When I Was A Kid

MY PARENTS TOLD ME: To stop talking so much in class when I was in school. I always used to get in trouble for talking and a few times even had to do those assignments where you'd have to write "I Will Not Talk In Class" one hundred times. Gee, that didn't work, now did it??

I WANTED TO GROW UP TO BE A: Makeup artist.

I REFUSED TO EAT: Refused to eat?? OK, seriously...there wasn't much I refused to eat. My brother and I were not picky eaters at all. Not that we'd be able to get away with it like kids do today. "Oh, he doesn't like potatoes." or "She won't eat broccoli." What??? Who the fuck is the parent here? Your kid eats what you tell him to eat. No questions. Well, at least that's how it was in our house. My mother and father were both good cooks and we always had a variety of foods available. My mother made us taste everything - "try it at least once," we were always told. And we did. I guess I'd have to say the one thing I probably hated, but didn't refuse to eat because my mother would have never stood for us refusing to do anything she told us to do, was the Shaklee Protein Drink. It was disgusting then, and it's probably disgusting now. I'm so glad her "health food phase" didn't last long.

MY FAVORITE THING TO DO OUTSIDE WAS: We lived on several acres and my brother and I did a lot of things outside, but my favorites were:  climbing trees, riding bikes and swimming in our pool. And in winter, sledding down the hill across the street.

I LIKED TO WEAR: Sundresses, my bathing suit, peasant skirts, and pajamas.

MY PARENTS ALWAYS: Laughed, played music, entertained, and did things together - whether it was cooking, building a bookcase, gardening, painting (my mother liked to whitewash everything she could get a brush on), or working outside. They were always planting flowers, trimming trees, doing the lawn, etc. My father loved to spend money buying stuff to make our house and yard look pretty, and my mother was the tireless workhorse who got it all done. The big thing though, was that they always did it together.

I THOUGHT THAT SANTA WAS: TOTALLY real. My father used to eat the cookies and drink the milk we left out. And one year, we were at a friend’s house and the mothers rounded up all of us kids and told us to wait in one of the bedrooms because they had a surprise. Well, while we were in there, the fathers got on the roof and walked around, jingled bells and bellowed “Ho-Ho-Ho” loud enough for us to hear. Our eyes were like saucers and our mouths dropped open. Santa was on the roof!!! I’m still a total believer. :)

MY FAVORITE CARTOONS WERE: The Flintstones, Fat Albert, Josie & The Pussycats, Bugs Bunny

I WAS THE: First grandchild in the family on my mother’s side (she had three younger sisters, I was the first kid), thereby making me the star. I was the oldest child in our family (my brother is a year younger). I was talented, creative, chatty, inquisitive, smart, sassy and always the center of attention. So, pretty much the same way I am now.

I GOT IN TROUBLE WHEN: I talked back. I was very mouthy and always trying to negotiate better deals for my brother and me. And the only time I got in trouble in school, was for with the talking thing.

MY BEDROOM WAS: AWESOME. We had a big house, but my bedroom was the place where I had all my personal things and was decorated to accommodate my personal needs. I had graphic black and white wallpaper (HUGE black flowers on a white background), modern white Formica furniture, a green and white gingham bedspread with ruffles on the bottom, and tons of pillows and dolls that sat on the bed, arranged perfectly by me. My father built me a set of shelves on the wall, where I had a desk that held my radio, books, trinkets, and artwork. I had a really cool corkboard where I pinned things that were special to me, and a big closet with two rows of clothing bars, upper and lower, and boxes organized on the top shelf. On the bottom, all my favorite shoes. I also had TWO windows since I had the corner room, so I was able to look out the side of the house where our pool was located, and out the front window where I had a view of the corn field across the street and the mountain beyond it.

MY FAVORITE FOOD WAS: Cocoa Puffs. Oh, not cereal? Food? OK, then my father’s Chicken Tarragon. And his Chicken Marsala. And sliced London Broil. And Gnocchi (handmade, by my great aunt and uncle). And Braciole. And my grandmother's stew. But if I have to pick one, I guess I'll go with my father’s Chicken Tarragon.

MY PARENTS ALWAYS MADE ME: Share and tell the truth. I still do both.

MY FIRST CRUSH WAS: A boy named Jimmy, sometime in middle school. Sadly, by high school, although he was still WAY FREAKIN’ CUTE, he turned into a tobacco spitting redneck who wore overalls all the time. The overalls were hot in 7th grade, but lost their appeal by senior year. Now he’s a Republican. Enough said.

MY FAVORITE TOY WAS: Well, I always loved my Barbie dolls, so that’s my first choice. Also, I remember loving Spirograph – remember that thing, with the plastic gears, that you put the pencil or pen or whatever through the holes and drew circles? I also had another doll, a big doll, tall, not like the Barbies, where the hair was split in two – blond and brown - you twisted her head so she was either a blond or a brunette. That was kind of cool.

I THOUGHT SCHOOL WAS: Not challenging enough in elementary and middle school, and kind of the same in high school, except in high school there was the added bullshit of catty girls and asshole boys. Yeah, not really a fan of school in general. I should have gone to private school.

MY BIGGEST FEAR WAS: I had no fears as a kid. I felt very protected as a young child, and as I got older, my parents were strict enough to know what we were doing and where we were at all times. There was no time to be afraid.

MY FAVORITE STORY WAS: The only one I can think of off the top of my head is The Princess and The Pea. I also liked the Nancy Drew books.

MY FAVORITE MEMORIES: Going fishing at Jay’s Lake, Swan Lake and in the Moriches in the southern part of Long Island with my father. Doing macramé, crocheting, and crafts with my mother. Cooking with my parents. Swimming. Summer BBQs. Playing in the snow and going sledding. The year our family made a trip to Whiteface Mountain, Lake Placid, Santa’s Workshop (in North Pole, NY), and the Land of Makebelieve, all located in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. Family get-togethers. Trips to the Bronx. Visits from my grandparents.  SO many great memories.


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2011: Nuts About Thanksgiving
2010: On The Way To Turkey Day
2009: Winding Down For The Big Holiday
2008: Pssst! The Fish Are In The Water. Check The Water.
2007: Elphaba’s Long Lost Sister?
2006: What Boys (And One Girl) Do On Thanksgiving
2005: Cold Turkey