An Adolescent in the Home

Elliott was approaching his teen years when we arrived in Houston.  He took an enormous growth spurt.  We couldn’t keep up with his clothing needs.  At one point he had one pair of blue jeans that had to be washed every day.  By the time we left Houston he had shot up to 6’4” in height and was skinny as a rail.  He started to school at Sharpstown Junior High, and went through his first year of high school at Sharpstown High. 

He played tuba in the band, and became involved in student activities.  On one occasion he put together a slide presentation on the Battle of Gettysburg, and was allowed to make a trip to Austin to meet the governor.  I went along as a chaperone.  Another brilliant young man from the church also qualified for the trip.   When we met the governor I noticed the other boy didn’t shake the governor’s hand.  I asked “Why?”  He said, “Oh, I’m not that much impressed with a state governor.”   I had the impression that the president might be high enough up on his list, but I couldn’t be sure.

As a Christian teenager, Elliott was on fire for the Lord.  He actually took the lead in getting people from our congregation to attend the first Tulsa workshop.  He talked me into going as a sponsor, and we eventually made four trips to Tulsa.  He was a bus worker in the bus ministry, but his greatest contribution came in the puppet ministry.  

At that point in his life Elliott was somewhat shy, but when he got behind a puppet stage his personality bloomed.  He had a puppet named “Cool Luke.”  The two personalities pretty much merged.  In time he was no longer a shy kid. He eventually became quite adept at theater, and it can probably be traced to the puppet days.  At least it helped him conquer stage fright.