Some of my best memories as a kid were in a small town in Southern Alberta. The other day I decided to a walk down memory lane. These are a few of the memories I have of Picture Butte.
1) It was small enough for us to play hide and seek using the whole town as our playground.We didn't. We generally stuck to our hood. Once when I ventured out...I got bit in the bum by a dog.
2) June bugs jumped off the roofs of the downtown buildings at night to get the warmth of the cement below. (gross!)
3) My best friend was Marla who was very girly and would squeak each time she saw a worm. (they were NOTHING when compared to the big June bugs downtown! Honestly Marla! Grow up! haha)
4) Marla's house was considered the biggest "richest" house on the street...probably the whole town for all I know.
5) My dog Barney would sic on command and many of times would sic/chase Marla home because she got too girly/hoity toity. (What can I say...I lacked patience all the way back to the beginning!) And that dog was so cool! What I would give to have another Barney. Plus he was a drunk. True Story. A complete lush!
6) We Nicky Nicky Nine Door'd our way up and down the street every night. Each night surprised when we would get caught. Or me. Each night I would get caught because I was the smallest/youngest and usually did not even know the bell had been wrung until everyone went flying past me. One night the old Korean man Ninja'd his way over the back fence and had me by the collar, holding me in the air. My sister Lisa was very brave that night and came out of hiding to save my scrawny hide.
7) I used to sneak out onto the prairie to find discarded snake skins because I really really wanted a snake rattle. (Yes...I was a brilliant child, scarily so)
8) I was bit in the bum by a doberman pincher. In a yard I had run through a hundred times before. I got up, brushed myself off with a glance back to remember which yard that was and carried on my merry way. After dinner each night was the forced scrub down. I had forgotten all about the dog bite until my skinny butt hit the hot water and I subsequently hit the roof. Of course my mother over reacted and I was hauled down to the hospital for a tetanus shot.
I have a ton of memories so I went to look at the old haunt. If I could insert "Skidding Tire Sound" here I would. I had no idea how humble our duplex was NOR how a family of six fit into it. We lived on the right. On that front lawn was where on one Christmas morning Lisa and I had built a snow hill to go down on our brand new red plastic skis'. And it was right there, 20 seconds after we built it, that I broke my ski. I was heartbroken and Lisa was in her glory because her skis lasted until mom threw them out years later. It was also there, right at the end of the driveway where my sister Lisa the budding entrepreneur set up shop. She had a "Go Fish" station where you paid her money and fished for a number with a makeshift fishing pole in a bucket of water. When you managed to fish out a number you received the corresponding prize. The prizes consisted of all my stuffed animals. My sister is an Evil Carny Genius. I would have been sad about any of them leaving, all except Mickey Mouse who had a built-in radio. He hurt. Funny story that. But for later.
1) It was small enough for us to play hide and seek using the whole town as our playground.We didn't. We generally stuck to our hood. Once when I ventured out...I got bit in the bum by a dog.
2) June bugs jumped off the roofs of the downtown buildings at night to get the warmth of the cement below. (gross!)
3) My best friend was Marla who was very girly and would squeak each time she saw a worm. (they were NOTHING when compared to the big June bugs downtown! Honestly Marla! Grow up! haha)
4) Marla's house was considered the biggest "richest" house on the street...probably the whole town for all I know.
5) My dog Barney would sic on command and many of times would sic/chase Marla home because she got too girly/hoity toity. (What can I say...I lacked patience all the way back to the beginning!) And that dog was so cool! What I would give to have another Barney. Plus he was a drunk. True Story. A complete lush!
6) We Nicky Nicky Nine Door'd our way up and down the street every night. Each night surprised when we would get caught. Or me. Each night I would get caught because I was the smallest/youngest and usually did not even know the bell had been wrung until everyone went flying past me. One night the old Korean man Ninja'd his way over the back fence and had me by the collar, holding me in the air. My sister Lisa was very brave that night and came out of hiding to save my scrawny hide.
7) I used to sneak out onto the prairie to find discarded snake skins because I really really wanted a snake rattle. (Yes...I was a brilliant child, scarily so)
8) I was bit in the bum by a doberman pincher. In a yard I had run through a hundred times before. I got up, brushed myself off with a glance back to remember which yard that was and carried on my merry way. After dinner each night was the forced scrub down. I had forgotten all about the dog bite until my skinny butt hit the hot water and I subsequently hit the roof. Of course my mother over reacted and I was hauled down to the hospital for a tetanus shot.
I have a ton of memories so I went to look at the old haunt. If I could insert "Skidding Tire Sound" here I would. I had no idea how humble our duplex was NOR how a family of six fit into it. We lived on the right. On that front lawn was where on one Christmas morning Lisa and I had built a snow hill to go down on our brand new red plastic skis'. And it was right there, 20 seconds after we built it, that I broke my ski. I was heartbroken and Lisa was in her glory because her skis lasted until mom threw them out years later. It was also there, right at the end of the driveway where my sister Lisa the budding entrepreneur set up shop. She had a "Go Fish" station where you paid her money and fished for a number with a makeshift fishing pole in a bucket of water. When you managed to fish out a number you received the corresponding prize. The prizes consisted of all my stuffed animals. My sister is an Evil Carny Genius. I would have been sad about any of them leaving, all except Mickey Mouse who had a built-in radio. He hurt. Funny story that. But for later.
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| HOW did we fit? The neighbor next door was a bit of drunk if I remember correctly. But I'm pretty sure a person had to be to live next to our house. Four kids, 2 cats and a drunk dog. Sounds blissful! |
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| Our backyard to the right, second in. This lane way was for our bike races or the Nicky Nine getaway. If you ran to the end you would run right onto the open prairie and could probably just keep going...forever! At least that is what I thought. I learned differently when we drove out to BC for the first time and I had to be drugged to make it through Rogers Pass. (I can pinpoint the exact moment my fear of heights started. That too is a funny story. No joke...I did have to be drugged). |
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| This is what you looked at when you got to the end of the lane way- the wide open prairie! (Hey Line Painter...Go home! Your drunk!) |
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| This was Marla's house. (The rich house on the street! haha!) Marla's mom didn't like her daughter hanging out with me. I was the wild kid from down the road with the maniac dog. Plus I liked to "Craft" with all the toilet paper which made her scream. (one day in particular stands out!) Jeepers! Its called Art!!! (Everyone is a critic). |
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| This driveway is where the Korean man had me by the scruff of the neck. Scary!!!! His house was on the right and he jumped that fence like nobody's business! I'm pretty sure I soiled myself. |
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| Well. This was the hood. Lots of good memories, a great place to grow up. What I loved the most though was when a Chinook blew through town. I would flip my coat up above my head to create a sail and the wind would lift me up. That was spectacular! The picture below is the town. wow! So small. Fairfield Island is bigger! |
Wow. Talk about a trip down memory lane. Thanks Jodi. A few asides though, the lady, ( VERY loose term) was also addicted to ABBA and would play them at all hours. You always got set up to get caught at nicky 9 doors because you were the cutest and could talk like a Hollywood agent even then, thus giving the rest of us an escape clause. Lastly, don't diss the prairies. In the wheat is an awesome place to hide from angry, old Korean Ninjas. LOL
ReplyDeleteOh no dissing of the Prairies! I enjoyed growing up there! I loved the prairies.
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