Crazy Antics and Dreams

P.E. Class Uniforms

During the summer of 1964, my Mom bought my new school uniforms for my freshman year in high school. The previous summer I had a growth spurt that added more than three inches to my height. In anticipation that I would continue to grow, Mom purchased my P.E. shirt and knee-length shorts a “little” larger so that she would not have buy another uniform if I were to continue to grow. Unfortunately, Mom’s plan backfired on me. Instead of growing out and around I continued to grow a bit taller and thinner. To prevent my shorts from falling down around my ankles I had to use diaper pins to keep my shorts on my waist. Even then I had to be careful that the oversized shorts didn’t slip below my hips when I was running laps. Believe me it is bad enough to be a clumsy adolescent, but the added embarrassment of baggy shorts is now funny to remember. Fortunately, I only had P.E. in my freshman and sophomore years. Once I no longer needed the shorts, I gave them to my Mom who was able to wear the shorts without diaper pins.

Homemade Cookies, Blackberry Wine, and Craps

One of things that my family did during the Christmas holidays was to visit our relatives. For the most part we visited the grandparents and several of my great aunts. The trip to Aunt D’s home was my favorite. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, she would bake cookies in preparation for the Christmas holidays. My all time favorite cookie was a traditional German cookie made with anise that was a delight to the taste buds. In addition, we were able to enjoy the company of our cousins who were in town to visit their grandparents. My brother and cousin taught me to play dice games in the corner of my great aunt’s living room. One year when I was in high school I had a cold and felt bad. My dad gave me a small glass of blackberry wine. After I drank the wine, I felt better so I asked my father if I could have another glass. This time I filled the glass myself, but I switched glasses to a larger water glass. Let’s just say that I   really enjoyed playing dice with my brother and cousin. Once we went home I went to bed and happily slept in a wine-induced stupor. Sleep was a real benefit since I had coughed and sniffled for several nights in a row. Fortunately for me, my parents didn’t know about how much wine I had enjoyed and dad laughed when I told him how the wine had helped me to shrug off the cold.

Ping-Pong Balls from Heaven

There came a warm spring day in the early 1960s when the first shopping mall on our side of town had its grand opening. We were still in grade school and there was a large vacant lot behind our school. The new mall was very close to the school and the marketing people for the mall had a helicopter buzzing around the area. During recess the helicopter began to drop brightly colored Ping-Pong balls as it passed over the vacant lot. The Ping-Pong balls were numbered and could be redeemed for prizes. One of the prizes was a ride in the helicopter.

 

Imagine a hundred or more teachers and students from our school chasing Ping-Pong balls in an open lot! Thank goodness they weren’t dropping bricks because some of the Ping-Pong balls fell on us during our quest for the prizes. My brother ran fast and gathered enough of the Ping-Pong balls that we were able to take a ride in the helicopter. When Mom picked us up from school that afternoon, she learned    about the prizes and we went to the mall to collect our helicopter ride.

The helicopter was small and could only carry a couple of people at a time so my brother and I were the first to fly away in the helicopter. The sensation was different from anything I had ever experienced and we had a great time with the friendly pilot. Mom and our sisters flew next and the pilot teased Mom and girls before landing by rocking the helicopter forward and back. I’m not certain whether our sisters remember the ride because they were probably in first or second grade at the time. I remember the ride and I still get a kick remembering that the pilot flew over a house with a swimming pool in the backyard. Mom wasn’t too thrilled when we later related the story of how we hovered over the woman who was sunbathing next to the swimming pool. What I remember is that this was a very exciting afternoon for all of us.