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Post by Phalon on Nov 4, 2007 22:24:04 GMT -6
Thanks for sharing, Siren and Scrappy. Some great Halloween costume ideas here. I hope Scrappy, that "the little green fluffy stuff on top" of the deli ham sandwich was not mold. Your Dead Julia Child would turn over in her grave.
And speaking of Dead Julia Childs....you and LX are two Dead Peas in a Pod. The only two things she's ever dressed up as for Halloween that weren't dead was a black cat, and Xena - and the latter could be argued. She's been a ghost, a dead medieval princess, a head on a platter, last year's road kill, of course, and this year, a dead bride. She wore a floor-length negligee of mine, with a filmy, sheer robe to match that my aunt gave me for my wedding shower over twenty years ago, and Ick, I just could never wear a negligee given to me by my dear old aunt, but it was too pretty to pitch, so it followed me in a box all these years, packed away in the basement. She carried with her a bouquet of black silk roses, and dead stuff from the yard, and was simply stunning, fully-clothed underneath in sweatshirt and jeans. Her veil was a long, sheer curtain panel, trailing three feet behind her. Her friend's sister, who does the high school drama's department's make-up, did hers. Apparently, she looked just ghastly, and was one of the spookiest ghouls roaming the streets.....or so I was told as BP and I made the rounds, hitting some of the houses LX had already been to. Since she got dressed over her friend's house, I missed her in full dead bride attire. So good was the make-up, that when she came by the house, Hubs didn't even recognize her. "Hi, it's me, Dad. No, really - it's me, LX." BP, my frou-frou dress-up girl went dressed as I-Don't-Know-What. It started out as a cowboy - she found in the basement her old stick pony. Sounded easy enough - a cowboy hat, some boots, jeans, jean jacket, and horse. Scrappy provided the hat and a nifty Marshall's badge.
Looking in the basement the day before Halloween, (apparently our basement is a treasure-trove of Halloween costumes waiting-to-happen), she also found a box of dress-up stuff my Mom had sent a while ago. Pulls out a hideous lavender skirt: layers and layers of purple tulle and a sequined over-lay. A pair of leggings to match. She puts it on with her big, black, six-year old's go-go boots, a pink fuzzy scarf, and a pair of sunglass and declares this is her costume. She happened at the time of try-on, to be wearing a Halloween shirt: one that said, "Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun." Ta-da - she is Halloween Cyndi Lauper. With a cowboy hat and Marshall's badge. Half-way through trick-or-treating, off came the hat, the tulle because it was itchy, as was the scarf, and thank goodness Silver stayed at home, or I would have ended up carrying a horse along with all the other stuff.
The best Halloween candy? Anything chocolate, of course. Those bite-sized or snack-sized teasers....Pfft. Give me the full-sized candy bars, and yay! The girls got quite a few of them. Nothing so big as those mammoth foot-long braided chocolate-covered carmel goo called Marathon Bars though. Now that was a candy bar.
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Post by Siren on Nov 6, 2007 21:44:35 GMT -6
Marathons....oh, those were good! I do remember, though, that the chocolate would shatter with each bite, leaving little chocolate crumbs down the front of one's shirt.
A dead bride? Cool idea!
"Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun" - BOLL!
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Post by Phalon on Nov 9, 2007 0:21:58 GMT -6
BOLL, Siren. I was thinking the same thing - "the chocolate would shatter with each bite" - when I wrote about Marathon Bars. I can remember coming home Halloween night, and my brother and I would empty our bags and spread our candy out on the family room floor to see what we'd received. Tiny snibbles of chocolate from Marathon bars on the carpet would cause Mom to to make us put it all away......Marathon Bar snibbles and Pixie Stix that always broke scattering sugary pixie dust everywhere.
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Post by Siren on Nov 10, 2007 22:54:08 GMT -6
Mmmmmmm - Pixie Stix. I used to pour those in my Coke. When I think of how much acid was in that treat, it's a wonder I have any teeth left!
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Post by Phalon on Nov 11, 2007 8:27:33 GMT -6
OMG, Siren! Pixie Stix in Coke? My teeth are aching and I'm going into sugar-shock just thinking about it.
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Post by Siren on Dec 28, 2007 21:00:04 GMT -6
Pixie Stix and coke is a combo only a kid would like.
How about this: what's your best Christmas memory?
Mine is of my niece, Rachel, at age 4, an age when Christmas is at its most magical. I asked my mom to make sure that I was in the living room ahead of the kids, to watch Rachel's reaction to seeing what Santa had brought. Rachel came rushing in in her little pajamas, and as she spotted the bounty, stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and jaw dropped. She gazed around the room for a long moment, and whispered just one word, "Santa!", then turned and ran down the hall, calling to her sister, "Jordan! Jordan! Santa came! Hurry, Santa came!" Thinking of it even now, it brings tears to my eyes. It was absolutely what Christmas morning should be.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 4, 2008 22:29:55 GMT -6
I've been trying, Siren, to come up with a "best" Christmas memory, and having a difficult time singling out just one. Christmas as a kid was magical. When we were very little my parents went all out, continuing or starting, (I'm not sure which because I've never heard of anyone else doing this), a tradition that Santa brings everything. When I say everything, I mean everything, even the tree!
We'd wake up Christmas morning, and the fully lighted and decorated tree would be where there wasn't a tree when we went to bed, the wrapped presents all around, stockings filled, and Mom would serve a huge breakfast after the opening of the gifts. Both my brother and I can remember hearing Santa's reindeer's bells up on the roof. Yep, it was Dad. Though he was not crazy enough to actually get up on the roof in the middle of the night, in the dead of winter, he was just crazy enough to climb into the attic and ring a string of bells so his kids could hear that Santa had arrived.
This tradition - old, or one they made up to entertain us - didn't last very long. I think it had faded by the time my youngest brother was born. Can you imagine the work involved in just one night! Oh, but it was worth it, if just for the memories my brother and I share.
Hubs had one of those moments this year similar to the one you had watching your niece, Rachel, that Christmas morning. He was outside, putting away the sleds the girls and neighbor kids left out in the backyard. The girls and I were busy getting ready the treats: cookies they made placed on Santa's special plate, Santa's glass of not milk, (we were running low), but eggnog!, (Hubs wanted eggnog from the store, but after one sip, decided it was just as icky as he remembered it. Santa will drink it; Santa will drink anything. No, really, BP, Santa loves eggnog. He must have; he left a note the following morning telling her so), and baby spinach leaves for the reindeer, (we had no carrots, and I convinced her spinach was good energy food for reindeer, kinda like it is for Popeye - she didn't know who Popeye was, but LX said we was some strong guy, and that was good enough for BP). LX, of course, is too old to believe herself, but she puts on a great show for her little sister, (I knew those melodramatic performances of hers would pay off one day).
Hubs told me later that he watched us through the kitchen window from outside. We were all smiling and laughing, but the look on BP's face was one of that wide-eyed excitement and sparkling wonder that only one who truly believes can produce - the real deal, genuine article magic of the season.
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Post by Siren on Aug 24, 2008 23:03:36 GMT -6
I can't believe I didn't respond to that wonderful post, Gams! Seems we are both blessed with some golden Christmas memories. I can just see Hubs watching you all from outside the window. Boy, moments like that, you don't forget. And yes, what lengths your folks went to to make Christmas magical for you kids. I bet they were like the sleepy Christmas-morning parents in "A Christmas Story". But yes, it was so worth it, I'm sure.
The next question: What was the best decision you made at one of those life-changing "forks in the road"?
Mine was to take a job out-of-state. I was the youngest in our family, and had been pretty spoiled and taken care of. I took that job, not really able to grasp the repercussions. But when I moved 3 hours away from my family, I had to learn to survive on my own: living on a strict budget, living on very modest means, doing without things till I could afford them - all the things adults know how to do. As a result, I am in better financial shape than many of my friends are. Not because I am have a lot of money now, but because I take better care of what money I do have. On a personal level, taking that job was the best decision I've made. And it turned out to be an excellent professional decision, too. My job skills improved greatly in the 2 years I lived in that city, and I was able to make an effortless jump to a bigger market, and more money, just 80 miles from my home town. Had I not ever left my home town, I would not be where I am today, personally or professionally. And, another consequence is, in one way or another, I might never have met those early Whooshites, years ago.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 26, 2008 4:28:50 GMT -6
Never met those early Whooshites?! Oh, the horror, Siren! Great post, and a great question.
Leaving home, and joining the military right after high-school was one of those forks in the roads for me, but whether it was the army or college first, either way would have been a culture shock. Going to college first, though, would have altered my life in a completely different way than it is now - I would have never met Hubs.
And the Story of Hubs was the best decision I made at one of those life-changing "forks in the road".....one of those 'true-love' stories with so much sap running through it, you'd think it was maple syrup season.
While I was stationed in Germany, I met a man...a boy, really; we were both barely twenty. Great guy - kind, considerate, and my best friend; we did everything together. When I left Germany, he asked me to marry him, and I accepted. Flew back to the States together to meet each other's families - the whole bit. But he had a year left in Germany before his tour of duty was over.
I settled into my new duties stateside, and was assigned to work with someone who still swears he 'fell in love at first sight'. He, on the other hand, was a hard sell. LMAO. Poor Hubs - he was smitten, and I was engaged to someone else. But he was relentless in his pursuit of perfection, (huge eye-roll!). Ya know, sometimes you just know....and as much as I tried to deny it, I was falling in love with him too; I knew deep down that he was the one and the man I was engaged to was really a great friend - the best one could ever hope for, but that I wasn't in love with him. Hubs and I continued a platonic-type deep friendship, with both of us wishing it could be something more.
It came down to the wire; I was to be married in less than a month. Totally confused about my feelings, finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I broke off the engagement and sent back the ring. I told Hubs I couldn't see him anymore, and requested a transfer to a different station within our company so I wouldn't have to see Hubs daily at work.
Our 'separation' lasted about two months. We moved in together shortly afterward, and were married a year later. That was twenty-two years ago August 16th, and I could never imagine it being any other way.
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Post by Siren on Aug 27, 2008 22:50:51 GMT -6
Great post, Gams. So, your fork (to marry your first love, or not) came after another fork (college or military). Interesting how one fork comes after another. And it's interesting to think about what might have happened if one had taken different forks.
"It came down to the wire; I was to be married in less than a month. Totally confused about my feelings, finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I broke off the engagement and sent back the ring."
If only more people were that sensible. I have been part of quite a few weddings. And I can think of several where I privately told the bride-to-be, "It's not too late till you say, 'I do.'" I even reminded one bride, right before the service started, "My car is right outside." Every marriage that I questioned later ended in divorce. And the one I questioned right before the service, ended less than a year later, after spousal abuse. Hell, if I could sense that the marriage was a mistake, for Pete's sake, couldn't they? Several brides told me later that they went through with the wedding because of the expense and/or trouble they'd gone to. Can you imagine?
You handled your situation with great maturity. Though calling off the wedding was, presumably, hurtful and embarrassing, you did it anyway. All these years later, it must be just one of the blessing of your marriage, knowing your instincts were right, way back then.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 21, 2010 21:51:19 GMT -6
Remember this thread? Ah, some good times in here; great conversations.
I read something yesterday that prompted me to bring this back up again. It was one of those "From the Editor" pages in a magazine; this particular issue of the magazine revolved around the topic "Home", and in the editor's note she describes what she feels is the best part of a home.
"To me, the best part of anyone's home is the bookshelf. Not because I'm an incurable nerd. But because I'm incredibly nosy...A bookshelf tells a person's life story - from passions to plans to changes." ~ Linda Lacina, Strut magazine
So what is it? What's the best part of a home for you?
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Post by stepper on Sept 22, 2010 22:54:48 GMT -6
Best part of my home? The kitchen. Not because I'm a chef - I'm sure it's well documented elsewhere that I am not - but because we always seem to end up in the kitchen. Of course the availability of food is an attraction, but with or without a meal we all end up sitting around the table chatting. It's the place where we relax, laugh, reminisce about parents and friends and pets who have past. When we say "home" it has for each of us a meaning - it's a vision we carry in our minds' eye - a scent that strikes a chord - traditional holiday meals - and for me, the kitchen is the spot where all those things come together.
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Post by Siren on Sept 23, 2010 21:23:13 GMT -6
I agree about the kitchen, Step. Visiting with my sisters and mom as we prepare a meal, the stereo playing in the background, is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. But then, watching a game in the livingroom is great, too. I cannot tell you how many times we've whooped and hollered over great plays, bad calls, and blown opportunities. I like my niece's bedroom, when she and her sis, their mom and I are all piled together on the bed, watching a movie or an episode of "Xena" or "La Femme Nikita". The barn's a favorite, too, sharing choice tidbits from the kitchen scraps with my youngest niece's pet hen, Howl, then strolling around to visit the turkeys, Edward and Elizabeth.
It's all about relaxation and fun with people who know you well. That's what makes my folks' home so special.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 5, 2010 6:26:41 GMT -6
I've neglected getting back to this....was thinking about it, but then it fell off the front page, and I never returned.
I agree with you both about the kitchen, and for all the same reasons. And when the company leaves and it's just us in there - Hubs, me, and the girls - the kitchen is the place without distractions; no television, music (house rule; the radio is not turned on during dinner), or computers. Just a family having conversation - it's the place to catch up on the happenings in each of our days.
I love our kitchen....but I LOVE my front porch! Although the kitchen is a great place to be, my favorite place is our front porch.
The first thing I do in the morning is go out on the porch with a cup of coffee and watch my corner of the world wake up, and the first thing I do when I get home from work is meet Hubs out there - just for 10 minutes or so of wind-down time before the after work/after school dinner/homework with the girls/chore routine starts. Some might say I spend an inordinate amount of time on our porch. All year round, even in the dead of winter (and winter in Michigan is not exactly porch-sittin' season), I can be found on the porch watching the birds, the sun, the moon, and the world in general just outside my front door.
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Post by stepper on Oct 6, 2010 21:21:28 GMT -6
I love our kitchen....but I LOVE my front porch! Although the kitchen is a great place to be, my favorite place is our front porch. The first thing I do in the morning is go out on the porch with a cup of coffee and watch my corner of the world wake up, and the first thing I do when I get home from work is meet Hubs out there - just for 10 minutes or so of wind-down time before the after work/after school dinner/homework with the girls/chore routine starts. Some might say I spend an inordinate amount of time on our porch. All year round, even in the dead of winter (and winter in Michigan is not exactly porch-sittin' season), I can be found on the porch watching the birds, the sun, the moon, and the world in general just outside my front door. Some might wonder if you put fake tombstones on or around your porch for Halloween thus combining your favorite holiday (I believe I read that somewhere in an inordinately spooky post) with your two favorite locations - where you seem to spend an.....immoderate amount of time. Bet you thought I was going to say inordinate again! How do you know when you're being haunted by Phalon's spirit? Your coffee keeps disappearing - and you only drink soda.
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Post by Siren on Feb 27, 2011 9:38:47 GMT -6
"Sunday Morning" on CBS did a story about tearjerkers this morning, mentioning some great ones, including "Beaches", "Terms Of Endearment", "Now, Voyager", "Ghost", "The Champ", and, IMO, the greatest tearjerker of them all, "Brian's Song". Here's the link to the story: www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/27/sunday/main20036897.shtml?tag=contentBody;featuredPost-PEWhat's the best movie for a good cry? (A "good cry" is defined as a cathartic experience in which you feel better after crying over a book, movie, song, etc.) My picks would be "Brian's Song", though it borderlines on a not-good cry, because it makes me sad, too...and the "Baby Mine" scene in "Dumbo", which once reduced a friend and I to sobbing right in the middle of Walmart, as we watched it on one of the demo tvs. CBS also pointed out that tearjerkers are a rarity these days, because today's films are mostly big explosions/little dialogue plots that are popular with young men (a valuable demo for moviemakers) and translate easily for lucrative foreign markets.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 28, 2011 5:57:10 GMT -6
Oooo, good thread, Siren. Thanks for bringing it up again.
I read your post before I read the article. It surprised me that two movies that first came to mind before I clicked on the link were mentioned in the article: Pixar's "Up" and "Toy Story 3".
I just saw "Toy Story 3" this weekend; I rented it to watch with BP. LX, on her way out the door with her friends, said "Oh, that one made me cry!"
Later, "So did you cry, Mom?"
Yep, I was bawling. We cried in different parts, though - hers was a sad cry when the toys held hands, waiting to meet their seemingly inevitable death. She couldn't believe it when I told her that's not when I cried. "The movie wasn't over - they couldn't die yet", was my response.
Mine was a good-cry, when at the end, a grown-up Andy has a moment of nostalgia giving up his once most cherished possessions to a little girl who will love them as much as he did. (sniff and sob!)
"Up" - Shoot, I think I cried through nearly the entire movie.
Adult movies - off the top of my head, "A League of Their Own" had a lovely ending that put me in tears.
As for others, I'm going to have to think about it; there are so many of them. It's a well-known family fact that when it comes to movies or even television shows, I'm a "cry-bucket", (whatever that is).
"Are you crying, Mom?"
"N-n-n-nooo." (sniff)
Hubs: "Yep, she's crying."
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 28, 2011 18:23:05 GMT -6
My grandmother was staying in my parents' bedroom, dying of cancer. She was a skin-covered skeleton. I'd seen commercials for "Terms Of Endearment" and it seemed to be funny, so when it came on satellite I decided to watch it. I needed to get away from what was going on in real life. Yeah. I would not have chosen that movie if I'd known what was coming. I probably cried tons more than if my grandmother wasn't dying herself. However, I think of my grandmother whenever I see commercials for the movie, or come across it on the satellite grid or a channel I've flipped on, so maybe it was a blessing after the fact.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 1, 2011 5:47:48 GMT -6
Aw, that's such a sad story, Joxie. I saw Terms of Endearment at the theater when it first came out - I don't remember a whole lot about it, except that I didn't care for it very much.
Ok, after thinking about it for a while, this is my list of feel-good cries (I can't pick just one):
Dead Poet's Society
Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood (the movie got bad reviews, but I'd read the book, loved it, and was not at all disappointed in the movie).
Titanic - moments of sad sobbing, but also a couple good cries toward the end.
Benny and Joon
I asked LX the same question; her pick without a doubt is "The Pursuit of Happyness". (I always wondered about the spelling of that one until I saw the movie.)
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Post by Siren on Mar 2, 2011 8:42:47 GMT -6
So sorry to hear about your granny, Mia. But what a blessing that you all could be there for her in the end.
I was surprised that "Titanic" wasn't one of the tearjerkers in CBS' report. I remember seeing it in a theater, and hearing sniffling all around me at the end. I did not cry. For some reason, that movie didn't touch me. I think I was too annoyed at its length, and the pain in my behind from sitting so long.
More to come....
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 2, 2011 18:29:02 GMT -6
Thanks.
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Post by stepper on Mar 2, 2011 20:53:11 GMT -6
One is reminded of that famous scene recorded for posterity in the movie Sleepless in Seattle...
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Post by Siren on Mar 3, 2011 0:22:13 GMT -6
Terrific scene, Step. The movie she's talking about, "An Affair To Remember" is a good one. But it's a remake of an even better tearjerker, "Love Affair", with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne. It's not even the big, weepy ending that gets me. It's a scene in the middle of the movie, in which Irene sees past Charles' playboy image, to the sweet guy underneath. On a stop at a port of call during an ocean cruise, she goes with him to visit his grandmother. When she sees how tender and sweet he is with his granny, she lets herself fall in love with him. But it's the scene where he says goodbye to his granny that kills me - KILLS me. Makes me cry, every time.
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Post by stepper on Nov 27, 2011 0:01:37 GMT -6
Siren pointed me over here for a 'Best Used Car' post. The problem is, I haven't had a best used car. My first vehicle was a bug. A VW Beetle. That's not a car you brag about all that much. I can't even remember where I bought it. All I can say is that it was my first vehicle and it had a rough life. I didn't run it hard - I don't know that you CAN run a bug all that hard - but I had to replace the engine and got the super engine in it. And it never got stuck in the snow which I found surprising, but it was light and rode over instead of plowing through snow. I purchased it with money saved from my news paper route - and sold it after I had joined the AF by which time 1st gear was shot. My favorite story with it involves mom - what a surprise. My brother took me to get the learners permit, but with the permit you could only drive if someone with a license was with you. After I got the permit mom said she'd go riding with me so I could drive. I had the VW parked in the back yard. We walked out there and got in. Now, I don't know if you remember bugs but the passenger side had a hand grip just above the glove compartment - a thing that looked like a half circle. Mom sat down, looked at me in the driver seat, cringed, grabbed the hand grip with both hands and inhaled like she was about to go over the top of the world tallest rollercoaster and she wanted to be sure she could scream all the way down - and I took pity on her. Actually I was a bit miffed about it. I had already taken and passed driving lessons in school which meant I learned to drive in a Pontiac 442 convertable with a 5 on the floor. Yet here I was in a Beetle and she was on the edge of panic. I told her never mind - the color came back to her face as she relaxed - and she never did ride with me while I had the permit. My second vehicle was a Ford Mustang, but it only had a slant six 200 hp engine. I got it from some people my mother knew at church and they didn't drive it that much. It was an okay car - but I never really got attached to either one. The next car was my fav - a Chevy Monza and it was my first new car.
If I can expand on the category a bit Siren - maybe my favorite used vehicle was a Honda 550cc motorcycle. I rode it all year up in NJ. Sometimes it got so cold that at a red light I'd grip the engine with the gloves so they'd warm up, but most of the time it was just plain fun riding that cycle. Of course, riding the cycle was also the closest I've actually come to getting killed. I guess we've all got one of those stories. It was maroon and yes Phalon, I know that's not part of ROYGBV, but that's what the vehicle title said, maroon. To me it was a dark red. And it was a smooooooth ride even on those stupid concrete highways they had. You could get on 206 south and at the right speed it was like riding a carousel horse - up and down and up and down - clunk-clunk clunk-clunk. The obvious answer was to ride a bit faster and end the rhythm. Unless you personally experience it it is hard to understand, but there is a feeling of isolation and freedom you can only experience on a cycle. More than once it was just me and an interstate and clear skies all lit up by bright stars and the cycle. It's like Phalon and her skis - it took me places that only riding the cycle could reach. I rode that bike enough that it became something like an extension of me - or I became another component of it. I was as "at one" with it as you can be with an inanimate object. I knew the way it sounded and how it reacted to different conditions - it was just plain pure fun to ride.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 27, 2011 9:50:19 GMT -6
Oooo, I love this thread, and reread the whole thing. Some great conversation in here, even with the holes (there are some missing posts). Great post too, Stepper. More on it later; I've got to run now, (spent too much time reading, I think).
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Post by stepper on Nov 27, 2011 11:47:24 GMT -6
Ah - I see the Major Award is back! I must admit - I like that one.
So Gams - which would be appropriate allowing for today's icon - looking forward to your post. You have something to say about being at one with the skis?
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Post by Siren on Nov 27, 2011 22:20:05 GMT -6
"Mom sat down, looked at me in the driver seat, cringed, grabbed the hand grip with both hands and inhaled like she was about to go over the top of the world tallest rollercoaster and she wanted to be sure she could scream all the way down..."
Lol! Your poor mom! Lol!! That is great. Thanks for taking the time to post here, Step. Good stuff.
A "Super Beetle" - again, another vehicle I had forgotten about.
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Post by stepper on Nov 27, 2011 22:51:17 GMT -6
I remember the Super Beetle because it didn't have air in the summer and the "defroster" almost couldn't defrost. In a longer ride it would eventually heat up some but I don't think people in the back seat would have been warm except they wore enough sweaters and coats that they didn't need the car to do much for them. Unlike Phalons' vehicle with its substantial back seat, the Beetle had only a small bench seat in the back that only children could use, or one adult if they sat sideways. I used it as a spare trunk.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 29, 2011 8:01:40 GMT -6
Wow! I hadn't even noticed Turkey Gams was replaced by Christmas Gams! How'd that happen? Tis the season for fairy dust, and after so many seasons, I don't even have to ask anymore. Thank you, Joxie.
There are a whole lot of people who would disagree with you on that one, Stepper. Of course, that was then, this is now, and now those things are considered classics. My neighbor is a Bug collector of sorts - he's probably purchased 6 or 7 in the last 10 years, buying them off the Internet from all over the country. He restores them, sells them, and moves on to the next. One he's kept though for years isn't a Bug, but an orange-painted VW van (bus?). His wife drives a newer model shiny red Bug.
The neighbor's are definitely off-limits as far as "punch buggy" goes; the rules have changed slightly over the decades and we used to call it "slug-bug" when we were kids, but the gist of the game is the same.
My across the street neighbor has a classic Bug her son tucked safely away in her garage years ago - a powder blue, hard top convertible. LX wants that car so bad she can taste it, but the son is asking way too much for her to consider it as 'a first car'; I think there's a rule somewhere that first cars have to be pieces of cr@p.
Hubs' first car was a VW Bug....which was definitely a piece of cr@p. A giant bolt was substituted for the missing gas pedal, it had to be started with a screw driver, and at some point, he decided it'd look better with the bubble-type fenders removed. He, in his own words, 'drove the p!ss outta that thing'.
During the time of Hubs' Bug, up in Yankee territory, I was driving around in one too...one much less cr@ppy than Hubs'. My best friend's first car was a VW Beetle convertible. As you said, the backseat of those things were nonexistent. But somehow we managed to fit six teenage girls into that thing! Her Beetle ownership was short-lived however, and by senior year she'd traded it in for an MG Midget....even smaller than the Beetle; still we all piled in there somehow.
As was written many times in the first couple of pages of this thread, it's amazing we survived those first cars.
Mom was always gripping something whenever she was in the car with one of us kids driving. She also frequently used the imaginary brake pedal on the passenger's side.
Next topic? Favorite or best childhood toy. Or the worst. Whichever is most memorable.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 29, 2011 18:09:30 GMT -6
You're very welcome, Phalon.
(It doesn't mean I'll remember next year though. )
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