Excerpts from a 1948 diary written by Kathryn Worsley Pratt, the mother of James F. and John P. Pratt, called Jimmy and Johnny (or John Paul) therein. Jimmy was five and Johnny was two or three. They all lived with Kathryn's parents at 218 First Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah. Boldface italics were added by me (John) to indicate some of my lifelong interests were already visible at this tender age.
Wed 7 Apr 1948. I spent the afternoon reading Jimmy the classic myths. His fairy god mother left him a head of Pegagus to wear with his Robin Hood suit.
Mon 19 Apr 1948. When John Paul's face was sticky, I said, "Here, honey, let me wipe your mouth off." "Oh, no!" he cried in horrified tones as he covered his mouth with his hands. "I need it to put my spoon into! And what would I talk with?" I can see I'm going to have to be very precise when I speak to this boy too. I have already learned this with Jimmy.
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Sun 27 Jun 1948. Today Jimmy came home from Sunday School and had a puzzled look on his face. When I asked him what he was thinking about he said,. "When are they going to start calling me Jesus?" "I'm not sure what you mean," I answered, because I sure wasn't. "How are they going to tell us apart if we are all called Jesus?" "Who's we?" I asked, still at sea. "You know. Everybody at Sunday School when we ate the sacrament--we all promised to take upon us the name of his son and that's Jesus, but I haven't heard anyone called that yet. When will they begin and how will they tell us all apart?" I had quite a time explaining but young as he is he seemed to understand and was satisfied. What an amazing child to listen so closely.
Wed 7 Jul 1948. Listening to Jimmy and Johnny talk is my greatest joy. Listen to this while both babies were on the lawn, lying in Jimmy's favorite position looking at the sky. He's always quiet and loves to do this alone but Johnny was copying him today. After a silence when Jimmy had told him to "Be quiet so you can hear everything," Johnny said, "I can't hear nuffin'." Jimmy: "You have to be real still to hear the world ticking." Silence. Johnny: "Why are the trees so tall?" Jimmy thought a minute and then said, "There has to be something to hold up the sky." "Oh," said John, satisfied. "I dess dat's why dere's so many trees!" "Shh," said Jimmy. "You can't hear the air talk when you're talking yourself." "I can't the air talk when I'm not talking. I go now."
Tue 13 Jul 1948. John Paul has suddenly started talking, saying everything plainly and in complete sentences.
Mon 19 Jul 1948. My brother Bus is here again on his way to San Francisco. Tonight Jimmy was listening to "The Lone Ranger" and Bus told him he had seen the Lone Ranger in person in Denver. "What's his horse's name?" asked Jimmy and Bus didn't know. "It's Silver," said Jimmy disdainfully and continued listening to the program. He wasn't really convinced Bus had really met him.
Wed 28 Jul 1948. Jimmy loves to stretch out all alone and stare at the sky. He is a very deep thinker and I love to find out how his mind works. Today I quietly lay down beside him and asked him what he was thinking about. "Father in Heaven is so far up there it must be hard for him to see all the way down here." I didn't know how to answer so I remained quiet. "You told me that when we're good it makes his work a lot easier, so why doesn't everybody be good so he won't have to work so hard?" "That's what he'd like, I'm sure," I answered. Silence, and then, "I guess he could use a lot of help from all of us who are way down here and close to everything. It must be hard for him to be way up there when we're way down here. It's a good thing he's got his little boy to help him with all our prayers." This is an unusual little boy, and what a little old man he has always been.
Mon 2 Aug 1948. Just to give you an idea of how Jimmy's mind works, here's a conversation as we were trying to take our nap this afternoon. "Mother, do all mermaids have golden hair?" "I guess so now go to sleep." "Alright." Silence. "Mom, does a mountain go all the way up to the sky?" "Yes, except when you get to the top of the mountain it still seems as tho the sky is above you." "But the mountains just look little because we're so far away?" "Yes, now go to sleep." "Alright." Silence. "Mom, can you tear silk cloth if there's cotton in it?" "I guess so. Now go to sleep." "Alright." Silence. "Mom, why do clouds float in the air?" "Go to sleep, I'll tell you some other time." "Well, are the mountains above the clouds, or the clouds above the mountains?" "Both." Silence. "What can make a mountain break up or fall down?" "Jimmy, no more questions. Now go to sleep." "Okay." Silence. "Mom?" "What now?" "How big is a porky pine when it rolls up in a ball?"
Tue 3 Aug 1948. Typical of Johnny's speech is, "Hee doss bunts?" pointing to the buttons on his shirt, and counting them. "Hee doss bunts? Hun bunts, doo bunts, whee bunts ... bunts, bunts, no more bunts."
Wed 4 Aug 1948. John Paul was lying in his bed today trying to take a nap. After some time I realized that he was seeing the 24th of July parade all over again and imitating the comments I had made. He kept that darn parade going (and clapped over each float) until he didn't get a nap.
Thu 12 Aug 1948. "Does Father in Heaven have a sky on his heaven up in the sky?" asked Jimmy before we got up this morning. "I don't know, I've never been to heaven." "You were there before you were born," he replied. "Well, so were you and you were there since I was. It's not so long for you to remember." "But you've had a lot longer to think about it and remember so you should know more than I do." You can't win.
Mon 16 Aug 1948. Jimmy saw his first circus tonight. When the juggler closed his act by spinning rings on his head, one hand and both legs while hanging upside down, Jimmy piped up with, "He certainly is busy, isn't he?"
Fri 20 Aug 1948. Jimmy loves to look at the sky and Johnny sneaks up and quietly lies down
with him.
Johnny: What is sky?
Jimmy: It's just a lot of air rolling around deciding if it wants to be a cloud.
Johnny (thinks it over): How does the rain get up in the clouds?
Jimmy: I'm working on that. You know that pan of water we keep for our turtles? They didn't
drink it, but it all dried up. And Grandpa has to water the lawn every day.
Johnny: So what has that got to do with the clouds?
Jimmy: Well, where did the water go? Maybe it jumps in the air and goes back up in the sky so it's rolling around up there too.
Johnny: Wouldn't the sun dry it up again? It's closer up there.
Jimmy: Maybe that's why it hides in the clouds and makes rain.
Johnny (excited): And then it comes down and Grandpa doesn't have to water the lawn.
Jimmy (also excited): And then it goes back up and the lawn gets dry just like a circle. It comes
down and goes up and comes down and ...
Johnny: Yeah, dass wha Mommy says makes my ball bounce. What does up must come down.
Jimmy: Yeah, and the harder it comes down the higher it bounces.
Johnny (After a pause): She must have bounced a lot of balls when she was a little boy.
I am amazed at these conversations in such baby talk. Their thought processes and reasoning are far beyond their years. Grandpa can't understand Johnny, but what Jimmy says in his long talks with Grandpa leaves him flabbergasted.
Mon 30 Aug 1948. Jimmy knows he's going to start school next week. Tonight he said he was scared about school. When I asked what he meant, he said, "I'm scared the teacher will ask me questions I won't know." After I explained that at first they just play, he asked, "If I'm just going to play what's the sense in going to school?" "To learn to play with lots of boys and girls." "How long will it take?" "All the rest of your life, I'm afraid. Now go to sleep."
Tue 14 Sep 1948. Tonight Jimmy said, "One is two, two is four, three is six, four is eight, and five is ten! What is that, Mommy?" "I can't imagine. What?" "Popsicles!" he said triumphantly. "See, if I buy one I really get two because there's two sticks and you split them. See?" I saw alright and I liked what I saw.
Wed 15 Sep 1948. At Primary today the teacher said, "Now let's see if we can close our eyes quietly." Jimmy came to me puzzled. "But you can't make a noise when you close your eyes--see..." He winked violently. "Anyone can close their eyes without them making a noise."
Fri 1 Oct 1948. John Paul crooked his left arm and asked, "Which is my left arm, Mommy?" "That one," said I, pointing. "You mean this one with the owbow on it?" "Yes." "Is this one without the owbow my right arm?" He pointed to his straight right arm. "Yes," I answered again. Suddenly he bent his right arm too. "Look," he said triumphantly, "Now Daw Paw (John Paul) has two left arms!"
Wed 6 Oct 1948. We were going to go downtown before Primary, but I got a late start. I hesitated, saying "We won't have time to go downtown and get back for primary. Maybe we better not go." Then I said, "Well, I guess I'll take a chance." "Taking a chance is the worst thing you can do in this world," said Jimmy reprovingly. I hadn't told him gambling is a sin, so I was curious as to how he had discovered it. "How do you mean, dear ... in what way?" "I mean if you want to be on the safe side," he answered, "don't take a chance."
Mon 11 Oct 1948. John is truly my comforter as I always felt he would be. When he sees me looking sad or pensive, he'll say, "Don ty, Mommy. Don ty. Ayting otay, ayting otay. Ayting hone tee awite." (Don't cry, Mommy, don't cry. Everything's okay. Everything's going to be all right). With him to be with me I'm sure it always will be.
Mon 18 Oct 1948. Jimmy raked leaves with Uncle Bus this afternoon and then wrote poems tonight. I wrote them all down as he dictated them. He even told me where to make a new line. When it came to the last one he said, "And this one is called, 'I love my Uncle Bus.'" I thought, "Oh, dear, he is going to get sentimental," and thought he might say, "I love my Uncle Bus, he's so good to us." But instead he said, "I love to hear the leaves as they laugh and giggle around my ankles." "It's beautiful," I said, "but where does it say anything about Uncle Bus?" "Don't you remember? I helped Uncle Bus pile up the leaves today!"
Sun 24 Oct 1948. Bus has John Paul going crazy trying to leave the hole uneaten in the cookie or doughnut. He says he'll give the baby a nickel for every hole he can bring him. I hate to have him work so hard, but the whole family helps him and he is so cute that we can't help but go along with the joke. Today John Paul said, "Where does the hole go when I bite it?"
Fri 5 Nov 1948. Jimmy was reading a story about a cat and a mouse and I overheard this
conversation:
Jimmy: If a cat has kittens, why doesn't a mouse have mittens?
Johnny (Matter-of-factly): Because his hands don't get cold. They're too little.
Jimmy: A mouse doesn't have any hands.
Johnny: So he doesn't need mittens.
Jimmy: What's that got to do with a cat and her kittens?
Johnny: I didn't say that it did. You said that.
Jimmy: Now you've made me forget where I was.
Wed 17 Nov 1948. Johnny insists on having his cereal boxes lined up in front of him in a certain way and refuses to eat until they're in form like soldiers waiting for his command. I can't imagine why but this has been going on for a long time. This morning he was terribly excited. He came running to me lickety-split. "No hot, no hot?" (Know what?) "No, what?" I always go along with his "No hots." "Ho han heex, doss den!" "Let's see, you're saying 4 and 6, that's 10," I translated. "Hey, that's right. How did you know?" "Hone Hakes," he answered, matter-of-factly. "What has corn flakes got to do with it?" He grabbed my hand and took me to the kitchen, pointing triumphantly to the big letters 'CORN FLAKES' on the box. "Hee, Hee," he said pointing to each letter, "Hun, doo, whee, ho, hun, doo, whee, ho, hive, heex, hun doss den!" What a guy. I think he must see everything as figures instead of letters. Could that be?
Sat 27 Nov 1948. I'm getting more amazed by the minute the way Johnny is going crazy about figures. I left a calendar on the table; it's only good for another month. You'd have thought Johnny had found the pot of gold at rainbow's end. He hasn't put it down since. He's even trying to make figures with his crayons. "Doss hoot," (That's good), he'll tell himself proudly.
Thu 2 Dec 1948. Honestly, John Paul is the most amazing 3-year-old I've ever seen. Jimmy is amazing too, but in a different way. Today I thought Johnny was taking a nap and I found him all excited. He held up his hands and said, "Hee, hee!" and started counting on his fingers. "Hun, doo, whee, ho, hive, doss hoot," (that's good). "That is good," I said. "No, no!" he almost screamed with impatience. "Hee, hee," and he held up his other hand, "heex, hebben, hate, hine, den, doss hoot hoot!" "I see," I said, "ten is two goods, twice as good as one good. Five is good, but ten is two goods. We'll that's wonderful," and I meant it. Johnny said, "Donny know dot.... Hate, hate," he said as a new thought struck him, "Hate da meehat." So I waited a minute while he ran to his treasure box and got out his little savings bank (a round boullion can). He took ten pennies and showed me his fingers were like the pennies, then he took two nickels and showed me his hands were like the nickels. Then he put his hands together like clapping and said, "Doss a hime!" (That's a dime.) He was triumphant and I was overwhelmed. Whoever heard of a baby teaching himself arithmetic. His speech is hard to understand because he talks so fast and is so impatient when we don't understand, but his actions make what he means as plain as day. An amazing child. You should see him study a calendar that no other child would even notice.
Tue 11 Jan 1949. Jim said, "Mom, do you know that 4 and 4 are 8 and 4 more are 12 and 4 more are 16 and four more are 20?" "That's pretty good Jimmy. How did you know that?" "Oh, as Grandma would say, I'm an artist." John Paul said, "I'll have to write that down. Remind me."
Sun 6 Feb 1949. After Sunday School, I found Jimmy leaning over the back porch trying to get the icicles off the edge of the porch. He was very serious and almost in tears from frustration. "What are you doing, honey?" I asked trying not to show my fear. "I'm trying to get all these icicles for Sunday School." "Sunday School?" "Yes, but look how quick they melt, and they keep falling down and breaking." "Here, let me help. But why do you want them for Sunday School?" "They're for Heavenly Father." "Heavenly Father?" "Yeah, Sister Patrick told us to keep our icicles for Heavenly Father." "I see," I said but I didn't. "It's for his glory but if they all melt and break I can't keep them until Sunday School." Then I encouraged him to come in and get warm and work on it later.
I checked with Sister Edith Patrick and discovered she had told them to "keep their eye single to the glory of God, who is Heavenly Father." She was amazed when I told her how literally Jimmy had obeyed her.
Sat 28 May 1949. Jimmy has always been fascinated by the sky and spends a lot of time lying on his back on the lower lawn, hands folded back of his head, just gazing up at the sky. Johnny lies with him at times. The following conversation was overheard by me.
Johnny: Why do you always look at the sky?
Jimmy: Because it's always there. It's everywhere. It's so near you can touch it and so far away
ou can't see the end of it.
Johnny (after a pause): Why do we have sky?
Jimmy: So the clouds will have some place to roll around in. What would the birds fly in?
Johnny: Yeah, and the stars would all fall down.
Jimmy: Some of them do anyway but I think the stars are the pins that hold up the sky.
Johnny: Where are they now?
Jimmy: They're up there. We can't see them because the sun's so bright.
Johnny: Hey, das right! Das why we have night! Cause when the sky is dark we can see the stars!
Jimmy: Yeah. You know the time I like best?
Johnny: No, when?
Jimmy: When we sit the the swing after dinner and watch the sun go down and the stars start to
come out in the sky.
Johnny: And sometimes the moon is there before it gets ripe.
Jimmy: Yeah, and the people sounds go away.
Johnny: Yeah and the quiet sounds get all around you.
Jimmy: Yeah, that's the night. It's quieter than day.
Johnny: And just when it's dark enough to see a bunch of stars we have to so in and go to bed.
When I grow up I'm going to watch the stars all night.
Jimmy: And I'll watch the sky all day.
Johnny: So will I. Know what?
Jimmy: No, what?
Johnny: I like to talk sky talk with you.