Scenes From My Youth

I have been having amusing flashbacks lately. For some reason different scenes from my long ago past have been popping into my head. It's weird but fun too.

I think it started because the carnival is in town again. It's that time of year when the hometown carnival draws the crowds into the middle of our little tiny town. I remember when I was young being so excited every year when it was time. Kids love that stuff.

But these days I keep thinking "WTF was wrong with me?" Going to carnivals isn't that much fun now. Going to the one in town where all the townies can attend is way less fun. Unless you like to watch rednecks and white trashy people and make fun of them. But I wouldn't do that, would I? ;)

The majority of the population at this carnival are the people who live in town and can't drive out of town for the better carnivals. (Carnivals tour the whole area during the Summer.) These people either are living in the town slums or the homeless shelter. There are some regular people there too but they are a minority. It is just plain scary at that event! My Uncle has his store right next to the parking lot where the carnival is and he goes down there and sits in front in a lawn chair just to protect the store. He knows if he doesn't there probably will be trouble. (It has happened before.)

Nope, I don't know what I was thinking when I was young. I guess kids don't care about that stuff. These days I just ignore them or I go for the munchies and make a quick exit.

When I was in middle school we ahd this Spanish teacher that had a heavy accent. He also had this habit of saying "You know what I mean?" after almost every sentence. It was weird. But his accent made it sound like "Chu know what I'm in?" Naturally being kids we picked up on that quickly and we imitated him all the time.

One day I was in a small group of friends and we were all talking away. There was this hot blond girl I liked there and I kept imitating this teacher every time someone said something. It was funny to me plus I was sure she was thinking I was sooo funny. She had to be impressed, right?

So after a few times she just turns to me, puts her hands on her hips and says in a nasty voice, "No, I don't know what you are in. What are you talking about?" Turns out she had no idea who that teacher was nor did she get the joke. I had come across as a big, self-centered jerk. In her eyes I was just trying to interrupt the conversation(s) and get her attention. I remember being floored for days. Needless to say I couldn't bring myself to talk with her again for a long time. Lesson learned.


I had two friends when I was young, Robbie and Wendy. They liked each other a lot but were both kinda shy. They would talk and giggle and pretend they didn't like each other but to the rest of us they would profess their love. It was cute.

We were all heavily into playing Baseball back then. When we didn't have a little League game to play we would be at the 'vacant lot' playing a pick-up game. Robbie finally managed to get Wendy to play one day. They ended up on opposite teams. I remember thinking that they should just go into the woods and smootch and get it over with rather than just keep up the silliness.

Anyway, Wendy wanted to try pitching so she got in there and pitched. The game went on for a few hitters and then Robbie came to bat. They were so google-eyed at each other. I was thinking "Just throw the damn ball already!" Then Wendy threw and Robbie hit the ball. Hit it hard and hit it right at her. It hit her in the chest, hard on her left boob and down she went. She was in great pain. She cried and cried and we had to help her home.

She never played again and she never forgave Robbie for hitting her like that. She had no idea that it wasn't on purpose. All she knew was that he had hurt her. That was the end of a possibly beautiful relationship. You know, 'a woman scorned' and all that. Sad.

I remember when I was rally little how much I hated baths. Like 7-8 years old little. I would do everything in my power to get out of them. Baths were the scourge of my life back then. I do not know why. I went to great lengths to avoid them. I would take the time to run the water, wet the towel and the soap, change clothes, everything to appear that I had a bath. But I didn't really have a bath. It never occurred to me that all that effort took as much time as actually taking a bath would have. Plus there was the fear factor of getting caught added in. But kids don't think of stuff like that. I didn't realize what a time waster I was. I could have had the bath and been done and clean and in a much better frame of mind and wasted less play time if I just had gotten it over with. Luckily for me I soon discovered showers and then my Mom couldn't keep me out of the tub.

I remember a time when I was maybe 4 years old. I absolutely loved oranges. I had to have oranges as much as possible. Anywhere, anytime. We were at my Grandmother's house and I went looking for oranges. I got into the fridge and found an orange and was determined to 'open it' and eat it up. Naturally I got caught and my Mom and Grandmother kept telling me it wasn't an orange. They said I would hate it because it wasn't what I thought it was. I argued and fussed and cried and begged until they had had enough of me. So they said if they gave it to me that I had to eat it all. I promised I would. That didn't sound too hard to me. So they cut the thing up and gave it to me. I grabbed a hunk in each hand and slammed it into my mouth and then just about freaked. It was a Lemon. Not what I was expecting at all.

Then I was freaking because I had to eat it. I hated it but I had made a promise to eat it. I think I made it half way through and that it took me a long time. Then they let me off the hook. Another lesson learned; don't go begging for lemons. They just don't taste like oranges.

:) :) :)