Last Saturday, the future Mrs. Meanie and I were travelling to see her brother in Mississauga. Unfortunately an accident forced us off the highway in Burlington and as a result, we travelled through my old stomping grounds. As I was pointing out places that held special meaning to me and recalling childhood memories, an idea came to mind - why not blog about it?? And then a better idea came to mind - why not add an entry to JC's Top 5? Yes, I'm a genius!
And so, I give you JC's Top 5 Childhood Memories!
Enjoy.
5. Pokey Hats and Jumbo Cookies
As a child, there was almost nothing better than finding out we were taking a trip to my Grandmother's house. Nanny, as we call her, was the bestest host ever!! All the little things we didn't get at home were plentiful at Nanny's house - assorted candies, pop, trifles, and
apple crisps. She always had something tasty that was ready to be served.
As a child, there was almost nothing better than finding out we were taking a trip to my Grandmother's house. Nanny, as we call her, was the bestest host ever!! All the little things we didn't get at home were plentiful at Nanny's house - assorted candies, pop, trifles, and
apple crisps. She always had something tasty that was ready to be served.But the best had to be Pokey Hats and Jumbo Cookies!!
Pokey hats are what the Scottish refer to as ice cream cones because if you turned the cone upside down, it resembled a hat! The ice cream was always vanilla, and while it may not sound so exciting, this was always the highlight of our visit!
Jumbo cookies really aren't all that "jumbo", and I'm not even sure why they're called "Jumbo Cookies", but to this day they are the yummiest cookies I have ever tasted! Even now, if I know Nanny has made a batch of Jumbo's, and is bringing them over, I get giddy!
4. Kevin and Wendy
So I will never forget the day he was babysitting my brother and I and he surprised us by taking
us to Chuck E. Cheese's.
Chuck E. Cheese's had just opened in our city, and of course when he asked us if we wanted to go, I thought he was joking. In fact, even as we cruised into the parking lot, I still thought he was pulling our leg. It wasn't until we got inside and actually ordered the pizza that I realized that this wasn't another one of his practical jokes - we were really at Chuck E. Cheese's! None of my friends had been there yet and I knew they'd be sooooooo jealous! It was one of the greatest days of my childhood!
Pizza and an arcade - does it get any better?? Thanks Uncle Tim! You done good!
2. A long time ago......
The first time I saw Star Wars in 1977, it was the most magical event of my short little life! Right from the opening crawl and the ensuing space battle above Tatooine, my imagination was instantly transported to a galaxy far far away!
The spaceships were amazing. The alien creatures were weird. The robots (called droids) were cool. The Princess was beautiful. Darth Vader was bad! And a farm boy from a desert planet saved the galaxy! What was not to love for a 5-year old boy??
And so it is, that I still remember the warm summer day, sitting on a grassy hill at the side of the road, a stone's throw from my house, when my Dad, returning from work, pulled up in the car, rolled down the window and shouted, "hey buddy, do you want to go see Star Wars again"? Did he mean now?? Like, NOW, now?!??
Yes, he meant NOW, now.
I was on cloud 9! I couldn't believe I was going to see Darth Vader, Han Solo, Princess Leia and my hero, Luke Skywalker AGAIN!!
Now, you have to understand, the reason this was such a momentous occasion in my childhood is that my Dad almost never did this kind of thing. He was more of a, come-home-from-work-and-fall-asleep-on-the-couch kind of Dad. So it was something very special indeed and I will never ever forget that day!
Fast forward to 2009 and still no movie has matched the excitement or captured my imagination the way Star Wars did.
1. Colouring with my Mommy
My absolute favourite childhood memory happened to be when I was sick. Weird I know - but please, read on......
And then my Mom sat down next to me, grabbed some crayons and started colouring the picture on the left hand side of the page. I was so happy that my Mom was colouring with me. The simple act of my Mom colouring with me had an effect that no medication ever could.
And then the most incredible thing happened. The picture on my Mom's page came to life!! Ok, not literally, but I was amazed at how well my Mom could colour! She didn't colour outside of the lines once!
I still remember how pretty the Princess in the picture looked when my Mom was finished. I remember how blonde (or, yellow) her hair was. I remember her pretty blue dress. And I remember I wanted to save that picture to show my friends. At that moment, I was the proudest 5-year old on the planet! I knew that none of my friend's Mom's could colour like my Mom! My Mom was special, and she was all mine!
Thanks Mom, not only for the best childhood and childhood memory ever, but for your love and support throughout the years!
I will always love you best.
Whether it was sitting up on Christmas Eve to see if we could catch a glimpse of Santa, or driving our parents nuts with our crazy giggle fits during dinner, as a child, some of my best memories are of the times I spent with my cousins Kevin and Wendy.
We would get so excited when our parents told us we were going to our cousins house because it meant loads of fun, fun, fun!! We would swim in their pool, play Intellivision (Astrosmash still rules!), and we would always get to stay up late!
My favourite memories with Kevin and Wendy?
We would get so excited when our parents told us we were going to our cousins house because it meant loads of fun, fun, fun!! We would swim in their pool, play Intellivision (Astrosmash still rules!), and we would always get to stay up late!
My favourite memories with Kevin and Wendy?
Street hockey! Kevin and I played a ton of street hockey. He usually played net. I was either Borje Salming or Darryl Sittler, and he'd be Ken Dryden or Vladislav Tretiak. I would like to say that I buried the biscuit on him many times, but the truth is Kevin was unbelievably gifted as an athlete and if I took 10 shots on him, I'd be lucky to score twice.
Christmas dinners! Any dinner with my cousins was a laugh a minute, but there was something special about Christmas or Thanksgiving. At one particular Christmas Dinner, we were laughing so hard we were shaking. We had sore tummy's and the tears were rolling down our faces. Of course we were told to "be quiet and eat our dinner", but when my sister attempted to eat her buttered dinner roll, she was shaking so hard, that she missed her mouth and wound up buttering her forehead with it! Ok, it seems a lot funnier when you're 10!
Superbowl XVIII. Raiders vs. Redskins. Kevin and I were the only two in the house rooting for the Raiders (since none of our parents were Redskin fans, I can only assume they had money on the game). After the Raiders took a 14-0 lead, Kevin and I were hootin' and hollering so much that our parents kicked us out of the family room and forced us to watch the rest of the game in the basement. Much to the dismay of our parents, we continued our hooligan ways in the basement. To this day, it is still the greatest football game I have ever seen!
3. Uncle Tim and Chuck E.!
If I could describe my Uncle Tim with one word it would be 'joker'. Yes, he is the undisputed king of practical jokes!
So I will never forget the day he was babysitting my brother and I and he surprised us by taking
us to Chuck E. Cheese's.Chuck E. Cheese's had just opened in our city, and of course when he asked us if we wanted to go, I thought he was joking. In fact, even as we cruised into the parking lot, I still thought he was pulling our leg. It wasn't until we got inside and actually ordered the pizza that I realized that this wasn't another one of his practical jokes - we were really at Chuck E. Cheese's! None of my friends had been there yet and I knew they'd be sooooooo jealous! It was one of the greatest days of my childhood!
Pizza and an arcade - does it get any better?? Thanks Uncle Tim! You done good!
2. A long time ago......
The first time I saw Star Wars in 1977, it was the most magical event of my short little life! Right from the opening crawl and the ensuing space battle above Tatooine, my imagination was instantly transported to a galaxy far far away! The spaceships were amazing. The alien creatures were weird. The robots (called droids) were cool. The Princess was beautiful. Darth Vader was bad! And a farm boy from a desert planet saved the galaxy! What was not to love for a 5-year old boy??
And so it is, that I still remember the warm summer day, sitting on a grassy hill at the side of the road, a stone's throw from my house, when my Dad, returning from work, pulled up in the car, rolled down the window and shouted, "hey buddy, do you want to go see Star Wars again"? Did he mean now?? Like, NOW, now?!??
Yes, he meant NOW, now.
I was on cloud 9! I couldn't believe I was going to see Darth Vader, Han Solo, Princess Leia and my hero, Luke Skywalker AGAIN!!
Now, you have to understand, the reason this was such a momentous occasion in my childhood is that my Dad almost never did this kind of thing. He was more of a, come-home-from-work-and-fall-asleep-on-the-couch kind of Dad. So it was something very special indeed and I will never ever forget that day!
Fast forward to 2009 and still no movie has matched the excitement or captured my imagination the way Star Wars did.
1. Colouring with my Mommy
My absolute favourite childhood memory happened to be when I was sick. Weird I know - but please, read on......
I was on the couch, watching Sesame Street, sipping a Ginger Ale, eating dry crackers, and colouring in a colouring book. As a little gaffer, I couldn't stay within the lines to save my life!
And then my Mom sat down next to me, grabbed some crayons and started colouring the picture on the left hand side of the page. I was so happy that my Mom was colouring with me. The simple act of my Mom colouring with me had an effect that no medication ever could.
And then the most incredible thing happened. The picture on my Mom's page came to life!! Ok, not literally, but I was amazed at how well my Mom could colour! She didn't colour outside of the lines once!
I still remember how pretty the Princess in the picture looked when my Mom was finished. I remember how blonde (or, yellow) her hair was. I remember her pretty blue dress. And I remember I wanted to save that picture to show my friends. At that moment, I was the proudest 5-year old on the planet! I knew that none of my friend's Mom's could colour like my Mom! My Mom was special, and she was all mine!
Thanks Mom, not only for the best childhood and childhood memory ever, but for your love and support throughout the years!
I will always love you best.
2 comments:
hey dad. that was so sweet. i sure grandma really loved what you said.
love
martina
She did! But not nearly as much as Uncle Tim loved what I said!
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