"I'll Get You - My Pretty!"

There are good memories and there are bad memories even though I don't believe that the bad ones should really be called just that, memories. I feel as though maybe nightmares might be a better explanation for the pain or distress unlike that of the counter partner of happiness and joy.

     I talk about - the other day that my son was mentioning how much he enjoyed reading my blogs as they gave him an inside look of my life. Who I was and how I came to being who I am now. 
     Honestly when he first said those words - I look forward to reading about you everyday (or something close to that but not to the tee) I felt my heart sink a little. With everything I have going on or everything I am trying to do right now, in this time, now I had something else put on top of that mountain. Something else for me to work on. To follow through with. 
     These very words from him is something that kept ringing in my head. The same words stole my sleep from me. What would I write about? What would be something he could learn more about me from? More important, what was something he could carry with him and enjoy telling over and over to anyone who would listen? The pressure I tell ya! O! The pressure. 
     Then it came to me like one of those wrecking balls slamming into a brick wall - waking it up after many a years of slumber. I would write about what he wanted to know. I would write about what he wanted to read. I would write about myself. I do feel as though it will be a pretty boring chapter book for him to decipher but at the same time it will be an interesting window to peer through - an insight to who his Mother is. (Lucky boy!)

Lets get this party started:

     Once upon a time ... just kidding but for some reason one of the memories that came to mind is the one I am getting ready to write about. It is funny though because it is something so small and I honestly don't think anyone else would ever remember this happening but for some reason it left a pretty good impact on me that just about 45 years later, I still think about it and smile.

My Grandmother's (one of them) Sister - Aunt Rose had a son, Rick. 
Growing up, there was a lot of time spent with either Aunt Rose & Rick staying at our house in Redmond or us going to visit them in West Seattle. 

     Neither Aunt Rose nor Rick drove so a few times a month we (Grandpa, Grandma and myself) would drive into "town" and take the two of them shopping and then out for a meal. It was always fun - never dull. Most times Aunt Rose would want to go the The Junction - I am not sure why it was called that but I figure there must have been a reason, never really cared though. Being a kid - I just knew it was fun to hang out and fun to go.

     This one day, Aunt Rose "needed" to go to J.C. Penny's. I can't really recall but I am pretty sure it was because Rick needed new underwear. Now, I was about 10 and he was about 15 or 16 so him going into the store with his mom to by something like that was just like, well, No! 
He said that he was going to stay in the car and because I was totally cool like he was or at least I was trying to be, I volunteered to stay behind too.

Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Rose all headed inside. You need to know this particular store was very small. You could stand at the back of it and see out across the street in the front and visa versa. 

     While Rick and I sat in the car assuming we were all grown up and him teasing and taunting the hell out of me just like him and Willie always did -  out of no where the sky turned a darkened black and the wind started to howl. The car was shaking ... I was just a little scared but knew that Rick was going to protect me or at least I was hoping he would but just then my Grandpa sprinted out of the store - running towards the car and hopped in. Not going to lie, that was a real relief to me. Because if I knew anything for sure, I knew Rick would sacrifice me the first chance he got.

     We kept watching the door for Grandma and Aunt Rose to come out of the store but person by person - it was never them. The two of us started to get antsy when we spotted an older woman quick stepping while being blown across the pavement. Looking at her, I am sure that she wouldn't have looked like Bruce Jenner if it wasn't for the wind shoving her where it wanted her to go. Rick said "Look at that one ... she is going to leave Kansas any minute!" Just then the scarf that tied her head to the top of her neck flew off. She started to move even faster then before, waving her arms and sprinting towards it as gust after gust blew it step after step in front of her, just out of reach.

My grandpa looked up at all the noise and told Rick to get out and help the poor woman.

     It was pouring at this point and if you have ever heard the expression "a wet rat" well this explains where that saying came from. As Rick opened the car door a whip of wind came up under the woman, just has she went to bend over thinking she had won the battle with the ever escaping article of clothing - she fell forward and landed face down. Rick started to laugh. He laughed so hard I thought he was going to stop breathing. His laughing made me start to laugh. 10 minutes passed, we got him back in the car just as Grandma and Aunt Rose appeared. Rick's face was so red from gasping for air during all this circus show that Aunt Rose looked frightened when she glanced at him.
     He started to tell the story about why there was a woman distraught in front of the car and the laugher started again. And it wasn't just a ha, ha, ha or a ho, ho, ho ... it was a deep gut howl. A howl so crazy that it made the sky part and the sun shine through again.

     I know and like I said, this really wasn't a big thing. It was a more like "you had to be there" sort of story but I guess for me, I was there and it was pretty hilarious.  I don't think it has anything to do with this lady losing her scarf either but more to do with the fact that Rick was about 16 - 300 pounds and 6 foot something tall and the see him rolling about the cement in a huge storm with very little rhyme or reason to do so, obviously made one great memory to look back on after all this time.


                                                       Kazz 💋