Crazy Antics and Dreams

A Free Range Rooster, Green Dye, and a Prank

One beautiful Easter, two young boys in our neighborhood received fluffy yellow chicks. Only one of the chicks reached full maturity and it turned out to be a feisty white Leghorn rooster. I don’t remember if it had a name or not, but I do know that it roamed the neighborhood far and wide. The noisy and messy rooster would often “muck up” the next door neighbor’s porch that led into their kitchen. This house was my brother’s best buddy’s home and his mother would have to chase it away from her door everyday.

Did I mention that the rooster chased cars like a dog? Well it did and when the car would stop at the corner, it would then jump on the hood then squawk and peck at the vehicle. Amazingly  the darned bird never was hit by a car. One day the bird’s white plumage was suddenly a bright green. The next time our neighbors’ mom took a broom to chase the rooster off of her porch, she screamed in dismay. Unsuspecting drivers who didn’t know about the rooster, green or otherwise, would brake hard when the bird attacked their car. For several weeks no one confessed to the dye job, but it was a great joke. A couple of months later the dye faded, the bird grew older, and eventually “kicked the bucket.” My brother and his buddy ultimately admitted to being the pranksters who dyed the rooster green.

Teenagers, Chess, and Toilet Tissue

As a young teenager there weren’t many other girls my age in the old neighborhood. In fact,   the girls who did live close by were either five or six years younger than me or a couple of years older than me. So I rode bikes and played board games with my brother and several other boys. On warm nights we would gather on the front porch of our house and play Chess. Between all of us we had three or four Chess boards with one player extra who would watch the games in progress. When one game ended, the extra player would take one of the loser’s place while the others shifted opponents. We rotated opponents and passed the evenings pleasantly enough with game after game of Chess.

 

One warm evening when I was the odd man out and waiting for my turn, a movement on the street caught my eye. Two boys on a motorcycle coasted silently down the street with the headlight turned off. I alerted the guys and we watched as they stopped in front of a house further down the block. The boys began to decorate the trees and bushes of the house with toilet paper. One of the guys in our group yelled in a deep voice, “Hey! I’m going to call the cops!” The culprits dropped everything, jumped on their motorcycle, and beat a very hasty retreat. It was a hilarious scene and the guys left behind numerous rolls of toilet paper which we collected and then stored away for later use. We began to watch for other teenagers attempting to toilet paper homes in our neighborhood. By the end of that summer we had accumulated dozens of rolls of toilet paper. On Halloween we must have decorated most of the houses in the neighborhood with toilet paper! What teenagers will do when given a chance! In our defense, we only decorated the houses of other teenagers we knew. At least we all learned to play Chess!

And then there was the Christmas Eve . . .

Once upon a time on a Christmas Eve long, long ago, my Grandmother volunteered to take my brother and me to see the Christmas lights. My brother must have been about five and I would have been about four years old at the time. The trip to see the lights was a ruse that our parents had concocted so that they could put out the Christmas presents. On our return, we were told that Santa Claus had arrived while we were gone.

On this particular excursion, Grandma got us lost. Did I mention that my Grandma lived on the other side of town and wasn’t familiar with the streets in our neighborhood? Needless to say, we were away longer than my parents needed to execute their part of the plan. Fortunately, my brother recognized a familiar landmark and was eventually able to guide Grandma back to our house. What can I say? I was merely a passenger and barely able to remember the incident. All in all, we saw some beautifully decorated houses.

It’s Turkey Time!

My memories of Thanksgiving Day range from the freezing cold day to the ninety degree plus day! When I was a kid and for many years after I was married, we would celebrate with Mom’s turkey, dressing, and all the fixings. As we grew older and the family grew with in-laws and grandchildren, we all celebrated together until some of the family moved to other states and couldn’t make it home to join us. What I have always found funny was that someone would always take a photo of the table with the meal presented in all of its glory. Unfortunately, we now have numerous photos of the dinner without the date written on the back of the picture; and we can’t tell which year is which because they all look the same! Please tell me that my family isn’t the only one that does this strange ritual.

 

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was always a hit with me even after I married. One year in the seventies, I watched the parade as I had a hundred times over the years. Santa Claus’ arrival at the finale of the parade was my favorite part, but one year was different. As I watched Santa Claus enter Macy’s store, his pants fell down! Fortunately, old Santa Claus was wearing a pair of white long-handle underwear. What added to the comedy was that poor Santa Claus wasn’t aware that his pants had hit the sidewalk. Later that day, my parents didn’t believe me when I told them the story. Years later we were watching a bloopers-type show and they showed how Santa Claus had lost his pants on live television. I’ve told many people this story, but few had seen the parade that year and I’m certain they don’t believe me any more than my parents when I first told them the story.

Nana’s China Cabinet

Many times people must see to believe, especially since words cannot adequately describe how beautiful Nana’s china cabinet was after its careful restoration. In less than two short weeks, Nana’s china cabinet was transformed from a Salvation Army reject into the gorgeous and valuable antique. The first time I saw the restored cabinet, it was difficult to believe that it was the same piece of furniture. Speechless with astonishment is the closest description of my reaction. Apparently, everyone else in the family had turned down Nana’s china cabinet because of its   appearance. Little did they realize that the china cabinet was a genuine treasure; after all of these years, I still can’t believe my good fortune to have received Nana’s china cabinet.

 

Here is the poem I wrote about this beautiful transformation entitled, The Beauty Within by Sharon E. Dreyer – 11/11/1991:

 

She was the last of the furniture left in the empty apartment. Her companions had been carted away days ago. All of the old woman’s relatives had rejected her, leaving her desolate and lonely.

 

Abandoned and forlorn, she felt old and the memory of youthful beauty faded another shade with each passing day. She stood proud in spite of her splotchy and peeling coat of mahogany paint.

 

Hope was not lost, but with each passing day it was more difficult to cling to the dream of being rescued. She had heard the junkyard stories and feared being left in the weather to warp and deteriorate into ugliness and eventually into nothingness.

 

She had assumed that the old woman’s granddaughter would react as negatively as the other relatives had; however, to her astonishment, the granddaughter smiled and touched her gently. Indeed, this lady was the first in many years who seemed excited about her and was not deterred the least by the ugly reddish paint that smothered her.

 

To her amazement, the lady placed her into the tender care of a gifted craftsman whose caring and gentle hands erased the years of neglect and abuse. She tingled with delight as each layer of ugliness was stripped away and she glowed as forgotten beauty was revitalized.

 

Within the short span of a fortnight, her rich walnut hardwood exterior gleamed and her handmade poured glass panes sparkled. The derelict façade that held her captive for so many years soon became a faded memory.

 

Shortly after the journey to her new home, the lady invited her friends and family to a party to celebrate the holidays and admire the newest addition to her household. With each passing day, contentment and joy consumed her. She had been transformed from an unwanted derelict into a valuable antique. Her rescue had been a daydream come true and she considered the lady to be her hero and best friend.

A Nice Bridesmaid’s Dress

There’s no end to the jokes about bridesmaid’s dresses, but this is not a joke. In 1986, one of my sisters had her wedding here in San Antonio, Texas. I was pleased that she selected a very nice dress that I enjoyed wearing. The moral of this tale is that not all brides pick out hideous dresses and this picture is proof of this statement.

California Dreaming

Early In 1978, one of my sisters and I decided to visit our brother later in the year. So in August of 1978, we flew out to Los Angeles, California. Between the time we planned the trip and we boarded the plane I learned that I was expecting my daughter. As a result, we weren’t able to go hiking and camping in the mountains. Instead, we took in the sights and entertainment venues between Los Angeles and Seal Beach including my first trip to Disneyland. One clear day before we returned to Texas, we visited Long Beach and enjoyed the sand, sun, and water. All in all, our trip was a great adventure and well worth the change in plans.

A Haunted House with a Murderous Ghost

On the night of November 9, 2008 I had a dream that was not only strange, but very weird. This dream began in a very old home that was a tourist site. I seemed to be one of the people involved with the management of the house. In one of the bedrooms of the house the king sized bed was piled high with thousands of hats. The strange variety of hats had been left by visitors to the house and I noticed that the hats were covered in dust.

Four teenaged girls had arranged with the owners of the house to spend a night locked inside the allegedly haunted house. The girls were dropped off at the house by their parents. The sun hadn’t set and I tried valiantly to dissuade the parents from allowing the girls to spend the night because of the previous ghostly encounters in the house. Since there hadn’t been any sign of the ghost for several years, the owners said that the girls would be safe. Neither the parents nor the girls believed me that it might be dangerous for the girls to hunt for ghosts in the house. The owners of the house insisted that I securely lock the girls in the house and their parents agreed. After I locked the doors I left with a terrible sense of dread.

The dream continued with me riding a large white and gray horse from the house and though a nearby college campus. While I was passing through the campus I saw a large number of students and faculty members. A female professor who knew me stopped me to ask if there had been any paranormal activity in the house since we had last seen each other. I told her nothing had happened, but that four teenage girls were staying in the house. I also told her I was worried that they would be hurt or killed by the ghost that seemed to reside in the house. The professor invited me to follow her to her home where we could have dinner and discuss the haunted house in more detail.

As the professor leads me to her home we pass near enough to the house to see into   its windows. There is an ominous shadow in one of the windows and I shiver as a dark feeling of horror passes through me. At the professor’s house she tells me that we cannot worry about what we cannot control. Her kitchen has pale green tile and her dogs are very friendly. She promises to go with me when I open the house in the morning.

The next thing that I know, we are opening in the house. When we walk into the bedroom with the hats piled on the bed and we begin to call out for the girls. The house is dead silent and there is no response to our calls. As we walk through the remainder of the house, we begin to find shredded body parts throughout the other rooms. The ghost appears and I awake with a start as the alarm beeps.

Picnic in the Old Neighborhood

The dream that I had on April 30, 2008 was set in my husband’s home in our old neighborhood before we were married. There was a large tent over much of the backyard and long picnic tables in rows. Many deceased family members and others were happily enjoying the food. This was a very short dream, but it was strange that so many people in the dream were deceased.

Bus Trip to the Texas Gulf Coast

On the morning of April 3, 2008 my dream was very vivid and strange all at the same time. Between 3:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., I dreamed that my husband, daughter, and I were on a Greyhound bus. My daughter seemed to be about twelve years of age and we were traveling to the Texas Gulf Coast. When we reached the bridge going to the ferry to take us to the other side of the inter-coastal channel, we passed a pier with several bay boats. One of the bay boats was being loaded by one my bosses that I worked for in the 1980s.

The next thing that happened was that the bus flew off of the bridge and landed in about four feet of water. Since we were close to the shore, we waded to the shore and then walked to a bakery and bought some cinnamon buns. While we waited for the bus to be towed out of the water, we walked back to the bridge. We saw some large fish in the water; one of the fish jumped from the water and hit me in the face. Afterward, we had lunch at a dude ranch. It was strange, but I watched everyone at the bar and even spoke with a man from Germany who was smoking. I then went in search of my husband and daughter. I found them watching a herd of bison mixed with cattle and horses. When the animals began to stampede, we moved back to the bus.

When the bus was finally loaded, we drove past a burning chemical plant. There was a tremendous amount of smoke. The only thing that I remember was that there were some trains on parallel tracks to the highway we were on. The first train was of concern since the cargo cars were stacked three high and one of the cars was top heavy. It looked as if the the cars were going to fall onto the bus. This dream was very colorful, but when I awoke I didn’t seem to remember much more.