Yikes!

A couple of nights ago, I was lying in bed, reading, when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, up on the ceiling. I put my magazine down and looked up to try to really focus on that spot and see if there was truly something there. Yes! There it was again...it moved! What is that? I watched it come down lower, lazily and silently through the air to Unsuspecting Hal's side of the bed. He snored softly, totally unaware. I realized it was one of those "mosquito eaters" (which, it turns out, don't eat mosquitoes at all, dammit). It was all tangled up in some cobwebs and now, weighted down, was sloooowly crashing as gravity overwhelmed its aerodynamics. Like a helicopter trying to stay airborne but about to crash...in very slow motion....down, down, down.....

I, on the other hand, leaped from the bed JUST as it landed on my pillow! Exactly where my head had been! Yikes!!

I grabbed my magazine and rolled it up to swat at the evil thing, when it went under the bed on my side. I stood there, barely breathing, waiting for it to surface again. How could I go to sleep, knowing that it was inches from my body, ready to ascend, and land on me?! After 10 (yes, TEN) long minutes, I finally convinced myself that most likely it was hopelessly tangled up in the dust bunnies under the bed and wouldn't be able to fly. I got back into bed, read for a while more (and, I confess, looked to the side more than a couple of times) and finally turned out the light.

That's when I started worrying whether or not a mosquito eater can crawl.....

44 Years Ago

I'm going to post several entries all together. Enjoy:

J---
Today Ken was gone because he is in Student Assembly! I didn't know he did that kind of stuff! "Laramie" was tuff today. You kissed this girl and ran after her when she was in her underclothes! PS--I LOVE KEN!!
Dear Jess--
Ken was here today, but didn't get in trouble. (***) Darn. I love him and you so .
Dear Jess--
Tomorrow Cathi, me, Mom, Dad, Gram & Gramp are going to see "South Pacific" at school. Should be good.
J--
"South Pacific" was good. Enjoyed it very much.
Dear Jess--
Went to movies all day long! Got in trouble. PS--Robert Wagner is Tuff!

Yes--"Went to movies all day long." How well I remember that day! Lorna, my next door neighbor, and I went to the theater--the only one in town--in the afternoon on a Saturday. Back then, it was always a double feature--the main picture, and the "B" picture. Robert Wagner was in the main picture and Lorna and I were instantly in love. He was so handsome, that smile! His hair!When the two movies ended, we just stayed put and watched them again, back-to-back. We may have even watched a third time, I don't remember. No usher came to sternly escort us out; no, "in trouble" was not that kind of "in trouble." It was my DAD who was royally ticked off, and then Lorna's mom when we got home. Oooh, boy, were they mad! Luckily, we were too old to be spanked.

(***)--remember, Ken getting in trouble meant he had to sit by me!

March 1st !

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

44 Years Ago

My favorite number is 4. This year we elected our 44th President.

So, to grab onto a theme (very loose association, I agree) I'm going to post a daily entry from my diary from 1965. 44 years ago, get it? Crazy, no? I am saying, up front, that I might omit some entries and substitute others. But I will always own up to that and let you know.

I was 14 in March of 1965, a freshman at Castro Valley High School. For some reason that no longer makes sense, I addressed my diary, "Dear Jess." That year I was in love with the character "Jess" on Laramie, a TV show that came on at 4pm every school day.

Ok, here's the entry for March 1, 1965, 44 years ago.....

"Jess,
I love Ken so much! I really love him more than you! Today he got in trouble in Spanish and the teacher put him by me. It was so tuff!! We talked and everything. He gave me some gum and I have the wrapper! It was absolute bliss! I wish he'd get in trouble more often!"



Pretty classic, eh?

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good.....

1. Tart, sour dill pickles on burgers with bleu cheese. Whoever thought of this taste combination was brilliant.
2. Sleep. Lots of it. And...
3. Dreams. The more the merrier, and the more convoluted the plot, the better.
4. The wonderful women at Emily's new internship at the Florist's.

.....the Bad...

1. Senile cats. 16-year-old Susie jumps up on the couch, faces the pillows and meows as if she were being branded. It's really horrible in the middle of the night. She stands on the bed, facing the door, caterwauling. Immediately wide awake, I say, "Susie!" and the sound turns into a little pitiful kitten meow. Yeah, right, Susie.
2. Pain. SO done with pain!
3. The servers who, after being asked to bring EXTRA pickles with that bleu cheese burger, bring you NONE. Arrrgh.
4. Tomato worms. eeeeeee. Makes me shiver just to think of their big, fat green worm bodies with that crazy eye and horn. !!!!

...and the Ugly

1. Foul-language bumper stickers. What's the need?
2. The whole experience dealing with insurance companies. Do they train to be that dense, unhelpful, irritating?!
3. Arthritis.
4. Pain of any kind.

A New Blog Is Born!

Twenty-eight years ago, I gave birth to my son. And today I give birth to this blog. Both are creative processes--just of a different sort.

Tyler, being the exceptional person he is, was "done" after only 31 weeks, instead of the requisite, usual, 40 weeks. This blog, on the other hand, has been swirling around in my head for years.

It's time.