My Son Jimbo
For those who never knew him …

Little guy (cont’d)

[Written by Jimbo's mother in her book]

Wanderlust

His insatiable curiosity and independence got him “lost” anytime I looked the other way. The first time was in Murphy’s store; he had discovered the escalator. Frantically searching, I arrived at the top of the escalator, just in time to see a little blond toddler heading for the door. My booming voice may not have stopped him, but a kindly lady sized up the situation and she did.

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The scariest time was at a campground in the middle of hundreds of uninhabited wooded acres in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Marion and Jimbo were bugging me about something, so in a fit of irritation I told them to get lost — and they did. It was dark when they finally straggled back to their frantic family.

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I lost him at COSI, the Zoo, and the Art Museum. At the State Fair I was in a panic until I heard the usual announcement over the loudspeakers about a “little boy in blue jeans and a red shirt …” etc.

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After that, whenever I took my outgoing, adventurous toddler anywhere, I tied a long closthesline around his middle. At the supermarket, when I heard a disapproving voice stating that leashes were for dogs, I observed that that was okay, “My son thinks he’s a dog, and don’t get too close or he’ll bite.”

Dogs

Actually I wasn’t too far off the mark. Jimbo adored animals, so much so that I worried lest he get involved with a big set of teeth. But I guess dogs know who’s their friend. 

He asked me one day if he could go out and pay with his friends. When I looked out to see who his friends were, I saw two dogs. So he’d have a supply of people friends, I sent him to nursery school at three, a happy event for both of us.

Tags: dog, jimbo, lost boy