I can't say I would recommend having a child when you are barely twenty years old, nor can I say I was prepared to be a husband and father; but I was in a hurry to be an adult and welcomed the change. We lived in a chicken coop converted into a small rental house for $30 a month. Lisa was born at a time that fathers weren't allowed in the delivery room. Our job was to pace in the waiting room and smoke cigars. We disposable diapers hadn't yet been invented, and washed out cloth diapers in the toilet and tossed them in the washing machine. Lisa was an easy baby, who loved to be bounced on my knee. I would startle her by suddenly bouncing her and saying "Bang!", which turned out to be her first word.
