover a dozen times. I referenced it before we went on a hike, I used it to determine which plants were edible and which were poisonous, and I used it to identify wild birds and rodents. Most importantly, it stimulated my young imagination, and introduced me to the world of the outdoors.