Monday Memories #9 #FixThePlus

Continued from last Monday...

I needed a date to the Prom. Thanks to the diligence of my wonderful friends a boy was singled out. Poor guy didn't know what hit him! He was 6 feet tall with black longish hair, wore jeans & black T-shirts and had a set for seven days a week. We met and a few weeks later became a couple and then lovers, I was one month away from turning eighteen. 

 I loved his mother and we would go to his house after school and she would cook hamburgers for us after school. Between that and a roadside restaurant which served up the greatest burger and fries I would gain a few pounds then have to starve myself to lose the extra pounds. Been that way all my life with the yo-yo dieting. We had a great time together but unfortunately it just didn't work out, but I did make it to my Prom which we left early. I discovered the Prom wasn't all that great.

It's funny when you think a part of your life is over as far as your concerned but he has found me again after thirty some odd years which totally blew me away. Found my brother Chris also and talked to both on the phone, not at the same time. It felt like time had stopped rewinding itself. The Internet and Facebook can be wonderful thing.

Mexico is the best place in the world. Or one of the best places. My family and I must have gone at least twenty times maybe more. As an adult now I know why “one piece of baloney” and “one glass of milk at night with dinner” etc. was for going on vacations. It would have been nice to be told this! But again that’s why I insisted on any kids I had we would communicate. Sometimes loudly but communicating either way.

Going through customs at the border you are already getting the feel of Mexico flavor. We actually had our car stripped once which I watched with great interest. The border police were looking for contraband. 

You drive through dusty streets with vendors in the streets selling giant powdery treats for a quarter calling out their wares. Little kids are surrounding you yelling “por favor” with their little dirty brown hands stretched out pleading for money. I had been warned three things...DON'T DRINK THE WATER...DON'T GIVE CHANGE TO THE LITTLE BEGGARS...and whatever you do DON'T EAT TACOS from a street vendor it could be a ~shudder~ dog. Which of course to the teenage lover of dogs grossed me right out.

I loved the shops with the smiling vendors; it was like a covered Flea Market with Mexican shawls, shoes, toys, etc all hanging all around you. I loved it. I vaguely remember staying in a hotel once and it wasn't a very good experience with a broken A.C. and the room was filthy. When we went the next time we had a camper. I loved riding on the top bunk in that camper. I would always pass out and later when my little brother Christopher came along when he got older we would ride up bunk together giggling and laughing.

I remember meeting a young girl my age and her introducing me to my first papaya walking along the beach line not being able to speak each others language but still laughing and smiling. It was so pretty with blue skies and the water was so warm like bath water. We would run in and out at will.

Snorkeling was a lot of fun. I remember one time my cousins came with us and me and Mark, my cousin, decided to snorkel. It was a gorgeous day with a blue sky, the warm water, wetting my mask I put the plastic mouthpiece to breath in my mouth, looking at my cousin doing the same, we sunk into the water and started swimming wearing the fins my parents had bought. I loved them pushing me through the water so much faster than bare feet. 

We swam up to a giant coral hill and started circling it and a bunch of small colorful fish came swimming by which I thought was just amazing. I went to touch the cool and felt stinging on my fingers then they started bleeding. My daredevil cousin made me get out of the water and onto the beach so the blood wouldn't attract sharks. I sure miss him. That's when my cousin was alive may he RIP...

...to be continued next Monday 

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Monday Memories #8 #FixThePlus

 Continued from Monday Memories #7

Anyways back to the cutest guy in the whole wide world who has since passed may he R.I.P but that’s a whole different story. I remember talking my parents into letting me go on my first date at almost sixteen.

It was to the movies and hell if I can remember the movie, but it was me, Ricky, and his cousins. So holding my breath until he asked me to “go steady” with him we were right into each other. He really paid me a lot of attention and introduced me to Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven which I learned every word.

We would have long make-out sessions to which was what teenagers did, but that was as far as that went. It was all and good, but my mother had to ruin it by insisting that he came over to my house and that was never a good idea.

We would meet up at the mall but mom made it harder and harder to see him and he finally broke up with me which broke my teenage heart. God the tears flowed and flowed and I blamed my mother. She had no trust in me at all. Maybe because she got pregnant with me, but she should have trusted me more.

I smile when telling this story about the one of two times I snuck a boy into my room. Of course, my parents came home early and if anyone outside the house was looking they would have seen a teenage boy jumping out my window! Here's what happened.

Me: "I can't believe it, my parents came home early"! As I shoved Rick into my closet I cranked up my music.When my parents got in the house my mother hollered for me to turn down my music.Me and Ricki: Freaking out saying Oh crap...alot.Me: Opening my window pushing the screen out telling Ricki to jump out helping him by pushing at his legs.

I have told this story a few times and when I told him which fences to jump over, he jumped over the wrong fence coming face to face with my backyard neighbor's Doberman. Needless to say, he yelled at me when he got home...oops!

 I look back at it today and can't help grinning at the craziness of that day. Anyways I and his cousins remained friends all through my 12th year and they were all in their 11th  year and that’s when at the ending of my 12th year me and the girls went on a 'manhunt'. I needed a date to the Prom...


You ever have a crazy teenage moment...or two?

Memories Of A Valentine's Past

I am going to try my hand at writing a story at the encouragement of my friendly blogger 'tribe'. I read that somewhere deciding I love that feeling same as 'village'. I'm making up my own quote. "It takes a village to raise a blogger". I like that. I hope you enjoy.

                                                  Memories Of A Valentine's Past

Wendy sat dreamily gazing out the window. It was the day after Valentines. In her mind's eye, she was that young girl of fifteen sitting at the edge of the local pool sunbathing. Tanning was very important to her loving the golden brown color she had been working on for the last month. The Californian sky was a vivid dark blue, a slight breeze was gently moving her long brown, sunbleached hair.
As she tilted her face towards the sun closing her eyes through the gate came a couple of boys armed with a big black plastic inner tube throwing it into the pool making the water shift slightly, a loud  noise of plastic hitting the water rang out. One boy was dark-skinned, the other she recognized lived in her neighborhood. She went to school with his sister.
Taking a running jump, they both cannon-balled into the pool making a huge splash jostling each other for the innertube. Meanwhile, she would glance over when the boys were submerged then looking away as they came up shouting, continuing to nonchalantly sunbath.
After a few more minutes of horseplay, the boy Matt from her neighborhood came swimming over to the side where she was sitting telling her as she blushed slightly, his friend would like to meet. Thus began Wendy's 'first love' affair.
They dated for the rest of the summer meeting at the pool. Wendy was in love with this handsome, dark-skinned, slanted green eyed boy.
But alas circumstances changed making it so difficult to see each other they had to break up. Wendy was heartbroken, crying at every sad song that came on the radio.
Days, months, then years passed as time does, Wendy's pain faded into the past. She never forgot about her green-eyed, dark-skinned boy at the local swimming pool.
One day in January Wendy went to visit some old friends she had gone to school with. They were two sisters having been married living side by side in an Apartment complex.
They all had to go to work leaving Wendy with instructions to turn off the oven when the timer went off. Wendy was sitting waiting when the door opened and in came Dale, her first love was right here in front of her!
They started to see each other again, January turned to Febuary turning into Valentine's Day. Wendy stared at the phone deciding to give Dale a call at his place of employment to wish him a Happy Valentine's day.
"Hello, I'd like to speak to Dale if he's available please"? Her heart sped up with excitement as she anticipated the sound of his voice. She never knew what that saying, "time stopped" truly meant until she heard what came out of the phone's receiver, "I'm sorry, he died".
Wendy hung up in disbelief and after that, valentines day was never quite the same.

                                                       The End