From yesterday...
1. Who is someone from your past you'd really like to meet again, and why?
I would really like to track down my favorite high school teacher, Mr. Cain. He taught U.S. History, which I had junior year. The last time I saw him was about ten years ago, when he visited me shortly after Nolan was born. After that, I didn’t keep in touch and lost track of him, and he moved away from his house to who knows where. (I know where!!! Fluke of flukes, this question prompted me to run a Google search, and voila! Success where none had been before).
Mr. Cain’s class was very easy for me. Each day he wrote notes on the overhead as he lectured, and if you copied them verbatim there was no way you could fail his class. Tests consisted of matching, T/F, fill in the blanks, and two essay questions, and you were allowed to use your notes. I suppose you could fail, but you’d have to work pretty hard at it. I faithfully scribed my notes, and in the end he asked if he could have them because they were so complete.
Each day he shared some historical event for that day. On St. Patrick’s Day, he always wore one green sock and one orange sock, and then explained the issues facing the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. It was my first exposure to Irish history. As a side note, Mr. Cain always referred to my best friend and me as “Murphy and O’Neill.” I guess the Irishness of our names was irresistible, and it made us sound like a duo of trouble. Which we weren’t.
Mr. Cain once told me that I’d end up being a teacher, and I laughed. No way! The thought of being a teacher was as far from my paradigm as possible. But now I need to tell him he was right. Of course, I’m not a teacher in the traditional sense of the word, like he was. However, the mere fact that I’m a parent makes me a teacher, and Librarianship has a heavy dose of teaching involved. More than anything, I’d just like to talk to him and see how he’s doing, and let him know how I’m doing.
The great news is I can do that now that I found him! And just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!
2. What was your greatest fear when you were 10(ish)?
When I was young, I did not like sleeping in total darkness. I don’t think it was so much that I was afraid of monsters, but I just did not like the dark. It was so, well, DARK. Needless to say, I insisted on going to sleep each night with my door cracked open and the hall light on. Sometimes when my parents turned the light off, I must have been sleeping lightly because I’d shout at them to turn it back on. What a pain!
Bees also bothered me quite a bit. I had been stung a handful of times, and anytime a bee came near me I had the compulsion to wave my hands and run away. It took me a while to realize it’s better to stay still. I didn’t get stung again until I was an adult, and that was only because we got into a yellow jacket nest while at work. Oh, and there was that bald-face hornet that flew into my van and got between my bare leg and the seat. Now there’s something to be afraid of – bald-face hornets are mean. I had a huge red spot on my leg for a month after that! Avoid these devils if you can help it.
I would actually say that I’m afraid of more things as an adult. I know too much about too many things. Thankfully I’m also reasonable enough to know that dwelling on fears is unhealthy. Ignorance truly is bliss, but I’d rather not be ignorant.
3. Who was the most interesting/surprising/fu nny customer you ever had to deal with in a job, and why?
I worked in a movie theatre when I was a senior in high school and freshman in college. It was a great job - I got to see lots of free movies and eat lots of popcorn. I also worked with some pretty interesting people. Our crew actually staffed two theatres of a larger chain, and the story I’m about to tell took place at the smaller of the two. Interestingly, I drove by the theatre a while back and it is now a Mennonite church. That pleases me.
When I sold tickets (as opposed to slinging soda and popcorn), I got to sit in a little booth by myself. I answered the phone, and sold tickets. One evening a well-dressed older couple (mid-50’s I’d guess) walked up to the window. It was quite a while before the next show was to start and our exchange went like this (note – times are approximate, but you get the drift):
Woman: When does the next movie start?
Me: 7:05.
Woman: What time is it now?
Me (looking across the street to the clock in the bank parking lot): 6:30.
Man: That’s not what my watch says!
Me (pointing): Well, I just looked at that clock over there.
Woman: Is it right?
I still laugh every time I think of this. Why did you ask if you have a watch? How would I know if the clock is right? Is any clock really right? Good grief. They did come back for the movie, by the way, so it must not have been too traumatic for them.
4. What is the most dangerous/stupid thing you have ever done?
I have never, ever done anything dangerous or stupid. Ever.
One time I drove home from Portland when I was so exhausted I really shouldn’t have been driving. The only trouble is the two other people in the car were in worse shape for driving. We needed to get home, but I’m not sure why we didn’t wait a little longer. Mush brain, I suppose. It was a stretch to keep my eyes open for a while on that drive.
Now that I think about it, commuting to school was dangerous, though not stupid. I drove 180 miles round trip two or three times a week for my classes for almost three years. I had a couple of narrow escapes, and it became clear that certain stretches of the highway were the most dangerous. I’m amazed I didn’t see more accidents, either. The only thing that kept me sane was knowing that when I was done with school, my commute was also done. I’ve done my share of commuting (did some before Nolan was born, too), and I say NO MORE. My time and life are more valuable than spending hours in the car on dangerous roads with wackjob drivers.
5. What was your first experience of being away from home, and how old were you?
The first time I was away from home for any length of time was the summer before 4th grade, when I went to Campfire Camp for a week. I had a blast, and consequently went back the next four summers.
I don’t recall being nervous at all about going. Two other members of my Campfire group went with me, so there was the safety of being with familiar faces. Getting there and back was a production in itself – we took a chartered boat from downtown Seattle to the camp on Vashon Island. When I went to camp it was girls only (though now it is co-ed), so imagine a couple hundred girls and camp counselors on a boat, singing, laughing, and having a good time.
The first year I went we stayed in one of the Blueberry Hill cabins. Each age group/cabin area had a song, and I can still remember the first part of our song:
Re-mem-mem, re-mem-me-member,
Blueberry Hill and good times together,
Laughing, singing, doing whatever,
We like best no matter the weather!
Each group also lined up before meals at a different door of the dining hall. Before they opened the doors, we always sang, so there would be competing songs coming from different directions. At meals we played pass the salt and pepper games, sang some more, and ate food we might not have liked.
Activities included crafts, hikes, overnight sleepouts, and playing on the beach. One favorite activity was “kidnapping” or being kidnapped by another cabin. We’d surprise them, then blindfold the girls and lead them around, making them step over imaginary logs or duck under imaginary branches. Once we arrived at our meeting place, we’d all have smores and sing.
Lots of singing.
The last year I went was my favorite of all. I signed up for a special longer canoeing session. In order to ride in the canoes, we had to take a swimming test in the very cold waters of Puget Sound. Did I mention it was cold? We had to swim from one dock to the other for the first part of the test. Then three of us got into a canoe, tipped it over in the shallow water, and righted it back up. Brrrrrrr! Worth it though! That year there was a girl in my group who was a diabetic. Several times I walked with her to the nurses building when she went to get her shot, it was very interesting. The culmination of our time was to be an overnight trip to a small campsite a couple of miles down the island. The weather didn’t really cooperate, but we did eventually make it down there for one night. On the way back though it started to thunder and lightning, so we ended up getting out of the canoes and pulling them from shore for part of the trip. It didn’t damper our spirits though, and a great time was had by all. Also, we stayed in one of the Village cabins right on the water, which was very cool.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to do this when I was young, and remembering all the good times has really brought a smile to me today.
