Bike riding

I had an eighth birthday and it was my first bike I ever got.  I just wanted to ride it, like all day long for some reason or other or maybe for some good reason or other, I couldn’t ride my bike and I don’t remember which reason and on my birthday I got all emotional and freaked out about my bike because I feel like I couldn’t ride it anytime I want and I can’t remember much about it, or the reason but when I settled down I had fun riding my bike.  I used to ride my bike to watch them build houses right over our fence from Marble Drive and I had fun riding my bike.  There were times when I used to fall off my bike and get hurt.  I got emotional in such a way that I didn’t feel like riding home with my bike.  And I used to walk home and leave my bike at the new houses because I fell off my bike and got hurt.  It would have been more wise if I’d come home with my bike even though I fell off of my bike even though I didn’t feel like coming home with it.  And you used to take me to look for my bike.  Like I said I could have come home with my bike, walk home with it at least instead of you going to all that trouble to help me look for my bike.  And finally you got tired of me giving you the trouble about helping me with my bike and leaving it there that you decided that you were going to give my first bike to Joseph.  And finally, Joseph got his own bike for his birthday.  When we were at camp I used to ride my bike camping at Yosemite.  Way way back in the 70’s.  A year later, you got me a new bike on my 9 birthday.  And once you got me a new bike, you gave the first bike you got me to Joseph.  And on the 13th of July, I rode my bike without telling you where I was going so I got grounded from it for a time or so.  I used to ride along Davison drive when I was 9 which is too young to ride my bike there unless there is an adult with me to watch or someone you can trust to watch.  And then in 1982 through 1984 I used to ride my bike on dirt bumps and then I had lots of fun riding my bike on dirt bumps.  And then there was a time when I was running down and fell and hit my head and got hurt bad like back in 1982 or 83.  This time I don’t think I left my bike there like I used to and was wise to come back with it instead of you having to come down with me to find it.  And I once a few times I rode my bike to the fair grounds from Marble Drive to watch my brothers play baseball and I had lots of fun there and when I rode my bike home I got home like 3 minutes before you and dad got home in the van.  Three minutes at the very max before you got home.  And then I got a mountain bike for Christmas and I rode my bike and told you where I was going so you won’t have to worry in the end of 1996 and I ride my bike to Church unless it rains now these days.  And when I rains, I ride in the car with you so I don’t ruin my suit.  And that’s my story.

Copper Collection

Copper Collection
I used to love to collect copper. When I was in welding, I used to love to heat copper red hot and melt it.  But then later on, I heard from my welding teacher that heating copper caused toxic fumes whenever I heat it and melt it.  And then after that I no longer wanted to collect copper.  In fact I threw all my copper away because when I heat it, it gives off toxic fumes.  And if it didn’t give off toxic fumes while heating it up, I would have kept it and that’s my story.

Driving back in 1982

Here’s a story about our driving back in 1982 we had our van.  Remember our van?  So we were going back to Utah in the summer of 1982.  I got all upset and emotional because mom was going over 65 miles per hour and it was 55 miles per hour all over the United States even in Texas and through Nevada where the speed limit in now 80 miles per hour in Texas but only during the day and 65 miles per hour at night.  Yeah, so, the speed limit is now 75 through Nevada.  I used to get all upset because mom was going over 65 miles per hour in 1982 but if dad drove all the way I would have been happier.  Dad went over the speed limit and it didn’t bother me.  I was that way back then.  So you know what?  And if mom was going a little bit under 65 like 63 to 64 ½ I wouldn’t have been so upset in 1982.
So dad was following behind a huge big van and  he was doing about 60 miles per hour and that truck was cruising by us at 75 and dad later on was going more than 70 miles per hour and that truck still pulled away from him and….. later on when we were going back to Utah, mom was following a truck going 75 miles and hour and that’s why I was sad at the time we drove up to grandma and grandpa’s house.  If dad had driven all the way I would not have been so upset or in other words if mom was just doing 60 miles per hour I also would not have been so upset.
On the way home from Utah, dad was going nearly 75 miles per hour and that truck was still pulling away from him but the truck was pulling away from him and if he had kept up with it he probably would have gone 75 miles per hour and between those times I remember riding with dad in the van and dad didn’t go much over 55 miles per hour but you know what if dad had gone 75 miles per hour or faster I would have been happy and. . . dad used to drive us to our soccer practice and her used to exceed 65 miles per hour and that made me happy in 1982.
Also we were gong to Aunt Hope’s house to visit her and dad went down Kirker pass on the way home from Aunt Hope's, doing 70 miles per hour.  And that’s my story.
David 2006

New Homes

New Homes
When we first moved in Marble Drive, just in the first time we moved at Marble Drive there weren’t any houses over our fence, except down the street along Boulder. They put windows up before they put boards across roof frames, except the roof frames, are standing up. And I saw them put windows on before they put any parts of the roof up. A roofless house at Boulder already having windows in it. You know, they put paper over the studs. I saw them put garage doors on with only the black paper around the house – when we first moved at Marble drive. Over our fence there were only paved roads and sidewalks with no houses over our fence at the time. Only houses were started down at Boulder drive. And then they started building houses up the street up the street from Boulder and then finally they built houses over our fence. I used to love – enjoy, going over our fence exploring the houses walking through them. I felt like I actually wanted to be a carpenter when I grew up because I enjoyed those houses so much. You know the cemented house frames? They put cement before they put floor boards over the house. Sometimes they put floor boards across and then sometimes they would put plywood across the floor before they put cement in the garage. Sometimes they would actually lift up walls before they put cement in the garage. They would paint the house with cement paint over the house before they put garage doors up. Sometimes they still put garage doors up with only the paper around the house. They build all different ways. After they paint the house with cement they paint the outside house with real paint. Oftentimes they didn’t put windows in until they scattered the shingles on the roof. And that’s my story – pretty much. And I used to enjoy walking around our fence, riding my bike and had fun there watching them be built. In other places they put windows up while the roof frames were lying down on top of the house. And that’s my story.
David 2005

San Francisco

San Francisco
When I was about 10-years-old, yep, my teacher’s at Turner-Highlands school asked me if I wanted to go on a field trip. I said, “yes”. But the reason that I said yes, was that on one of my other field trips earlier on, I played on a swing and had fun on a swing and I thought that this new field trip would be the same and that I’d get to swing on a swing. And I thought it might happen again. But when I found out that I was really was going to go to San Francisco on a field trip – well I hated being at San Francisco so much that I freaked out when I learned that the field trip was going to be there. I got frustrated and so on. The reason that I didn’t like being at San Francisco was that I didn’t like looking back and seeing a little kid at the time like at the old school that I attended at San Francisco for instance. But then later on when we went as a family to San Francisco, I was unhappy at the time. I just wish I would have stayed home by myself instead of going. I just wanted to move on with my life to something new – like being at Marble Drive and at Turner Highlands school even better, I wished I was at Sutter School with my brother Joseph. Yep. And besides that it would have been closer to home than Turner Highlands school. But then later on I didn’t mind being at San Francisco so much and by the time I was twelve, I didn’t mind being at San Francisco at all. I just didn’t feel a bit bad. I just didn’t want to look back and remember being at the old school in San Francisco when I was little. One thing bad about being at school in San Francisco was that I wanted to stay home and be with my family, especially with my dad when I was four. When I was ten I didn’t like looking back and being reminded of being at school in San Francisco is all. But then later on when I was twelve I didn’t mind it a bit or feel upset in the least when we would go to San Francisco. One thing that I did like about San Francisco was all of the tall buildings.
And that’s my story.
David 2004

I had a spoon full of honey

When I was nine years old back in 1979, I sat next to the bee hives and I had a spoon full of honey and I enjoyed watching the bees eat the honey & go after the honey. I enjoyed seeing a bunch of bees going after the honey. But then a bee stung me on my back, I don’t remember exactly what part of my body got stung. It hurt pretty bad. And from 1979 on I was so scared to even go close to the bees since the time I got stung in 1979. I’d keep say, at least 20 feet away from the bee hives. I was so afraid when I was mowing the lawn I was too afraid to go by the bee hives to get the lawn mower into the front yard at Marble Drive. I was afraid to go close to the bee hives until the time we moved out to Concord Ave. And after the time we moved out I was still afraid to go close to the bee hives. And even today I’m still a little afraid to go near the bee hives. Whenever I get close to a bee hive I get really scared. I just didn’t even want to go even close to the bee hives when we lived at Marble Drive. And that’s my story.

Everest

I’d like to tell you about the exploration about Everest. At first you climb Everest and you’re at 8,500 feet. Yeah. And it’s beautiful and you go higher and higher and higher and you finally get to 10,000 feet and keep going up and up and up. And finally you reach 12,000 feet. Whoa it is neat up there. Yeah. You stop and rest there. You continue on higher 13,500 and then 14,200 feet. Whoa. The air’s getting thinner and thinner and thinner as you go up. Finally you make it up to 14,400 and it’s hard to breath whoa whoa ho ho and then 15,000 feet. Yet you keep going higher and higher and higher approaching 16,000 feet. You go much much higher still – then 17,000 feet. You make it to Everest base camp. It’s like a junk yard with discarded oxygen bottles. It is now extremely hard to breath. You might get weak and dizzy and it would be almost impossible to focus. Then keep going higher at 18,500. Then at 19,400 feet and then you get so dizzy and weak that you could fall down and not be able to move at all. It’s nearly impossible to breath it’s o high up. Up there there’s nothing but snow. You better watch yourself. There might be deep holes (crevasses) that are hundreds of feet deep. You finally just try and make it down safely and then you will be fine. You climb so high up and it’s so very hard to breath. The air is unbelievably thin. And that’s my story.

(David William Nielsen, Christmas 2001)

David’s Memory

David’s Memory 

I was the first one to make it to the top of North Peak. And then when we first went to saddlebag, I climbed the mountain by the lake when I was 14. A year later, I climbed the mountain again. I also climbed a mountain in Red’s Meadow when I was 17. I feel good when I’m up high on mountains, very good. I like looking down to the ground from way far up and it’s really neat up there. I like high altitudes. I would like looking down from the top of Mt. Everest. I like flying in airplanes. I love flying in airplanes. I like getting high scores on video games. I like high speed, high scores and high altitude. I like high numbers. I like to go to the library and look at books that have lots of pages in them. I like looking at the big numbers. When I was younger, I used to like writing numbers. I wrote numbers up to beyond 200,000. I know a faster way to write numbers. I can get beyond 200,000 like anytime I wish by writing how many squares there are. Say if there’s one square there - there’s 1 square and if there’s 2 squares by 4 squares that’s 4 squares and if you add 1 square to it that’s 5 squares and 3 squares seems to be 9 squares but it’s really 14 squares. That way I can get beyond 200,000 anytime I want and it’s lots and lots and lots faster and it doesn’t waste3 as much time as only writing by ones. I’ve gotten as high as I know how many squares there are. I’ve gotten to 10,000 X 10,000 squares which is 333 billion 383 million 335 thousand…..and so on. (David was doing all of this amazing math in his head while he was dictating this to me. Perhaps “squares” are a concept of mathmatics that’s understood out there in the world and perhaps not. But David understands it). I like speedometers and I like looking at speedometers. I especially like speedometers with high speeds on them.

 

Christmas 2000