The 20 Questions Down Memory Lane Meme

Who was your first “best friend”?

Susie Say­lor lived across the street and we were inseparable.

What was your most mem­o­rable birth­day as a child?

Prob­a­bly my 6th when I had a party at which my mother sur­prised me with a wed­ding dress for my Bar­bie doll that she made from rem­nants of the white lace Con­fir­ma­tion dress she sewed for my sis­ter. She cre­ated an entire ensem­ble includ­ing a veil, garter, and bou­quet, all fea­tur­ing tiny arti­fi­cial flowers.

Who was your first “crush”?

It was in first grade, I believe. His name was John.

Where was the best vaca­tion your fam­ily took as a child?

The very first time we ever went to Disneyland.

What was your favorite pas­time as a child?

I had many: Read­ing, play­ing out­side with my friends, my dolls (espe­cially Bar­bie for whom I sewed clothes), music (piano and clar­inet in those days). We were luck­ier than our chil­dren because we could hop on our bikes and ride all over town with­out alarm­ing our par­ents in the least. In the sum­mer, I used to get on my bike in the morn­ing with my clar­inet for sum­mer band, my bathing suit and towel, and a few snacks, and be gone all day. I knew that din­ner was served promptly at 5:12 p.m. when my father got home from work and if I wasn’t there, I would be in trou­ble. My mother knew the places I went, the names and addresses of my friends. We had never heard of a cell phone and nobody wor­ried about their child being kidnapped.

When did you learn to ride a two-wheel bike?

I don’t remem­ber how old I was but I have dis­tinct mem­o­ries of my father and sis­ter teach­ing me to ride in the cul-de-sac by our house.

What is your most trau­matic mem­ory as a child?

We were caught in a hor­rid bliz­zard en route home from South Dakota right after Christ­mas 1965. My father was amaz­ing. He fol­lowed the lights high atop the rear of a semi truck for about 20 miles back into Coalville, Utah. The ground flur­ries made it in pos­si­ble to see any­thing imme­di­ately in front of us, includ­ing the hood of our own car. To this day, I hate snow and have never, ever attempted to drive in it. Never will.

What age did you learn to swim?

I was about 6 or 7, I think.

What smell auto­mat­i­cally takes you back to your childhood?

There are many. Any time I enter an auto repair shop and smell the mix­ture of grease, oil, exhaust, etc., I remem­ber vis­it­ing my father at the shop where he was employed as a trans­mis­sion spe­cial­ist for 27 years.

Some­times in the evening, we still catch a whiff of Chee­rios ema­nat­ing from the local Gen­eral Mills plant and I recall sit­ting on the patio on sum­mer evenings with my sis­ter and par­ents. Some­times we got root beer from the orig­i­nal A&W on Lodi Avenue. Other times, we had fresh baked peach pie or cob­bler made with the deli­cious peaches from the tree in our back­yard. Best of all, we some­times made vanilla ice cream and gar­nished it with fresh peaches.

What was your first pet?

My sis­ter had a guinea pig once and, of course, we went through the gold fish phase. But the first pet I ever owned myself and had full respon­si­bil­ity for was my beloved T.C. (Top Cat) who adopted me when I lived in Glen­dale in 1981. She started hang­ing out on my step and wait­ing for me in the tree in the front yard, fol­low­ing me up the dri­ve­way as she talked to me each night after work. Finally, I couldn’t resist, let her into the house, and began feed­ing her. She slept on the foot of my bed for the next 18 years. I still miss her.

Who impacted your life as a child?

Many peo­ple, includ­ing my mother and only sib­ling, who both inspired and destroyed me. My father was always a mys­tery to me as a child. I did not under­stand him until well into adult­hood. I was also impacted by sev­eral teach­ers, pas­tors, and numer­ous friends.

What is a day you will never for­get as a child?

The day we attended my pater­nal grandfather’s funeral. It was the first funeral I ever attended and I remem­ber being mes­mer­ized by all that was hap­pen­ing around me and the way that my father’s rel­a­tives were behav­ing. Most par­tic­u­larly, I remem­ber look­ing up at my father’s face as I sat next to him and see­ing a tear roll down his cheek. I had never seen him cry before. Before that day, I don’t think it had ever occurred to me that he could cry.

What is the most excit­ing Christ­mas gift you received as a child?

Noth­ing really stands out in my memory.

Who was your first “real” kiss?

I no longer remember.

Who was the neigh­bor­hood bully when you were grow­ing up?

I believe her name was Marlys Sam­ski. She lived at the end of the block and was a few years older than me. One day we were all prac­tic­ing twirling our batons. I guess I was using hers … I no longer remem­ber. I just recall that she picked hers up from the dri­ve­way, accused me of some­how bend­ing it, and demanded that I pay her money to replace it. She haunted me for weeks and I hid from her, scared that she would make good on her promise to beat me up if I didn’t pay. I had no money to give her, of course, and I wasn’t the one who bent her baton, any­way. She was just blam­ing me in an effort to bully me into giv­ing her money for a new one. I believe that I even­tu­ally told my par­ents what had been hap­pen­ing and my father went down to their house and had a talk with his father. That put an end to her behavior.

Who was your best friend as a teenager?

I still hang out with the same peo­ple, includ­ing Robin, whom I have known since fourth grade and is my kids’ godmother.

What is the first car you can remem­ber your fam­ily owning?

The 1957 Chevro­let Bel Air. Pink with a white hard top, wide white­walls, and a black inte­rior. It looked just like the one in this photo:

What was the first award you ever received?

In first grade, I won an award for read­ing more books and writ­ing reports about them than any­one else in my class. I still remem­ber that I read 147 books.

What is the name of the first sports team you played on?

I have never been a mem­ber of a sports team.

Source: Fun Sur­veys.

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