A Blonde Boomer's Perspective on Life

e martë, 26 qershor 2007

Finally getting started

Hey, I finally got sat down long enough to gather some thoughts on growing up. You will find them below. I can only sit still for so long so that will have to do it for now. If you have any questions on details of anything I have mentioned just ask. I will try to keep working on some other topics but I am not a detailed type of person and get a little winded when trying to carry on a long dialog. I have always been a better listener. Getting ready for the 4th of July. Viet Nam was just about the end of high school and beginning of college. I will always remember the movie with Tom Cruz, "Born on the Fourth of July" as it gave me a whole new perspective. One of my cousins did not come home. He was shot by friendly fire after a fire fight when his comrade thought the gun was unloaded. They had been swimming in a river earlier that day. I don't recall seeing him or going to the funeral. My other cousin who had been wounded and had returned taking up somewhat of the position Cruz did was barred from the funeral after walking to get there because he had grown long hair. You know, the kind of stuff that goes on in families. Anyway, I had a POW bracelet for a long time but never really knew the outcome. It was a confusing time. Kennedy had been shot while I was in high school so I was quite confused about "the government". Best Wishes to you all for a wonderful and safe July the Fourth.
Oh yeah, I was on a vacation once with my youngest and we visited Gettysburg. He was around 9 or 10 and was not all that thrilled at going on such a long trip with his mom. He had been sleeping in the back seat while I got out and looked at some of the monuments. He thought he would play a trick on me and got out unbeknown to me and I drove off out of Gettysburg without him. When I stopped at a gas station and realized he was not there I was in the worst panic of my life. Luckily I had a CB radio and was able to call the Park to ask if there was a lost boy there and was sooo relieved when they said they had him there at the office. That was probably the scariest moment of my life. We had to memorize the Gettysburg address in school and recite it. I don't remember what grade. More later, Have a good one!

e diel, 17 qershor 2007

Lasting Impressions from Childhood

Atom Bomb Documentary
Santa Clause Light
Exploring Attic
Bike on Flagpole
Taps and Flowers at Cemetery
Mother Nature and Animals
Fishing and Hunting with Dad
The Bad Dream and Snakes Under the Bed
Steady's and Date Rape at the Prom

Some of the things I recall growing up in Michigan

Some of my earliest recollections were from Kindergarten. I remember being chosen to be the band leader for the triangles, bells and tambourines band and also being stung by a wasp in the sand box. I am not sure how old I was when I had chicken pox but I do remember sitting in a purple velvet rocking chair which was facing away from the TV because I would be cross eyed if I watched TV while having the chicken pox.

Sitting in that same chair I saw the destruction of the Atom bomb on Hiroshima. My mother did not hear the announcement about the content about to be presented. I watched the whole thing. I will never get those images out of my mind. I also remember things like a Christmas gift of a furry mouse that pinned onto my collar.

Things like being afraid of the teacher who did not let you go to the bathroom until you had an accident, my bike being at the top of the flagpole and me not knowing how it got there, getting hit in the back of the head as the boys came in from recess carrying their bats, and pulling my tooth out when the teacher told me to take my gum out when in reality I had just bitten down on a piece of caramel Black Cow candy, these are some of my most vivid memories. Of course there were the infatuations and graduating from the 8th grade.

The elementary school I attended had two grades in every room up through the 8th grade. It was my father's High School and the Fireman's Ball was held in the gym, annually. Beginning in the 9th grade we had to ride the bus to the high school which was about a half hour ride. This pretty much eliminated after school activities until after driver's training and my 16th birthday. My boyfriend used to come over on his motor scooter.

I remember the time we were riding the whoopie roads and all of a sudden we hit a sand bank and the windshield was covered with dirt. Even in those days it seems like the goal was to go steady. I was probably a co-dependent then and did not know it. I was torn between the steady part and learning how to have friends. There were only a few girls to be friends with anyway and they lived in the town where the high school was. I never had the kind of friend that is thought of as the traditional girl friendship where you do everything together. I likened my high school dating to the movie "Splendor in the Grass" with Natalie Wood.

My Senior Trip was a train ride to Chicago to an amusement park. I divorced my class on that trip and met a Green Beret and a musician who was going to play at a town just outside of Chicago. He asked me to come visit him but my father said that musicians were not always the best intentioned when it came to boy-girl relationships.

My father had played in the Army band and gotten sick from Malaria in Japan. He always played the echo for Taps on Memorial Days. I remember feeling very patriotic from a very young age. One Memorial Day in particular I remember being at the cemetery and a plane flew over dropping flowers all over the cemetery. It was quite impressive. I have always gotten all choked up when I hear marching bands play to this day.

A Blonde Boomer's Perspective on Life

e martë, 26 qershor 2007

Finally getting started

e diel, 17 qershor 2007

Lasting Impressions from Childhood

HI ! I'm a blonde boomer. Glad to see you here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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Some of the things I recall growing up in Michigan