memories

[Guest guest]

Wow, reading the list has called to mind some past painful moments.

I remember as a child being taken by my parents (nada and dida making a truly

uncharacteristic move) to an amusement park that was about 90 miles from our

home. We had to take a boat to get to the park, which was on an island. We (me +

sibs) adored the boat ride, then got out happily and eagerly on the

island...where my parents proceeded to battle over something that I (and, I'll

wager, they) do not remember. They got so heated that they insisted that we

leave at once. This was, of course, characteristic of them. So back aboard the

boat we climbed.

Another one: As a young adult I went back to my state of origin for some or

other celebration at my folks' home. It may have been my youngest sib's

graduation from high school. Moving among the friends and relatives, I kept

hearing variations on the same remark: " Hey, I hear you're exploring being

artificially inseminated. "

I BEG YOUR PARDON?!? At first I thought the gathering must have been infected by

an alien lunacy bug - it didn't used to occur to me (mida) that the lunacy

surrounded only one person. Of course, mom had invented a story to satisfy her

yearning to be around babies, that she did not hesitate to spread around,

without realizing how bizarre and inexplicable it was.

- Jane