What’s a small moment from your past that you still think about years later?
I often remember events through a rose-colored halo effect. As far as I know, I was born into that way of thinking. I do not remember lacking trust in anybody. When my father went on month long benders. I thought he was out looking for the perfect fishing hole. I had no idea what my mother was projecting when she told me, “She had to take one of her nerve pills.”
It amazes me how children these days are so much less naïve than when we were kids. And this brings me back to the first time I realized that somebody was a complete jackass. I have no idea what I labeled it as back then as it was a gut feel response only to be put into words later.
As 11-year-old kids living in a HUD trailor after displacement by Hurricane Agnes the world spun on its axis a slight bit differently. Our family vacations to the Deleware coast were an event we looked forward to as soon as school let out for summer. It was our trip, full of anticipation. We would be going to the shore, and the trip was something we could share with little our enthusiasm without ambiguity. One of our favorite parts about the trip was going over the big bridge in the middle of Delaware. I’ve been over that bridge as an adult and it’s not that big but to us as kids. It was a gigantic bridge. Or maybe it was a harping her that we were going to spend a week at the beach with our cousins. We talked about that bridge with enthusiasm.
Yes, we were living in a trailer down by the river. It wasn’t that bad for post hurricane Agnes temporary housing. Our stepdad was new to the position of stepdad. He still has a toehold into his past. As I look back on it, he was quite young at the time. The friends he invited over the house. I immediately did not like, and that was not in my nature. I have no idea what they were doing there. There was one woman who I remember her name with Dianne. I cannot test for that name, but she seemed like a Dianne. She was droll, stupid, and humorlous and obviously hated kids. It was my nature as a kid I gave her the benefit of the doubt and completely ignored her.
She disappeared for a while as she had this trip planned to go to the Grand State of Florida. It seems the migration pattern of the people of Pennsylvania, as they eventually get to Florida one way or the other. As an 11-year-old, I knew very little about the state of Florida other than they had orange trees and Anita Bryant. It never really held my interest.
One evening she was over at the house with a couple of her friends and naturally, my mother was at work on these days. I might have been the most naïve 11-year-old on the planet.
My brother and I were talking about our upcoming trip to the Delaware shore. . Naturally we talked about the trip enthusiastically and shared memories about how we loved driving over the The Big Bridge.
I don’t remember her name but for now let’s refer to her as Dianne. She started telling hoe she had been to Florida, and we don’t know big bridges. She said if you want to see big bridges go the Florida.
It sunk in slowly, It was the first time in my life I genuinely did not like somebody. What a jack ass. In a simple possibly unrelated twist, I’ve only been to Florida one time in my life and I do not really want to go again.
I would love to hear you opinion as well