Robert Neal Watson


Robert Neal Watson, born to Henry Tolson Watson and Irene Watson (Howard) on June 21, 1954 at Cumberland Hospital. I was the fourth child with 3 older brothers Brian Michael (Oct. 7,1945), David Howard (Jul 18,1947) and Gary Tolson (Jan.4,1949). My younger sister Sherri Lynne was born Dec.13,1956. I always wondered if I was supposed to be one final try for a girl but my Mom said that wasn’t the case. I will talk about my parents and siblings at a later date. 


I think I had a pretty typical life growing up in a small town, except for the fact that my Dad was the school principal which had its advantages and disadvantages. I got a hard time on occasion from kids who had been disciplined by my Dad, who did all of the discipline in his schools, and we had our fence torn down once by unhappy students but because  I was so involved in sports  things were made much easier. 


The fact that my dad was the principal and had been such an outstanding athlete was something I was always aware of and felt I had to live up to. However compared to most of the people in Cumberland he was well paid which enabled us to go on summer vacations that most couldn’t. 


My Mom, Sherri and I travelled to England in 1962 and the whole family went in 1966. We also went to the PNE a few times and stayed in cabins at Qualicum a couple of times. Most people I grew up with probably never left the Island in their childhood. Mom and Dad also bought our cabin at Comox Lake when I was fairly young and we spent a lot of time there in the summers.


Most of my free time as a child was spent involved with sports, mainly unorganized. I played on organized teams in basketball and baseball out of school and on all school teams but they weren’t as organized or time consuming as they are today. We had pick-up games of hockey, football, or whatever was in season almost every day. I also played a lot of raquet sports (ping pong, tennis, badminton) and started golfing when I was 13. I actually don’t know how I had time for school, and I definitely didn’t have enough time for chores around the house. We were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted after school, although my Mom did insist I take  piano lessons for a couple of years. I wish I would have stuck with it. Having my best friend Richard living next door, other friends close by and 3 older brothers meant there was always someone around to do something with. My only real responsibility was my paper route, which I started when I was 7 or 8. We had to go to church and Sunday school when I was quite young but I was allowed to stop about the time I started my paper route.  Thinking back on it I believe that I left the church to enter the world of business.


I think I always enjoyed school as a kid, probably because I did well and was able to join all the school teams. One of those weird things that you always remember for me was the feeling I had in grade 5 when I was picked as Captain of my school house team. I still remember how surprised and cool I felt when I was picked.


Basketball starting taking over my life in grade 11, as our coach insisted that if you played basketball you couldn’t play another sport that could interfere with it. I guess there weren’t seasons of play then.  I can’t really complain as basketball probably led me to meeting  and getting to know Mom and has had a pretty big impact on my life. As Mom said, we will discuss our lives together later.


That pretty well sums up my early life in Cumberland. We will be going over other things that happened in our lives over the next year.  I feel very fortunate to have had the life I’ve had but there are a lot of things I would do differently if given a second chance. I was always afraid to try new things and take chances with life - I didn’t want to fail or stand out. I have always resisted change so most of the good things that have happened in my life wouldn’t have happened without Mom being there and convincing me to try them. I am so glad that all of you have taken after her and had the confidence to do what is right for you and your family. I am very proud of all of you.


Comments

  1. ChristineOctober 27, 2024 at 8:37 PM

    Awe, Dad - this is amazing! I don't think I ever knew that you took piano lessons or went to church. I am curious to see what you have to say about what you would have done differently. Thanks so much for writing! I LOVE this!

    ReplyDelete

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