PERSONAL PAGE FOR Steve Hodgin |
PERSONAL PAGE FOR Steve Hodgin |
The purpose of this page is to share personal information about myself with those who have spoken with who might have questions about my life past or present. I will share spiritual thoughts and personal philosophies about life and love based upon my limited understanding. I certainly do not disregard the philosophies of others unless they are so extreme or illogical as to not merit appreciation. CHILDHOOD YEARS I was born in St. Charles, Missouri on November 13, 1951. My parents were were travelling due to my father's job working in the gas pipeline construction industry. I lived in 27 states and Canada before I was 5 years old. Perhaps that life style instilled a bit of wanderlust in me. My birthdate causes me to fall under the Scorpio sign of the Zodiac. I have never placed a great deal of faith in this, as so many people do, but I can hardly contradict this philosophy since so many traits of Scorpio do actually apply quite aptly to me. My parents "settled" in Plainfield, Illinois when I was five years old. Dad still travelled with the pipeline, while Mom stayed home with the kids. I was the oldest of five. I have one brother, and three sisters each spaced out by two years. (My brother is the most "spaced out" of all of us...lol). By reason of birth order I was generally left in charge whenever Mom was shopping or away from the home. My parents were strict disciplinarians which was in some ways a good thing and in some ways detrimental. I see kids today who are rebellious and disrespectful towards their parents who would benefit greatly by a good spanking. Spankings should be administered fairly and in a spirit of love, not anger. Modern parents do not understand this vital difference, so by throwing away corporal punishment they quite figuratively are "throwing the baby out with the wash". Not all children need to be spanked. I have raised 5 of my own. Some were so compliant they required very little discipine at all. One was so soft in spirit she cried to be scolded. Another was so self willed, there were times I believed one of us would not make it to her 16th birthday yet sane. Each child has to be treated in accordance with who they are. I was a skinny and non-athletic child. I was not a bookworm either, although I did enjoy the Hardy Boys books and loved stories about animals. "Big Red" was one of my favorites. I also enjoyed any reference books about animals, amphibians, birds, etc. I was quiet and always in a daydream. School was difficult for me. Kids picked on me for various reasons. In the first grade I was made fun of for taking my teddy bear to school for show and tell. My teddy bear had always been my closest and safest companion. One thing I learned early in life is that kids can be cruel, and that those who are not, will seldom come to the rescue of those who are being picked on lest they themselves become victims. At home I was the boss in the absence of our Dad ( a job I grew to hate). At school I was as obscure as possible so as to not be seen, yet I had this crazy sense of humor, usually involving puns or word play which often brought me to the limelight and often got me in trouble. As a child, play time for me consisted of building roads and bridges in the sand and gravel. I loved "Tonka" toy trucks, tractors, cranes and graders. Due to my stature I never took a real interest in any sports until high school when I discovered I was good in gymnastics. As I grew older I enjoyed fishing and exploring the creek bank, examining the various types of frogs, turtles, fish, snails, plants etc. that I found there. One day I caught 2 Rock Bass which exceeded the state fishing record by several ounces each, but I would not discover that fact until I was in my twenties! |
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Summers were either spent in Colorado where my Dad was raised or in Mississippi where my Mom was raised. Here you see a picture taken after a fishing trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. My brother is pictured on the right and I am on the left. Along with several family members, we have caught over a hundred trout in the past few days, which we will freeze and take home to eat. It is a shame I fished so well but never acquired much of a taste for the catch! |
TEENAGE YEARS My family moved to Morgantown, Indiana when I was in my sophomore year of High School. There, I was for some reason considered to be bright and witty, and was one of the most popular guys on campus. My self esteem soared. For the first time in my life "I was somebody". My parents saw this new found popularity with different eyes. My Father was appalled to the extent that we moved back to our old house in Illinois. My Mom and Dad built that house from scratch, using beams from an old barn for the floor trusses. |
SPIRITUAL My Mom and Dad started going to church when I was 7. Dad had walked the aisle at a Billy Graham Crusade in Chicago. His life was changed in many ways. I could remember the kitchen littered with booze bottles after many parties they had with friends. I had tasted the wicked substances they had left behind and often wondered why??? Initially they took us to a Methodist church, but soon they moved attendance to a very conservative Baptist church in our home town. It was in this church that I first made a confession of faith in Christ. After a Hellfire and brimstone message, during a revival I walked down the aisle knowing full well that Hell was not for me! Each Sunday morning and evening along with Wednesday evenings found our family in attendance. The church was the very center of our lives. The families that we knew there were close to us in many ways. That church got into a squabble later on and split up, so we started going to another Baptist church in a nearby town. The influence my faith derived of this background was so strong that eventually I would attend a Baptist college. |
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To the right you can se my brother on the left and me on the right, proudly holding our catch of Bass, Catfish and panfish caught at Lemon Lake, Indiana her we had a cottage on the lake for a summer. |
Below you see a picture of the house my parents built while in Illinois. This is the house I grew up in. Behind the house is a creek where I spent most of my time fishing as a boy. Upstream was an old iron bridge and wooded area where I used to play and sorta hide from the world. |
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Childhood Memories Link to be added later |
School Pictures Link to be added later |
