Thursday, June 30, 2011

27 days 'til 45

This is one of those stories that, when it comes to mind, is usually out of nowhere and always prompts me to think, "Oh yeah. I really did that."

Identical Cousins

I think I was probably 8 or 9 years old. My brother and I were usually alone in the house during the day in the summer. We had cousins up the street, a neighbor on the other side of our duplex, Mrs. Adams on the porch across the street, and a reasonable amount of good sense, so we felt safe by ourselves. There was always fun to be made. One day, I found a reddish-brown toupee in the top of the closet. I put it on, pulled it towards the front of my head, and put on a hat to hide my black hair. My mom had these light blue smocks that she would wear to work and I had asked for one that had gotten too worn to wear. I put it on over my clothes and decided to pretend that I was my cousin from Waxahachie.

I had spent a lot of time watching the Patty Duke Show, soap operas, and a bunch of other series where one of the characters turns out to have a long-lost relative or a stranger who looks exactly like him or her. (Gilligan's Island comes to mind).

I affected a "proper" accent (basically, I enunciated each word) and tried out my character on my cousins. Besides the ones who lived down the street, we had more cousins a few blocks away, within walking distance from our home. My brother was kind enough to go along with this charade. I have forgotten what my "cousin's" name was, but my brother introduced me to everyone and told them that I was our cousin and he was showing me around. I kept up that character until my mom came home from work.

I really believed that I had fooled everyone. No one argued that I was who I said I was. My family must have thought I was crazy.

Or they were just being really kind to an imaginative kid.

28 Days Until 45 (blog from yesterday)

This is Zora. She is a dog. I don't think she is aware of this. Since she is 11 years old now, I think it is time for me to break the news to her. Perhaps I will take her out to get a pedicure and then to dinner. Over dessert, I will break the news to her. Then we will watch "The Long, Hot Summer" together. What do you think? Will this cushion the blow?

Do I really have to tell her? She's one of my best friends.

She probably won't believe me anyway.

Monday, June 27, 2011

30 days 'til 45

My goal is to write about one memory, thought, or observation each day until I reach my 45th birthday. I don't say it will be interesting--just that it will be honest.

Today, for the first time in my life, I told my mom that I used to fantasize that my father, who died when I was three, was really alive and that he was working for the CIA/FBI/KAOS (from Get Smart). Because of his work, he had to pretend that he was dead, and one day he would show up at our doorstep and surprise us. This reunion was very clear in my mind.

I didn't tell my mom that I thought about this well into adulthood.

Parents are strong forces in the lives of their children whether, they are there every day or absent for some reason.

If I ever become a parent, I will remember this.