1. School at Neil Armstrong Elementary. I played smurfs on the playground with the other kids, even though I never saw or even knew what smurfs were. I would also try and flirt it up with the girl who played smurfette.
2. Killing the gold fish. Ashley and Amy had a pet gold fish that I was put in charge of caring for. I remember them being gone, and I over fed the little guy. He ate till he burst.
3. While going to play at the McDermotts house, I wore a jacket because I was cold. I decided to run with my hands in my pockets. I tripped and fell, smashing my face on the side walk. With a bloody nose, I staggered home and into the arms of mom, who cleaned me up, held me tight, and I on my way again. I still to this day will not run with my hands in my pockets.
4.Flinging dead fruit (usually apricots because the tree grew so many of them) over the fence in Turlock
5. One winter in Turlock our street flooded. Mom was in school, so she left and we booked it out side right after she left and we (Amy, Ashley, Me) messed around in the street for a while after. I remember the water being super cold.
6. One year at school, I got a sweet lime green shirt that I loved to death. I wore that shirt all the time.
7. I got a black eye on the monkey bars at school. It hurt, but the looks I got were much better.
8. I had a friend named B.J. who lived down the street towards Brown Elementary. I remember wrestling with her younger brother Joey. He was
a tough kid.
9. Joseph moving into my room for a few months and having
to listen to the humidifier every night. It was not too loud, and was actually quite calming.
10. This has only happened to me one time ever. I was young. 7 or 8. I went to bed super tired. I remember laying down, blinking, and it instantly being morning. Seriously. One blink, the whole night passed, and I was full of energy and ready for a new day. It was awesome.
11. This one is out of order, but I can still picture, although dimly, a small bit of the Loma Prieta earthquake. From what I remember, the girls and I were outside with mom. The ground was going crazy and so mom told us to get on the lawn. Later that night some aftershocks came through and woke me up. That memory again, is foggy, but I got it.
12. Moving to Concord. I was pumped to be with dad in the moving truck. And thats all I remember.
13. Breaking my arm on the slope of El Dorado Drive whilst delivering papers for the Contra Costa Times. I was late (as usual) and was bookin it on my roller blades, slipped and fell. For the duration of my term with the cast, I w
ent swimming four times, all four times getting the cast wet, and having to go to Kaiser with d
ad to get a new one. He was so pleased every time.
14. Getting my bike stolen. One day I went
to the park and left my GT bike there. Never saw it again. Sad day.
15. Reading 13 thousand pages in my Elementary School career. What a blast. Goosebumps and I were buddies.
16. Working for Dad doing construction work, and forging a strong father son bond. I remember working on the Aikeles house, something for the Contreras', Fixing something for the Kelleys, another thing for the family from India, and of course the Old Lady addition, whos name I cant remember for the life of me, and several jobs with Phil.
17. Crashing Dads pick up truck. To make
a long story short, I drank a hot 7up, passed out, crashed the truck through several bushes, tore out a sprinkler system, knock out/over a street sign, hit an enclosed trailer, and finally push that trailer into a car. He was so pleased. And to make matters better, both the paramedics
who came to take me to the hospital were light weights. Both around 130 pounds. Dad had to help lift the gurney into the ambulance.
18. Going away to college. Got dropped off at Biddulph Hall, kiss from mom, hug from dad, and that was that. "See you later son."
19. Vacation in Paris! I will never forget taking pictures in front of every door in Paris. Blue, red, black, it didnt matter. I also remember the "Jamaican" guys selling colorful bracelets in front of Sacre Coeur for fifty bucks a pop. Thanks dad for buying them!
20. I will never forget the delicious crepes we would get from the shack outside our hotel. Chicken tika, and banana nutella. Also on the same breath seeing France beat Portugal, then the ensuing chaos in the streets of Paris.
21. Dachau Concentration Camp. I was emotionally drained. Never had I seen so much death and sadness, yet serenity seeing the efforts of the German people to document and preserve the camps in efforts to remember the people and celebrate the power of the human spirit to overcome shear hell.
22. Serving honorably and returning home to see the family. Too many emotions to convey in this space.
23. Living away from home, but still feeling loved and cared for by mom and dad.
And dad you were right, I do not remember the vacation to Lake Tahoe... sorry. But I do have many other great memories, and I hope to make more as the years roll by.
Your post is outstanding. It warms my heart to see how you remember things from your life. We are all blessed to be a family, and to remember things we did together. The Jamaicans were actually from Kenya - Hacuna Matata. Sometimes it seems like I blink and 20 years go by.
ReplyDeleteHugs and Kisses,
Mom and Dad