John is strictly the "Dennis The Menace" type. He's not malicious, but he's a big tease. He loves to get a rise out of someone, and he is constantly thinking of schemes. He's a typical eleven-year-old. His birthday was March 2nd. John is one inch taller than his older brother Barry, and he won't let Barry forget it!
Two words that best describe John are energy personified. He's a born actor and is constantly entertaining - both on stage and off! John is a great talker and can usually get himself out of trouble because he has great excuses.
On the serious side, John can be very constructive with his hands. He can sit for hours (only when he's alone) and cut up papers. His tools usually consist of scotch tape, glue and paper clips, and he can be very artistic. He is very patient with tedious things.
John won't admit it, but he's very fond of Susie. When they are alone, they get along fine and play together, and John is the first one to worry if Susie doesn't feel well. He even takes out her storybooks and reads to her. But if "the other guys" are around, John pretends to ignore Susie. I guess all boys his age pretend to ignore girls, but I've caught him watching them just the same!
John is very close to Barry, and they are constantly together. They love building tree huts - and anything else you can think of. John usually comes up with the brainstorm and gets Barry enthusiastic about their new project. Their favorite is building a fort in their bedroom. They use the bunk beds and one sleeps on the bottom bed and the other on the floor. They make a mess of the room, but always promise to clean up afterward.
John's ambition changes from day to day. A year ago he wanted to be a garbage man, because "they come across a lot of neat things". Now he wants to fly by himself - not in an airplane but on his own - "like Mighty Mouse or Superman". Knowing John, he just might!
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Barry turned 13 on September 14th and notified us all that he is now a teenager and no longer a "little kid". Actually, Barry has always been very mature for his age. He is quiet (when not up to mischief with John), studious and very intelligent. In fact, he's an honor student at school and we are very proud of him. Barry must know the reason for everything and is always asking why? what? and how? His secret ambition is to be a surgeon. We call him our "mad scientist," because he is always inventing one thing or another.
Just before we left our home in Rhode Island to go on tour, Barry made a time machine. He used my vacuum cleaner, a record player, lights and some cartons. Susan was afraid to go inside it, but Barry and John spent days going backward and forward into time. With their imaginations, I'm sure it worked, too! I guess I was lucky I had an electric broom, since my vacuum was occupied by my two spacemen!
Barry is truly a wonderful person to have as a friend. He's like by both boys and girls, and he's always looking for new friends. This doesn't mean that he's fickle; indeed, he's very loyal to all his friends. Just the other day he asked me, "How can you tell a true friend?" because he felt that he had been deceived by someone he thought was fond of the real Barry and not just Barry the entertainer.
Barry has a terrific sense of humor and is full of adventure. He learned to scuba dive in our kitchen sink! The sink is quite large, so he put on his snorkel and John held his head under water until he learned how to breath properly. The ocean is in our backyard, and he has now progress to the real thing.
Barry is very honest; not only does he never lie - but he can't lie. Even when he's wrong, he'll admit it, and his dad and I respect him a great deal because of this. Barry gets lots of fan mail and he loves to answer it personally.
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