There are two ways to view the world,in my opinion.
1.From the inside out.
2.From the outside in.
I’m definitely the former! I am not concerned with my appearance, half as much, as the thoughts I’m thinking.
As a little girl,my mom would send me off to school in pig tails and perfectly pressed outfits. I’d return with one pig tail unraveled,a knee sock around my ankle and no longer unruffled. While at the farm, I romped around in shorts,t-shirt and rubber boots. The spatters of cow manure decorated the areas that were uncovered. Even now, I’m half way to the supermarket before I realize that I had not combed my hair or checked my shirt for stains,etc. Neither neat nor tidy are my middle name.
My brother,who is two and a half years younger, was the tidy one. He did his own laundry when he was in High School. I’ve always wanted to know how tidy felt but never had time for it. I think my brother was not only neat by nature,but was trying to maintain his “space” between two sisters. He kept track of his things and took good care of them. He was also the one who hoarded his Halloween candy for months enjoying his sisters’ requests for chocolate! We can discuss that later on.
Poor,dear,Norman loaned me his brand new double-length runner sled right after Christmas. I was about 13. In one wild ride down a wooded hillside,I bent that baby almost in a “U” shape by hitting a tree as I was pushing the speed limit in the woods. Of course, I felt bad. Most people would be angry. Norman felt violated. He vowed never to loan me anything again! (I couldn’t blame him.)
For the rest of the winter,I rode a long orange plastic sled that I fondly called Harriet. She had cracks and duct tape. He had a blue and purple molded sled with handles that helped with steering and foot holders.Very fancy was Spiv. Norm could ride while seated. I faced forward on my stomach. We’d race down our backyard toward a basketball pole beside our house. If we bogged down,it became a footrace in knee-deep snow to that pole! Of course,we’d laugh so hard and drag each other to the ground. The race was very physical but a wonderful time. I still can’t think of it without chuckling. Well, on one occasion,Harriet got off track and I headed for the corner of our porch. I held my breath as the porch was racing toward my face! Harriet stopped with barely an inch between my collarbone and the siding. Whew! Spiv, unfortunately,was better at following than trail blazing. BAM! My brother slammed into me driving my shoulder back to my waist!
Lots of ice made the boo boo better but the comic reenactment we discussed made for a long breathless, side-splitting laugh. Oh did it hurt when I laughed!
So Norman and I were OK again.
About nine years later, I was getting married and had no camera of my own for the honeymoon. I asked Norman for his Kodak 110 with the flash cube stem.(worth about $20.00) He hesitated but allowed me to borrow it.
A storm came out of nowhere at our cabin at the lake in Maine. I had been standing on the dock and had to rush inside. I saw a turtle, that had been sunning itself on the dock,slide into the water,”kerplop”. The storm was violent,but short. We rushed down to that dock hoping to see a rainbow. As I frantically searched my slicker pockets for the camera ,I remembered the “kerplop” of that turtle. Yup, it had been the camera that I had rested on the post…
It’s been 32 years since the honeymoon. Dare I ask Norman to borrow his step ladder?
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