The Front Porch Swing

[Blooie]

That reminds me of the time about 10 years ago I was talking to 2 twenty year olds and we were talking tv shows. One was super religious and didn't have a tv. I mentioned Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. She had no idea who I was talking about. I laughed and turned to the other and said I cant believe she didn't know who they were. She said unsmiling "I've never heard of them either".. Showed my age sharply. In case you young kids out there don't know either......they were the greatest dance team of the 30-40's. Made lots of musicals. Still no one to touch them. Still laugh when I think about it. Old!!!!

Ma told us the secret to being content with our ages was to pick an age we liked and stick with it. But then Ma had lots of words of wisdom!

If you remember Gracie Allen, then you know my mom, and that's not an exaggeration. She never - or barely - finished the 6 grade, and she was very literal person. (Whether she finished or not depended on which way it fit what she was about to tell us.) I remember coming home from school all puffed up because I'd learned that despite having very little actual nutritional value, lettuce can contain trace amounts of iron, depending upon what the soil is like where it is grown.

She thought about that for a few minutes and then said, 'Oh, I guess that must be why it rusts so easy in the fridge." Yep, Ma was one in a million!

 

[LindaB220]

You mean the people in Madonna's song right?

Who????? (Kidding)

 

[enola]

Madonna - that singer who wears her underwear on the OUTSIDE of her clothes on occasion.....

 

[LindaB220]

Okay, have a few minutes between chores so I'll chime in.

Movies - easy, there's only 5 that I would sit through over and over, and in fact, HAVE!

A Walk in the Clouds
Fools Rush In
The Quiet Man
Steel Magnolias
Sommersby

That's my entire movie list. As far as movie screen hunks, you'll probably laugh, but I always thought that Jimmy Stewart was incredible...not because he had particularly gorgeous features but because he looked, well - kind, warm and real.

Deb and Lisa, love the hearing (or not hearing) stories. Ken wandered in to see what I was laughing at! Kinda reminds me of how Kenny and Jenny came to be.

Leslie, your view is gorgeous! Kinda of reminds me of when we lived in Bremerton.

Lindz, keep the hot tea and sympathy flowing - guys like that!

A warm welcome to our new Porch Sitters....no worries about outgrowing the Porch - we can always spread a few picnic blankets on the grass by the steps and never miss a giggle or a sigh.

Gonna need hatching pictures, for those of you waiting for shy little chicks to work their ways out of the shells!

Never saw the first two. The quiet man was good. Steel Magnolias ... way too sad. But terrific. Sommersby.....you'd have to take a gun to me to get me to watch that. ha I DON'T LIKE SAD MOVIES. PERIOD. ....Sorry.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

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[enola]

I forgot Fried Green Tomatoes for my list, probably because there are no hunks in the movie........

 

[Blooie]

Thank you! Write me a story for my birthday! Love reading your writings!

Thank you! Hope your birthday has been perfect! Okay, how about a family story?

While we were growing up, our dad had a drinking problem. One blizzard filled South Dakota time stands out in my mind. It had snowed steadily for over a week, and the snow was deep and heavy. But that Saturday the clouds had finally given way to blue skies and thin sunshine. Dad put on his heavy outerwear and galoshes and headed out the door to shovel the sidewalks and the driveway. He came in to warm up and have a bite of lunch (with a couple of beers to wash it down) then told Ma he was heading back out to finish shoveling. But the walks and driveway were cleared....

My sister Linda and I were at that early stage of adolescence that caused the dreaded disease "Parental Embarassitis". We stared out of the picture window in horror as Dad began shoveling the YARD. Yes, the yard!! We pleaded with Ma to do something - Dad's drinking was no big secret to the neighborhood and we just knew that the entire world figured he was just "tittled" again and doing something stupidly alcohol fueled. We were mortified! Ma just continued mopping up the melted snow from Dad's boots and said nothing, but she couldn't quite hide her grin.

Dad continued shoving the front yard, filling his wheelbarrow and pushing it through the tracks he'd made around the house and into the back yard. Finally Linda and I just couldn't watch this humiliating performance for one more second. How would we ever face anybody again? Ma peeked out the kitchen window and said, "Well he's got to be getting pretty cold, but he's starting on the backyard now." Oh no!

Soon we heard him stomping the snow off his feet, but instead of coming inside the house he headed straight down into the basement. Curiosity overcame our humiliation as we watched him drag the garden hose (stored down there to prevent freezing) outside. He'd hooked it up to the washer faucet downstairs.

We ran to the dining room window and saw an enormous white mountain in the backyard, and words can't even begin to convey how huge this thing was. He started spraying this mountain with a mist of water. Then he used his hunting hatchet and cut deep steps into one side.

Humiliation be ******! Dad had made the best sledding hill in the free world, and all 5 of us hustled into boots and coats, grabbed cookie sheets, and headed out to enjoy what had taken him hours out in the cold to build. We hit the frigid air and stared up at this marvel in absolute awe. Dad wiped his nose with his sleeve and said, "Oh, no...me first!"

As cold and wet as he was, he spent quite some time out there with us, helping my littlest siblings master the slippery steps, holding them on his lap to ease their initial fear for the fast ride down and laughing as his older kids shot off the end and hit the ice that had formed where the hose was still trickling.

Our backyard became the favorite gathering place for all the kids in the neighborhood. During subsequent snowstorms we were all out there helping Dad replenish the mountain. The hill lasted all winter and there were still remnants well into the spring. The memory, however, has remained strong in our hearts and minds, and we still often begin sentences with, "Remember when Dad......"

 

[enola]

Thank you!  Hope your birthday has been perfect!  Okay, how about a family story?

While we were growing up, our dad had a drinking problem.   One blizzard filled South Dakota time stands out in my mind.   It had snowed steadily for over a week, and the snow was deep and heavy.   But that Saturday the clouds had finally given way to blue skies and thin sunshine.   Dad put on his heavy outerwear and galoshes and headed out the door to shovel the sidewalks and the driveway.   He came in to warm up and have a bite of lunch (with a couple of beers to wash it down) then told Ma he was heading back out to finish shoveling.   But the walks and driveway were cleared....


My sister Linda and I were at that early stage of adolescence that caused the dreaded disease "Parental Embarassitis".   We stared out of the picture window in horror as Dad began shoveling the YARD.   Yes, the yard!!   We pleaded with Ma to do something - Dad's drinking was no big secret to the neighborhood and we just knew that the entire world figured he was just "tittled" again and doing something stupidly alcohol fueled.   We were mortified!   Ma just continued mopping up the melted snow from Dad's boots and said nothing, but she couldn't quite hide her grin.


Dad continued shoving the front yard, filling his wheelbarrow and pushing it through the tracks he'd made around the house and into the back yard.   Finally Linda and I just couldn't watch this humiliating performance for one more second.   How would we ever face anybody again?   Ma peeked out the kitchen window and said, "Well he's got to be getting pretty cold, but he's starting on the backyard now."   Oh no!


Soon we heard him stomping the snow off his feet, but instead of coming inside the house he headed straight down into the basement.   Curiosity overcame our humiliation as we watched him drag the garden hose (stored down there to prevent freezing) outside.   He'd hooked it up to the washer faucet downstairs.


We ran to the dining room window and saw an enormous white mountain in the backyard, and words can't even begin to convey how huge this thing was.   He started spraying this mountain with a mist of water.   Then he used his hunting hatchet and cut deep steps into one side.   


Humiliation be ******!   Dad had made the best sledding hill in the free world, and all 5 of us hustled into boots and coats, grabbed cookie sheets, and headed out to enjoy what had taken him hours out in the cold to build.   We hit the frigid air and stared up at this marvel in absolute awe.   Dad wiped his nose with his sleeve and said, "Oh, no...me first!"


As cold and wet as he was, he spent quite some time out there with us, helping my littlest siblings master the slippery steps, holding them on his lap to ease their initial fear for the fast ride down and laughing as his older kids shot off the end and hit the ice that had formed where the hose was still trickling.   


Our backyard became the favorite gathering place for all the kids in the neighborhood.   During subsequent snowstorms we were all out there helping Dad replenish the mountain.   The hill lasted all winter and there were still remnants well into the spring.   The memory, however, has remained strong in our hearts and minds, and we still often begin sentences with, "Remember when Dad......"

I forgot to have my tissue handy....

Childhood memories are priceless

 

[LindaB220]

Thank you! Hope your birthday has been perfect! Okay, how about a family story?

While we were growing up, our dad had a drinking problem. One blizzard filled South Dakota time stands out in my mind. It had snowed steadily for over a week, and the snow was deep and heavy. But that Saturday the clouds had finally given way to blue skies and thin sunshine. Dad put on his heavy outerwear and galoshes and headed out the door to shovel the sidewalks and the driveway. He came in to warm up and have a bite of lunch (with a couple of beers to wash it down) then told Ma he was heading back out to finish shoveling. But the walks and driveway were cleared....

My sister Linda and I were at that early stage of adolescence that caused the dreaded disease "Parental Embarassitis". We stared out of the picture window in horror as Dad began shoveling the YARD. Yes, the yard!! We pleaded with Ma to do something - Dad's drinking was no big secret to the neighborhood and we just knew that the entire world figured he was just "tittled" again and doing something stupidly alcohol fueled. We were mortified! Ma just continued mopping up the melted snow from Dad's boots and said nothing, but she couldn't quite hide her grin.

Dad continued shoving the front yard, filling his wheelbarrow and pushing it through the tracks he'd made around the house and into the back yard. Finally Linda and I just couldn't watch this humiliating performance for one more second. How would we ever face anybody again? Ma peeked out the kitchen window and said, "Well he's got to be getting pretty cold, but he's starting on the backyard now." Oh no!

Soon we heard him stomping the snow off his feet, but instead of coming inside the house he headed straight down into the basement. Curiosity overcame our humiliation as we watched him drag the garden hose (stored down there to prevent freezing) outside. He'd hooked it up to the washer faucet downstairs.

We ran to the dining room window and saw an enormous white mountain in the backyard, and words can't even begin to convey how huge this thing was. He started spraying this mountain with a mist of water. Then he used his hunting hatchet and cut deep steps into one side.

Humiliation be ******! Dad had made the best sledding hill in the free world, and all 5 of us hustled into boots and coats, grabbed cookie sheets, and headed out to enjoy what had taken him hours out in the cold to build. We hit the frigid air and stared up at this marvel in absolute awe. Dad wiped his nose with his sleeve and said, "Oh, no...me first!"

As cold and wet as he was, he spent quite some time out there with us, helping my littlest siblings master the slippery steps, holding them on his lap to ease their initial fear for the fast ride down and laughing as his older kids shot off the end and hit the ice that had formed where the hose was still trickling.

Our backyard became the favorite gathering place for all the kids in the neighborhood. During subsequent snowstorms we were all out there helping Dad replenish the mountain. The hill lasted all winter and there were still remnants well into the spring. The memory, however, has remained strong in our hearts and minds, and we still often begin sentences with, "Remember when Dad......"

Wonderful, wonderful memory.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

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