Aaah, the middle school years. These were the years where my memories started to stick and become smoother, with fewer gaps in between. There is a lot that is still a blur, however. I only remember the family across the street, for example, and none of the other kids in my classes or neighborhood. I tried long hair, and though you don’t see it in these pictures, I had glasses, though I hated them and took them off at every opportunity, and at one point had to wear a patch to help correct my amblyopia. My mom would draw eyes on it with one of those pencils that is red on one end and blue on the other to try and make me feel better.
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4th grade was my favorite year of elementary school. My teacher’s name was Mrs Amendum and she encouraged my reading to the point of insanity. I remember nothing of the entire school year because all I did was read. The year was 1973 and we were living in Omaha, Nebraska. We had a German Shepherd named Heidi and a Siamese cat named Tish and my sister had a black & white rabbit named Thumper. Sadly, both the dog and the rabbit died at some point before we moved from Nebraska. I set up endlessly elaborate doll houses and doll living spaces but never actually played with the dolls and listened to The Carpenters OVER AND OVER. Also, Little House on the Prairie was not yet on the air. |
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There are NO EXCUSES for this dress, Mom. None! *shudder* It’s Dorothy crossed with Peter Pan, by way of Laura Ingalls Wilder in her Sunday Best. Which show, by the way, was NOW ON THE AIR. Thank goodness, I had cut my hair in a Dorothy Hamill bob like the rest of the world, so that the references to Melissa Gilbert would be staved off for a short while longer. 5th grade was our last year in Omaha. I had a case of severe strep throat in the middle of the school year and missed something like 5 weeks of school. My teacher, Mrs. Brown, was a complete witch, and my math skills were traumatized for life after her influence. Plus I turned in an awesome book I wrote for an assignment (with illustrations) and she NEVER GAVE IT BACK. |
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AAAH! Laura Ingalls LIVES! haaa! What a hoot. To make things even more funny, I had a mad crush on Michael Landon. My father was at some year-long military officer course and we had moved to Montgomery, Alabama for a year. We lived in a walled community, and each set of townhouses had an inner courtyard with a pool. I grew my fingernails really long against my mother’s wishes and devoured books like The Witches of Worm and House of Stairs both of which still give me the willies to this day. We explored the creek outside the housing community for miles under the Spanish moss and my sister and I were both obsessed with making jewelry out of colorful plastic-coated telephone wire. |
Previously: Lower Elementary. Next up: Junior High School