Curiosity

Jory at 3 years old

Jory's radio

Jory was curious by nature.  He was acutely aware of his surroundings, both physical and auditory, and wanted to know everything about them.  His first word was radio, closely followed by battery.  As soon as he was strapped into his car seat, gleeful requests from the back seat squealed “Radio!  Radio!”  At home, he turned the knobs on an old portable radio, to hear the different sounds and volumes the magic box could produce.  When the radio stopped working, he ran to Daddy, with the radio in his hands, shouting “Batteries!  Batteries!”  For a number of years, he thought the whole world worked on batteries, so when a wind-up toy stopped working or the hot water tank leaked, his simple solution was for us to change the batteries.  

The insides of Jory's radio

There were always wooden jigsaw puzzles on the toy shelf and Jory delighted in taking them apart and putting them back together.  He was really adept at it and one day decided to investigate the radio in the same manner.  He was singing along to the radio broadcast, but soon the singing became Jory's loud humming, followed by concentrated, intermittent, soft humming.  I didn't hear the radio anymore and decided to investigate.  Three year old Jory was sitting on the floor surrounded by radio parts, his beloved batteries and radio casing scattered in a semi-circle with him at the center. 

Jory's radio put back together

“Oh, no!” I shouted.  “What did you do?”  I gathered all the pieces and placed them in a box.  “We’ll give these to Daddy when he comes home,” I said as I put the box on the kitchen counter.

“No,” replied Jory, “Radio on the toy shelf.”

“Ok, but Daddy will fix it after dinner,” I responded as I placed the box at the far end of the toy shelf.   

I distracted Jory with a different toy and went back to preparing dinner.  A little later, I heard the radio blaring as though someone was looking for a particular station and twisting the knob until it was found.  Jory was holding the radio with a huge grin and singing along to the music.  He had put all the components back together, installed the batteries correctly, and re-snapped the plastic case.  I was amazed!  Now, I could hardly wait for Sam to come home from work to hear about Jory's latest mischievous adventure.

A year later, Jory went shopping at the supermarket with Grandma Edna.  He was too big to sit in the cart, so he was free roaming down the aisles.  When they got to the toy section, he was excited.

“If you are a good boy,” explained Grandma, “you can choose a toy.”

Cowboy Toy Handcuffs

Jory was thrilled and picked out several possibilities until he found just the right one.  There on the shelf was a pair of metal cowboy handcuffs with a tiny, shiny key.  Grandma gave him a nod with a smile and he carried the toy through the market, guarding it with both hands.  While Grandma was picking out fruit and vegetables, Jory was opening the box to his toy.  He let it slip from the cardboard box, immediately retrieving the key from the floor.  Carefully, he inserted the tiny, shiny key to see if it worked.  It did, and he jumped up and down while giggling.

Supermarket check out rail

Grandma guided the cart and Jory to the checkout stand and, while she was placing groceries on the counter, Jory was busy trying out his handcuffs.  He took one and tightly closed it around his left wrist.  The shiny aluminum railing alongside the checkout aisle seemed to be a perfect place to attach the other cuff.  Holding the key and the handcuffs was a bit tricky, so Jory had placed the tiny key on the checkout stand behind the cash register.  Once he was securely tethered to the rail, he tried to reach the key, but his hand slipped and the tiny, shiny key slipped into the crack between the counter and the cash register. 

Meek and timid Grandma Edna was flustered and beside herself.  Her 4-year-old grandson was shackled to the market checkout railing and the key was lost behind the cash register.  After several unsuccessful attempts to dismantle the counter, the cashier called the store manager.  He ran to the toy aisle, where he futilely tried to find another handcuff toy.  While the store manager contemplated how to take apart the railing, the box boy was sent to search the storage area for more handcuff toys.  

Meanwhile, quite a crowd had gathered around the check stand and one helpful customer suggested that the paramedics be called.  Grandma Edna was entering the twilight zone, thinking this had to be an out-of-body experience.  How could she explain this to the parents?  Jory was all smiles and enjoying the circus around him when the box boy returned empty handed.  The store manager proceeded to disassemble the check stand until he could reach to the very back.  His fingers, full of dust, felt around until they found the key.  He  inserted the tiny, shiny, key into the handcuffs.  With a full turn, the handcuffs opened and Jory was free.

“Why did you do that, Jory?” asked Grandma Edna with relief. 

“I just wanted to know how they worked,” replied Jory.

Canadian Goose Egg

A year or so later, in Grandma Edna's backyard, Jory found an abandoned goose egg left from migrating Canadian geese. He came into the house smelling horrific. Grandpa Morris immediately ushered Jory outside. 

"What did you get into?" he asked. "You and the whole house smell like sulfur." 

"I found this egg under a bush and the mother wasn't there, so I sat on it for her," Jory replied.  "I feel terrible that I broke her egg," he added with tears in his eyes. 

"Let's hose you off out here and then you can take a bath in Grandma's tub. Meanwhile, I'll call your Mom to tell her to bring you clean clothes," answered Grandpa. 

When Jory was in third grade, our closest neighborhood kid began kindergarten. Since Jory walked to school each morning, Christo’s mom decided that he should walk with Jory. Even though I told her that he was easily distracted and had a history of dawdling along the way, she insisted that Christo should walk with Jory.

Broken beer bottles

One day, a few minutes after the morning bell rang, both Christo’s mom and I received phone calls from the Principal, Mr. Sullivan. It seemed that the boys found some empty glass beer bottles along the way to school. They carried them to the crossing guard’s corner and waited for him to help them cross the street. Then they walked up the hill to the driveway where school busses and parents were delivering children to school. Right at the entrance to the school, Jory and Christo took deep breaths and heaved the bottles with all their strength onto the pavement. Glass shattered everywhere, bringing the principal and bus duty teachers running. A huge crowd of children gathered around as Jory, grinning from ear to ear, explained to Mr. Sullivan that he always wondered how it would sound to hear bottles breaking on the pavement. Sometimes curiosity got Jory into trouble. Christo's mom, irate and fuming, called me immediately, stating that she still liked Jory, but from then on, he could walk to school by himself.

Jose Way and Domingo Road

As a fourth grader, Jory walked home from school one day with his jacket pockets full of heavy chunks of asphalt. I didn't discover it until I was doing the laundry and found the jacket weighted down. I had to carefully dislodge these two heavy, black masses before the jacket could be washed. I called Jory into the laundry room.

“What is this and why is it in your pockets,” I asked, relieved that it wasn't something worse and oozing.

“Mom, you mixed them up! How will I know which one is Jose Way and which is Domingo Road?”

“Those are both neighborhood streets,” I answered.

“Yep, but I wanted to know if they were different and now I don't know which is which!”

The city was repaving our streets and Jory was curious about the process. I had never given much thought about asphalt. I was more interested in protecting the washing machine.

It was always quite disconcerting when other parents, teachers, or principals called us to complain about what Jory did or did not do.  As parents, we were alarmed and it was difficult to stay calm and cool.  We didn't want Jory to be in trouble, yet when he made poor decisions, we wanted him to learn from them without having to repeat the behavior.  His antics were unpredictable and the pressure from other adults was seriously overwhelming. It took us time to recognize what we always really knew:  Jory was NOT devious or malicious.  He was intellectually curious.  We were most always conscious of not squelching that curiosity, even when we had to punish him when he was wrong, advocate for him when needed, and withstand popular pressure when it was biased.

In high school, the principal called to say that the entire brass section of the band was being suspended from school. I asked him if he had asked Jory if he was involved in offensive behavior.

"No," he replied.

"Don't you think that you should ask him what he did at the football game that landed him in the principal's office?" He did, and Jory responded that he didn't do anything but play his trombone.

Troy band at an away game

"What do you think I did?" asked Jory.

"Did you moon the opposing team during halftime?"

"Are you crazy?" responded Jory. "Why would I do that?"

Jory had decided to play in the high school band that semester, but not to be a part of the band geeks social group. He was not privy to their plans and was so focused on playing his trombone that he was totally unaware of what the other kids were doing. 

We felt vindicated that we had trusted in Jory. We were supportive of him, while standing up to authority.  With a kid like Jory, we had to learn to discern and question assumptions and politely suggest fact finding before making decisions. Jory was not suspended.

COMMENTS:  

Click on Jorysmother@gmail.com to send comments.

Jory Prum     January 29, 2009

When I was 3 years old I took apart a radio and put it back together again. And it still worked!

I handcuffed myself twice and could not escape easily. The first time was with my grandma at a grocery store. I convinced her to buy me a set of toy handcuffs. I promptly cuffed myself to the register and then the little plastic key fell through a crack in the register and they ended up having to take apart the entire check stand to get it. Then the keys kept breaking! The second incident was at Danny Ronen's house. There was a real set of handcuffs hanging on the back of his door. I cuffed myself behind my back and then learned that they didn't have a key! I seem to recall managing to get my arms rotated in front of me, but I can't recall how we picked the lock.

I got in trouble for breaking beer bottles on the sidewalk in front of my elementary school. I just wanted to see what it was like to break a bottle! 

When I was 9, all the roads in my neighborhood were repaved. I used to walk home (always the long way, since I wasn't allowed to go the shorter route) and would be bored during my 45-minute walk. My mom was doing laundry and came across my soccer windbreaker and its heavy pockets. She looked inside and found the pockets were full of asphalt! When she asked me what was in my pockets, I replied, "The left one is Domingo Road and the right one is Jose Way!"

Jim Bolner

I’m deeply touched every time I read one of the Jory blog entries.  It is so heartening to know that there is such love in the world.  You and Sam are such terrific parents; your approach to parenting Jory is a model.  Please know that your work on these blog entries are truly appreciated.

Connie De Gerolamo
What a great story . . . laughed and laughed over the handcuffs.

Calle Schrader
Loved the article, Leslye, thank you!  Jory was brilliant from the get-go; can’t imagine a child putting a radio back together other than him.  Love the first picture of him too; always had that wild hair!  Thank you for keeping me updated.

Bobi Hirschbein
 I love reading about your beautiful boy.  Thank you for including me.

Marianne Smith
Thanks for sharing the link to your blog.  I really enjoyed reading the entries; I wish I had had a chance to meet Jory.  Clearly he was incredibly special.

Jim Bolner

I’m deeply touched every time I read one of the Jory blog entries.  It is so heartening to know that there is such love in the world.  Youand Sam are such terrific parents; your approach to parenting Jory is a model.  Please know that your work on these blog entries aretruly appreciated.

Pamela Boscoe

You have such a good memory.  Thanks for including me in your blog.

Sandy Duman

Love these sweet stories!

Molly Presser

What funny stories! It must have been hard to deal with his mischief, but it's a good thing he had special patents who recognized him as just being smart and curious!

Gail Hara

These stories are hilarious. I had such a laugh this morning reading the stories especially the one about the goose egg. What a smart kid.

Judy Howell

I just finished reading “Curiosity”.  I loved it.  The incidents are so funny and amazing, if I could get Ed away from his computer, I would tell him some of the funny things that Jory did.  I also read the story about books.  I found it very interesting too, as you can imagine.  Thank you for writing these stories.  I really enjoy them.

Barbara Davis

I really enjoyed your story about how you nurtured your son Jory's creativity in so many ways. I'm a little envious that you remember so much about his childhood. It was really well written material, I thought.

Geri Downs

As usual. I enjoy tremendously reading about Jory. What a guy. 

Elaine Asa

it is Erev Hag here in Israel and more or less we have finished cooking and so I decided to take a break and laid down with my feet up and to my delight took the time to read your curiosity blog About Jory.  It brought laughter to my tired body but left me so inspired as I am about to celebrate Pesach. What a gift Jory was to your family and what a challenge to those who did not understand him but then again he,was a challenge even to those who knew and loved him. You and Sam deserve so much credit for not squashing that creativity and curiosity.

Linda Saslow

What a fun installment!

Barbara Levine

Jory has an amazing mind.

©   Leslye J. Prum   2017   All Rights Reserved

Undercover Bookworm

Jory's first set of wheels.

Jory was always running, jumping, and zipping from one activity to another.  As a toddler, he was curious and adventurous, constantly in motion, yet easy to track down because singing aloud betrayed his hiding places.  His energy level never seemed to decrease as he pushed cars and trucks along the floor, built towers with wooden blocks, and explored how things worked by taking them apart and putting them together again.  

Along the wall in the family room, was a makeshift, low to the ground, bricks and boards shelf where toys were supposed to be put away at night, along with books that were stacked for easy access.  Jory was easily frustrated, especially when that last block on top of his skyscraper teetered and fell, causing all the others to tumble down.  He’d stop singing, sputtered and grunted, as he scattered all the blocks around him.  With giant tears rolling down his cubby cheeks, he'd head for the toy shelf to bring me a book.  I'd scoop him up, kiss away his tears, and we'd cuddle up on the yellow rocking chair to read funny stories and fizzle away his vexation.  

Jory loved toys with lots of parts.

By the end of each day, he was exhausted, but equally so wound-up that he resisted going to sleep.  I always attempted a routine of putting away the toys and books on the shelves so that we could begin each new morning with a fresh start.  Often, I was equally exhausted and rationalized that all those scattered toys on the floor were really an excellent burglar alarm for anyone entering the house in the dark.  The robber would likely break his legs tripping over all the trucks, trains, balls, and various other toys strewn over every available floor space.  The burglar would choose to run away, limping as fast as he could out the door.

At bedtime, we all looked forward to the quiet calmness of reading books and stories.  One of Jory's favorites was Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy World with the story of "Schtoompah and his Tuba."  Jory chose it as the theme for his third birthday party.  January 31st in Southern California is usually a mild and beautiful day, so friends and family gathered in our backyard for Jory's birthday celebration, which featured a tuba serenade provided by a local college student and a tuba cake that I made.  Sam read "Schtoompah and his Tuba" to the children.  Jory, wearing his favorite lederhosen, just like Schtoompah, was thrilled.  He even got to blow into the shiny tuba, jumping up and down as he heard the deep sounds that burst forth.

Jory's third birthday party featured a tuba story, a real tuba, and a tuba birthday cake.

Saturday morning cartoons on ABC

Saturday morning comics on CBS

Saturday mornings were supposed to be my catch-up-on-lost-sleep time.  I was never a morning person, but a few minutes of extended snoozing on Saturday mornings were priceless to me.  Before I went to bed, I would leave two apples on the breakfast table.  Darren, who was always up early, would get up and go into the family room to turn on the TV for Saturday morning cartoons.  With Jory’s acute hearing, he would soon awake and call for his big brother.  Darren would guide Jory over the crib bars to join him.  The two of them would munch on their apples and watch Saturday Morning Cartoons.  They watched Sylvester and Tweedy, Superheroes, Schoolhouse Rock, Mighty Mouse, Scooby Doo, and Fat Albert.  It seems to me that Jory's first love of cartoons was what attracted him to the animators at CalArts and later to video games, where he would integrate his love of music and sounds into a successful career of in animated films and video games.

"Drummer Hoff fired it off!"

Just like Speedy Gonzalez, Jory's days were filled with motion and I looked for outlets to expend his energy.  Every week, we attended the public library's tiny tot story hour, where he gleefully sang songs, clapped his hands in various rhythms, and loved exploring and listening to storybooks filled with vibrant colors, telling funny tales.  Systematically, he searched the low-to-the-ground shelves for book covers picturing tubas, drums, flutes, and other musical instruments.  We always checked out several books.  Quite often he included his favorite, Drummer Hoff, which he slid into his library bag and proudly hauled home until the next Wednesday. 

Photo credit Sesame Street

Each morning, I got an hour’s respite while Jory watched Sesame Street on our 11” Sony color TV.  He was mesmerized and absorbed everything he saw.  He learned that consonants had hard sounds and vowels had soft ones.  He knew that the letter K sounded like “k,k,k” and the letter S next to the letter H were partners and sounded like “shhhhh.”   Most importantly, C was for cookie.   Meanwhile, I could start the laundry, empty the dishwasher, read the morning newspaper while drinking my cup of coffee, and make a grocery list.  It was the only quiet time I had unless Jory was napping. 

Dr. Seuss Learn-to-Read Books

As he grew older, we continued our weekly trips to the library.  I began to notice that Jory was pointing out words in books and reading along.  His taste and interests expanded and soon Dr. Seuss became his favorite author, along with P.D. Eastman, who wrote the “I Can Read” series of beginner reading books for children, and Shel Silverstein.  Before he entered Kindergarten, Jory was already reading somewhat independently, but we still kept our bedtime ritual of reading storybooks to him to instill a love of reading, learning, and adventure.

First grade began and all the children were evaluated for reading skills.  His teacher, Mrs. Unland, called me in for a teacher conference.

“Jory is reading at a third grade level and we feel that he would be better suited in a second grade classroom,” she explained.

I was thrilled to hear that he was so advanced, but fearful that skipping a grade was the wrong thing for him.  His small motor abilities were behind grade level, so he couldn't cut well with a scissors and he still had trouble holding a pencil or crayon correctly.  Writing was a challenge for him, and an even bigger challenge was trying to decipher anything he tried to write, including his name.  At the same time, like many boys his age, he was immature, crying when he got frustrated or disappointed.  Of course, following directions was not one of his proficient skills, either.

Sam and I talked it over and decided that keeping Jory in first grade with his peers was most important for his social and maturation development.  We suggested that the school allow him to go into the second grade class for language arts and then return to first grade for the rest of the day.  

Laguna Road School was already quite progressive and allowed upper grade students, like Jory's older brother Darren, to switch teachers and classes in order to learn at their appropriate levels for math and reading.  Jory was the first lower grade student to do the same and it worked out well for him and his teachers.  By third grade, Jory was in the identified GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program where children had transitioned from learning-to-read into reading-to-learn, so he remained all day with his classmates.

Choose Your Own Adventure Collection

Third grade also brought Jory into a new genre of fun reading adventures.  He discovered mysteries in the form of Choose Your Own Adventure books.  We already had a few books that had belonged to Darren, but Jory thirsted for more.  He would read them over and over again, choosing different options along the way, relishing the story’s multiple endings.  He valued each book and saved them until he had acquired the entire collection.  Thirty years later, he passed his entire pristine collection onto his nephew Dillon, who was just the right age to explore them himself.

Dillon reading Jory's book

Ironically, the format of Choose Your Own Adventures also became the predecessor to video games, where Jory created his special niche in the entertainment industry.  He thoroughly understood how the storyline varied with each choice that the reader made. Applying that knowledge, he created the unique sounds that ushered the video game player along the way.  In his lectures to university game development students, he taught them that sounds were important in making transitions and that those sounds needed to be varied, not redundant, and just as high quality and realistic as in major motion pictures.  He moved the game development industry in a new direction with genuine, quality sound.

About that same time, Jory began showing an interest in reading the morning newspaper.  His favorite part was the Calendar  Section of the LA Times, where the cartoon strips were printed.  Everyday, before school, he read Peanuts, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, and Heathcliff.  The whole household could hear him giggling as he slurped his cereal and milk.  On Sunday mornings, he would confiscate the color comics section of the newspaper, taking it to his room until his brothers would complain.  He would then relinquish it until sometime later, when the section disappeared into his closet and never came back.

Part of Jory's Comic Books Collection

Jory's Heathcliff Collection

Jory loved the comic strips’ whimsical, simplified drawings that appealed to his wide sense of humor. The characters generated all necessary emotion through subtle facial expressions.  The setting and plot were easily conveyed in a few frames that combined illustrations, captions, and dialogue in bubbles.  Everything was condensed, highlighting only the most important elements of the topic.  What he liked most was that the reader had to fill in the rest to understand the whole meaning of the strip.  Jory liked to think and come to his own conclusions.  This led him into comic books, which he also collected, along with dozens of volumes of Heathcliff and Calvin and Hobbes paperback books.

Daniel Keys Moran books

In junior high and high school, Jory fell in love with science fiction mysteries.  His favorite author was Daniel Keys Moran, who wrote Emerald Eyes, The Long Run, and The Last Dancer.  These novels created imaginary realities where individual humans interacted with sophisticated, world-wide, computer-dominated information webs.  Jory was mesmerized.  

At home, we had Mac computers, and at school, he was enrolled in classes at Troy Tech, the local technology magnet high school.  Jory was thoroughly immersed in the world of technology.  His late evenings were spent in his room, writing music on his Mac with a midi interface and an electronic keyboard; covertly taking apart and rebuilding computers; exploring the newly opened web; and, in 1991, acquiring one of the first personal web addresses available.

Jory's Business Card at LucasArts

Jory submerged himself into technology books, learning several computer programming languages.  Without our full awareness, he became a formidable, worldwide, computer guru.  Paradoxically, following his graduation from CalArts with a double degree in music composition and film/video, it was his computer skills that were the most significant reason that he was hired by George Lucas at LucasArts.

COMMENTS:  

Click on Jorysmother@gmail.com to send comments.

Jory Prum    Fall, 2008

I read occasionally, but don't consider it a passion. I have to be in the right mood. My favorite books are: "The Long Run" by Daniel Keys Moran, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce, and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"/"Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll. I recently finished "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson and am still working through "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz.

Pat Ansel

Glad to get these.  Still missing Jory although we only saw him in Norway and maybe when he was just a young child, but can't really remember that.

Mike Rogers
Thanks so much for sharing that, Leslye. I learned a great deal about Jory. I already knew he was incredibly talented and very unique, but reading these details clarified a lot and reinforced a lot. And now I finally understand the name of the scholarship. 

Molly Presser
It's amazing how you found all the influences that different types of literature and TV programs had on Jory's talents and passion. I would have never thought of that, but it is so true. Love your descriptions. Thanks for keeping on writing about him. 

Linda Saslow
Thank you for another great installment. I was also very into choose your own adventure books. 

Gina Zdanowicz
I love reading these and getting to know all the wonderful details about Jory.

Paul Stevens
What a wonderful picture you paint of Jory growing up. Enjoyed every word. Took a note of author Daniel Keys Moran. I have been looking for suggestions for Science Fiction.

Dee Nevares

As a former librarian, I really enjoyed this issue. I could feel the love in your home. Thanks, Sam, for the Tuba story.

Louise Sussman

Thank you for sending us your blogs about Jory.  I feel like I know him.  He was very special in many ways.

Rita Blumstein

I am always enthralled by what you write, especially about Jory, and am amazed by how much you remember...a fascinating read.

Elaine Asa

I just had to stop and read about Jory. Your stories, photos and memories are amazing. Each blog keeps Jory’s memory alive as you share his life with us, the readers. I can tell by reading your blog what a special child he was from the very beginning. Though challenging,  he knew which parents to choose. Your insights and patience and deep love are what allowed Jory to grow into the exceptional young man he became. May his memory always serve for blessings as you continue to share his life with all of us.

© Leslye J. Prum   2017   All Rights Reserved