It was a normal summer day. Mom was at work at the Hotel and Dad was at work at the V.A. I was about 12 or 13 years of age or maybe younger but I was left in charge of my sisters. This was a normal part of life in the 50’s. I was the eldest and was responsible for their safety. Mom was always reminding me that I had to set a good example for my sisters. I guess you could say I had few moments of just being a kid. The only times that I can remember being a child was when the neighbors came down to play and Mom was at home. When I was charge of my siblings, I was instructed to keep them around the home area and do things that Mom would have done if she was home and this would include discipline. It was a hard job for a young girl. Most times my sisters resented me and considered me bossy. I guess I was, but I had to be. But sometimes a kid will be a kid and this was one of those days.
We had been watching “Heidi” with Shirley Temple on the television. In one scene, there was a Christmas tree but instead of lights, the movie had used candles in the branches. We all thought that was cool, but we wondered how they kept the candles straight up on the branches. It just so happened that we had an old Christmas tree decoration that stood about 12 inches tall. On the branches with these metal cup shape holders which could hold something, but we couldn't figure what. Then we understood what it could hold, candles!
We decided to try placing candles in the small tree just to see what it looked like. But where could we get the candles? Fire was one rule that was not allowed, and as the adult of the group, I had to make sure that no matches or lighters were ever used, especially since we were home alone. But suddenly I was the kid with a kid’s curiosity.
I remembered that we had birthday candles in the drawer. I would like to inform the reader the lay out of the living room where our demonstration or experiment was to take place. My parent’s bedroom was to the left of the room. Next to their bedroom door was the front door of the house. On the wall next to the door was a picture of my father’s brother, Ned. It was his graduation picture. He had been killed during WWII by the Japanese, but that is another story. Below the picture was the television. Next to the television, there was the front window with lace curtains. Below the window stood a two shelf bookcase which housed the complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. The encyclopedia was a huge investment for us children and Mom would remind us on how much it cost for these books. Whenever we asked Mom a question she would say, “Look it up in the encyclopedia.” But the encyclopedia was extremely hard to understand. If we looked something up for a school assignment, we didn’t understand the words. Therefore we would write the information, verbatim, on our homework paper. Of course we would not get credit since it was not in our own words. We didn’t know about plagiarism at this time, but how we hated that encyclopedia. On top of the bookcase was a fish bowl with 2 goldfish and a one of Dad’s motorcycle trophies. Next to the bookcase, in the corner, was a floor lamp with a yellowing lamp shade.
We removed the trophy but kept the gold fish bowl on the book case. We got the Christmas tree out of storage and set it next to the fish bowl. Then we got the birthday candles out of the drawer and set them in the holders. The holders were larger than the candles, so we were careful in putting the candles on the tree. Then we got the matches and lit the candles. I must admit it was beautiful, but I also knew how dangerous it was if the lit candles slipped in the holders. After a few minutes, we blew out the candles. Now we had to decide how to get rid of the used candles. We didn’t want Mom to find out that we had been playing with fire, literally. My sister came up with the idea of melting the candles away, to destroy of evidence.
Terry got Dad’s big ashtray and we placed all the candles inside the ashtray and we lit the candles once again. But when candles are lying on the side, they don’t burn as they should. To speed up the melting process, Terry started fanning the candles with her hand. Unfortunately, in her fanning process, her hand caught hold of the lace curtain and up it went in flames. The flames traveled up the curtain and across the top of the window to the other curtain and later to the lamp shade. You can imagine the terror that the four of us girls had at that time. The two youngest girls started screaming. I don’t remember where they went but Terry and I both knew that we had to get the fire out. Water! The closest water was in the fish bowl so we started scooping out the water and throwing it on the flames. When the water got low enough we had to find another source. I ran into the kitchen, got the biggest pan I could manage, filled it with water and ran into the living room. I poured the water on the flames and ran back to repeat this process. Very soon the floor was wet from the thrown or spilled water. On my third trip, I slipped. My feet went out in front of me, I went down on the wet floor on my butt, and the water went straight up and come straight down on top of me. I couldn’t help but start laughing. For a second I really forgot about the emergency we were having.
I returned for more water, and again dosed the flames. In the last trip for water, I noticed that the fire was out. I turned around to see my sister at the desk where the telephone was located. She was on the phone calling the fire department. I heard her say, “Hurry, hurry! We have a fire at our house!” Then she hung up. Now that the fire out, I again turned into the responsible adult. I told her that she did a good job but she forgot one thing. We forgot to give the fire department our address. Now she was mad at me for criticizing her. I was probably blaming her for catching the curtains on fire, so I guess she had a right to be mad at me. After all she was scared.
I quickly looked at the damage. The fish had soot in their bowl with very little water for them to survive. The book case showed some fire damage but the bindings on some of the books were completely destroyed. The curtains were gone. The lamp shade showed a lot of damage too. There was no way to hide this damage from mother when she returned home. So I decided that the best course of action was to call her at work and inform her of the activities at the house. I informed her that we had had a fire, that it was out, and no one was hurt. This was the responsible thing to do, plus she couldn’t spank me over the telephone lines.
I don’t remember her actual reaction, but when I hung up I felt good about myself. About 30 minutes later, my sisters and I were trying to clean things up as best we could, when a car pulled into the driveway. A man got out of the car and walked into the house. I was quite disturbed that a strange man just walked into our house. Who did he think it was! He checks out the fire damage. He felt the wall on both sides of the window and above the window and the ceiling. Then he proceeds to go upstairs to my bedroom, which I shared with Terry. Our bedroom was right above the living room and therefore above the area where the fire was located. He checks the floor and the wall. Now I was angry. A strange man walked into my bedroom! How could he!!
A little while later, Mom came home from work. I was still angry about the man in my bedroom. I told her that a strange man came into our house and went upstairs. She informed me that he was the Fire Chief. He worked at the hotel and was the bartender there. She had asked him to come out and check to see if the house was safe from the fire and to make sure that there was no fire still remaining in the walls, smoldering. He was also asked by Mom, to give us a good lecture and if possible a spanking. She reminded us that we were very lucky. Mom got a new lampshade, new curtains, but the encyclopedia remained in the fire damaged condition for many, many years.
The lesson is obvious: Children should never, never play with fire, but from my point of view, I also learnt that even in the worst situation, there is always something to smile about.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Story of Unlawful Entry
This story is one of adventure, from a child’s point of view, but one that should keep parents aware of what their small children are capable of doing. The time is set before housing developments and people didn’t have fears like they do now. Houses were never locked and children were safe to play and use their imaginations.
As I have mentioned before, my family and I lived in a valley. No matter which way you went, there was a high hill. There was a field in front of the house and across the road, but that way was ignored. The house, on the hill to the right of our home lived a family who kept cows and farmed. Every once in a while the cows came into our lawn and we would spend the afternoon chasing the cows out of the corn. Great fun but the cows were bigger than we were and to us they might as well been monsters. The house on the hill to the left of our home lived a family with 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. The girl was a year older than me, but when you are lacking playmates, you have to make due. The hill behind the house was the best. On top of the hill were the rail road tracks, but beyond were a farmer’s fields. The hill was full of trees, sweet grass, small streams and poison sumac. It was a place where imaginations could run wild. At times the trees would become the walls of a castle, the stream became a raging river, and the sweet grass becomes an oasis in the dessert. In those days, there were no computer games and movies on DVD, there was only your imagination and you could go anywhere at any time. The hills and fields were our canvas and our imaginations were the paints.
Like most children, I was no different. Sometimes when I wanted something, I wanted it NOW! One early morning I woke up and desperately needed to talk with my girlfriend on the hill. I just couldn’t wait; I had to see her now. I woke my sister and talked her into going to the friend’s house. I was still dark and my sister wanted to go back to sleep, but somehow I talked her into it. We got dressed and down the stairs we went, being careful not to walk on the creaky spots on the stairs or the floor. We took the back way up the hill to her house.
Coming up to the back of her house gave us more cover than walking up the road. Remember we were on a mission and could not be seen. I tried to wake my girlfriend, by throwing small pebbles at her window, but no matter how hard I threw, I couldn’t reach your window glass. I had to find another answer. Everyone considered it inconceivable to enter someone else’s house without an invitation but the house was not locked. We crept up to the back door, opened the door and entered the kitchen. The house sure looked strange in the dark. We exited the kitchen and headed for the stairs.
As my sister and I started up the stairs, but the stairs did creak. These were not our stairs and we didn’t know the location of the creaky boards. We tried as hard as we could to be quiet, but before we were half way up the stairs, my girlfriend’s father yelled “Who’s there!” Boy was we in trouble. We could go to jail. RUN!!!
Out the front door we ran. It was the closest door. We were kids. If we were smart, we would have left the way we came in, but we didn’t. The front door led to the front yard which was the size of a football field and there were very little trees planted in the yard. We ran fast, but no so fast that the father could not identify us. If we had gone out by the back door, we would have been safe, but kids don’t always think right when they are scared, and we were scared. Not only did Mr. N see you, but he got dressed and jumped into his car. By this time, my sister and I had reached the road. This country road had bushes and wild berries growing along side it, so there would be good cover since we did not want to be seen. The cover was not as good as we thought.
When the car started down the road, we hid behind the small bushes, but the car stopped right in front of us. Mr. N opened the car door and told us to get in. I don’t remember any conversation, but I was scared. He dropped us off at our house and told us to get back to bed, and we did. When we woke up the second time, we were still scared and were very quiet all day. We were waiting for Mom’s or Dad’s punishment, but it never came.
About 3 days later, Dad called me into the living room for a small talk. I was excited, because I would have Dad’s attention all to myself and I wouldn’t have to share it. He informed me that he had just finished talking with Mr. N. My dad was asked what kind of punishment he gave to my sister and me. My Dad was confused and said he didn’t know what he was talking about. Mr. N informed Dad of the events of that other morning. Dad had remembered a car pulling in the driveway but he thought it was the school bus picking us up for school. He hadn’t realized that it was a Saturday.
The lesson is this. Never underestimate a child’s determination. Imagination can be a great asset but it can also lead to trouble. But the greatest lesson is: if you do something wrong and you got away without punishment – you are just plain lucky. Your punishment will come when you least expect it.
As I have mentioned before, my family and I lived in a valley. No matter which way you went, there was a high hill. There was a field in front of the house and across the road, but that way was ignored. The house, on the hill to the right of our home lived a family who kept cows and farmed. Every once in a while the cows came into our lawn and we would spend the afternoon chasing the cows out of the corn. Great fun but the cows were bigger than we were and to us they might as well been monsters. The house on the hill to the left of our home lived a family with 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. The girl was a year older than me, but when you are lacking playmates, you have to make due. The hill behind the house was the best. On top of the hill were the rail road tracks, but beyond were a farmer’s fields. The hill was full of trees, sweet grass, small streams and poison sumac. It was a place where imaginations could run wild. At times the trees would become the walls of a castle, the stream became a raging river, and the sweet grass becomes an oasis in the dessert. In those days, there were no computer games and movies on DVD, there was only your imagination and you could go anywhere at any time. The hills and fields were our canvas and our imaginations were the paints.
Like most children, I was no different. Sometimes when I wanted something, I wanted it NOW! One early morning I woke up and desperately needed to talk with my girlfriend on the hill. I just couldn’t wait; I had to see her now. I woke my sister and talked her into going to the friend’s house. I was still dark and my sister wanted to go back to sleep, but somehow I talked her into it. We got dressed and down the stairs we went, being careful not to walk on the creaky spots on the stairs or the floor. We took the back way up the hill to her house.
Coming up to the back of her house gave us more cover than walking up the road. Remember we were on a mission and could not be seen. I tried to wake my girlfriend, by throwing small pebbles at her window, but no matter how hard I threw, I couldn’t reach your window glass. I had to find another answer. Everyone considered it inconceivable to enter someone else’s house without an invitation but the house was not locked. We crept up to the back door, opened the door and entered the kitchen. The house sure looked strange in the dark. We exited the kitchen and headed for the stairs.
As my sister and I started up the stairs, but the stairs did creak. These were not our stairs and we didn’t know the location of the creaky boards. We tried as hard as we could to be quiet, but before we were half way up the stairs, my girlfriend’s father yelled “Who’s there!” Boy was we in trouble. We could go to jail. RUN!!!
Out the front door we ran. It was the closest door. We were kids. If we were smart, we would have left the way we came in, but we didn’t. The front door led to the front yard which was the size of a football field and there were very little trees planted in the yard. We ran fast, but no so fast that the father could not identify us. If we had gone out by the back door, we would have been safe, but kids don’t always think right when they are scared, and we were scared. Not only did Mr. N see you, but he got dressed and jumped into his car. By this time, my sister and I had reached the road. This country road had bushes and wild berries growing along side it, so there would be good cover since we did not want to be seen. The cover was not as good as we thought.
When the car started down the road, we hid behind the small bushes, but the car stopped right in front of us. Mr. N opened the car door and told us to get in. I don’t remember any conversation, but I was scared. He dropped us off at our house and told us to get back to bed, and we did. When we woke up the second time, we were still scared and were very quiet all day. We were waiting for Mom’s or Dad’s punishment, but it never came.
About 3 days later, Dad called me into the living room for a small talk. I was excited, because I would have Dad’s attention all to myself and I wouldn’t have to share it. He informed me that he had just finished talking with Mr. N. My dad was asked what kind of punishment he gave to my sister and me. My Dad was confused and said he didn’t know what he was talking about. Mr. N informed Dad of the events of that other morning. Dad had remembered a car pulling in the driveway but he thought it was the school bus picking us up for school. He hadn’t realized that it was a Saturday.
The lesson is this. Never underestimate a child’s determination. Imagination can be a great asset but it can also lead to trouble. But the greatest lesson is: if you do something wrong and you got away without punishment – you are just plain lucky. Your punishment will come when you least expect it.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It Happened in One Night
I am sure that everyone has one date that you can’t forget, and this is my story. So much happened on this one night that it could fill the time for several dating experiences. The cast of characters is six. Myself and my date, his friend and my sister’s friend, Linda G., my sister and what turned out to be her date of the evening. The night was like any other. The next day I was due to return to college, so I wanted a special night and did I get it!
I met up with Linda G. early in the evening. Linda G. lived about two miles from my home. In the country side, two miles away was like the house next door. I had called a boy that I had met in the summer, and we had decided to go out for the evening, but he had a friend that would need a date, so Linda G. was to be his date for the evening. Dale, my date, lived in the next hamlet so I picked up Linda at her house and off we went. When we got to Dale’s house, we had to wait for his friend to arrive. We started talking and it wasn’t long before I noticed that Dale was a little depressed. Dale was a cute, blonde hair boy that had a deep mystery that had gotten my attention. Finally that mystery was going to be solved. His twin brother had been killed in a car accident a few years before. He had been his parent’s favorite and Dale felt that he could never live up to his parent’s expectations. This left a void in his life; his parent’s wish that he had been killed and not the favorite son, and his own loss of his twin brother. I was determined to get him in a happier state of mind, but what I didn’t realize that Dale had developed a self-destructive nature that would come into focus before the end of the night.
We had decided to use his car and I left my car at his house. The four of us drove into town, trying to figure out what on earth we were going to do. I couldn’t go dancing at the local bar because only Linda and I were of drinking age. As we were driving, we saw my sister in town. We picked her up. There is another void in my memory because somewhere in that early part of the evening we did pick up another boy, so that we became three couples. Another factor was the fact that my sister was under a curfew from our parents. She had to be home by 10 p.m., which would never be met. We finally decided to go to “Lookout Point”. This was a place that overlooked the lake. It was a great scenic view and one that had a local history of lover’s leaping to their death, thus called “Lover’s Leap” by the teenagers. I don’t know if anybody ever leaped from this spot, but it made a good reason to see the locale.
The site was a few miles from town, so off we went. It was a night that was overcast and the moon could not be seen. We had never made plans on how we were going to walk through to dark woods to get to the spot. Since we had no flashlight, I bought out the cigarette lighter that I had. Using the lighter was a light, we made our way though the woods to the area. We had to walk single file with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front. It looked a little like the blind leading the blind, but it was fun. We got to the spot and it was beautiful. The country side was full of lights from the houses below, but how it could be a “Lover Leap” escaped me. There was no cliff but a down hill slope with lots of trees. It was a good place to get hurt but no suicide jump off. But it was a scenic and a special place.
Now we had to get back to the car. We had to wait for the lighter to cool down so we could use it as a light once again. During our trek back, the lighter ran out of fluid. We walked, single file, one hand on the person’s shoulder, to the car. The person in the lead was the one who had it rough. Since we couldn’t see, there was a lot of running into trees, tripping, etc. Then someone looked into the surrounding dark woods. Through the trees we saw a pair of eyes. I don’t know if it was a deer or bear, but we all decided it was a bear, and we all started running as best as we could, the girls screaming and the boys yelling all the way.
Once at the car, our fears melted away and we started trying to figure out what to do now. Dale remembered that he had a relative that worked in a bar in the next town. That town was up the hill side a few miles. We decided to go to the bar and pick up a few six-packs of beer. During the drive and somewhere in my flirting, I had decided to sit on Dale’s lap while he drove. There were no cars on the road, so we felt safe. I handled the steering wheel, he handled the gas. It reminded me of the time when I was very small, when I sat on my Daddy’s lap and he would let me drive. Of course then he never took his hands completely off the steering wheel, and he could see the road over my head. Dale didn’t have that luxury. While going up the hill, I saw a pair of eyes in the road, and then I realized it was a deer. I panicked. I couldn’t say a word to tell Dale to hit the brakes, and he couldn’t see the deer. At the last possible second, Dale saw the deer and hit the brakes hard. The resulting situation was no damage to the deer, no damage to the car, but physical pain where the lowest part of the steering wheel met my body. I was in deep pain and decided never to drive again sitting on someone lap.
When we arrived at the town, my sister informed us that she had to make a phone call to our mother. It was almost 10 p.m. and she was going to ask permission to stay out since she was with me. She made the phone call but she didn’t ask my mother for permission to stay out. Instead she told my mother that she would be home in 10 minutes. At the time she made the call, we were 60 minutes from home.
Since Linda and I were of age, we would enter the bar and get 4 six-packs for the rest of us. We were going to tell the story that our parents sent us on this errand. Linda and I went into the bar to get the beer. We were nervous, and I am sure that the bartender knew that something was up but he sold us the beer anyway. Now where could we go to drink the beer? We were, at least, smart enough not to drink and drive. We drove into the hills, looking for a spot that was not near any houses. We found a field, stopped and started our own little party in the car. Before long we were laughing and having a good time. The boys were making animal sounds that made everyone laugh so hard that it hurt. After the beer was gone, we all left the car to make a “pit stop”. During this “pit stop”, one of the boys found a pond. He came back all excited because he thought that it would a good night for a swim.
I didn’t want to go for a swim. No one had brought a swim suit, it was too cold for a swim, and I wasn’t that drunk to take off my clothes for a dip in the pond.
The other four decided that they would go for the swim. They left the car happy and laughing leaving Dale and me alone in the car. Since we were alone, we started kissing, just like any young couple would do. Before long, the four returned, but not laughing this time. They had decided that it was too cold to take off their clothes so the jumped into the pond with their clothes on. They forgot that once the clothes got wet, there would be no way to keep warm.
Dale started the car, started the heater at full blast and down the hill side we went; destination home or anywhere where the kids in the back seat could get warm. During the long ride down the winding hill side, the headlights went out. The moon had come out from behind the clouds, so we had some light. We were all afraid of running into a deer again... There was no place to stop, so we just prayed that we would get home safety. The kids in the back just wanted to get warm. The headlight came back on, so off we went. Then the headlight went off again. This off and on cycle continued all the way home. Dale figured that was a short somewhere in the circuit and soon we all felt like it was normal for the headlights to go on and off.
During this ride, someone started talking about marriage. Before long it was decided that we would all drive to Maryland and get married. I had no intention of getting married, but it was decided that we would go. On the way to the Thruway, (toll expressway of NYS), we stopped a full service gas station. I should mention that this particular gas station was 3 miles from Dale’s house and 5 miles from my house. The attendant looked at the headlights and said he would repair them. During the repair, the attendant couldn’t help to notice four teenagers soak and wet and shivering like crazy. He gave them two blankets to wrap around them. Dale informed him we were on our way to Maryland State to get married. The attendant said to keep the blankets as our first wedding present.
We were on the road again, with the headlight fixed, the heat on high, and the two wet couples snuggled in their blankets. The only problem was that the blankets smelled of gasoline. The heat and moisture sent the gasoline fumes into the car. We had to open the windows to let the fumes out, but at the same time the kids were cold again. We were in a ‘catch-22’. The kids froze with the blankets off and froze with the blankets on. We got on the Thruway, and I got very tired. I laid my head in Dale’s lap and started to drift off. I had no intentions of getting married but I would worry about how to get out of it later. Little did I know that things were going to change again.
The headlight started to go on and off again. The attendant had not fixed the problem. Now going down an expressway at 60 mph is not something you want to do when the headlights are off. Dale exited the expressway at the next exit that he came to. Carefully driving to avoid the police, he took the back roads all the way to his house. Now everyone was tired and just wanted to go home. I picked up my car at Dale’s house and headed for home. It was 3 a.m. and remembers that my sister had told our mom that she would be home at 10 p.m. and that she was with me. My mother is like any other mother, she worries. The result of that worry is that she was out looking for us. In the country side near my home there was a place where two roads intersect and it is very flat. A driver can see another car a mile away from either road. As I was traveling, I saw a car coming towards me. I told me sister that I think it is Mom. She said it can’t be Mom, she is home sleeping. I wagered with my sister that if the car turned left at the intersection, it was Mom. The car did turn left and it was Mom.
When we all arrived met at the house, my sister, in a panic, informed our mother that it was my fault and we were late because we had been on our way to Maryland to get married. She was grounded and I left for college the next day.
The lesson of this story is: It doesn’t matter that you think that you are indestructible; the truth is that you are just lucky this time.
I met up with Linda G. early in the evening. Linda G. lived about two miles from my home. In the country side, two miles away was like the house next door. I had called a boy that I had met in the summer, and we had decided to go out for the evening, but he had a friend that would need a date, so Linda G. was to be his date for the evening. Dale, my date, lived in the next hamlet so I picked up Linda at her house and off we went. When we got to Dale’s house, we had to wait for his friend to arrive. We started talking and it wasn’t long before I noticed that Dale was a little depressed. Dale was a cute, blonde hair boy that had a deep mystery that had gotten my attention. Finally that mystery was going to be solved. His twin brother had been killed in a car accident a few years before. He had been his parent’s favorite and Dale felt that he could never live up to his parent’s expectations. This left a void in his life; his parent’s wish that he had been killed and not the favorite son, and his own loss of his twin brother. I was determined to get him in a happier state of mind, but what I didn’t realize that Dale had developed a self-destructive nature that would come into focus before the end of the night.
We had decided to use his car and I left my car at his house. The four of us drove into town, trying to figure out what on earth we were going to do. I couldn’t go dancing at the local bar because only Linda and I were of drinking age. As we were driving, we saw my sister in town. We picked her up. There is another void in my memory because somewhere in that early part of the evening we did pick up another boy, so that we became three couples. Another factor was the fact that my sister was under a curfew from our parents. She had to be home by 10 p.m., which would never be met. We finally decided to go to “Lookout Point”. This was a place that overlooked the lake. It was a great scenic view and one that had a local history of lover’s leaping to their death, thus called “Lover’s Leap” by the teenagers. I don’t know if anybody ever leaped from this spot, but it made a good reason to see the locale.
The site was a few miles from town, so off we went. It was a night that was overcast and the moon could not be seen. We had never made plans on how we were going to walk through to dark woods to get to the spot. Since we had no flashlight, I bought out the cigarette lighter that I had. Using the lighter was a light, we made our way though the woods to the area. We had to walk single file with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front. It looked a little like the blind leading the blind, but it was fun. We got to the spot and it was beautiful. The country side was full of lights from the houses below, but how it could be a “Lover Leap” escaped me. There was no cliff but a down hill slope with lots of trees. It was a good place to get hurt but no suicide jump off. But it was a scenic and a special place.
Now we had to get back to the car. We had to wait for the lighter to cool down so we could use it as a light once again. During our trek back, the lighter ran out of fluid. We walked, single file, one hand on the person’s shoulder, to the car. The person in the lead was the one who had it rough. Since we couldn’t see, there was a lot of running into trees, tripping, etc. Then someone looked into the surrounding dark woods. Through the trees we saw a pair of eyes. I don’t know if it was a deer or bear, but we all decided it was a bear, and we all started running as best as we could, the girls screaming and the boys yelling all the way.
Once at the car, our fears melted away and we started trying to figure out what to do now. Dale remembered that he had a relative that worked in a bar in the next town. That town was up the hill side a few miles. We decided to go to the bar and pick up a few six-packs of beer. During the drive and somewhere in my flirting, I had decided to sit on Dale’s lap while he drove. There were no cars on the road, so we felt safe. I handled the steering wheel, he handled the gas. It reminded me of the time when I was very small, when I sat on my Daddy’s lap and he would let me drive. Of course then he never took his hands completely off the steering wheel, and he could see the road over my head. Dale didn’t have that luxury. While going up the hill, I saw a pair of eyes in the road, and then I realized it was a deer. I panicked. I couldn’t say a word to tell Dale to hit the brakes, and he couldn’t see the deer. At the last possible second, Dale saw the deer and hit the brakes hard. The resulting situation was no damage to the deer, no damage to the car, but physical pain where the lowest part of the steering wheel met my body. I was in deep pain and decided never to drive again sitting on someone lap.
When we arrived at the town, my sister informed us that she had to make a phone call to our mother. It was almost 10 p.m. and she was going to ask permission to stay out since she was with me. She made the phone call but she didn’t ask my mother for permission to stay out. Instead she told my mother that she would be home in 10 minutes. At the time she made the call, we were 60 minutes from home.
Since Linda and I were of age, we would enter the bar and get 4 six-packs for the rest of us. We were going to tell the story that our parents sent us on this errand. Linda and I went into the bar to get the beer. We were nervous, and I am sure that the bartender knew that something was up but he sold us the beer anyway. Now where could we go to drink the beer? We were, at least, smart enough not to drink and drive. We drove into the hills, looking for a spot that was not near any houses. We found a field, stopped and started our own little party in the car. Before long we were laughing and having a good time. The boys were making animal sounds that made everyone laugh so hard that it hurt. After the beer was gone, we all left the car to make a “pit stop”. During this “pit stop”, one of the boys found a pond. He came back all excited because he thought that it would a good night for a swim.
I didn’t want to go for a swim. No one had brought a swim suit, it was too cold for a swim, and I wasn’t that drunk to take off my clothes for a dip in the pond.
The other four decided that they would go for the swim. They left the car happy and laughing leaving Dale and me alone in the car. Since we were alone, we started kissing, just like any young couple would do. Before long, the four returned, but not laughing this time. They had decided that it was too cold to take off their clothes so the jumped into the pond with their clothes on. They forgot that once the clothes got wet, there would be no way to keep warm.
Dale started the car, started the heater at full blast and down the hill side we went; destination home or anywhere where the kids in the back seat could get warm. During the long ride down the winding hill side, the headlights went out. The moon had come out from behind the clouds, so we had some light. We were all afraid of running into a deer again... There was no place to stop, so we just prayed that we would get home safety. The kids in the back just wanted to get warm. The headlight came back on, so off we went. Then the headlight went off again. This off and on cycle continued all the way home. Dale figured that was a short somewhere in the circuit and soon we all felt like it was normal for the headlights to go on and off.
During this ride, someone started talking about marriage. Before long it was decided that we would all drive to Maryland and get married. I had no intention of getting married, but it was decided that we would go. On the way to the Thruway, (toll expressway of NYS), we stopped a full service gas station. I should mention that this particular gas station was 3 miles from Dale’s house and 5 miles from my house. The attendant looked at the headlights and said he would repair them. During the repair, the attendant couldn’t help to notice four teenagers soak and wet and shivering like crazy. He gave them two blankets to wrap around them. Dale informed him we were on our way to Maryland State to get married. The attendant said to keep the blankets as our first wedding present.
We were on the road again, with the headlight fixed, the heat on high, and the two wet couples snuggled in their blankets. The only problem was that the blankets smelled of gasoline. The heat and moisture sent the gasoline fumes into the car. We had to open the windows to let the fumes out, but at the same time the kids were cold again. We were in a ‘catch-22’. The kids froze with the blankets off and froze with the blankets on. We got on the Thruway, and I got very tired. I laid my head in Dale’s lap and started to drift off. I had no intentions of getting married but I would worry about how to get out of it later. Little did I know that things were going to change again.
The headlight started to go on and off again. The attendant had not fixed the problem. Now going down an expressway at 60 mph is not something you want to do when the headlights are off. Dale exited the expressway at the next exit that he came to. Carefully driving to avoid the police, he took the back roads all the way to his house. Now everyone was tired and just wanted to go home. I picked up my car at Dale’s house and headed for home. It was 3 a.m. and remembers that my sister had told our mom that she would be home at 10 p.m. and that she was with me. My mother is like any other mother, she worries. The result of that worry is that she was out looking for us. In the country side near my home there was a place where two roads intersect and it is very flat. A driver can see another car a mile away from either road. As I was traveling, I saw a car coming towards me. I told me sister that I think it is Mom. She said it can’t be Mom, she is home sleeping. I wagered with my sister that if the car turned left at the intersection, it was Mom. The car did turn left and it was Mom.
When we all arrived met at the house, my sister, in a panic, informed our mother that it was my fault and we were late because we had been on our way to Maryland to get married. She was grounded and I left for college the next day.
The lesson of this story is: It doesn’t matter that you think that you are indestructible; the truth is that you are just lucky this time.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Story on How to Meet Boys
I am sure that every girl has a story in her background on how to meet boys, so this is mine.
The first is one of complete simplicity. Just stand on a corner: a corner of the street or in my case, the corner of the garage. As I have mentioned in my previous story, my father had a small track around the garden in which we rode the motorcycles. The garden was oval in shape with approximately 600 feet on the side and 100 feet at the ends. We had a good size garden. When my father brought teenage boys to the house for motorcycle riding lessons, my sister and I would survey the young men. When we saw one that we might be interested in, the plan was simple. We would stand at the edge of the garage, which was located at one end of the garden. We then made sure that the boy saw us and then waited. If the boy in question was also interested in us, then by the third time around the garden, he would stop riding. The first time around was to see the girl. The second time around was just to make up his mind if he would stop riding. The third time was the decision to stop riding and speak to the girl. That was it. It was quite successful and it was a great way to start a conversation.
The second way is virtually a verse from the song, “Summer Nights” from the movie, “Grease”. If you don’t remember the verse, it is: “He showed up smashing around”. My girlfriend and I had just brought identical bikinis. Of course today they would have been called 2 piece swim suit, but at that time they were quite revealing. We went to the local lake, (not too many people had swimming pools at that time), and looked for boys. One day we saw two boys who, we felt were promising, but how to meet them? The answer was again simple. We just kept swimming in front of them. This was difficult at times, because they kept changing their direction but finally they got the nerve to talk.
A third way was more dangerous, and I wouldn’t suggest it today. When I look back, I can’t believe I would have tried it, but when you are young, you feel like there is nothing that can hurt you. I was driving the family car and cruising down the streets of my home town. Cruising was a good way to meet new people. Cruising was a way of life for the young. The Beach Boys sang about it, but the movie “American Graffiti” with Ron Howard and Harrison Ford probably showed the meaning of "Cruising" the best.
Anyway, during the ride, my friends and I notice a car with the same number of boys inside, also cruising. How to get their attention was the question. Since I was driving, I had the control, but not the way of “attention getting”. While at the stop light, the girl on the passenger side simply opened the window and stuck her head out and shouted something. I don’t remember what she said, but it certainly got their attention. The next step was the controlling factor. I got in front of their car. No matter what, I couldn’t let them get pass me. This was the major objective. When the speed limit allowed or on coming traffic allowed, I would slow down. This would cause frustration on the part of the other driver and thereby keep him or they interested. When the other driver got the opportunity to pass, I would speed up. I had to make sure that they couldn’t pass me. But I had to have a destination in mind so that when we stopped, it would be a good meeting place to introduce ourselves and start a conversation. The cat and mouse game continued for about one hour. The boys were getting more daring and therefore a chance that they would get away. I stopped in front of a local hangout and of course they stopped right behind us. The first thing they would want to know is why we were driving like that. We told them that we wanted to meet them and that was that.
A most interesting way to meet boys is as follows. My girlfriend and I had nothing to do. We didn’t want to stay home but we had no idea of what to do. My father was in the hospital following a knee operation. I asked Mom for the use of the family car and she responded with the question on where we were going. My mother always asked the destination. If I had said that I just wanted to drive around, I would have never gotten the car, so I said I was going to visit Dad in the hospital. Of course I did visit dad. I was not a liar, just never told her the whole plan for the night. This was the only way to get the transportation that was needed. During the ride, my friend and I heard that a music group was playing at the local ski resort. We both wanted to see them but we only had $13.50 between us. The entry fee to the performance was $5.00 each. That left $3.50 for the evening. Since the show didn’t start till 11:30 p.m. and we got at the ski lodge at 8:30 p.m., we had 3 hours to wait with only $3.50 to spend. Since the drinks were $3.50 each and soft drinks were $1.50 each, there was only 1 choice. We had to find some boys to help spend the time and to pay for the drinks until the show.
I decided that we had to purchase a drink that looked like a drink but actually was only a soft drink. The only type of drink I could like of was “rum and coke”.
We purchased the cokes, with very little ice. This was important since the amount of ice indicated if it was a cocktail or just a coke. Then, when we met the boys, we would indicate that we had rum and coke and didn’t want to change the type of drink we were having. Now we had be find the boys since we only had $0.50 left. The lodge had the main floor with the stage, but there was a 2nd floor that overlooked the dance floor and stage. We went to the second floor and to a position where we could watch all the people below. We watched for boys who were alone. Soon it became apparent that all the boys at the lodge were taken and we have been nursing our drinks for so long, that the fizz had left the cokes. Then we noticed two boys sitting at a table close to the wall. We watch them, waiting for the girls to show up. After 15 minutes, we saw them gather something from behind the curtain; it was a bottle of booze. Since the lodge did not allow anyone bringing their own liquor, we determined they were alone. No boy, trying to impress a girl, would be caught being so cheep. They were our suckers. But how to meet them, that was the question? Suddenly I had a plan.
I told my girlfriend to put her cigarette lighter away. The dangers of smoking were unknown at this time and time smoking was considered a social function. I walked over to the two boys’ table, with 2 cigarettes in my hand. I simply asked one of the boys for a light. He lit both cigarettes for me, and I walked back to our table. I gave one cigarette to my friend and kept the other. I smiled at the boy who did me the favor and returned to the conversation with my friend. She said that it wouldn’t work and I told her just to wait, it would. I really don’t know how I knew it would work, I just did. After a few minutes, the boys did join us. We had a great evening, saw the music group we wanted to see and later had additional dates with the boys.
The last tidbit is how to you know that a boy really likes you. There is a song that states, “It is in his kiss”, but that way is not very reliable. In my experience, the kiss only tells you if the boy is interested or his intentions are on other activities. The kiss is far to deceiving. I found a better way. Announce loudly that you are going to view something, anything, but what ever you are going to view will allow you to be alone. If the boy is interested, he will follow.
My case in point, I really liked this boy but I was unsure how he felt about me. My parents were friends with his parents. Each time these friends, with their two sons visited, I was away, babysitting or something. My sister had a crush on the elder son and that was the same one that I was interested in. Since I was never home when they came over, and my sister was always raving about this boy, I thought I would never get my chance to meet him. But that was about to change that autumn. Every fall, my father would go deer hunting. The meat from his kill would help with the meat supply for the family in the winter and reduce the grocery budget. The one problem my dad always had was to the accomplishment of butchering the deer. Since his new friend was a butcher; my dad asked him if he would do the honors. He said yes, so one Saturday afternoon he arrived at the house to do the work and he brought along with his two sons. I was finally home when this boy was also at the house. I got the impression that he was interested in me when I took a sharpened knife to his father. I felt him staring at me and decided I needed a plan to find out if he was interested or if it was my imagination. I started to think of a plan, but nothing seemed to fit the situation since there was no time when either of us would be alone.
The situation was about to change when the butchering of the deer was completed. The meat was placed in large tubs located in the non-heated back room. There the meat would be kept cold until my mother had a chance to wrap it for the freezer. The butcher then came into the house to get warm along with a little socializing with my parents. Of course his two sons accompanied him and now I had my chance. I announced very loudly that I was going to view the meat. Now I ask you, what teenage girl wants to view bloody meat? Since I knew that my sisters had no desired to view the meat, this was my only chance I could think of to see this boy alone. I went in the back room and waited. Sure enough, within a minute, the boy joined me. I then knew he liked me. Just as we were starting a conversation, his little brother joined us, but the spark had been struck. This small spark became a start to a whole new life. That boy later became my husband and the father of my two children and the grandfather of five.
The lesson of this story is this: there are many ways to meet the opposite sex, but the best way is to be you.
The first is one of complete simplicity. Just stand on a corner: a corner of the street or in my case, the corner of the garage. As I have mentioned in my previous story, my father had a small track around the garden in which we rode the motorcycles. The garden was oval in shape with approximately 600 feet on the side and 100 feet at the ends. We had a good size garden. When my father brought teenage boys to the house for motorcycle riding lessons, my sister and I would survey the young men. When we saw one that we might be interested in, the plan was simple. We would stand at the edge of the garage, which was located at one end of the garden. We then made sure that the boy saw us and then waited. If the boy in question was also interested in us, then by the third time around the garden, he would stop riding. The first time around was to see the girl. The second time around was just to make up his mind if he would stop riding. The third time was the decision to stop riding and speak to the girl. That was it. It was quite successful and it was a great way to start a conversation.
The second way is virtually a verse from the song, “Summer Nights” from the movie, “Grease”. If you don’t remember the verse, it is: “He showed up smashing around”. My girlfriend and I had just brought identical bikinis. Of course today they would have been called 2 piece swim suit, but at that time they were quite revealing. We went to the local lake, (not too many people had swimming pools at that time), and looked for boys. One day we saw two boys who, we felt were promising, but how to meet them? The answer was again simple. We just kept swimming in front of them. This was difficult at times, because they kept changing their direction but finally they got the nerve to talk.
A third way was more dangerous, and I wouldn’t suggest it today. When I look back, I can’t believe I would have tried it, but when you are young, you feel like there is nothing that can hurt you. I was driving the family car and cruising down the streets of my home town. Cruising was a good way to meet new people. Cruising was a way of life for the young. The Beach Boys sang about it, but the movie “American Graffiti” with Ron Howard and Harrison Ford probably showed the meaning of "Cruising" the best.
Anyway, during the ride, my friends and I notice a car with the same number of boys inside, also cruising. How to get their attention was the question. Since I was driving, I had the control, but not the way of “attention getting”. While at the stop light, the girl on the passenger side simply opened the window and stuck her head out and shouted something. I don’t remember what she said, but it certainly got their attention. The next step was the controlling factor. I got in front of their car. No matter what, I couldn’t let them get pass me. This was the major objective. When the speed limit allowed or on coming traffic allowed, I would slow down. This would cause frustration on the part of the other driver and thereby keep him or they interested. When the other driver got the opportunity to pass, I would speed up. I had to make sure that they couldn’t pass me. But I had to have a destination in mind so that when we stopped, it would be a good meeting place to introduce ourselves and start a conversation. The cat and mouse game continued for about one hour. The boys were getting more daring and therefore a chance that they would get away. I stopped in front of a local hangout and of course they stopped right behind us. The first thing they would want to know is why we were driving like that. We told them that we wanted to meet them and that was that.
A most interesting way to meet boys is as follows. My girlfriend and I had nothing to do. We didn’t want to stay home but we had no idea of what to do. My father was in the hospital following a knee operation. I asked Mom for the use of the family car and she responded with the question on where we were going. My mother always asked the destination. If I had said that I just wanted to drive around, I would have never gotten the car, so I said I was going to visit Dad in the hospital. Of course I did visit dad. I was not a liar, just never told her the whole plan for the night. This was the only way to get the transportation that was needed. During the ride, my friend and I heard that a music group was playing at the local ski resort. We both wanted to see them but we only had $13.50 between us. The entry fee to the performance was $5.00 each. That left $3.50 for the evening. Since the show didn’t start till 11:30 p.m. and we got at the ski lodge at 8:30 p.m., we had 3 hours to wait with only $3.50 to spend. Since the drinks were $3.50 each and soft drinks were $1.50 each, there was only 1 choice. We had to find some boys to help spend the time and to pay for the drinks until the show.
I decided that we had to purchase a drink that looked like a drink but actually was only a soft drink. The only type of drink I could like of was “rum and coke”.
We purchased the cokes, with very little ice. This was important since the amount of ice indicated if it was a cocktail or just a coke. Then, when we met the boys, we would indicate that we had rum and coke and didn’t want to change the type of drink we were having. Now we had be find the boys since we only had $0.50 left. The lodge had the main floor with the stage, but there was a 2nd floor that overlooked the dance floor and stage. We went to the second floor and to a position where we could watch all the people below. We watched for boys who were alone. Soon it became apparent that all the boys at the lodge were taken and we have been nursing our drinks for so long, that the fizz had left the cokes. Then we noticed two boys sitting at a table close to the wall. We watch them, waiting for the girls to show up. After 15 minutes, we saw them gather something from behind the curtain; it was a bottle of booze. Since the lodge did not allow anyone bringing their own liquor, we determined they were alone. No boy, trying to impress a girl, would be caught being so cheep. They were our suckers. But how to meet them, that was the question? Suddenly I had a plan.
I told my girlfriend to put her cigarette lighter away. The dangers of smoking were unknown at this time and time smoking was considered a social function. I walked over to the two boys’ table, with 2 cigarettes in my hand. I simply asked one of the boys for a light. He lit both cigarettes for me, and I walked back to our table. I gave one cigarette to my friend and kept the other. I smiled at the boy who did me the favor and returned to the conversation with my friend. She said that it wouldn’t work and I told her just to wait, it would. I really don’t know how I knew it would work, I just did. After a few minutes, the boys did join us. We had a great evening, saw the music group we wanted to see and later had additional dates with the boys.
The last tidbit is how to you know that a boy really likes you. There is a song that states, “It is in his kiss”, but that way is not very reliable. In my experience, the kiss only tells you if the boy is interested or his intentions are on other activities. The kiss is far to deceiving. I found a better way. Announce loudly that you are going to view something, anything, but what ever you are going to view will allow you to be alone. If the boy is interested, he will follow.
My case in point, I really liked this boy but I was unsure how he felt about me. My parents were friends with his parents. Each time these friends, with their two sons visited, I was away, babysitting or something. My sister had a crush on the elder son and that was the same one that I was interested in. Since I was never home when they came over, and my sister was always raving about this boy, I thought I would never get my chance to meet him. But that was about to change that autumn. Every fall, my father would go deer hunting. The meat from his kill would help with the meat supply for the family in the winter and reduce the grocery budget. The one problem my dad always had was to the accomplishment of butchering the deer. Since his new friend was a butcher; my dad asked him if he would do the honors. He said yes, so one Saturday afternoon he arrived at the house to do the work and he brought along with his two sons. I was finally home when this boy was also at the house. I got the impression that he was interested in me when I took a sharpened knife to his father. I felt him staring at me and decided I needed a plan to find out if he was interested or if it was my imagination. I started to think of a plan, but nothing seemed to fit the situation since there was no time when either of us would be alone.
The situation was about to change when the butchering of the deer was completed. The meat was placed in large tubs located in the non-heated back room. There the meat would be kept cold until my mother had a chance to wrap it for the freezer. The butcher then came into the house to get warm along with a little socializing with my parents. Of course his two sons accompanied him and now I had my chance. I announced very loudly that I was going to view the meat. Now I ask you, what teenage girl wants to view bloody meat? Since I knew that my sisters had no desired to view the meat, this was my only chance I could think of to see this boy alone. I went in the back room and waited. Sure enough, within a minute, the boy joined me. I then knew he liked me. Just as we were starting a conversation, his little brother joined us, but the spark had been struck. This small spark became a start to a whole new life. That boy later became my husband and the father of my two children and the grandfather of five.
The lesson of this story is this: there are many ways to meet the opposite sex, but the best way is to be you.
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