My family moved from the Netherlands to Canada when I was close to six.
We were placed in a rural community with a creek flowing in our back yard.
I started reading a lot after learning English and Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Tarzan were the first books I read with any interest.
It is funny, my boyhood was not much different from the stories in these novels.
We built tree houses, rafts, wooden go carts and snow forts. We spent as much time as we could in the great outdoors regardless what the weather may bring.
We lost two tree houses to fire as the little stoves we made ourselves didn’t really cut the mustard. I often wonder why I didn’t drown on those rafts as I never wore a life jacket and can’t swim to this day.
We went fishing and cooked the fish outside over an open fire.
I didn’t have electronic games, computers and the television was black and white and only a few shows appealed.
I don’t think I missed out on anything. I consider myself luckier than most for having a childhood where that was possible.
