welcome to the Lily Pad!

The Lily Pad -- where dreams become reality, and reality becomes, well, a dream...

As I look at my laughing, playing children, who then promptly begin to scream and hug each other, I realize that the joys and heroes of childhood are rarely remembered in adulthood. While they will, without thought to the consequences, willingly and constantly watch or read every single GooseBumps video or book they can get their hands on, they do it knowing that it scares the daylights out of them. The same with Hercules and Xena. They will root on the hero, regardless of what it is he is up against. No matter how evil the villain is and how bad the odds seem, they will giggle at the antics, scream at the treachery, cry at the poignant moments. The sun seems to rise and set on Hercules, Xena, R.L. Stine (heck, even I like his stories). They cajole me with kisses to let them stay up to watch Rugrats. They begged for lunch boxes, backpacks, notebooks, anything with their heroes on them. I was smothered in kisses and choked with hugs when I came home with Titanic, and I'm not sure it was because of the film's awesome set design and costuming. Leonardo DiCaprio gets a kiss every night from the girls before bedtime. How that poster has held up this long, I have no idea. :) But then Memory Lane becomes a highway as I am flooded by those remembrances of my childhood. I remember doing a handstand in the kitchen and cracking my head on the floor. I remember playing in the driveway and slicing my calf open on a rusty license plate. I remember 45's and 8-tracks (mine still play, too), and still have a 78. And I remember my heroes. And I remember my loves. I collected every poster, watched every Hardy Boys show, wore out all of my records of Shaun Cassidy that I could lay my hands on. Parker Stevenson was the object of many of my daydreams. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy were amazing, and I even had a Charlie McCarthy doll. Nickelodeon was new and "You Can't Do That On Television" was the greatest. Ahhh, the birth of slime. :) Culture Club was just a bit odd, and Village People hadn't come out of the closet yet. Metal lunchboxes, although not for long. My Atari was my life, and when Defender came out in 1980 (the first Arcade game by Williams Entertainment), I could have died a happy girl :) But then, Frogger and the Mario Bros series came out. And Pac-Man! Omigod! Valley Girls and Foutons came into being. Rap hadn't. But as I grew older, parachute pants and break-dancing at the MORP dance (the Halloween version of the Prom) were a common site. There was only one Coca-Cola, and Tab sucked. It was safe to trick-or-treat for awhile, but in '81, someone found razor blades in an apple. Aspirin became dangerous to buy, and cigarettes could be purchased for 50 cents. Unfortunately, my parents STILL knew I smoked. It's amazing, the things that can exist in your memories, isn't it? They come to mind at the oddest of times, unbidden, with a will of their own. I cherish the ones I can, and weep when I can almost smell the summer days and winter snows gone by. It's true. You're only young once. Thank the g-ds that memories last almost forever.

SUPPORT FREE SPEECH ON THE INTERNET !!!

     





Back to The Poetry Pad

comments? suggestions? rants or raves? click the froggie to e-mail me!

Design and layout © 1998 Lost Froggie