Tagged: thewaywewere

17
Nov
2005

SOME ARE SILVER AND OTHERS ARE GOLD

When I was 13-14 years old, I was in a gang. I know! It’s shocking! But before you unfriend me in horror, take note that we were a gang of total geeky girls who wore polyester and plaid pants (c’mon, it was the SEVENTIES, that’s all there was for 13-year-olds), who drew comic books together and sang in choir and ate entire packs of Opal Fruits in the cafeteria while we talked about boys and the slumber party that Jill was hosting that weekend. Becky and I sort of ran the gang, or at least we started it by hanging...

24
Oct
2005

ROBBED OF INNOCENCE

I think I just shocked my daughter out of a year’s growth. We were getting them ready for bed, and she held her hands up in front of her with her fingers steepled in a praying position and bade me do the same. I dutifully held up my hands and copied her. “Has your mother ever stolen anything?” she asked. “No,” I answered. “Okay, now fold down your little fingers,” she commanded. I did. “Has your father ever stolen anything?” she asked next. “Um…not that I know of,” I answered. She squinched up her eyes and pursed her lips and...

13
Oct
2005

BRAINDUMP

NO ONE tried to guess the puzzle clues??! I’m shocked and disappointed. Okay, they WERE really hard, but STILL! Not THAT hard! I’ve edited the last post to include the answers for you. Use them at your own parties to amaze and confound your friends and family! *** I’m leaving, on a jet plane at six o’clock in the yawning to get to the place where I’m rendevous-ing with the bus. That is WAY too damn early. I have to make some sandwiches and pack a cooler and my weekend bag as well. After we arrive in Stockholm we will...

07
Oct
2005

AMONG THE TREES

One of the things in my grandparent’s house that held a special place in my heart was the three huge paintings of pine trees that hung on the rugged brick wall over the fireplace. The paintings were full of green and shady spaces and a looming majesty that made them seem somehow windows instead of paintings. They were California pines, hanging in a suburban Chicago home, but not a bit out of place for all that. Throughout the house, there were many other paintings and etchings by the same artist, and so the whole house had this woodsy, organic feel...

26
Jul
2005

NOT FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE

You’ve all heard those stories a dozen times. You roll your eyes when your uncles slap their knees and explode into laughter before regaling their audience with yet another rendition of “remember when.” You can recite the anecdotes word for word, the ones they tell over and over, your parents, your grandparents, your cousins; that shared history which is rubbed into your skin and twined about your neck. At least you think you can. When you stop and think, how much is left? How much will you remember? How much gets passed on to enrich the understanding your children and...

16
Jul
2005

I EVEN HANDWASHED THE KITCHEN CHAIR SEAT CUSHIONS

Things That Made Me Miss My Childhood Today: Googling the game Zoom Schwartz Pifigliano after seeing it mentioned in one of my old scrapbook journals. We played it at day camp. And Buzz. Those were fun games. Why don’t we play those anymore? Copying the poem Animal Crackers for jackiejj. My mom used to read that to me, along with the poems about the Gingham Dog & the Calico Cat, and the Sugarplum Tree, and Over in the Meadow, and the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead. Reading a chapter from Charlie and...

19
Jun
2005

I MISS YOU, DAD

My father, John Whitney Slaughter (1940-1996), with HIS father, Danely Philip Slaughter (1911-1970), c. 1941

03
Jun
2005

THE MONKEY THOUGHT ‘TWAS ALL IN FUN

There’s a classic board game in America called Trouble. It’s a fairly ordinary advance-around-the-board-first-one-to-reach-End-wins game. The thing that makes it so cool is the Pop-o-Matic dice roller in the center. It’s a little plastic dome enclosing 2 dice, and when you press down on the dome, it somehow “pops” the dice, automatically rolling them for you (and keeping them from ever being swiped to use in another game whose dice have gone missing, thus causing them to go missing, too). This post kind of reminded me of it. pop! Back before I dislocated my jaw I used to be able...

24
May
2005

OF THINGS WITH WINGS AND BOOKS WITH HOOKS

I was a luna moth once for Halloween. It was the best costume EVER. You couldn’t beat it if you tried. My mom made our costumes when we were small…once, little red riding hood; another time: full-size black bat wings, and then…the luna moth. The weird thing is that I don’t remember wearing it, and I don’t remember the reactions of anyone that saw it. I don’t think a photo of it even exists. It just glows like this shining light of COOLNESS about my childhood. It was complete with pale green net wings on a frame, with the “eyes”...

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