The Idaho Falls Incident

My Grandpa Alspaugh

Charles Ephraim Alspaugh

taken ca 1956

1. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

2. Stoned Soul Picnic by The 5th Dimension

3. Midnight Confessions by The Grass Roots

4. Simon Says by 1920 Fruitgum Company

5. Revolution by The Beatles

6. Do You Know the Way to San Jose by Dionne Warwick

7. Little Green Apples by O.C. Smith

8. Spooky by Classics IV

9. Love Child by Diana Ross & The Supremes

10. Those Were the Days by Mary Hopkin

11. Love Is All Around by The Troggs

12. Over You by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap

13. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) by Manfred Mann

We had been members of the church for two years in the summer of 1968. Well, at least my family had. I was baptized the end of June this year as I had turned eight years old. I'm skipping over some pretty important events, such as my baptism and our family sealing in the temple, to relate the Idaho Falls incident but, don't worry, I'll go back and give them their due!

What you have to understand is how this trip sort of morphed into a huge collage of major events. What started out as a simple trip out west to attend the temple turned into an added trip down to Arizona to see Elder Stanley Miller as well as a trip up to Baker, Oregon to visit my father's parents and his sisters, Mary and Emily. My father ended up having to go to San Francisco for business as well. My mother went with him leaving us kids in the care of Grandma and Grandpa Alspaugh and Aunt Mary and Uncle Len, and Aunt Emily. This story begins in Baker, Oregon with us meeting cousins we had never met before. We had known Aunt Emily, she's the one I sang Love Potion No. 9 with a few years before. I"m not sure if I'd met Aunt Mary yet or not but I didn't know her very well before this. She had kids but the only one I remember is Jim. He was roughly the same age as my older brothers and Cheryl.

Well, I ended up getting sick with the flu shortly after my parents left and was pretty sick. I had a most memorable time with my Grandpa Alspaugh as he nursed me through the whole thing. This memory will also deserve it's own posting. But, whilst I was sick it seems that my foster sister, Cheryl, was getting to become pretty good friends with cousin Jim. Very good friends! When I finally got better and was able to get up and join in the fun with the other kids I could tell that Jim and Cheryl liked each other. Hold this thought ~

After my parents returned from San Francisco my grandpa starting pestering my father to go home by way of Idaho Falls so they could be sealed together - he and my grandparents and his sisters. Dad was pretty anxious to get back home as this trip had really dragged out and he told his parents that they would do it another time soon. But grandpa wouldn't let up. He pointed out that it wasn't really that much out of the way to go to Idaho Falls and it wouldn't take much time at all and then we could be on our way. They'd turn around and go back to Oregon and we'd head on towards Pennsylvania. Finally, my father relented and agreed to go home via Idaho Falls.

We caravanned down to Idaho - Aunt Mary and family, Aunt Emily, grandparents, and us. I believe us kids waited out in the car or in a park while they went into the temple. I don't remember it being a terribly long time that they were gone. When they were done in the temple they all came out and we all said our goodbyes - hugs all around. We had grown to love our Aunt Mary and I knew she was going to be a good friend to me - another great aunt to have wonderful memories with! We took off one way and they the other. Grandpa seemed at peace and I know my dad was glad he decided to do this. We hadn't gone more than a few blocks when suddenly my dad saw my Aunt Mary coming up fast behind us, honking and waving. Dad slowed and she pulled up alongside of us. Grandpa was in the front seat passenger side but he looked different, sort of slumped. Mary was driving. Dad rolled down his window and Mary started yelling something about Grandpa and for us to follow her to the hospital. We all did a u-turn and my father translated to the rest of us that Grandpa seemed to be having some sort of medical emergency and we needed to go to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital right behind Mary, we learned that Grandpa was having a stroke. He was whisked into the emergency room.

Grandpa's condition looked pretty precarious so we all got hotel rooms. We wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. The adults, understandably, spent a lot of time at the hospital where grandpa's condition worsened. He ended up passing away a day or two later. I was crushed. He and I had formed a bond during that visit. It didn't escape our notice how earnest he had been in getting dad to the temple to be sealed to him. Had he known his time on earth was soon to end? It makes me wonder. It also cemented in my young mind the importance of temple work - not putting off what needs to be done. I also learned the importance of heeding promptings - although this would be a struggle the rest of my life! That still, small voice! I can be pretty spiritually deaf at times!

So, with the adults gone much of the time tending to the situation at hand, troubles started. All of us kids were left at the hotel to entertain ourselves. There were plenty of older kids to keep an eye on the younger ones. But Cheryl and Jim started talking about how they wanted to run away together. The idea started taking shape and in no time it seemed that they had a plan and were ready to act on it. The idea of Cheryl going away just killed me. I loved her so much and couldn't bear the thought of her not being around. When they set out to leave I begged them not to go. When I knew they were going to go no matter what, I begged them to take me with them. Cheryl seemed to consider this idea so I put the begging into full force. Eventually she agreed, probably to Jim's dismay, and along I went with the juvenile runaways - they were probably around 14 or 15 years old. We set out walking along some sort of interstate - two teens and an eight year old. I was determined that I was not going to whine or cause problems. They would not regret bringing me along that's for sure! I was going to be as good as gold!

So we walked and walked . . . I don't know how long we had walked but, eventually, I had to go to the bathroom. Annoying, right? I could pretty well guess that Jim was thinking it had been a BIG mistake to bring me along. Cheryl probably thought so, too. They found a gas station off an exit that let me use their bathroom and I was so relieved to be able to go! I couldn't have been in there very long but, when I came out, they were gone! I looked everywhere around the station for them but they were not there. I could feel the fear settling in. I was panicked. I didn't know this place. Compared to my town back home, Idaho Falls might as well have been New York City! No one seemed to be curious about why I was there alone. I stayed there for a bit, thinking that surely they had just run somewhere quick and would be back to get me.

Well, they didn't come back and I needed to figure out how to either find them or find my way back to the hotel. I figured the interstate was the way to go. So I wandered back up the ramp and started walking. I was crying now. I felt lost (which I was) and very alone (again, true.) That crippling fear I had experienced when they transferred me in the hospital and I thought my parents didn't know where I was had returned - only this time I KNEW they didn't know where I was.

I wandered for what seemed like hours when a car pulled over to the side of the road. Oh dear, what was I going to do? It was a car full of girls, older than Cheryl. They came up to me and asked something like, "Hey, little girl, are you OK?" I couldn't speak. I tried but nothing would come out. All I could do was cry harder. They talked me into getting into their car. I didn't want to, I remember. It was a bad situation getting worse and worse. But, I didn't have much choice as far as I could see. It was getting dark and I did not want to be in the dark alone. I got into their car and they took me back to their apartment - trying to get me to talk and give them sort of clue as to who I was or where I belonged. For the life of me, I couldn't make a sound. Luckily, they were good girls. They called the police and reported finding a little girl wandering along the interstate.

Meanwhile, the parents return to the hotel to learn that Cheryl and Jim had run away and taken me with them. What an ordeal for them to deal with on top of everything else that had happened. They called the police and reported us missing. When the call about me came in, they knew that I was most likely the little girl from the runaway trio which had been reported earlier. They rightly guessed that the teens had tired of having a little kid tag along. My parents were called and they and Aunt Mary showed up to take me home. I could tell my mom was mad! What kind of stunt was this to be playing at a time like this! I knew she wanted to spank me to no end but my Aunt Mary stepped in and petitioned my mom on my behalf. She could see I had already been through hell and figured I had pretty much learned my lesson - which I had. If I had liked my Aunt Mary before, my heart exploded with love for her at that instant. She was a friend. She seemed to know my heart. She recognized the hero worship I had had for Cheryl and had correctly put two and two together and summed up what had happened. The true troublemakers were her son and Cheryl and the job now was to find them.

Some sort of APB had been posted in neighboring towns. Two youths, a girl and boy, traveling on foot. The next morning a call came from a police station over in Shelley, Idaho saying that two youths matching the description had been turned in when they were found sleeping in somebody's barn. The only problem was that we had to now go to Shelley to pick them up. My parents were furious. We went to Shelley and, indeed, it was Cheryl and Jim. Mary took Jim home and we took Cheryl back to Pennsylvania. It was a long quiet ride back. I learned from her when we got home that they had had to cross the Idaho Falls River and nearly drowned in doing so. They had had several other close calls in their short journey and I remember thinking "What if I had stayed with them? I, for certain, would have drowned." Someone was looking after me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it was Grandpa.

When we got back, Cheryl left our home and was placed in other foster homes - several before she graduated. I was so sad - even after being left in the bathroom! It took me years to fully understand that she had acted selfishly that day. Had she really loved me, she wouldn't have left me high and dry like that. I still worshipped her. My heart still loved her. We would see her from time to time. She stayed in the Warren area and even lived with my aunt and uncle for a bit. But she was wild - had never liked all the rules of our house. She was used to running as she pleased. She came back to stay with us for a brief period, I don't know why, but it didn't last long. I think she just needed a place in between other homes. She ended up getting pregnant before she graduated. I probably haven't seen her for over 30 years now but now and then I wonder what her life has been. Does she ever ponder about me and wonder what I'm up to?

The songs this week were all popular that year. These are the songs we'd sing to on the radio on that long, long trip across the country. Well, we sang one way anyway . . .

Another Sister?!

1. Silhouettes by Herman's Hermits

2. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy by Ohio Express

3. A Beautiful Morning by The Rascals

4. Hey Jude by The Beatles

5. Sealed With A Kiss by Gary Lewis & The Playboys

6. Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daugher by Herman's Hermits

7. Bend Me Shape Me by American Breed

8. 1,2,3 Red Light by 1920 Fruitgum Company

9. Green Tambourine by The Lemon Pipers

10. Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel

11. I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits

12. Scarborough Fair/Canticle by Simon & Garfunkel

13. Love Is Blue by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra

14. Mony Mony by Tommy James & The Shondells

15. I'm Henry the VII, I Am by Herman's Hermits

16. Turn Around and Look At Me by The Vogues

17. Classical Gas by Mason Williams

18. The Fool On the Hill by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

19. Downtown by Petula Clark

20. Don't Sleep in the Subway by Petula Clark

Remember how I told you I had always hoped for a big sister someday? As impossible as that wish may sound, I was to have that wish come true shortly after the arrival of Tina and Brenda. As I said before, my parents were in the foster program as foster parents. That's how Tina came to us. That is also how Cheryl came to us. Cheryl was not a baby, however. She was a teenager!! Somewhere around 13 0r 14. Oh, happy day! A big sister of my own! And we could be good friends and I could follow her around and we would have such a great time!

I'm sure that all of you big sisters are thinking ~ "Yeah, right! I'm sure that went over well!" Let me remind you that I was about 7 - 8 years old. But, surprisingly it did go well! If Cheryl ever tired of my dogging her heels she never showed it. I always felt welcome. We shared a bedroom. My double bed was replaced with bunk beds. I, naturally, got the bottom bunk. We would lay in there at night and Cheryl would tell me stories of where she came from - somewhere in West Virginia - if I remember correctly. She'd had a hard time of it - problems in the family - I don't really recall any details. I just know it was necessary for her to leave. She'd dangle her leg over the side of the bed and I'd tell her to get her big foot out of my face. She wouldn't and we'd start arguing, not for real, though. I'd warn her that I was going to bite her foot if she didn't. She didn't believe me and I didn't believe myself, for that matter! This came to be our ritual nighttime argument. One night it just popped into my little head - wouldn't she be shocked if I actually did bite her? I lay there and thought about it for a bit as we conversed about other things of the day. I remember rationalizing how she HAD just taken a bath. How dirty could her foot be? And I wouldn't bite so hard as to really hurt her - just enough to get her attention. I finally found courage from somewhere and as we started the nightly "get your foot out of my face fight" and I warned her about the impending bite, being sure to sound like I really meant it this time - I simply sat up in my bed, grabbed her foot and sunk my teeth onto her big toe! Oh the squeals from both her and me! The parents are yelling about what all that racket is about up there! She pulls her foot free and flips her head upside down over the side of her bunk and looks at me with this look of total shock - but with a big smile covering her face! It was giggles the rest of the night! She only dangled her leg after that if she momentarily forgot about my toe noshing. When she'd remember, the leg would swiftly disappear up and out of sight.

Cheryl fit into our family quite well. She was a soprano, after all, and sang very well! It was at this time that my family was going around and singing for other churches at their Sunday services. Having Cheryl around to sing the lead allowed me to learn alto parts. Even as a little girl my voice had a lower range. I'm not sure if Cheryl was ever baptized but she did attend church with us and lived her life as we did. Well, . . . she tried. She had already had exposure to values and morals that were quite different from ours. My parents had their work cut out for them trying to teach her about the family rules - ones we were still learning ourselves.

I loved Cheryl deeply. It would probably be more correct to say that I worshipped and adored Cheryl - with all my heart. She was pretty. She let me help her with her hair, rolling it on large tin can rollers or ironing the natural curl out with my mother's iron. She'd lay her head on the ironing board and we'd splay her long hair down the board and I'd start ironing, taking care to not get the iron too close to her scalp. She shared secrets with me. On Saturdays we'd do our morning chores and then, when the mystery movie theater would come on the TV, she'd have me watch the scary movies with her in our front room in Clarendon. One particularly scary one we watched was "The Blob." We huddled together on the couch and pull our feet up just in case the Blob was hiding underneath! There was this other one that involved some sort of alien space craft that scared us pretty bad. I hated scary movies (still do!) but I wanted to be with Cheryl more than I hated watching them.

Cheryl taught me how to dance the latest dances. We had so much fun in that front room with her teaching me how to do the "Skate." I was taking tap dance lessons at the time but she was teaching me how to be "cool" and "groovy." She'd put on her Herman's Hermits album and we'd listen to Silhouettes over and over until she was satisfied with my performance! It's so hard for me to hear that song now and NOT want to do the Skate! She also taught me how to do The Jerk - I think to the dismay of my parents. They were probably torn between wanting to tell me that it wasn't appropriate for me to dance like that and wanting to laugh themselves silly watching their little chubby-legged girl jerking her body around like that! Too funny!! Also, learned through Cheryl's tutelage was the Twist and the Pony.

One of two pictures I have of Cheryl.

It is actually an oil painting my father did of her in 1970 - a copy of a school picture.

Cheryl just seemed to be everything I wanted to someday be. She had a megawatt smile with deep dimples. She wore makeup and fishnet stockings for crying out loud! She would let me try on her clothes and I just dreamed of the day when I'd be allowed to wear such sophisticated things like stockings and a garter belt! (I'm laughing myself silly just writing this but it's true!!) You see, before pantyhose, you had to wear this belt with little attachments that hung down to catch the top of the nylons so as to hold them up. The belt was over your panties but under your clothes. Fishnet stockings were the rage in the 60's! The fashion icon was Twiggy with her big eyes, short skirts, and plastic belts and accessories in bright colors. There was always a tug of war between Mom and Cheryl over her hemlines. I know that she left the house with them down to her knees but, after arriving at school, she rolled the waist band up so they would then be short. I used to beg my mother to let me wear the garter belt and stockings to school. She must have tired of the fight and decided she'd let me see just how unglamorous they really were. I wore them one day and I was miserable. Mostly because the belt didn't fit in the first place - nor did the stockings! I remember coming home during the day (we lived across the street from the school) and taking it all off and happily returning to school with my ankle socks!

I watched her put on her makeup and caught the makeup bug early! I was dying for the day when I'd get to wear makeup, too! My mother did not relent on this one - well, until the pixie haircut incident. I told you it was the perfect enticement to get me to do what she wanted!!

Truth be known, I wanted to do anything to keep Cheryl happy and allowing me to be around her. Anything! This makes for a fairly unhealthy companionship. Well, as long as the leader is minding their P's and Q's, it's OK. But, when the leader gets ideas that aren't too good, then you have trouble. I wanted to be cool like her. If she suggested something, I was game. This brought about some of the darker moments of my life as well as the joyous ones just mentioned. I tried cigarettes at this very tender age. I tried alcohol as well. We were still fairly new to the gospel, so it wasn't too far of a stretch to our minds to go ahead and try these things. I was put into dangerous situations escaping with much less harm than could have been. I won't go into all of these things as this is meant to be an uplifting account of my life. Perhaps I will share some of these more troublesome episodes another time - in another format. I will, however, relate the Idaho Falls incident in my next blog - a harrowing experience which cemented many truths in my mind and taught me, once and for all, that perhaps Cheryl wasn't always the best role model.

This playlist is filled with Herman's Hermits as we listened to them constantly! I mean, you can hear the British accent when they sing! We must have had a Petula Clark album or two because I also remember singing Downtown at the top of our lungs and it had been a hit in 1964 - a few years before Cheryl came along. But, we also sang Don't Sleep In the Subway which was a hit in 1968. Bubblegum Pop was our forte and we were proud! Yummy, Yummy, Yummy? Seriously? Yes!! I make no excuses. Perhaps we will be spared too much grief by the addition of such dignified numbers as Hey Jude and some Simon & Garfunkel songs. Instrumentals were still as strong as ever with Classical Gas and Love Is Blue. The Vogues had rich harmonies that rivaled The Lettermen. This is a great mix - one that I'm sure will be among my favorites!

Sister, Sister

1.  All You Need Is Love by The Beatles

2.  Incense and Peppermint by Strawberry Alarm Clock

3.  Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones

4.  Somebody to Love by Jefferson Airplane

5.  Brown-Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

6.  Don't You Care by The Buckinghams

7.  Up, Up and Away by The 5th Dimension

8.  How Can I Be Sure by The Young Rascals

9.  Don't Sleep In the Subway by Petula Clark

10. A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum

11. Alfie by Dionne Warwick

12. Everlasting Love by Robert Knight

13. Gimme Some Lovin' by The Spencer Davis Group

14. RESPECT by Aretha Franklin

15. Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye

16. Devil With the Blue Dress On by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

My leg surgery marked the beginning of about a four year span where many things happened in my life.  I think I'll just stay in this part of my life a little while and share more of these events. Today - the arrival of my sisters.

No - they aren't twins although many people tried in vain to see similarities that didn't exist.   We still chuckle about it today.  This is how you get two sisters without twinning - you adopt one and then your mom finds out she's pregnant!

My parents became foster parents and this decision made for creating some of the most memorable and life-altering times for me.  In March of 1967 we were told that an infant girl was ready to come to our home.  She showed up at our house in a little cardboard box only named "Baby Tiny."  I clearly remember the moment the box was placed on the table and I stood on my tiptoes and peeked over the edge at this new little creature who was invading my space.  I beheld the most exquisite little china doll I had ever seen.  I wanted to hold her!  I wanted to see her closer!  So I was situated on the couch with a pillow under my arm and Baby Tiny was laid in my arms.  She was so very small - the adults used the word "preemie" and I figured it was just another word for tiny.  Her hair was dark - soft curly wisps.  Her little face was perfectly round with an unbelievably tiny nose.  Her eyes were that amazing baby blue. And her lips were teeny - and rosy pink - as if someone had taken a fine paintbrush and painted them on.  I was in love!  My very own living, breathing, baby doll!  People always assume that I must have not liked it very much - this new baby coming and dethroning me from my position as baby of the family, only girl and princess supreme.  I don't remember any emotions other than complete love - even though she had colic pretty bad and would scream for hours.  She had charmed her place into our family although it was supposed to be temporary.  

As time went on we realized that giving her up would be impossible.  It wasn't customary for foster families to adopt the kids they fostered, however, we petitioned for adoption and were approved.  After all, we had named her - Tina, because it seemed the natural adaptation from Tiny - and walked the floor with her through her colic sessions, and she just seemed as though she was meant to be ours!  She fit right in!  What a relief to know we wouldn't ever have to say goodbye to her.

Somewhere in the middle of the adoption business my mother discovered she was pregnant! She told me later, when I was an adult, that they just hadn't been able to get pregnant after me and figured that they were done.  Surprise!  My sister, Brenda, was born in August, when Tina was just 5 months old.  I remember that I stayed out with my grandparents on their farm while Mom went to the hospital.  Would it be another boy?  I was so excited to know!  We got the call and, suddenly, I had two sisters!!  Two!!  Just a few months earlier I had been an only girl - now I had two sisters!!  Girls equaled boys now!  We were tied!  And we were a family of eight!

I had always wanted a big sister but that was impossible.  But, now, I WAS a big sister and my life would never be the same.  I began to learn about responsibilities and how the seemingly smallest things could be the biggest help.  I was introduced to the world of diapers and bottles, and quickly became proficient at both.  I found out that being the oldest girl was to be my mother's right hand - literally.  

My sister's were enough younger than I to make our being socially interactive difficult.  We never shared friend groups or makeup tips or hobbies, for that matter.  I was grown and out of the home before they were even out of elementary school.  But, that would come later.  

I was always sort of put in charge when my parents were gone so I think my role was more of pseudo-parent as opposed to sibling.  But I did it with gusto with often dismal results.  Brenda was short like myself so, as long as I was still at home, I was taller than her (she would pass me up eventually.)  Tina, however, was not short at all and towered over me before I knew it!  We still laugh at my efforts to try to get her to go to bed on time, with me standing with one hand on my hip and the other wagging a finger UP at her saying, "Now, I mean it!  Go to bed!"  And her pulling herself up to her fullest height and simply looking DOWN at me and saying, "Make me!!"  We'd start to tousle a bit - well, I'D start to try to tousle with her to make her get into the bed, but all she really had to do was firmly plant her feet on the ground and I couldn't budge her an inch!  She'd start to chuckle, which would make me mad, and I'd try harder.  Ultimately, though, she'd end up in bed, not because I harnessed some sort of super human strength and overpowered her, but because her chuckle would grow into outright laughter and she'd collapse onto the bed in a fit of giggles and I along side of her!  Lucky for me, Tina was never interested in giving me grief, which she surely could have.  Outside of me scolding her for always having her nose in a book I don't think we had many squabbles.  We were too busy trying to keep Brenda from doing things like paint the walls with poo, dumping the contents of yet another drawer into the fish tank, and sneaking various reptiles into the bathtub (which she usually shared with Tina.)  Brenda was constant motion - Tina was pensive.  Brenda, at age 2, strolled our neighborhood in Arizona buck-naked - we found her swinging on the swing a la Lady Godiva.  Tina would be furious if she even thought you might see her "naked."  Heck, forget naked.  She didn't even want to be seen in her undies!

I learned all of my mothering skills on these two girls.  Heaven help them!  I would find that these skills would be needed many times over during the rest of my life!

1967 is known as the "Summer of Love."  It certainly was for me - but not because of reckless abandon.  Quite the opposite.  It was when I learned the importance of responsibility and hard work and discipline.  I found the joy of a job well done.  I realized that others depend on you for things both physical and emotional.  I never realized before now how the 60's were considered the liberating years.  But, for me, when everyone else was cutting loose, I was hunkering down. Do I regret this?  Not at all!  I was finding love - not by turning inward but by serving others. These songs served as the background to this new life.  They mean something different to others, perhaps, but to me, they mean love in the purest form!