There are many times we sit around the kitchen table or in the living room, and stories of Jack's many antics, hijinks, and humor are recalled. Tommy suggested that we keep a log to record these stories, which we began to do several months ago. We will share some of our favorite "Jack Stories" with you. If you have your own favorite Jack Story, send it to us and we will post it (assuming of course it is suitable for audiences of all ages!).
Basketball "daze"
When Jack was about 6 years old, he took his first classes in basketball at the YMCA. There was one practice where all the kids were spread out along the baseline, and instructed to dribble and keep count of how many they did. Jack spent most of the drill talking to the kid next to him and swatting the balls away from other kids, paying absolutely no attention to the few times he did dribble. The coach then went down the line, asking each kid how many times he dribbled. Jack was too busy talking to the kid next to him to hear that part of the instruction as well. Suddenly the coach loomed over him and asked him how many times he dribbled. I watched with interest and wondered how Jack would respond to this as he stared up at the coach with a blank look on his face. But he wasn't taken aback at all, and cooly replied, "same as him" pointing to the kid next to him. It was another case of Jack thinking quickly and avoiding trouble.
Jack and "the Big Guy"
(this story recalled by Jack's Aunt Sal)
Jack was perhaps three years old the year the Doyles had made the trek from Wauwatosa to Aunt Sal and Uncle Bob's home in St. Paul, MN for the Christmas holiday. As usual, Aunt Sal had decorated the house to the hilt, including a 10-foot Christmas tree. Now, this was no ordinary Christmas tree. It was dripping with rare and fragile glass ornaments that Aunt Sal had collected over the years. When the Doyles arrived on Christmas Eve, the first thing they did was enter the living room to admire the tree. And the first thing Uncle Bob said was, "Whatever you do, Jack, DON'T TOUCH THE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS!"On Christmas morning, Uncle Bob arose early to dress up like Santa and deliver the gifts. Megan, Tommy, and Jack were already awake but waiting patiently in their beds. Aunt Sal told them to look out the front window. There was Santa Claus, walking up the front walkway with a sack of toys! Megan and Tommy smiled at each other. "H-m-m-m," they thought. "Santa looks an awful lot like Uncle Bob." However, Jack seemed to buy right into the idea. When the kids greeted Santa at the front door, the first thing Jack said to him was, "Whatever you do, Santa, DON'T TOUCH THE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS!"Aunt Sal was pleased. "Jack really thinks you're Santa," she whispered to Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob replied, "No way. He's just giving the business right back to me!"
Jack at Halloween
Jack was truly a candy "monster" - he would go to incredible lengths and effort to gather as much of the treats of Halloween as possible. His Halloween weekend would always begin with the Pasadena neighborhood night time trick or treating on Saturday evening. This was a fairly short route that could be finished before the official hours were up, so Jack would do the route, return home with his bag of goodies, and change his mask so he could repeat the route again unnoticed! The following Sunday afternoon during the official Tosa trick-or-treating he would be sure to be the first one out at 1:00 PM, and he would absolutely not stop until the 4:00 PM end time. Sometimes when he was very little he would have to stop to rest his legs, and though encouraged to just go home because he was so tired, he never would relent - he had to complete the route. Incredibly, his 10 or 20 pounds of candy would disappear in just a week or two, while Tommy's candy would last until after New Years.
When Jack was about 6 years old, he took his first classes in basketball at the YMCA. There was one practice where all the kids were spread out along the baseline, and instructed to dribble and keep count of how many they did. Jack spent most of the drill talking to the kid next to him and swatting the balls away from other kids, paying absolutely no attention to the few times he did dribble. The coach then went down the line, asking each kid how many times he dribbled. Jack was too busy talking to the kid next to him to hear that part of the instruction as well. Suddenly the coach loomed over him and asked him how many times he dribbled. I watched with interest and wondered how Jack would respond to this as he stared up at the coach with a blank look on his face. But he wasn't taken aback at all, and cooly replied, "same as him" pointing to the kid next to him. It was another case of Jack thinking quickly and avoiding trouble.
Jack and "the Big Guy"
(this story recalled by Jack's Aunt Sal)
Jack was perhaps three years old the year the Doyles had made the trek from Wauwatosa to Aunt Sal and Uncle Bob's home in St. Paul, MN for the Christmas holiday. As usual, Aunt Sal had decorated the house to the hilt, including a 10-foot Christmas tree. Now, this was no ordinary Christmas tree. It was dripping with rare and fragile glass ornaments that Aunt Sal had collected over the years. When the Doyles arrived on Christmas Eve, the first thing they did was enter the living room to admire the tree. And the first thing Uncle Bob said was, "Whatever you do, Jack, DON'T TOUCH THE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS!"On Christmas morning, Uncle Bob arose early to dress up like Santa and deliver the gifts. Megan, Tommy, and Jack were already awake but waiting patiently in their beds. Aunt Sal told them to look out the front window. There was Santa Claus, walking up the front walkway with a sack of toys! Megan and Tommy smiled at each other. "H-m-m-m," they thought. "Santa looks an awful lot like Uncle Bob." However, Jack seemed to buy right into the idea. When the kids greeted Santa at the front door, the first thing Jack said to him was, "Whatever you do, Santa, DON'T TOUCH THE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS!"Aunt Sal was pleased. "Jack really thinks you're Santa," she whispered to Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob replied, "No way. He's just giving the business right back to me!"
Jack at Halloween
Jack was truly a candy "monster" - he would go to incredible lengths and effort to gather as much of the treats of Halloween as possible. His Halloween weekend would always begin with the Pasadena neighborhood night time trick or treating on Saturday evening. This was a fairly short route that could be finished before the official hours were up, so Jack would do the route, return home with his bag of goodies, and change his mask so he could repeat the route again unnoticed! The following Sunday afternoon during the official Tosa trick-or-treating he would be sure to be the first one out at 1:00 PM, and he would absolutely not stop until the 4:00 PM end time. Sometimes when he was very little he would have to stop to rest his legs, and though encouraged to just go home because he was so tired, he never would relent - he had to complete the route. Incredibly, his 10 or 20 pounds of candy would disappear in just a week or two, while Tommy's candy would last until after New Years.