When I was in fourth grade, I had to move from Holler Elementary to Falls Elementary, which was the equivalent of moving over to the right side of the tracks. Holler was a tiny school in South International Falls and it only went to third grade. So I had no choice but to get on the bus and go ALL the way to International Falls and be in Mrs. Berg's fourth grade class. And Mrs. Berg was mean. For some unknown reason, and maybe it was "new kid" syndrome, I started telling all kinds of lies. I remember two of them distinctly.
Mrs. Berg had a bulletin board at the back of the class and each week a kid was allowed to decorate it any way they wanted. I got chosen first, and because I am the sixth of seven kids, there were only probably four or five photos of me up until that point. So I posted my photos very sparcely across the bulletin board. Mrs. Berg even asked me if I wanted to put up more photos. "NO, that's OK," I replied as if I had just chosen the very BEST photos of myself from a vast supply. For some strange reason I opted to also bring in this huge trophy that my dad has with a horse on the top. Lie # 1: I told everyone that my dad won the trophy at a rodeo and he won it with me on the horse. Yes folks, my dad and I tamed those buckin' broncos together, back in the day. About a month ago I saw that trophy again when we were cleaning out my mom and dad's house and it says in very plain letters on the front "July 27, 1977". 47 days after I was born. I was a pretty CRAZY newborn.
p.s. nobody believed me.
p.p.s. Mary Frederickson decorated the board the next week and her stuff filled the board so much it was spilling over onto the wall.
Lie # 2: I guess I must have been embarrassed of my poor kid's clothes, and so I invented the story of the "box of Esprit clothes" under the basement stairs. Yah, I was just "too busy" to go through them all, and so there they sat, under the basement stairs. Someday I would "get around to it" and sort through all those Esprit clothes and finally wear some of it to school. In the meantime, I would just wear this old crap, no big deal. I still remember Tricia Wherley (whose dad owned Wherley Motors and who had TONS of actual Esprit clothes) reacting to the story with nonbelief and dismissal. A miracle happened that year when my aunt sent me some clothes from my cousin. In the package was an Esprit sweater. Which I then proceeded to wear every day. Tricia Wherley was indeed surprised. I still remember being in the bathroom at school and hearing somebody saying "She really does have Esprit clothes", and Tricia was astounded. Astounded.
You need to post your school picture. I remember it blonde bob and your Espirit sweater.
ReplyDeleteKady, looking at the where you have been map, you havent been to Ohio! Come see me.
I purposely have never been there.
ReplyDeleteBut yes I will come and visit you next summer. Promise.
I called mom to see if she had a .pdf of that photo and she doesn't because all the photos are all packed up. If you have one, scan it for me.
All the pretty, fashionable clothes that I got for Dawn were at the Goodwill on Shady Oak Road. She wore Esprit, Guess & whatever. All donated by the rich people of the twin cities area. Some still had tags on them. She said once that she was afraid to wear used clothing, but I just said I would wash them up and they would be like new. She said not if they fart, so I offered a scrubbing with Don Maximo soap, which she declined. Don't know why that scared her. Aunty Cheryl
ReplyDeletePerhaps she didn't want crotchless sweaters.
ReplyDeletep.s. that Esprit sweater really saved me that year. You'll never know.
Kady, why didn't you tell me. I would have taken my $38.67 out of savings from my ICO job and figured out a way to get you something from Espirit.
ReplyDeleteI always got mad at you guys because you never seemed to appreciate things. Well, you DID scream and carry on with joy when I brought you home something neat. But here are 2 times when I just wanted to KILL you and Kasey. Kady: I came home with Guess jeans....very expensive Guess jeans, I might add, even at 2nd hand store prices. You did back-flips you were so happy. Next day, I find them cut off as shorts!!!!! Kasey: Long beautiful hair and she wanted a perm. I think it was over a hundred dollars. She got it and I was the queen Mom for a day...next day I came home and she had CUT IT ALL OFF!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou youngn's always think you had it rough, but your mom and I had it really bad. In my closed was 4 white blouses, (2 long sleeve & 2 short sleeve) 2 navy blue pleated skirts that touched the bottom of our knees, 7 pair of underwear from Sunday through Saturday, 1 pair of saddle shoes, 1 play shoes, a set of play clothes, 7 pr of socks, a nice (ick) dress for church) - you get the picture. In 1967 when we moved from Indiana to Int'l Falls, I only had a pair of cotton neon orange pants. I saved my money for a black pair of stretch pants, with sewn in pleat and stirrups. They got ruined when I ironed them because polyester was just coming out and I was only used to cotton. Needless to say I had to wear them anyway with an iron imprint on the leg. I'm sure your mom can add to this. Aunty Cheryl p.s. forgot to mention the flannel pajamas and we only did wash on Saturdays.
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate enough to have a rich friend with plenty of Girbaud's. So, one day, I would have on my Lee jeans, next day, Girbaud's. Nobody knew what to think. It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI read the anonymous comment and I thought it was Hal for awhile. Yeah the dress thing I kinda thought was strange, but it was 1967. Actually I thought it was Diane and Hal kinda writing it. My bad. By the by when tapered pants n stone wash was in, I had tight thigh and loose bottoms. Loose enough to get stuck behind a cheap shoe tongue and really show some width. High school sucked for fashion. When I stole my bros levis I got yelled at and punched.
ReplyDelete