During my first three years we lived in two locations, Auburndale and Burlington, Vermont. My family moved to the much bigger house in Auburndale to gain more room because I came along. I only recall a few things from those early years: I remember having a security blanket with me at all times. I sucked my thumb constantly; A lion puppet my brothers used to scare me with (think Pookey from The Soupy Sales Show), being tickled by my brothers for long periods of time (tickle table), and there was a large German Shepard dog in the neighborhood who loved to hump me. At two, I was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. This must have concerned my father particularly because his mother died a little over a decade earlier from the same condition. Apparently my mother was frustrated because she knew I’d want my blanket there. Every time she’d visit she’d slip me a piece of it. When she returned she’d find out they threw it out.

NEXT UP – Upton, Mass.