4-year-old's view of a Wesson oil party...

Since there are so many events that happened in the Newton household that I deem worthy of a “story” that include the Allison clan, I felt I needed to include some “background information” before I tackle another story. John and Mary Allison were not only our neighbors, but also our dear friends. I watched their children for years while they both worked. We camped together as families. We were involved in Scouting together – John, aka Yogi, was even Adam, Andrew, and Matt’s Scoutmaster for some period in there. I even spent many a midnight hour sewing motorcycle handlebar grips for John’s fledgling company “Wrap-on Industries.” Great times.

They had three sons: Wesley, who was 9 months older than Adam; Christopher, who was 8 months older than Andrew, and Michael who was 7 months younger that Matt. That made for 3 pairs of great buddies. More great times.

It is Christopher and Andrew who win the prize for most stories. I can promise you – what one didn’t think of the other did. They were a force to be reckoned with when they were together. They were very ingenious – clever, resourceful, creative – in their play, to say the very least. They were definitely outdoor boys, too. And we were outside as much as possible. I folded clothes outside. I had a 50 ft extension on the phone cord so I could talk outside. I even had a table sturdy enough so I could sew outside. Anything to keep Andrew, and Christopher, busy. Therefore, it is this beautiful springtime that always brings to mind most of their more unusual tactics.

We had a fence around our yard in Port Arthur. It was NOT necessarily built to keep people out – it was built to keep Andrew in. He was a master at escape. Whether it was carefully watching the cat to see what “holes” the cat maneuvered through to get out of the yard, and quickly following, to learning very early how to unlock the best of “childproof” devices. He was ready to go.

It was Spring Break 1986. As with many Spring Breaks that I can remember, it RAINED! Here you have kids at home and neighborhood kids at home, so everyone can play, and it rains. No outside for the guys. That “Go” that Andrew had inside of him needed some release. That’s the beginning of an “uh-oh”.

Since Mary was a schoolteacher, she was home. Adam was down at the Allison’s playing with Wesley; Christopher was with Andrew at our house. Matt was just a 5-month-old baby. Such idyllic life, huh. I don’t remember the time or necessarily the sequence of events surrounding this story, but I do know that I went into my bedroom to lie down and nurse the baby where it would be quieter. It was the quiet that was soon disturbing…

We had a big old house in Pt Arthur, but as a mother, I had learned most of the “sounds” that the kids generated. There were “play” sounds that came from the different rooms. However, it was soon almost too quiet in the other part of the house. Then I started hearing a very muffled giggle. I got up; sneaked quietly down the hall to get a peek at what the guys were doing.

THEY WERE HAVING A SLIP AND SLIDE “WESSON OIL” PARTY IN MY KITCHEN! How, you say. Well, they had opened a huge bottle of Wesson oil and poured it all over the vinyl floor. Then, they had taken off their clothes and were slipping and sliding everywhere. I had a big old kitchen and they were taking full advantage of it. They were having a great time.

I realized very quickly that I was NOT going to have a “Great Time” cleaning up the mess, but I really hated to stop their fun. I have to be honest and say I really wasn’t happy at all, though. What an INCREDIBLE mess, and what messy boys.

I scooped them up, put them in the tub with this wonderful product that would strip grease off anything, but was “earth friendly.” Then squirted this same product all over my kitchen floor and began the clean up.

Again, I must admit I don’t remember the specifics of the clean up – I really don’t. Especially after all of these years, my memories are somewhat selective: I like to remember to “good times.” What I best remember about this day was two naked little boys, all shined up and glistening, with eyes sparkling and twinkling over their chubby little hands that are covering their mouths so I wouldn’t hear their squeal of laughter, jumping, running, twisting and sliding all over the kitchen floor.

Oh Lord! What a mess. But, what a day. Why didn’t I have a camera back then? Thanks for the memories…Great life – great times!