His Quiet Presence
As a little boy, Nick was a pleasure to his siblings. Being so medically involved and not ambulating until age 4, Nick posed no threat to toy ownership, vying for dinner table food, or selecting leisure activities for the evening. When younger sister, Mari, began to walk at one year of age, older sister Diane found it intolerable that Nick could not do the same. She made it her singular objective in her time spent with Nick to practice his steps regularly long before the days of baby walkers. Through her persistent efforts, Nick did learn to ambulate. However, he much preferred sitting cross legged, with each leg completely circumventing his hips to provide stability in the vertical position.
Television was just gaining popularity in the late 1950s. Nick could position himself six inches from the TV set, which was the limit of his visual clarity, and revel in the newest TV shows including Bonanza, Leave it to Beaver, Perry Mason, Jack Benny, the Ed Sullivan Show, and Dennis the Menace. Once his dinner was swallowed, Nick would settle in his cross-legged position for a two hour stint, with no arguments about channel selection since choices were limited. Then it was bath time and bedtime so that Margaret could tuck the others into bed once Nick was settled for the evening.
Bedtime always started in the kneeling position doing choral recitations of nightly prayers. "Hail Mary full of grace," or "Our Father". It was a precious sight to behold, children of all ages in their comfy night clothes, kneeling side by side with Mom and Dad, enjoying this religious ritual. Once in bed, all three children were kissed good night while the three older girls finished their homework in the living room.
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