Vacation~

Summer 1983.  We piled into the Chevy S-10 pick-up truck and drove north from Ventura up the Pacific Coast Highway.  We saw Pismo Beach and Morro Bay.  South of San Francisco, dad was trying to merge into traffic and managed to clip a Volvo full of bridesmaids and the bride on the way to a wedding. 
Can [...]

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Landers~

On Christmas Eve 1983, my parents moved us from Ventura California to Landers California.  The house was a delightful place at the end of  Dusty Mile Road.  No joke.  Down the driveway from us and to the west was a little shack that made us nervous.  We heard shots fired, drinking and blatant drunkenness of [...]

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The Tantrum~

I get a horrified feeling akin to panic when I imagine throwing a temper tantrum around my parents.  It simply wasn’t allowed.  I don’t know if I ever threw a “regular” one but I do know that I managed to do a nice subtle one, once when I was five, and got away with it.  [...]

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The Foods of Our Lives~

I’ve been thinking about food and childhood.  It started with the thought of saltines with butter on them.  I hadn’t thought of those in over twenty to thirty years!  It got me thinking of other foods and well…

Butter and saltines-  the ultimate childhood snack.
Spinach with vinegar on it.  I don’t remember when I realized I [...]

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Mrs. Elkins~

We sat at our desks, nervous as any first day of school.  Second grade, third school.  I was the “new girl.”  I’d be the new girl most of my life but it always felt like it started here even though it technically started in kindergarten when we moved from Fillmore to the Estes Ranch in [...]

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Aggravation~

No… not aggravat-ING.  Aggravation.  The game.  Uncle Oscar made us all boards at one point.  I wish I had one.  Any gathering at Grandma’s was sure to include a game of Aggravation or three.  These games were long, loud, and fun.  The rattle of the dice, the clank of the marbles as they rolled across [...]

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Breakfast… Though Not at Tiffany’s…

Salt air drifts through the window into your subconscious as you sleep.  The air is cool and the fog along the coast hangs thick outside your house.  You sleep dreaming of sea gulls, high tide, and wet sand under your toes.
A hand shakes your shoulder.  “Chautona-  time to get up.  We’re going to the desert [...]

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Springs ‘n’ Things~

A green Ford Ranchero, a black lab mixed mutt, an ice chest, utensils, and a length of good road.  The perfect recipe for a wonderful day.
My dog Earl and I climb into the back of the Ranchero and settle against the back of the cab.  Earl loves to lean his head over the driver’s side.  [...]

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Oh the Places You’ll Sleep!

I’ve slept in some interesting places in my life.  I don’t remember the first, I just know about it.  Apparently for the first few weeks-months of my life, I slept in a dresser drawer.  It actually makes sense if you think about it.  Alas, I have no memory of it so I can’t tell you [...]

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Arthur~

No, I’ve never known anyone by that name.  I don’t know if my parents have or not.  When we lived in Noel, mom and dad bought a laser disk machine and we rented disks from the local store every time dad came home.  I’ll never forget the great movies we watched on that thing.  Raiders [...]

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