We got off to a bad start. They wanted a son. Oh well… My sister was all lovely hair and blue eyes so I took the skinned knees and blue jean route.
I was a house a fire. I remember when we lived in Michigan. It was really flat, unlike Massachusetts where I was born. A runner, which I was, could get up a real head of steam in that country, especially when Mom called me home for dinner. She was a terrific cook. The first time I put my hand through the glass pane on the back door, everyone fussed and worried and told me to slow down and be careful. The second time I did it, they got angry. The third time, I was instructed to come to the front door and ring the bell when I wanted entry into our house.
I loved Annie Oakley. I could sing every song from Annie Get Your Gun, even though I was way smaller than Ethel Merman. I really wanted a cap gun and a holster but my folks refused. Little girls were not supposed to want guns (or trucks or trains…) Then the sons of Dad’s friend sent us a box of toys they had gotten tired of. And there, in the bottom of the box, was a CAP GUN!!! I can still remember the smell of the caps after I shot the gun and the feel of the belt and holster. I was the real deal! Annie get your gun
I had dolls but they were boring. I like to climb trees so I would tie a rope to their feet and hoist them up into the trees with me. Or I would put them in a shoe box and drag them down the street. They didn’t DO anything. My sister’s dolls always looked like movie stars. Their hair and clothes were perfect and she kept them nicely displayed. Mine looked like victims of a natural disaster. Oh well…
I loved weather – rain, wind, clouds. There was a deck off our bedroom in New Jersey that looked west. I could sit there and watch the weather come across the valley toward us. Curled into the smallest possible ball, I would watch for hours.
A WELL TRAVELED HEART 