Autobiography details Newton native’s life

“Idiot out wandering around” is an endearing expression some Iowans use to playfully self-describe their journey through life as they experience their own trials and triumphs. For this story about one Iowa boy, the title couldn’t be more fitting.

The author of the autobiography, “Idiot Out Wandering Around,” is Jenifer Rescola. Jenifer wrote the story as told by her husband, Terry Rescola, who grew up in Newton in the 1950s in a much simpler era.

Jenifer said through the course of Terry’s all-American life, he faced many tragedies and unexpected obstacles. Despite her husband’s past heartaches and feelings of abandonment, he brushed off his knees and continued on living.

The Rescolas currently reside in California, and after Jenifer married Terry in 2006, she knew her husband’s nonfictional stories of his life were worth sharing.

“I’ve always wanted to be a writer my whole life,” Jenifer said. “When I would listen to Terry’s stories, I would say, ‘that happened to you?’”

In addition, Jenifer said Terry’s path was filled with heartbreaking, suspenseful, laughable and unimaginable occurrences that were anything but usual.

As a new writer, Jenifer said she would sit down with her husband, who is now 67, and ask him about his life.

“We would sit down at the table with a tape recorder, and I would ask him questions,” Jenifer said. “I would say, ‘tell me about when you were in the Army.’”

The timeline and the details were all perfectly described by Terry.

“I was so impressed by his memory,” she said.

In the first two chapters of the book, Jenifer explains Terry’s childhood as picture perfect. Terry was the son of a U.S. Navy Lieutenant Claude L. Rescola. As a young child, Terry lived at a military base on an island halfway between Hawaii and Australia called Kwajalein.

When Terry’s sister, Joni, was born in 1952 his family moved to Honolulu and then to Chula Vista, Calif. in 1955.

A year later, Terry’s father retired from the Navy and they moved to Newton where Terry’s mother, Imogene May Hildebrand, was born and raised.

Terry’s father was perceived as a war hero to many people in Newton as he was a Pearl Harbor survivor. During the attacks he witnessed many of his shipmates die. Claude’s account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was featured in a Newton Daily News article in 1957 — the incident’s 16th anniversary.

Terry’s family moved into an apartment, and when Terry was 6, the family of four moved into a two-story house with a white picket fence located at 606 N. Eighth Ave. E.

Terry’s childhood in Newton was spent enjoying the great outdoors, riding his bicycle and playing baseball.

“I spent a lot of time at Sunset Park playing impromptu baseball with friends and neighborhood kids. Some days I was just by myself wandering and exploring around,” one excerpt from the book reads.

Terry would also set up a lemonade stand on his street in the summer. He lived near the Maytag plant, so he would catch many employees as they drove to work.

When Terry was 11, his father died, and his world came crashing down.

“He adored his father,” Jenifer said.

From then on, Jenifer said Terry was stumbling around trying to find himself. In chapter three, the book explains the tragic loss and how Terry dealt with his mother becoming an alcoholic.

“To this day, my husband can’t read chapter three,” Jenifer said.

Terry indulged himself in sports. He became an undefeated wrestler, an undefeated runner on the Cardinal Mile Team, both of which he participated in at Newton Senior High School, and he was a hot dog in Little League.

“Terry would come home from playing baseball, go straight to his room and watch TV and hide from her (his mom),” Jenifer said. “His team became undefeated and his mom never even knew he was in baseball.”

Jenifer said a series of events begin to spiral throughout the book, like Terry getting married and becoming a father at age 16, going AWOL in the army, accidentally, and single handily challenging five members of a violent motorcycle gang with a gun.

“What I want to convey is he has this trusting sense and naivety that he carried through his whole life,” Jenifer said.

Terry’s belief to trust others and his boyish sweetness often put him in unforeseen circumstances.

“Terry’s story will take you to a faraway island,” she said. “It will touch the lives of many from drummers to military personnel, from bikers to fishermen and from nude beach goers to nurses and sports fans.”

“Idiot Out Wandering Around” was published in July and is available on Amazon for purchase.

Contact Kayla Langmaid at 641-792-3121 ext. 6513 or klangmaid@newtondailynews.com