October 19, 2010
Ten
Climbing in the apricot tree wearing my pink dress.
Sitting on the back fence, stealing tangelos.
Wrapping my hand in tape and saying I broke it to the babysitter.
Wanting more than anything to break open the snowman piñata in the garage. When we finally did, it was disappointing.
Hearing soldiers marching down the street, looking for them and never seeing them.
Playing by myself and mom grabbing my arm, realizing finally that I actually could not hear a word she was saying.
Playing Mario with the neighbor boy and his aunt saying “you’re hurting mario’s head busting open those blocks.”
Flying off the top of the house like a Pterodactyl.
Watching the 1992 Olympics.
Mom hanging up the phone when dad said he bought a new car.
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Oh, these are beyond wonderful.
I would have liked to have watched the olympics with you.
I want to make a snowman piñata for you and fill it with things that will not disappoint.
I liked the Olympics. I liked the ’96 Olympics more cause I remembered the other ones a little bit. Later I would achieve minor success as a gymnast. By that, I mean I held the high bar on the unparalleled bars and with great concentration and effort reached down, keeping my toes on the lower bar, and swung down to it. I also could get over the pommel horse. Loved that.
The snowman was disappointing partly because a) we had destroyed something that we had had for a very long time, b) mom separated all the candy out into baggies and c) Jayne got it, because her birthday was in November and it snows in November in some parts of the country.
I spend a lot of time thinking about how my encroaching childhood hearing problems and deafness played a part in my ability to imagine things, my disconnect from reality, and my complicated relationship with my mother. Such things are too hard to bring up though, for fear I’m wrong and it’s just the way it is.
Mom told me once that I was so sick with strep throat that I was given medication and then became paralyzed for a short time as a result and she was forced to rush me to the emergency room where they told her I was very allergic to the medication. She told me this off-hand when I was about 15. I don’t know that I ever recovered, and once when I found out a boy didn’t like me and I might have strep throat all in one day, I had one of the worst meltdowns I’ve ever had.
There is something to that. With me it was my very poor vision. I think my attraction to taking low-resolution, blurry photographs might come from something in my experience as a myopic and somewhat odd child.
I hated it when, at age seven, I got my first pair of glasses. I hated being different, but even more, I hated discovering that the world was so sharp.
Sheila, sometimes I will take my contacts out so I can relax.
Sheila, Deron, I wear my reading glasses when I want to hide from the world.
Kelsey, I’m looking forward to your ten. For that matter Andrew, too. Carole? Dave? Amy? Who am I missing.
It’s very easy and a lot of fun to do. The main thing is, you don’t need to labor over it. I know I sure didn’t. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. Just post whatever comes to mind.
Also, Cindy’s and Daryl’s friend Tom Sale (Pinky Diablo), who inspired my initial “ten memories” post and thus all y’all’s, wrote me tonight to say he’d like to draw every one of the memories we’ve posted.
I wish I were rich. I’d commission him.
Did the babysitter buy your amateur tape job? Did she humor you, I wonder.
My niece wore Ace bandages for years, around her ankles, or knees, or wrists. She would be in pretty ruffles and lace and insist she had vague pains and needed wrapping. She didn’t seem to even want attention from them, she just needed them, somehow.
I think she did, and then an older babysitter (I was at a pre-school type event) noticed and said “What are you doing!? You’re going to let her cut off circulation in her hand.” And then I felt smug because I perceived myself as being smarter than the teenager. This was a bad start.
HA! A tricky little preschooler. At least you were interesting.