Wax On

We lived across the street from the village park where the slide was really tall  like 12 -14 feet high.  When I was little I would only use the baby slide that was maybe 5 feet high.  It was not as scary to climb, but was tricky to set down on at the top.  There was not much room to maneuver, and the platform was very short for anyone to sit on.  This was fun to go down because you went really slow.  When you would get to the end of the slide, the height was perfect for short little legs to reach the ground without falling down.  But as I got older and braver the bigger slide was fun, well funner!!  It was a slide that was not a straight downward slope, there were two waves you experienced on the way down.  That helped to propel you off the end and sort of gave you a thrill of up and down movement as you came down.  The secret to an even better ride was wax paper!!!! There also were 2 different ways to effectively use the wax paper.  One was to put it under you before you started to slide down, which was better each time you used it and really fun if every other time you used a new sheet!!  The other method was to slowly go down backwards and really wax the slide hard by hand to get all the surface as slippery as possible.  For this last method you needed to have at least 4 fresh sheets of the paper with you to cover it with new wax all the way.  What really was the topper, each time after, you waxed, it got slipperier!!  Now I should mention at the end of the  slide where you land, was a big drop off. It was filled with sand of course, but the section exactly at the end was two and a half feet drop.  Then the sand banked around that for at least 3 feet in each direction.  Man, when it was waxed well, going down was a blast, and the ride was fast!!!!!!!  But, I would only play there if no other people were there.  If it looked like another kid was coming to the park, I would start to walk home.  Then patiently wait until they were done playing, to return.  I can not remember a time other than with relatives that I ever played or ever stayed at the park with someone else.  At that time I was too shy to talk to, play with, or be around other children.  It was a way of protecting myself from getting hurt or rejected by them.  So one day I waxed that slide real good and went home to get my dad to come and see what a good job I had done!  He went down just one time.  He was not prepared for how slippery it truly was, so when he reached the end of the ride he sailed off to the edge of the soft sand.  Oh man, my dad hurt his back!  That made me feel so horrible, so responsible for his injury, I cried.  He kept telling me that it was alright he was not hurt that bad.  Then he told me what a good job of waxing I had done, but to be mindful of others who did not realize how slick it was before going down.  That was the last time I ever waxed a slide in my life!  Watching dad fly in the air made my stomach flip and I stayed near by to get him what ever he needed.  After dad got better, I did not have much of an interest in slides anymore.  Someone could get seriously hurt!  Sorry dad!!  Too bad Diane wasn't home, I would have asked her before dad for a test run!! 

Don't Bug Me!

We meet this couple and their daughter at a small park and invited them if they were ever in the neighborhood to drop by.  Well, to our surprise they were at our door one Saturday!  They were nice people, but they looked like they never bathed or changed clothes in awhile.  As was customary for us, when company came we took their coats and always laid them on the bed Diane and I shared.  They stayed for longer than we expected, or would have liked, and they were invited to stay for supper.  Sometime after eating they finally said good-bye, handed them the coats and were gone!!!  Several nights after this visit, I woke up with tiny bites all over my body, and they bled, so I must have been scratching at night.  After maybe a week of this my parents took me to a dermatologist to find out what was biting me.  The doctor looked at one arm and told my folks we had bed bugs.  My mom and dad looked shocked and wanted to know how to get rid of them.  That very night we all got on either side of the bed, and dad through back the covers as mom shined a flashlight on the sheets.  Yikes!!!  The bed was black with these bugs, and they are so fast, within 10 seconds they had scattered back into the mattress.  I ran out of the bedroom screaming and brushing my clothes at the thought of them all on me at night biting and drinking my blood!!!  Need I mention Diane slept in the same bed with me and did not get one bite.  The doctor said I had what was referred to as "sweet blood", which he also has and was the reason he became a dermatologist.  He had prescribed a cream for me to apply to heal the bites.  Dad had to drag the mattress outside into the pick up truck to burn down at Uncle Raymond's.  Then mom and Diane had to wipe the entire bed down with kerosene, and put coasters under the legs of the bed with kerosene in the coasters.  They treated the bed at least 2 times and at night had to check the carpet to make sure they were all gone.  When my folks were absolutely positive  they were gone, we had to but a new mattress.  Good thing we did not smoke, or my bed soaked in the kerosene would have ignited!!  Man I was so leery about sleeping in that bed or room again, but after one week I knew for sure no more bugs!  The dermatologist told my mom that I will attract  all types of bugs and insects because of my blood.  They smell it and it draws them to me, so I should be careful where I go or what I do.  The main concern would probably be bees or mosquitoes!!!  Since Diane does not have the same kind of blood, that was the reason she never got bitten.  Which just tickled her pink!!  She loved to dance around to sing "you are buggy I am not" or things along those lines.  This was just more ammo for her to use against me to try to make me feel bad.  At this time I was 10 and Di was around 16 years old.  She was a little frustrating to grow up around!! 

Calamine Kid

My sister and I were playing at a cousins house one day.  Cathy and her sisters always like to play in the ditches and catch like crayfish things.  While we were there Di and I followed her into the ditch.  Well, I should say Diane followed Cathy into the ditch, while I stayed close to the top by the edge of the lawn.  Diane was not afraid to try anything, but I was very careful to wisely choose activities that were safe for me.  This ditch was deep with weeds on both banks, and the water looked unclean and deeper than I was comfortable about walking in.  Di and Cathy had taken off their shoes to wade in the ditch to catch this ugly little creatures, YUK!  Cathy said the best place to find them was in the big metal tile that went under the road.  My thinking was that this was not smart or safe to be doing, but they were having fun.  So I followed the bank of the ditch and watched from the field when they were in the metal tile.  They came back to the house with several creepy things from the ditch.  The next morning I got up to discover my arms and legs were gather itchy.  Later that day mom took me to the doctors and found out I must have walked through poison ivy.  At home mom swabbed me up with Calamine Lotion that makes you want to itch like crazy when it dries.  Soon it was on my face, stomach, neck let's just say it was everywhere my hands touched.  I looked like Casper the friendly ghost, with a touch of pink.  Diane who went into the ditch did not get it.  Nor since we slept together she did not catch it.  She would laugh looking at me because I did not want to go outside with all that lotion on I looked awful.  Well, I also found out a few years later that when someone burns poison ivy, standing in the smoke made me break out big time.  Why is it that I catch  everything but Di doesn't?  The funny part was I did not even know what it looked like so I could avoid contact.  Which was the reason I kept getting  it over and over!!  Even today I am not sure if I could distinguish the plant.  It just seemed to me I was always getting coated with some chemical or lotion or first aid cream.  Sure kept my mom on her toes!! 

Lousy

In the third grade, the teacher made us sit alphabetically and that put me in the last seat in the last row.  This was the year I needed glasses I could not read the chalkboard from that far away.  This year was the most traumatic year of all the years going to school.  It would take up too much room too tell all of it in on blog, so this is just one incident from that time.  Where I was seated, the girl in front of me literally made me buggy with her constant itching of her head.  At home mom noticed I was itching my head so she called me over to check my head.  Her suspicions were correct, head lice!!  What in the world were head lice?  When dad got home he was informed with my dilemma, and they went into action.  Not knowing what to expect or never having heard of these things I was a little anxious.  Dad first laid newspaper down on the kitchen table, while mom retrieved what looked like a dog's flea comb.  Mom instructed me to bend over the newspaper on the table while she took that comb and tried to run it thru my hair.  My hair was longer and it was not an easy task.  As she was combing I heard something hit the paper, at which time my dad used his nails to kill the lice.  If he did not kill the critters, they would jump back up into my hair.  I scared my folks when I let out a loud scream, just to think these things were on me crawling!!!  Mom smacked the side of my head laughing at how she jumped when I screamed, I guess even dad jumped, they did not expect me to scream at all.  This procedure went on for more than an hour and a half.  Then they applied what was called Cuprex to my hair.  It was horrid, it smelled like kerosene, and burned my head from all the digging mom had done.  Long story short, we went thru this tedious procedure every night for a week, and to no avail.  The critters were very resilient!! So they had to take me to the doctor and he told them they were doing everything right.  It was a huge outbreak at school and each day I would get more from school.  The only thing he could suggest was to put on the Cuprex, wrap my head in a bandanna for an hour or more to kill the lice and the larva.   MAN< I thought my head was going to ignite it got so hot, and burning sensation like I never felt before or want to again!!  All I could do was sit there and tears ran down my face I was so miserable and sick to my stomach that I had bugs on me.  Funny thing I should mention, my sister Diane and I slept together this whole time and not one of those lousy lice jumped on her or her hair!  She apparently was not a good host unlike myself, who was all too hospitable.  Finally, this last trick worked and they all died, drown or suffocated from that awful solution.  It almost made me feel sorry for the little rascals, I said almost sorry!!!!  So relieved to declare Orkin is not going to be a career choice when I grow up. 

The Whack

One day we went to visit my dad's mother Grandma Z., of course we visited quite often.  Let's just say she was not the friendliest woman, or the nicest.  She complained about everything, nothing made her happy.  Can't say as I  have ever seen a smile on her face, remember her laughing!  Some people like to keep things in turmoil.  That would best explain Grandma Z.  This one day we had visited most of the afternoon and Grandma insisted we have milk with cookies or doughnuts, not homemade.  She had a round heavy wooden table in the kitchen with big wide legs that came out from the middle, you could rest your feet on if like mine, did not touch the floor.  We could only one at a time (house rules) to eat.  Unfortunately, I was the first to dunk my cookie into my milk, cause they were so blasted hard.  They must have been old, who would buy them like that?  Just as I had stuck that cookie in my milk glass, to my total shock and surprise, the handle end of a table knife came down hard across the back of my knuckles on that hand.  With a hurt and angry face I scowled to see who in the name of pain had whacked me!!!!!  It was none other than ol' cheerful Grandma Z!!  She shook the knife at me and in no kind voice told me it was impolite to dunk!!  WHAT!!  At home we dunk all the time, even my dad!!  It would have been nice if she gave a warning before breaking my knuckles.  That made my hand go numb for at least 10 to 15 seconds.  So I looked over at mom and dad and they put their head down as they were shaking it back and forth in a no motion.  Diane almost choked on her doughnut because that whack made her happy it hurt and happy it was not her!!  Grandma yelled at Diane for laughing, but Di just stuck her tongue out to her.  The whack made me mad, but what I was most mad at was that my cookies was in the bottom of my milk and dissolving into crumbs.  My luck it couldn't stay as hard as it was before I dunked.  All the way home this was the topic of conversation "the whack".   When we got home, I told my mother's mom, Grandma Y. what had happened and I started to cry.  Grandma Z made me drink all the stupid crumbs at the bottom from the cookies she knocked out of my hand!!  Crumbs in milk are yucky to drink, I think.  So Grandma Y said I could go get one of her delicious homemade cookies before bed, and I could dunk it if I wanted.  Her cookies were so soft and good they did not need to be dunked.  Diane went and got one too, which I did not think was fair, she ate her doughnut and cookies at Grandma Z's.  After "the whack"  I did not eat anything I was too upset, and it tasted old like grandma.  Well now you know too, dunking is not polite, unless done properly in your own home!!

The Hunt

Easter is a special time of the year, especially for the kids.  We grew up across the street from the park in a small town (village) that had an Easter egg hunt every year.  Each year I would get up early, lay on grandma's bad an watch as the fireman would hide all the candy and prizes.  Once at about age 7, I was determined that year I was going to participate.  Using a paper plate as my base, I made an Easter hat with paper flowers, ribbon and tiny chenille yellow chicks.  It looked really cool to me.  Then I put on my light blue pedal pushers, white 3/4 length sleeves, my favorite red and white striped sweater, with white ankle socks and my oxfords.  Since I was up way earlier than everyone else, I ate my cereal, watched as the candy was hidden so I knew where to look, and waited!!  Mom got up first, and being so excited I told her all about my plans, that I would ask Diane to take me over and help me hunt.  The problem was, I was too shy and scared to go alone.  Finally the time was getting close for the games to begin, and there was at least 30 kids gathered.  We just had to get over there so we could get to the front of the hunt!!!  Diane never liked to be woke up in the morning, even when dad called her for school, she always got up grumpy!!  How can you wake up grumpy, if nothing has gone wrong or bad so early??  Anyway, I did not have a choice if I was going on the big Easter egg hunt, my first year!!  So i woke her up trying to be cheerful, so she might catch the vibes.  She was grumpier, if that was possible.  She told me I was a big baby and that she was not going to take me anywhere.  Arguing was useless when she was in her mood, the question was, did she have any other mood besides mean and grumpy?  So it was no use begging, I was not hunting for candy on that day.  Did I tell you about the cute Easter basket I had made to put all my treasures from the hunt into?  Well no need to explain.  So I still had a good seat to watch the other kids, Sitting down on the cement porch in back, with my basket next to me, in my favorite clothes and Easter hat I happily took the whole experience all in.  It was fun just to look on!  Finally when every last person left the park, I took my basket to see if they had missed any candy or eggs.  Not a one escaped capture!!  So I skipped back home swinging my basket, singing Easter Parade or at least the chorus over and over.  Mom had set our real baskets filled with candy on the front porch- you know where peter rabbit put them.  So I had candy after all, lots of marshmallow pink and yellow chicks that I loved.  Guess you could say I learned early to try and find the positive in all situations.  What will be, will be!

Stage Fright

My Uncle Howard loved to play the organ, as a matter of fact, he played for his church every Sunday.  When I was about 7 years old, Di was 13, we bought a second hand organ and took lessons.  Diane was really good at learning it quickly and became so good the teacher wanted Diane to play at weddings, funerals and other events with her.  But she was so stubborn she refused to continue her lessons.  Since I was only 7, my legs were too short to reach the foot pedals, so I had to use extension pedals.  They fit right over the regular ones.  I loved to play the organ at home so practicing was not a problem, it was a joy.  Our first organ recital was scary for me.  As a kid I was super shy, and my face turned red so fast and became so bright red, then I would start to sweat and get nervous.  When my turn came to play my pieces that I had practiced for hours, and I knew them by heart, I got up and began.  My pieces were: 1) Beautiful Dreamer, and 2) Annie Rooney.  As I sat there I was so proud that I knew them so well, that when I glanced over at mom and dad, I noticed everybody was watching me!!!!  Some how I thought that just your parents would be listening to you.  So I started to cry and jumped down from the stool to run directly into mom's arms.  She told me I was being a big baby, that I needed to get right back and play my songs or I could not take lessons anymore.  So I told her I don't want lessons anymore if I have to play in front of everyone!!  The recital continued on, Diane was wonderful and got a big round of applause.  But she did not want to practice anymore, so we sold the organ.  That made me sad and I cried because I really loved playing at home, so why couldn't we still keep the organ???  That I guess was my punishment for being such a baby and not performing in a recital.  Maybe I could have grown out of it but we would never know, the organ was gone.  One Christmas Diane got a little cord organ because she was so good at playing.  She could not have cared less, she was done with it forever.  Then I begged for us to keep it so I could play on it.  To my surprise they said we could!!!  Everyday I played on that cord organ, it may have been with one hand but I was playing.  Only one book came with it that showed which cord to play at which time, that was the only time I could use both hands.  When I had to stay at home with grandma (because Diane refused and got to go with mom and dad all the time) I would play songs for her.  She sometimes sang along, or kept time with her foot, or clapped out the timing, until she told me that was enough and to watch some TV for awhile.  Sometimes I read to her, because she didn't see very well.  With family members I was not as shy and could talk a mile a minute.  Grandma would tell me that my mouth ran like a clapper to a goose's ass.  It was many years before i knew what that meant, once I really watched the geese poop.  But I still like to play around with my piano, when I am alone.  It brings back good old memories of grandma, Uncle Howard and many of my mom's relatives could play any instrument by ear.  Even my mom could play music by ear, those were good times.  So concert pianist was not in my future or any stage profession where people could watch me.

In The End

Visiting with relatives the other night reminded me of an incident about 10 years ago.  My sister Diane and I were just sitting around my house talking, when I needed to use the restroom.  When I came out, I sat down on the couch at which time I felt like someone had poked a needle in the crack of my behind.  It made me jump, so my sister asks if I am alright, and nod yes.  This happened about 4 times when I said to Di, something has to be in my pants.  So as fast as I could,I riped them off to see what was the matter.  Yet another sharp poke, inside my underwear.  WHAT?  So off they came as a yellow jacket (bee) flew up towards the ceiling.  My sister had my jeans in her hand and gave it a good swat, and bye bye bee.  She checked my backside and sure enough there were 4 or 5 bumps where that bee had stung me.  Believe me he wanted to escape, as much as I wanted relief!!!  Diane began laughing so hard almost wet her pants and had to go to the bathroom.  It did delight me to let her know after she sat down that was probably where the bee gotin my drawers so bee careful!!!  Just my luck, the only bee in the bathroom and I get stuck with it!!!  We did laugh,what are the chances of that happening in the house?  Maybe when they used the old outhouses, but now?  Diane made sure for about 2 months that I was the butt end of that incident.  Someday Diane, someday!  Did I mention I am highly allergic to bees?  Certainly would not make a good beekeeper.  Everything turned out in the end, I did not have a bad reaction and Diane had a good chuckle.  She could not wait to tell everyone she knew about this incident.  Alls well that ends swell!!!  HAHA!

Hot Stuff!

For some reason I am extremely afraid of fire.  To strike a match terrifies me.  As a little kid I hated the fourth of July, because all the adults push sparklers at us.  Every single year adults want us to play with sparklers so they have a fit if you refuse to hold one.  Some even go so far as to force the issue by putting it in your hand to help you hold the blasted thing.  When they did that I would hold it out as far away as my arm could reach and turn my head the opposite way until it went out.  Every adult believes they can cure your fear!!  When I was very young I heard stories about my grandpa (mom's dad) and how he died.  While he was at the end of the driveway burning leaves, he was overcome by the smoke and feel into the pile of burning leaves.  Nobody ever said how long he was there before someone found him, but he had very severe burns to his front section from his waist to his knees.  I guess he died not too long after such severe injuries.  At home don't ask me why, but we lived across from the fire station and when the fire whistle blew (we did not have any trouble hearing the alarm), it seemed like everyone in town jumped in their cars to follow the fire trucks to the fire.  All the cars lined up off the side of the road, so they did not interfere with any aspect of putting out the fire.  The people watched for awhile and went back home.  Golly, I remember one night dad got a call real late at night telling him Uncle Raymond's tool shed (barn) was on fire.  He and mom woke Di and I up put on our robes and slippers and we all ran out to the car.  Dad drove so fast to get there we were scared.  We could see the blaze more than a mile away, it was bad!  Dad parked by the house, on the grass so the driveway was not blocked.  Uncle Raymond's kids were all put into their white station wagon, and that's where we ended up.  They could not find Bob and people were looking all over, when someone went back into the house, he was sound asleep in the corner setting in the kids little wooden rocker.  So he joined us in the car, while everyone was frantically trying to battle the enormous fire.  They had to move the livestock they were to close to the barn, or they would have had tons of rump roasts to eat.  The fireman told dad the fire was so HOT he needed to move the station wagon with us kids so the gas tanks would not explode, as well as our car we came in.  So he moved the cars to the road, which was further behind the house.  Fireman started hose down the front of the house, the paint was curling up and melting, and peeling.  They said the barn was a total loss, because it had been filled with bales of hay and straw, so firemen just watched as it burned down.  They also had to water the surrounding buildings for the cattle, horse, pigs, corn crib,and silo, to try and save them.  We stayed there all night and most of the next day, then mom took us home, while Aunt Betty was finally able to put the kids back to bed too.  That was scary!! 
   Any time dad burned leaves, or started the grill, I stood way back but watched to make sure he was safe.  Many times dad or Uncle Raymond grilled they used charcoal lighter.  That made me very nervous, because even after the coals were burning, sometimes they would squirt more lighter fluid onto the fire causing a huge burst of flames.  What made me more nervous is the fire might follow the fluid back to the can and explode!!!  My cousins smoked and some used cigarette lighters.  Couple of times I saw them drop the lighter because it got too hot to hold after while.  So for whatever reasons, I still am terrified of fire, flames, gas grills, charcoal grills, and gas stoves.  Then you know I cannot smoke, I would have to beg people to light my cigarettes.  There is not anywhere on my property a grill of any kind.  Once some elderly friends were grilling us hamburgers and Wanda had to use the restroom, so she asked me if I could watch the grill.  Sure !!!   Millie and I sat in the swing talking when all of a sudden flames shoot up from the grill from the grease.  Millie asked me what I was going to do.  So I told her Wanda just asked me to watch the grill, she never said I had to take care of the grill, or the hamburgers.  Millie laughed and asked what if they all burn?  Soberly I told her we go out to eat, my treat.  Wanda came back out about then and yelled why didn't I watch the grill,  I simply told her that I was watching.  Watching it and the flame from a safe distance.  Needless to say we went to Burger King, my treat!!  So by now you have probably guessed I won't grow up to be a chef or fireman. 

Snow Fun

Back in the 1960's, when I was 6 years old, we had winter storms that left tons of snow.  Some of our drifts were as high as the kitchen windows, around 7 to 8 feet deep.  One year the snow was so heavy it brought down power lines, so we were out of electricity for a week.  We used a kerosene heater that we could boil water over, or warm food.  At night we all slept in the dining room and put up blankets on the doors that went to other rooms.  It helped keep the heat in that room, Diane and I put down blankets on the floor to sleep at night.  Mom and dad and grandma either slept in a chair or took turns sleeping in grandma's room.  Her room had an old chimney that passed through from the basement to the roof, and for some reason if you put your feet on the wallpaper covering it, it was really really warm!  So that helped grandma's room not be as cold.  Well we were running out of general supplies like bread, milk, eggs, and cereal so dad had to walk up to Ferzog's store about 5 blocks away.  It sounds easy, except no plows were running because the wind was blowing the snow faster than they could plow, it was useless.  So this meant that dad had snow drifts up to his waist at times to walk through.  Diane was 12 or so and always got her way, she wanted to go with dad to the store.  Well so did I! Ferzog was my friend and always gave me a special treat, so I made such a fuss about Diane getting to go all the time but I never get to.  This would have been a good time not to beg, now that I know what happened!!!  So mam and dad said I would regret wining, so they said alright if you go that means you will have to go all the way there and back no matter what!!  So they put me into my snowsuit, mittens, boots, and a scarf tied around my neck, thinking back I looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy and could not walk as good as he did.  My sister called me a baby and bet I would not make it, at least she prayed for me, ha-ha!!  We walked, or should say literally crawled through snow banks taller than me.  Dad kept checking behind him to make sure I was still there, since he broke me a path so to speak.  Maybe one and half blocks from home I had to go to the bathroom, so I called up to dad, who informed me I would have to wait till we get back home.  It didn't wait!!  So I silently cried every step of the way because I was cold and my pants were frozen.  When we got to Ferzog's which took us over an hour, Mr. Ferzog said I could use his bathroom in the back, but I did not want to take ALL my clothes off and try to put them back on, Diane said she wasn't going to help me, so I declined.  The trip back home was somewhat easier, the wind was still blowing hard, and now dad and Di had groceries to carry besides, so it took another hour.  But I was tired, my little legs felt like rubber, frozen rubber!!  Each time dad looked back I was further and further behind, that is called bringing up the rear, in more ways than one!!  So I started to cry more since now they were home and I had a whole block yet to go. Diane stood on the porch shouting here comes the baby!  Dad put the groceries in the house and did come back finally to help me.  He could not carry me because he was too tired and the snow was too deep.  Once back home mom and dad helped me out of my wetsuit, and the many layers, I now know how an onion feels.  My feet were as red as my cheeks, yes both ends!  Mom had hot chocolate which never tasted so good, and now in my winter pajamas under 4 blankets, I feel asleep for the rest of the day and night.  Cannot say as I ever begged to go anywhere anymore, that was certainly a lesson learned the hard way, but ha-ha Diane I did make it (barely)!  What an adventure, one I have not forgotten, and I can almost laugh about it today.  Well at least I know winter jobs are not in my future for a career choice.

What's Up Doc?

My grandma had a nephew by the name of Asa, who had a wonderful sense of humor.  Maybe I was 5 years old, but I just loved when he came to our house or we visited him!  Asa was around 5 feet tall, almost bald (lots of fuzzes), and had only one tooth.  That tooth was on top and in front, which I thought was so funny.  Asa would let me sit on his lap, and I would ask if I could pet his head.  Each time I asked, even if it was 10 times in one visit, he would always tip his head towards me so I could pet that super soft white hairs he had left.  When you looked at him, it seemed that he barely had any hair at all, but there were lots of little hairs that made it so soft.  Each time I would giggle like crazy as I touched his head.  Really, I think he just liked to hear my laugh, but I could tell Asa loved me.  Then one day Asa told me he had something to show me and I was excited because he was so much fun.  He put his only front tooth over his lower lip and would say," Ah, what's up doc?", just like Bugs Bunny.  He really did sound exactly like Bugs Bunny!!  Man that would almost make me wet my pants, I thought that was hysterically funny.  Sometimes Asa would laugh so hard with me he could not keep his tooth on his lower lip anymore.  We would set for hours doing this until our stomachs hurt so hard.  Even grandma laughed with us it was so silly.  Once I remember Asa came to visit and asked mom if I could take a ride with him to the store.  Mom said it was alright, but not to dare ask for anything!!!!  So off we went, I sat in the front seat with Asa (you did not have to wear seat belts at that time), and his car was a huge bright red car that had what I called wings in the back where his back lights were.  So in the store, Asa said he was going to buy us balloons to play with.  Not knowing what to expect, I just smiled and held his hand in the store till we got back to the car.  Wow, he bought 2 big bags of balloons of all colors.  When we got home, he showed mom and grandma what we bought.  They too were surprised all he had were balloons.  So he started to blow them up, until he had maybe 10 on the table.  He told me to hit the balloon into the air and try to keep it from reaching the floor.  Then he added another one and I tried to keep 2 balloons in the air until he tried all 10. The two of us together were going not too bad, except we were looking up at the balloons and kept running into each other.  Mom told us we were crazy, but once in a while as a balloon drifted her way, she gave it a push up, really she wanted to play also.  Even grandma would use her foot to keep it off the floor.  We had a ball!! Then when we got too tired, Asa said we should pop them just to hear the 'pop'!  So we tried setting on them, Asa was good at that, I just squeezed hard and pop!  Every single time a balloon popped, it made me jump and that made all of us laugh.  When those 10 were gone he put the ones that were left in a drawer in the kitchen and he said next time he came we would play again.  He was so funny, kind, and loving, he made me fell good inside.When he got too old he was put in an old folks home, and mom and dad one day went to visit him.  They checked him out, brought him to our house and we took care of him till he died.  He was only at out house about 2 or 3 months before he died, but it was better than the home because dad said the people were not nice to him.  That was why they packed him up, checked him out and came to our house.  He had bad dreams I guess, so he slept on a cot in my parents bedroom so they could help him eat, and use the portable potty, and stuff like that.  We took in several relatives when they got too old, then my folks said they could die in peace with people that love them.  It taught us empathy, and respect.  Thanks mom and dad!!!