# Little childhood memories...just pick one.



## AZ Jim (May 7, 2015)

My Grandfather on my Dad's side was English. I have one memory of him that stands out.  Every day at 12 noon he had his luncheon dish set by Grandma and with it he drank one beer.  Always the same beer.  Miller High Life.  That was it, none before, none after but always one with his lunch.  Back in those days it was common to have Grandparents living with you so I got to observe this ritual daily.


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## Ameriscot (May 7, 2015)

Jim, my maternal grandmother moved in with use when I was about 5 or 6.  So I had two mothers.  

I have very fond memories of the house that my grandmother and her sister owned.  Although my grandmother never really lived there, just my great aunt by herself as she never married.  This house was huge - built around 1860 - had 5 bedrooms, a big bathroom with a claw footed bathtub, a double living room with two sets of sliding wooden doors, gorgeous woodwork, 2 porches and the front porch was huge with a big swing hanging from the ceiling, and two big wicker rocking chairs.  It had no cupboards in the kitchen but a big pantry.  The house was filled with antiques. There was a front and back staircase and I found the back staircase from the kitchen to the back bedrooms to be very spooky.  Always thought someone was hiding there.  I loved to rummage through chests in the attic.  To this day when I smell that kind of musty odor you get in an attic or from old books or antique shops, I have fond memories of this house.  It was close enough to a river that you could see it from the front windows and often heard the big ships tooting their horns. 

My sister and I spent a lot of time in this house, often staying for weeks at a time.  I was heartbroken when they sold this house when I was 14.


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## Pappy (May 7, 2015)

One that comes to mind was my granddad playing his Al Jolson 78s on the record player.


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## Glinda (May 7, 2015)

We had a big back yard with a huge apple tree which had a split trunk - perfect for climbing.  In the summer, I would ride my bike to the library, select a biography - Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Marie Curie, and so many others - then I'd ride home, stick the book in my belt and climb the apple tree.  About 20 feet up the right trunk was a perfect spot to sit and read.  I guess this was sort of tomboy-ish but I also loved ballet.


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## Josiah (May 7, 2015)

There was a small pond near my home and kids in the neighborhood would skate on the ice in the winter. I have a vivid recollection that one evening the bigger kids made a bond fire on the bank which provided enough light so that we could continue skating even though it was dark which I found very exciting. One of the mothers arrived with an enormous pot of cocoa and we all stood around the fire still in our skates drinking cocoa and toasting marshmallows.


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## Cookie (May 7, 2015)

That sounds like a real Norman Rockwell scene, Josiah.


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## hollydolly (May 7, 2015)

Awww you all have such lovely memories..

I had a horrid childhood overall because of my parents  but there were a few small nice memories that I like to look back on..

My granny used to take me to the theatre once a year to see a variety show  .

She could only afford the cheapest seats wayy up in the Gods..but sometimes we could afford sixpence as well to pay to see through the Binoculars which were provided for those so far away from the stage..we didn't talk all the way through the show, but she always brought  boiled sweets (candy) for us to enjoy through the show

I saw lots of great  shows with my granny, she never took my siblings only me..it gave me a life long love of the theatre


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## Josiah (May 7, 2015)

Cookie said:


> That sounds like a real Norman Rockwell scene, Josiah.



Thank you Cookie for nice comment. I guess those were Norman Rockwell moments. The sentiments his paintings evoked were certainly the feelings I was experiencing that evening.


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## Josiah (May 7, 2015)

hollydolly said:


> the cheapest seats wayy up in the Gods.



That's an interesting expression, is it Scottish?


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## hollydolly (May 7, 2015)

Josiah said:


> That's an interesting expression, is it Scottish?



Good question Josiah I don't know if it's Scottish or British...I grew up saying it as does everyone I know when describing the cheapest seats in a theatre furthest from the stage..


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## Josiah (May 7, 2015)

hollydolly said:


> Good question Josiah I don't know if it's Scottish or British...I grew up saying it as does everyone I know when describing the cheapest seats in a theatre furthest from the stage..



One nice thing about this forum is its international makeup. When we run out of things to say we can always amuse ourselves about the different way the English language is spoken.


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## hollydolly (May 7, 2015)

Here you are Josiah..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_gods_(theatrical)


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## Cookie (May 7, 2015)

That is so interesting holly, there's always a good explanation as to how these sayings came about.  That one really makes sense.


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## hollydolly (May 7, 2015)

It's a great saying though cookie in't it and a cute reason for it too ..


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## Josiah (May 7, 2015)

Having gotten Jim's thread off topic I will atone by contributing another childhood memory. OK I was around 12 and just getting interested in girls. In fact in one particular girl. I thought I would impress her by some astounding feet of courage. There was a very tall water tower in the neighborhood and I told her I was going to climb it. I was about half way up when I admitted to myself that I was really scared. I should have started back down then, but no my honor was involve so I made it to the top. But by now I was really scared and just couldn't start back down and by now there was quite a crowd watching. This is truly humiliating, a police officer had to be called and he had to climb up and assist me down.


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## hollydolly (May 7, 2015)

OH LOL>..sorry for laughing Josiah...humiliating as it must have been for you at the time,,,you must laugh about it now.. ..I wonder if that 'young girl' has any recollection of that day , after all these years..I bet you're hoping not..


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## Cookie (May 7, 2015)

Oh dear, Josiah, I'm laughing too.  It sounds like something out of a movie or sitcom.  It must have been completely humiliating but I'm sure everyone's forgotten.  I always tell myself that when I remember some of the embarrassing things I've done and glad I never have to face any of the people involved ever again.


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## hollydolly (May 7, 2015)

Me too cookie...definitely..


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## Ralphy1 (May 8, 2015)

Speaking of water towers, I climbed one drunk and naked while on a military base.  It was part of a ritualistic challenge to be accepted as part of the group of guys that I wanted to be part of.  It was at night and I wonder how I got up and down and made it alive.  Hope the visual isn't too bothersome...


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## Pappy (May 8, 2015)

Kinda left me "hanging" Ralphy.


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## Ralphy1 (May 8, 2015)

Sorry about that...


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## Shalimar (May 8, 2015)

Ralphy, HaHaHAHa.


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## Ameriscot (May 8, 2015)

Great stories, folks!


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## Ralphy1 (May 8, 2015)

Thanks, I thought that you might enjoy it...


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## Warrigal (May 8, 2015)

A bonfire in the backyard every cracker night. Half the street crowded into our backyard and very small house. 
There was smoke and the smell of the fireworks and we had rockets, Catherine wheels, Roman candles, jumping jacks, sparklers and bungers of various sizes to name a few.

One of our dogs would be under the bed but the other one had to be locked up to stop her from playing fetch with the bungers. No idea where the cats went.
On the morning after we would be scouring the ground looking for unexploded crackers.

This song sums up the experience pretty accurately IMO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLavk805b74

Lyrics here http://www.lyricsmania.com/cracker_night_lyrics_john_williamson.html

I like this bit best



> Cracker night was a real big deal, when I was a little kid
> They started lettin' them off after tea I ran inside and hid
> And all the dogs from everywhere were underneath me bed.
> 
> ...


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## Ameriscot (May 8, 2015)

We had some distant cousins who owned a big farm and we would visit a few times a year.  A couple of times my sister and I stayed there for a week or so.  I thought it was so cool to have your own dirt road going through your property and you could ride a bike on it for what seemed a long distance.  Loved playing hide and seek in the rows of corn.  We would go down to the neighbours and ride on their ponies.  

I wanted to grow up and live on a farm (having no idea how much work it was), but decided against it because I gagged from the smell every time I went into a barn. layful:


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## ndynt (May 8, 2015)

Having grown up with a paranoid schizophrenic mother...there are many stories I could share.  Instead will share the memory of waking up each morning to the smell of bread baking.  My grandfather, who had been an executive chef on the Italian Steamship line, in the era of international luxury cruises..lived with us.  He had a kitchen in the cellar, with brick ovens and baked bread nightly.  Always made a small crispy loaf, just for me.  On Sundays, having fasted for communion, I could hardly wait for Mass to be over.  So I could rush home to a loaf of still warm bread and the Sunday paper.


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## hollydolly (May 8, 2015)

Oh what a lovely memory Nona, .. I can imagine your rush to get home for that warm little loaf...yummmy..


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## hollydolly (May 8, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> We had some distant cousins who owned a big farm and we would visit a few times a year.  A couple of times my sister and I stayed there for a week or so.  I thought it was so cool to have your own dirt road going through your property and you could ride a bike on it for what seemed a long distance.  Loved playing hide and seek in the rows of corn.  We would go down to the neighbours and ride on their ponies.




wow!! Sounds like Halcyon times Annie...  I would have loved that..


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## AZ Jim (May 8, 2015)

I  just remembered another to share.  My mother was paranoid about guns.  Dad knew how we loved the idea of target shooting so unbeknownst to my mother he bought a .22 rifle which he kept in the trunk of the car.  He would take us for a ride out in the country and we would all shoot targets awhile.  When we used up a box of ammunition he put the rifle back in the car trunk and we went back home.  None of the three of us ever mentioned it to mom.


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## Sassycakes (Apr 20, 2017)

One of my best memories was summer vacation. We would go to the shore for the first two weeks of July. A lot of my Aunts and Uncles would also come down with their children. We rented apartment next to each other so me ,my sister and brother got to spend time with many cousins. Playing on the beach , going to the boardwalk and going on all the rides and then getting a treat of ice cream before going back to the apartments and hanging around together. We had a ball and we all had cousins our own age. After all these years we still get together once a year for a family picnic.


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## jujube (Apr 20, 2017)

I can recall my great-grandfather's voice but not his face (I have pictures of him so I _know_ what he looks like, but not in my "mind").  The only memory I have of him was when I was about three (he died shortly after).  We were visiting him on the farm and I asked to ride his old mule.  He said the mule was too mean to ride, but he'd take me out to ride a cow.  I can vividly remember him talking to the cow, asking her to be a good girl and let his sweetie-girl ride on her.  I rode that cow all the way back to the barn, with him holding on to the back of my shirt so I didn't fall off the other side.  I was so proud of myself for riding that cow.


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## Butterfly (Apr 20, 2017)

I remember my dad playing his harmonica.  I still have that harmonica.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Apr 20, 2017)

I remember my Grandma making jelly and pouring paraffin on the top to seal the jars.  Their house always smelled so good during the summer while she simmered the fruit to just the right consistency. I helped her pick the wild blueberries,actually they called them huckleberries, the day before but didn't last to long before I got hot and bored. I had no trouble eating the end result though.


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## Lois (Apr 20, 2017)

*I remember grandma letting me help her make butter.  I would shake that jar what seemed like forever, but oh the results were sooo good.  Then sleeping out in the front yard on a old mattress and then waking up in the morning and looking at the clouds and figuring out what they looked like.  Good times for sure.*


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## Furryanimal (Sep 18, 2018)

I remember my great grandmother who was well into her nineties and as deaf as a post.She had a giant ear trumpet rather than hearing aids and if you said something to her she would put to her ear and shout "Whaaaat?"


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## Gary O' (Sep 18, 2018)

I remember my gramma smiling that sweet smile of hers.... while watching me swallow a big spoon of Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder.
She had quite the fractured sense of humor


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## toffee (Sep 22, 2018)

mine was on uk hols ---camping at the sea side i was 4 years old -my brother was 3 years older we was walking around a well we found in the field ' i went in long drop not much water really -he ran got family' dad come down got me out -all i remember lol


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## dkay (Sep 22, 2018)

My grandfather used to work at a sugar factory. I loved going walking with him especially when we'd go by the train tracks so I could pick up strangely shaped sugar beets that fell off the trains. By the factory there were giant piles of beets which rose like huge mountains above an otherwise flat landscape. My grandfather didn't talk a lot, he'd point at a big grasshopper on a sugar beet, or a rabbit, or a funny shaped cloud. He showed me everything in the world around me without saying anything. Here's a pic he took of me with one of those weird shaped sugar beets


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## Linda (Sep 22, 2018)

dkay, I love your story and your photo!


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