Autobiography

In November of the year 1985, Deborah bore a son to her husband, Alan Ruchty, who they called Joshua.  Deborah bore him in Springfield Ohio where the family would live until 1991 when they moved to Saint Paris, Ohio.  Here, Joshua had the opportunity to play on five acres of land where he could witness all that that nature had to offer, including the changing of the seasons.  In the summer time, the weather was hot and humid.  Fall yielded to summer with a beautiful array of color as the leaves changed.

Winter, although beautiful after snowfall, heaped many burdens upon the family.  The house, being located on top of a hill, was very inaccessible in the winter time due to the steepness of the driveway and its covering ice.  Cars could neither ascend nor descend the obstacle.  This situation led to long entrapments indoors and stirred up feelings of resentment toward the cold.  Like a group of chickens cooped up in too small of a pen, family members grew tired of the constant company of others.  When the opportunity for travel came, it too was trying.  Someone had to shovel and salt the three hundred foot driveway.  Someone had to scrape the frost off car windows.  Finally, all members had to ride in a vehicle with no available heat.  Of course, this would not last.

Conversely, spring offered freedom from winter’s afflictions.  Joshua enjoyed spending his free time in the outdoors.  The transformation of dead woods to a lush forest awed him.   He would ride his bicycle around the country roads, explore the woods surrounding his house, and he would often just sit on his porch and let the sun’s rays warm his face while basking in solitude and peace.

Religion also played a major role in Joshua’s upbringing.  His father did not attend, but his mother raised Joshua in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  This gospel had the most profound effect on his life, in that it developed his character and taught him many things about the ways of the world.  He found that adhering to the strict principles of the church, although difficult, was very beneficial.  Not only did his participation in the church increase his knowledge of religion and so forth, but gave him many practical skills as well.  These skills included public speaking, carrying on leadership responsibilities, and learning how to remain humble and appreciative.

Presently, Joshua has lived through many seasons.  Over the years, he has matured and his ideas on things have changed, but of the four, spring remains his favorite season.