It is hard for anyone to believe that such a shy little boy, who always dropped his head when you just addressed him by his name, could possibly be as mischievous as what David was. Of all of our 12 children, I never had one who did so many unusual ornery things, and he was the shy one!

The above picture was taken when he was close to four years old. I was in the house busy with household tasks, when one of the girls came running into the house, out of breath, and said “Mama, guess where David is?” Now with David's past endeavors and imagination, that could mean he was almost anywhere. I could tell by the strained expressions that the situation was serious. I replied “Where is he now?” April said, “He is on top of the granary.”

I was on the verge of panic as I ran outside and there he stood straddling the peak of the roof, as proud as a Peacock with a wide grin to match. By the time I reached the granary, he had maneuvered himself to the east side and was babbling away to us. I knew if I scolded him he might get excited, try to run away and fall on the slick corrugated tin roof, so I gently talked to him, while trying to contain my anxiety.

Meanwhile, I gave orders for Jimmy and Wayne, Jr., to go to the west side of the building and to be very quiet, as they climbed up to where he was and rescue him. The plan worked well. We later found out that David had climbed an old bale elevator that was parked close to the west side of the granary, and then climbed onto the roof from there. I did scold him soundly, but only when he was safely back on the ground. David always minded and never did the same thing twice, but he surely could think up many more adventures to upset his Mama.