Edward Laurie

The Devil's Own Imp Edward Laurie

Imps are born and not made. Being an imp these days is a far more difficult thing than in the time prior to WWII. Those earlier pre-war days are reported in this book. Today's imps require medical advise, appropriate dampening pills, and an entirely different form of discipline, perhaps even psychiatric treatment. Nothing seems so unwanted in modern times as a full-fledged imp of any age. Being an imp in a small western railroad town (Sparks, Nevada) in the twenties and thirties of the previous century offered a wide range of puckish opportunities and freedoms. Somehow it was expected that the young were to be adventurous and create various minor problems which the adult world of the time seemed able to take in stride. The one thing we didn't do, in my day, was report on our 'adventures' to our parents. It was our sincere belief that the less they knew about the risks we took, the more serene their existence, and also ours. Of course, with the small-town gossip network operating at full-bore, our parents knew much more than we thought they did. The inherent blessing was that, in most cases, they shrugged their shoulders, credited our activities to youth and only interfered when serious injury or mayhem might result. We owe them a great debt - - allowing us to learn from our own experiences.