I came into the world in 1957 in a small reservation town in Eastern Washington State. My folks were not your average bears by any means and there is no describing their influence upon my life. They both survived hard times, poverty, the depression and war. They both put aside opportunities and their own needs and wants from an early age in the name of family and the needs of others; people of stature and intellect and ethics and not a hypocritical bone in their bodies. Not to mention they were both comedic and really fun to hang out with. Dad passed away at 90 a few years back and mom is 89 and dialed in.
Mom and Dad raised seven boys and two girls. The thing about my parents was that they felt a serious obligation to society that their children didn’t turn into adults with low moral character that were a burden on society. This ethic and 9 unruly and not so tame children made for quite a dynamic.
Omak in 1957 was the last of the wild west with real Cowboys and Indians. It was a rough and tumble place and growing up there was where I learned about the best and worst aspects of human nature.
My Mom and her family were tribal members and using the term of those days “breeds”. When people today talk about racism and how bad they have been stepped on I think back on my mom’s family history. So many people will not give credit for how much racism has faded in this country. My brothers and I lived rude racism up close and personal in a reservation town. It deeply affected us and didn’t endear us to local society. When I graduated from high school I moved to Phoenix, AZ to attend tech school; suddenly I was just another guy living in a place where the people I had to deal with on a daily basis weren’t generating hatred and contempt towards me. It was a revelation to me to see clearly what growing up in that world did to my psyche. It took me a long time to decompress and to forgive.
That being said, I am not whining or indulging in victim-hood. The other half of the story is that I ran with a pack of friends who all really valued the concept of “all the fun you can have”, awesome guys and close friends to this day. I had a whole lot of wild and free fun, and then some more fun stirred up with death defying adventures of all kinds. The folks gave me a lot more freedom then most kids get so long as I didn’t burn the house down or bring the cops to the door. Firearms, big power tools, electricity, science experiments of every kind, dogs, cats, terrariums, aquariums, snakes, lizards, fish, bugs radios,electronics, model airplanes, minibikes, travel adventures on my own, mountaineering, camping, hunting, fishing, river running, sandlot sports, cars and more, and that long list doesn’t include the unapproved activities that to this day my brothers and I still have secrets. There was always a lot of action going on at the Babcocks and it didn’t set well with the small minded neighbors.
That is the world I launched from and little did I realize at the time that I was well prepared to deal with the coming incredible journey that I know as my life.
I am new to this blogging thing and being a private person I normally wouldn’t post something on a website about my life. But in this case the story about the journey that brought Magnetic Energy technology and science about, needs to be told along with the rest of the story.
My life has been a quest for knowledge that can only be found by blazing the trail and using human capacities that we all have but few use. I earned what I know and no amount of money could have bought the knowledge that I have earned.
I am going to end the story for now but more to come.
Paul B.