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Memorycrawler.com User Bjorn_Freeh Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Batman for TV, 1966<br/><br/>Do you remember when Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) climbed the charts in prime-time TV?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Television and Radio
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My mom was absolutely convinced that a show called "Batman" would be too scary for us to watch. Looking back, she was right.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I love reading all your memories Paul... keep em coming."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:"The Sound of Music," 1965<br/><br/>Do you remember when Julie Andrews stared in the blockbuster musical "The Sound of Music"?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Movies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember nearly hurling at the open sequence of the film when they flew over the mountains. That was quite a spectacular scene on the big screen. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:JFK assassinated, 1963<br/><br/>Do you remember when JFK was assassinated?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Death
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My sister and I were home sick from school that day. I was playing with some toy cars under the kitchen table when my mom became very upset. Being almost, but not quite 7, I was most upset that regular TV programming was off the air so they could drone on and on about the assassination.
|
|Walter Cronkite still bothers me.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Breast implants, 1962<br/><br/>Do you remember when breast implants came out?
|
|Place:Everywhere
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|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Sex
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Didn't breast implants come out in the 1990s? I thought they were implanted in the 1960s through the early '90s, were deemed unsafe (but really nice), and came out.
|
|Maybe I was wrong.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:The Flintstones, 1960<br/><br/>Do you remember when The Flintstones cartoon came to life on prime-time TV?
|
|Place:1902 Fern St., Royal Oak, MI
|
|Location:Royal Oak, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Television and Radio
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We used to watch The Flintstones in prime time when I lived in Royal Oak. I remember once a babysitter trying to tell us we couldn't watch it -- she was obviously a moron -- because she didn't like it. I don't recall if she ever sat with us again or not.
|
|But we continued to watch The Flingstones.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Name some of the things that have helped keep your car maintainable.?
|
|Place:Romeo, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Automobiles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|American ingenuity and the greenback dollar. Terry's Auto service in Romeo won't work for free.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:In the future, what do you foresee people driving?
|
|Place:Port Huron, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Cars
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I foresee a minivan in TheWebCrawler's future. Yup. He's got one coming.
|
|Actually, I had to write an essay on this subject for an English class (community college) in 1975. We had to predict what people would be doing/driving at the turn of the century (25 years hence).
|
|Well, I said cars would have 4 wheels, 2 or 4 doors, would run on gasoline, have windows and bumpers -- pretty much as they had in 1975. 
|
|I nearly flunked that assignment. I wasn't using enough imagination. Certainly everything would change drastically over 25 years. Fred Reid, my least favorite college prof, told me that, at the very least, we'd have light rails for cars to connect to which would take us wherever we wanted to go and we'd just sit back and let the car follow the track.
|
|Looking around, I can see ol' Freddy boy was right.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:If you designed your own car, what would it be like?
|
|Place:Armada, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Cars
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|If I designed my own car, considering my talents, it would be a PoS. No doubt. But it would have rear seatbelts and a good 8-track unit in it.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever modified and made any customizations to a car?
|
|Place:Armada, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I added rear seat-belts to my 1963 Plymouth Valiant. Oh, and I stuck an 8-track tape/AM/FM unit in it, too. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of cars have you owned in the past?
|
|Place:Armada, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Cars
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Let's see if I can remember them chronologically...
|
|1. 1963 Plymouth Valiant (my Grandpa's old car)
|2. 1973 American Motors Gremlin w/Levi Strauss interior (my Mom's old car)
|3. An Opal station wagon (don't recall the year)
|4. Back to the Gremlin. That was mine-mine, then.
|5. 1982 Chevy S10 pickup.
|6. 1984 GMC S15 pickup.
|7. 1986 Chevy S10 Blazer (we bought that instead of a cottage... stoopid).
|8. 1987 Buick Skylark (my wife's old car -- the a/c stopped working).
|9. 1990 Chevy C1500 half-ton pickup.
|10. 1993 Saturn station wagon.
|11. 1994 Chevy Silverado Z80 pickup (wife's old truck -- the a/c stopped working).
|12. 2005 Ford Escape (current).
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of car do you wish to be driving?
|
|Place:Armada, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Automobiles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I pretty much like what I've got. When it comes to cars, I'm pretty pragmatic. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Describe the current automobile you drive right now.  Is it a beater or is it nice?
|
|Place:Armada, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Cars
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Right now, I'm sitting at a desk in an office. But, out in the parking lot, I have a 2005 Ford Escape. It's gray. It's really nothing special but it's not a beater. The seats are comfy, the air conditioning works. It gets me where I'm going.
|
|I like it.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your most rebellious moment in middle school?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Rebellion
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I used to organize book-drops and pencil-taps in 6th grade. Oh, yeah. I was a rebel.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of physical differences did you notice in your body?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was a skinny kid. I reached 5' 10" and weighed 125 pounds. Now, at just under 6', I weigh 130...
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Name one person that you totally disliked in Middle School.  Why did you not like them?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There was a guy named Mike Dobbin (or Dobbins, don't remember exactly), a big, tough, angry guy. He was a flaming bully. I'd walk by and he'd kick me. He ripped a loop on the back of my shirt, once, tearing the shirt. I never learned why he chose to pick on me.
|
|Then he moved to the Upper Peninsula. He may be the single biggest reason that the U.P. population keeps dropping.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever make the local newspaper for something you did in High School?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Newspaper Articles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|If by "make the local newspaper" you mean "print, assemble and fold the paper", then... no. If you mean, "a story written about me", then... no.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever get embarrassed by something you did in High School?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Oddly enough, no. I was usually the embarrasser. Can you believe it?
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever drink under age while in high school?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Inebriated Decision
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I'm 51 and hope to start underage drinking soon. I've never consumed an alcoholic beverage.
|
|On my 18th birthday, my buddy dropped by to take me to the bar. The more he insisted, the more I resisted (man, if you say that right, it'll sound just like Jesse Jackson!). We didn't make it to the bar that night nor the next nor the next. I'm just too stubborn to start, I think.
|
|By the way, I voted to raise the drinking age in Michigan to 21 years. You can thank me for that.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your first real job?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Jobs and Employment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first job was as president of the P.S. Thompson Company. Yup, I started at the top and have been in a freefall ever since.
|
|In 10th grade, I set up an assembly line to make in-line fuse holders, wiring harnesses and fuse blocks for the recreational vehicle industry. I'd sit in my room, cutting and crimping wire, for a couple of hours every day after school. My dad, at the time, was an electrical parts salesman to that industry. He would take my product to his customer and I'd get a check.
|
|It wasn't much, but it certainly paid for a 10th grader's social life.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of things have you learned from your most memorable teachers?
|
|Place:Marysville, Michigan
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|English and, of course, Cobol. Those kinds of things.
|
|In high school, Mr. MacDonald (Uncle Mac) was my favorite teacher. I took every English class he taught. He told terrible puns ("I shutter to think about the things that camera has seen" -- like I said, terrible). But he proved you can be a goof and still get respect.
|
|In college, I ran out of money before I got my degree. I had a gazillion credits, just not the right credits. I was three classes short of a bachelor's degree. A few years after I left CMU, a prof called me (through my in-laws through my wife to me) and said I needed to finish the program.
|
|Imagine that... a professor who cared about a former student. I'm not sure what that's taught me, but I suppose it has something to do with staying in touch and helping others achieve some goals.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Is there anyone that you know you have inspired thus far in your life?
|
|Place:Everywhere
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|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Well, I can only hope so. When my son, Bill, went through confirmation and chose his confirmation name (as a Methodist, that's something weird to me), he chose the name Paul. Quite an honor, I think.
|
|Outside of my family, I hope the kids I've met in Scouting and soccer have taken something (good) from my examples. I've tried.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever tried to imitate a celebrity?
|
|Place:Everywhere
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|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Famous People
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I do a passable Popeye imitation. He's a celebrity, right? But I've never had a corncob pipe, let alone tried to suck spinach through one. Besides, I like my spinach fresh, not canned. Yick.
|
|Ock-ock-ock-ock.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Were you ready and prepared for all the independence as you headed out of your household?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I had no money and was afraid of the dark. But, other than those minor points, I was ready.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:When did you first move out of your family home?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Well, this is a trick question. I first moved out of my parents' home when I moved to the dorm at Central Michigan University. But that wasn't really moving out -- just relocating for a few months of a few years.
|
|The first time I moved permanently from my parents' house was immediately after leaving CMU. I moved to Saginaw Township to begin my life as a programmer at Dow Corning. I was then a full-fledged adult.
|
|The second time I moved out of my parents' home was after leaving Dow Corning (6 very long months) and a summer of fun. I moved to a rented house with two of my buddies. Halfway through the lease, they found jobs elsewhere and left me to pay the bills.
|
|I left that place after fulfilling the six month lease and moved into a house that my fiancee and I rented. Since she wouldn't be joining me until the wedding, I got stuck with the full rent for three months. Maybe I should have moved back to my parents' home and made a third permanent move from there.
|
|Oh, well. Live and learn.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"sounds like you might have been a couch surfer deep down inside like me.
|
|funny how your buddies left you with the lease.... typical situation unless someone has their name in the lease.
|
|feel free to respond to any comments and i will be notified of which ones you respond to.
|
|thanks for all the great memories!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is the color that you most like?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I like yellow. Not that washed-out, pansy crap. Bright, vibrant, yellow -- like Mustang Yellow. Why? Dunno.
|
|In the past, I've favored blue, red-orange, then gray. Now it's yellow.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Was there a memory of a trend or fad in society of which you totally dispised?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was in college when the biggest groups in the land were the BeeGees, KC and the Sunshine Band, and Abba. Disco completely ruined my college experience.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is your most disliked food?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Food and Drink
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Pizza. No, wait... anything with tomatoes. No, anything gooey. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"HOT N READY!!! MMMMMM"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is your favorite memory that you had with your most liked vehicle?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Automobiles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first car, a 1963 Plymouth Valiant, had a push-button automatic transmission. The car had no power, no shine, no seatbelts; but it had push buttons. Sexy.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you have a favorite movie of which you have seen so much that many memories have been created from watching it?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Movies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My favorite movie is Rustler's Rhapsody, starring Tom Berringer as Rex the Singing Cowboy. It has every tacky cliche from every western movie ever made. The good guy, Rex, wears a white hat, rides a beautiful horse (Wildfire), doesn't talk roughly, and only shoots bad guys in the hand.
|
|Marilu Henner, Andy Griffith, Sela Ward and G.W. Bailey all co-star. Amazingingly enough, I think I'm the only person who's actually seen this movie.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is your favorite food?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Food and Drink
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Sauteed lake perch. No, wait... filet mignon. No... a grilled cheese sandwich. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever been recognized for hard work that you did with a team?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One of the younger girls on my daughter's first AYSO soccer team made posters for my wife and me. Mine says, "#1 Best Coach Ever Mr. Thompson". Best trophy ever.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How much do you think athletic skills are based on talent?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I gotta go with Yogi Berra on this... sports is 90% mental and the other half physical.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"that is true....
|
|those exact percentages are what I explain with running too.
|
|running is such a mental sport"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:To date, what is the most important achievement you have accomplished to date?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I am the father and dad (similar but different) to three amazing human beings. But this is a sports interview, so...
|
|I grew up in a serious football town, never played, and was well-liked by the football coach (a guy noted for not liking non-footballers). 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What can you remember about learning experiences that you have gained from participating in athletic events?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I've learned much from my children's activities. The Thompsons are not a competitive people. However, we've found ways to have fun even when losing a game.
|
|My older son took a soccer ball to the chops on a cold, rainy day. He stopped for a second, got a look of determination in his eyes, and moved on. I was amazed that he could be so strong, because that had to hurt.
|
|My younger son tried out for a soccer travel team. He didn't know any of the other boys trying out and they wouldn't pass him the ball. Finally, in frustration, he took the ball from a kid, dribbled around the rest, attacked the goal and scored. Then, he came to me and said, "Let's go home." He wanted nothing to do with a team of selfish players.
|
|My daughter, who is the youngest in her class, is a pretty shy girl. She changed schools at sixth grade and knew nobody. Prior to school that year, the girls in the school had a volleyball camp and invited her. Suddenly, she was one of the girls.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"okay... so I will allow you to leave the row to be a soccer dad.
|
|it sounds like you have an amazing time as well as your children."
|
|Bjorn Freeh said:
|"As a coach, I participate in the event. I may not play, but that's only part of the game."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What raw talents have helped you be better than other people in your sports taht you have participated in?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Self-delusion is perhaps my strongest athletic ability. It really helps me be better than the others.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Give a summary of all of your athletic career.  Name off the teams and events that you have played in.?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was 12 or 13, I came in 2nd place in the local Punt, Pass and Kick competition. Yup, that's much easier than actually playing football. Fewer bruises.
|
|I've been on a few bowling teams. Does that qualify as sport? I'm not so sure. One of the teams was called The Excels. That was because we all wore XL bowling shirts, not because we were good.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you have any memories where your faith shined in and took over so that you made what you feel is the right decision?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
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|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When my son was in the emergency room with no life signs, we were approached by a representative of The Gift Of Life, a tissue and organ donation organization. Although in something of a state of shock, I agreed to donate Kenny's heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
|
|After the donation surgeries, the folks from Gift of Life came to the funeral home and told us that all the organs were successfully transplanted. Kenny's heart went to a high school student in Brighton. My reaction surprised me: I gave a loud whoop, standing right in front of Ken in his casket. 
|
|I knew -- I just knew -- that we had done the right thing.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"yeah you made the right decision... how amazing is that giving life through those circumstances!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever seen any kind of religious group intersect with any other faith communities?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|All groups intersect with others all the time. Unfortunately, sometimes those intersections get noisy and violent.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever participated in any study groups or other small groups within your faith community?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Can it be a group of one? That I've done. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Where do you believe we go after our life on earth has ended?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I must believe in life after death or I'll sink into despair. Since I don't like that prospect, I believe.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How has your faith helped out your community in the past?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My faith pushes me to volunteer. I've been a Cub Scout leader, Boy Scout leader, soccer coach. None of those is inherently religious, but each lets me exercise my faith without being a complete boor.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What life lessons and teachings in the past have lead you to your views about religion?
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Marriage, the births of three children, the death of one child; those are the events that have mostly driven me in my religious views. Miracles happen. Witnessing childbirth has proven that to me. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you look like anyone else in your family?
|
|Place:1902 Fern St., Royal Oak, MI
|
|Location:Armada, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Well, back then, every guy had a buzz cut. That was your full range of choices. So, because of my big round head, I kinda looked like my dad. Now, 50+ years later, I notice the resemblance to my dad even more. It's in the eyes, I think.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your parents have any interesting stories to tell about the day you were born?
|
|Place:1902 Fern St., Royal Oak, MI
|
|Location:Armada, 
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|Date Remembered:Jan 1956
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My mom was anesthetized in an operating room and my dad wasn't allowed anywhere near the birth. So, nothing interesting from them on that day. Things have changed since then.
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User Dan10878 Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Today
|
|Place:Wailea
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Love
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Today I finally have the sister I have always wanted.  I am so glad my brother found such a wonderful woman.  I feel like Susan has always been a part of our family.  She has always been so sweet and sincere for as long as I have known her.  The moment I knew Susan Loved Dave was when Dave came back from Europe and she was there waiting at the airport wearing a shirt that said she loved him.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:College Years
|
|Place:Wailea
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 2004
|
|Memory Category:Turning Point in Your Life
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Dave changed my life during our college years.  His enthusiasm for computer programming convinced me to change my entire career and go into programming.  We can talk about programming all day sometimes.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Our Teenage Years
|
|Place:Hendricks
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1994
|
|Memory Category:Video Games
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In our teenage years we were the ultimate video gamers.  We are the ultimate Mario Kart Players.  Too many hours.  We had so many good times.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Our Childhood
|
|Place:Hendricks
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1989
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Growing up Dave was Mr. Comedian.  What I remember the most were the times at the dinner table.  I would always be the instigator to get Dave to crack the jokes.  I remember many times when I just could not stop laughing.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:California Trip 07
|
|Location:Los Angeles, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 2007
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Hi my name is "Dan Renne".  I am cool cause I finally took my wife out on a trip.
|
|
|
|I am gay because I have 56 messages dating back to June 2006 on memorycrawler and at least 40 memory recolections to give from many cousins on here.
|
|
|
|I am a lamer because I dont log into the site and Dave Renne must post all my photos for me.
|
|
|
|I am just to busy to crawl memories.
|
|
|
|But the admin can post memories for me because he just wants to hear Kevin and Drews recollection.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
drudanks said:
|"I remember that on Dan's trip to LA he had a great tim in vegas with his cousin drew before he went to California.  As seen in the pictures below I think all four of us had matching outfits almost the whole time. On St. Patty's day it was all bright green and one other night we were all wearing black. It was a couple matching couples!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Bustin My Bro's Nose
|
|Place:Waterford
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember when my brother and I were playing basketball with the guys and we were all pretty competitive.  My brother was being a little bitch on defense and was pissing me off.  I got so mad I just all of a sudden punched him in the face.  All of a sudden his eye was bulging.  I could not believe I actually did that!  Wow, I was a little crazy.  I guess I just got him back for when he punched my teeth out when we were little.  His black eye was crazy.  I felt really bad.  Looking back on it, it was just good old brotherly love.
|
|
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Well I remember your techniques for playing ball and they pissed me off completely.  You were super agressive and I used to call you monkey boy when you would get all up in my shit.
|
|I really didnt like playing ball with you because we would always be so competitive and also because you would make some bullshit shots out of no where.  
|
|You would always stick your ass out and push people.
|
|But yeah, like you said, we got physical for sure at times and I had my days where I punched you in the back while playing Street Fighter 2.
|
|That was my only black eye in my whole entire life.  It was easter time and on easter break, but when I went back to elementary school I still had it."
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User drudanks Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Next time I'll check the weather!
|
|Place:across the US
|
|Location:Las Vegas to Clarkst, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 04 2007 to Jan 16 2008
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Last December I moved back to Michigan after living in Las Vegas for over a year and Phoenix before that.
|
|Everything started out great! I flew my long childhood friend Mike out to Vegas to help me with the drive back across the country. We partied in up one last weekend in Vegas including attending the Video Games Awards show and party.
|
|So it was time to leave. we had the truck packed and ready to drive! Clear skies and warm weather surrounded us on this December saturday afternoon. I wanted to make good time and was anxious to get this move over with so we started to drive that afternoon.
|
|We drove a few hours and ran into a ton of fresh snow that night driving through Flagstaff. Now mind you we were in a 16 foot truck pulling a car carrier with my Jetta on top so we could only go about 20 MPH. So much for making good time! 
|
|A few hours later we were past the storm and back to making good time (max speed 75 MPH).
|
|to be continued....
|
|Continuing on...
|
|Now driving across the country like this can be very exciting and it definatly was for me and my kindergarden friend (friend since kindergarten). It can also be very boring at times driving through the desert and grassy plains full of graizing cows and hillbilly farmcountry. 
|
|Going through texas panhandle we stopped for dinner at good old crackle barrel of Amerillo, Tx. This is just past all the signs for "finish a 72 ounce steak and get it for free!" As taunting an offer as this was for a couple hungry weary travelers we probably made the healthy decision to pass by those and stop at the nutrition filled cracker barrel. MMMM country fried steak, part of a well balanced diet ;)
|
|My friend and trucker partner Mike suggested we stay in Amerillo for the night. We had heard at dinner there was an icestorm up ahead and the hostess was cute. I really should have listened to him considered we were already seeing trucks on the road with several inches of ice on them. I was amazed that we were in Texas, it felt like Alaska! But being the trooper that I am I disregarded Mike's suggested figuring he was more interested in the cute hostess than the ice storm and decided to truck on. This was my trip and I was in charge and we were moving on. 
|
|Well we didn't make it far, maybe an hour or two before traffic came to a screaching halt. In the next 5 hours we had only made it about 3 miles and the highway was solid ice. After a while and realizing we were not going to make it any further I started up my portable GPS device and searched for nearby motels. Of course with miles and miles of cars and trucks on the road every hotel I called was already full. By this time the side of I-40 was lined with semitrucks that had pulled over to spend the night in their sleepers on the shoulder. Well we didn't have a sleeper and I did not want to sleep sitting in the uncomfortable rental truck we had been in for 2 days already.
|
|I finally found a place that had rooms but it was behind us. I made the reservation and told them we were on the way. An hour or so later we finally got to the next exit where we could turn around. As jammed as the eastbound traffic was going west was clear for days.
|
|We were stuck for the next two nights in Shamrock, Tx at the Shamrock inn. We thought, sweet!, there'll atleast be an irish pub we can eat and drink at. As irish as this place sounds it lies in a dry county (they'll don't sell booze) and there was no irish restaurant. For two days we hung out in the hottub and talked to westbound truckers about the weather they had driven through. It was bad. Ice and freezing rain. The trucks that made it though and had stopped at Shamrock were covered with over 6 inches of solid ice. I was not about to drive thorugh that with my 16 foot truck towing my car. 
|
|to be continued...
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Flaming sidewalk
|
|Place:Georgia
|
|Location:cumming, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1997
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Every kid goes through a pyro phase right?  And you know that if it involves something that you shouldn't o as a kid...me and Sean were all in.  About the time that we found the anarchist's cookbook online ( I was in 7th grade and Sean in 5th) we had a lot of tricks up our sleeve.
|
|We found this one entry about a liquid that burned hotter and longer than gasoline, it is called naepalm ( I botched the spelling there).  So we added styrofoam to gasoline until it stopped dissolving and we had naepalm in an old can in the back of my dad's house.
|
|we started by lighting small amounts and watching it burn until we accidentilly spilled the can of flammabile liquid all over the sidewalk.  
|
|This was no joke, next thing I knew there were flames on the sidewalk 10 feet tall!  One of ran and grabbed the hose after the laughter dies down and we realized this was deep crap and the could catch on fire any minute.  The water from the hose just seemed to spread the giant flames that were quickly out of control.
|
|I don't remember exactly how we put the fire out, probably by throwing sand ontop, but I will always remember this as the day that me and my brother Sean almost single handedly burnt the house down.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"I use to make draino bombs."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"no way... we have done that too... just once though... it was so loud...
|
|Kevin you should try out the mentos and diet coke experiment"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Catching Spiders
|
|Place:Taylor House with the Pool
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1997
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My mom hates Spiders so she will always freak out and scream when they are in the house. "Micheal!" you hear getting screamed from another part of the house.  We would all come running to find a nasty Spider crawling on wall ( simliar to the page of this site). 
|
|So what my father would do is get a kleenex and rip it in half.  He would take the half with the Spider in it and through the half away.  Then he would chase my mom around the house with the other (clean) half of the kleenex and she would yell and scream and about the point that she was getting really mad he would blow his nose in the kleenex and throw it away.  I remember this happening so many times growing up that I cans till hear my moms voice saying  "Micheal you're soooogroooosss!!!"
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"That is so something that your dad would do....
|
|The way you write stuff is very vivid and detailed.  You can sure write a good story like your grandpa taylor."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Big ol Frog
|
|Place:Taylor House with the Pool
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When my younger brother Sean was a little kid he always likedto catch things outside.  He was really big into catching bugs and turtles and frogs.  Well I remember when he caught this huge bull frog back in the swamp behind the house about as big around as a basketball.  To this day it is the biggest frog that I've seen.  Well he holding the frog with two hands and showing it off to everyone "look what I caught!"  Well all of a sudden the frog started to pee all over Sean's hands.  "eeewwwww". I think that's when he let the frog go back to the swamp.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"so heres the deal Drewster.... I have made a username for Sean and what I planned on doing is having you be his friend and anyone else that is added can add recollections for him.  We will get the list big enough and he can just go through them one day and can give his recollections.  His usename is pimpsean.  Add me as a friend and I will request multiple recollections for all your memories that he is in. 
|
|I actually remember this type of memory with the frogs.  You guys collected so many insects and bugs.
|
|Also all your memoriies can be linked and updated when you post a new memory to your facebook account.  Message me to ask how."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Obviously I made the account of which I am the owner cause we all know Sean doesnt get on the internet at all.  Maybe for porn... but not Dave R's memorycrawler."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:911!!!!!!!!
|
|Place:Taylor House with the Pool
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1994
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We all know that David likes to babysit the younger cousins. When Sean and I were kids he babysat us too.
|One time while watching us David thought that it would be really funny  to get me and Sean to pick up the phone and call 911.  Being the impressionable little kids that looked up to our older cousins that we were Sean and I took his advice and dialed 911 then hung up.
|Well soon after that there was a cop at our door wondering where the emergency was.
|
|Sheila really loved you that day David. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"I hope Dave didn't get paid for that performance."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I got paid to call 911..."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG.  I totally forgot about this Drew.  You pretty much summed it up but I think I recall us actually calling 911 twice.  I probably did it first and then you probably did it too.
|
|Mostly I think we were just plain bored at your house that day.  We got into so much trouble that day and I felt like a complete asshole for doing that. 
|
|We need to post the memories about the time that Sean had the toy toilet and he actually squirted kids and his mom with real pee.
|
|Or about the time that we used to play some kind of tag or hide and seek where we couldnt step onto the floor, we had to climb all around the walls and stuff.
|
|Or about the time that we told you to make out with that girl in the tunnel.
|
|We were bad influences on you....
|
|Sorry!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cactus butt
|
|Place:The desert Preserve
|
|Location:Scottsdale, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1994
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So it's 4th grade, great age to climb trees right?  I loved climbing trees as kid until this day when I went climbing trees with my 4th grade buddy.  I was real high up maybe only five feet when I stepped out on a dead branch and snap! There I go falling ass first into a huge patch of prickly pear cactus! OOOOOUUUUUCCCCHHH! My poor loving mother soaked me in the bathtub and picked thorns out my backside for the rest of the day.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG.... you fell into a frickin cactus.  Thats insane.  I thought I had some good stories.  But thats surely a crazy one!  Keep crawling!"
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User golfnmike1959 Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of adventures did you have at the time?
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember me and some friends took some of my dads gunpowder and dumped thr whole can into a big pile, made a fuse about 12" long and lit the fuse....... OOPS! We did not know that it was black powder and we should have had a 10' fuse. It burned in a matter of 1 second igniting the pile of black powder and we all spent the next two days in the hospital with 3rd degree burns on our face and body. Luckily we did not have permanent scars.
|
|DON'T PLAY WITH GUN POWDER!!!!!!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Uni-Bomber 1996<br/><br/>Do you remember when Theodore Kaczynski turns himself in and ends his destruction as the Uni-Bomber?
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yes I do remember the uni-bomber. I think he was a gaurd or (rent-a-cop) who went to events to blow off bombs.....What a nut case!
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How has your faith helped out your community in the past?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1993
|
|Memory Category:Religious Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Well I have been a scout leader when my boys were young. I know they enjoyed all the camping trips and fun activities we did. The other kids were great too and it was a way to unwind after a hard weeks work. It is very comforting being in the beautiful outdoors and loved the experiance. 
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User grandpataylor Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How do you look back at your adventures and achievements in your life?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I look back on my adventures with some recall and appreciation of them.
|
|That's all I can say.
|
|What consider an adventure is one thing, what you consider an adventure is another.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who are the people that have influenced your life the most to date?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My Wife Verda
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever had your 15 minutes of fame yet or any other chance to be in the spotlight?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I always tried to keep a low profile.
|
|If you are in the bucket and you stick your head out of the edge someones going to shoot at you.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Describe your "childhood heroes".  Why did you love them so much?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Micky Mouse....
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Was there a memory of a trend or fad in society of which you totally dispised?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Zoot suiters.  Because they were a bunch of hippies.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What are your pet peeves, dislikes, phobias, and aversions?
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Crooked politicians.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is your favorite memory that you had with your most liked vehicle?
|
|Place:All Around Metro Detroit
|
|Location:Pontiac, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1967
|
|Memory Category:Automobiles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Ohhh.... my old white 1963 oldsmobile super 88 that would go 100 miles an hour in second gear.  That's the only one that Verda got a ticket from.  She burned rubber and the cop gave her a ticket for speeding.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you have a favorite movie of which you have seen so much that many memories have been created from watching it?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Movies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My favorite actor: John Wayne.  So anything with him.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is your favorite food?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Food and Drink
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I am not a connoisseur of foods, but...
|
|More like meat and potatoes.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember a time when you saw an animal behave in a really smart manner?
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My dad raised border collies.
|
|They were working dogs for sheep and cattle and this dogs name was Zep and he bought her in 1934 and she lived 18 years.
|
|She could almost talk to ya.  
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is the most interesting thing that you have seen or taught an animal to do?
|
|Location:Davisburg, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1960
|
|Memory Category:Pets
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I put a golden retriever through dog obedience school.
|
|She responded 100%
|
|She looked forward to when I came home.
|
|Babe was her name.
|
|She lived about 10 to 14 years.  And she got heartworm.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have your pets revealed anything you have learned about yourself?
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered: 2008
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Pretty boring.
|
|Affection that they give to you.
|
|C.B. relates to me.... comes up and rubs on my leg.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Budget Cuts, 1981<br/><br/>Do you remember when Reagan screwed up our national deficit with his Tax and budget cuts?
|
|Location:Davisburg, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Politics and Discussions
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Business was not the best.
|
|I changed jobs and worked for a proposal engineer for a company.
|
|They went broke.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Mount St Helens, 1980<br/><br/>Do you remember when Mount St Helens exploded over the Pacific Northwest?
|
|Location:St. Helens, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1983
|
|Memory Category:Natural Disaster
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I used to see the mountain growing up.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:JFK assassinated, 1963<br/><br/>Do you remember when JFK was assassinated?
|
|Place:Our Farm Hosue
|
|Location:Davisburg, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1964
|
|Memory Category:Death
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was working in an engineering office and next door was a secured office.
|
|And some guy looked over the top of the wall and said "Hey Kennedy" was assassinated.
|
|I went to the hardwaare store and bought two more boxes of shells for my 3030 because I thought there was going to be a revolution.
|
|That was one of the first incidences that was shown live.  It probably added to the tension, not knowing things about Cuba and what was happening with that.
|
|I thought I might have to defend myself and family from some kind of revolution.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:A Drive Through 67 Years
|
|Place:All Around Metro Detroit
|
|Date Remembered: 1934
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This morning after leaving my daughters place near Walton Rd. and Baldwin Rd. in North Oakland County Michigan, I drove north on Baldwin Rd. passed some old familiar places I had frequented a long time ago when I was only 15 years of age.  Being now 82 years past and having been mostly absent during my retirement for the past 20 years or so, I am truly amazed at the changes of lifestyles and "technology" that has taken place here.
|
|Crossing Clarkston Rd, I recalled 67 years ago driving a herd of sheep around that curve following in a 1938 dodge pickup.
|
|This morning it would be impossible in the bumper to bumper traffic that I found myself in.
|
|It was 1939 that I as a young lad moved on to a large farm including that road intersection.  My father moved the family there from the dust bowl of the mid west seeking a better life in a more progressive world.  There he became a sheepherder of the farms flock.
|
|At that time the farm was owned by the JL HUdson Merchantile Co and encompassed over 1000 acres.
|
|It supported several families such as ours.  The lakefield farm on which we lived is now called Heather Lake Estates.
|
|What I am attempting to point out is that at the time, most of North Oakland County was agricultural rural farms that employed and supported many families.  But now by my observations as I drove out this morning out Balwdin to Oakwood road was that the entire area is covered with newer homes.  I cannot help but think that most of these homes carry large mortgages procured by low interest rates and held by huge bank investors.
|
|These home buyers not only have the obligation to the rich investor, but also have very large utility and tax bills on these suburban homes.
|
|Many people in this area and all around our great nation think the worlds resources are endless and I pray that they will be able to maintain this lifestyle.  But I have seen what happens when the markets and large investors go to the shithole in the 1930's.
|
|Be careful kids, put away some money for a rainy day or you may end up getting wet.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:sadds
|
|Place:sdsd
|
|Location:sdsddssd, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1934
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|dsdsdsds
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Southern Chew
|
|Date Remembered: 1939
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time I was hitchhiking down in the south when I was a teenager.  I got in the back seat of this Chevrolet and this old woman was driving it with her daughter and I thought she looked real nice.  Pretty soon she rolled down the window and she gave a big spit out the window (snuff spit).  And it went all over the window next to me and my opinion of her changed immediately.  Funny how I was attracted to her, but then minutes later, that all changed.
|
|My dad took us kids in 1932 (kidnapped us from our mother).  We ended out in Alabama out in the hills.  We stayed I this old ladys house and she would sit there in a rocking chair.  She chewed snuff and she would spit it into the fire and it would make a huge noise.
|
|I also remember at the time when we were hiding from the sherrif, there were these mud slides out there by the river.  We had a great time on them, even the colored people had one down by the other side of the river.  Sadly these white guys put razor blades in their mud slide.  How disgusting and immoral is that?  They treated them so badly in the South at that time.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|jmjnerocks said:
|"Grandpa, This is going to be great to read about your memories as a kid. That is pretty sick about the razor blades. And I have always though the same thing about smoking. Sometime you see a pretty girl driving a car of something and then she pulls a cigaret to her lips. It changes everything."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Stories of Patsy Getting into Trouble
|
|Date Remembered: 1965
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My daughter   pstalker  was always was sticking her finger in something.   We were up north in that farm.  When we bought it there was a basement that was half full and flooded of water.  So I drained it all with a pump.  And bought this cream separator.   Doug  was out there churning it and goofing off.   pstalker  stuck her finger in it.  And it took off a chunk off the end of her finger. 
|
|On another occasion she climbed a tree and fell and got spiked on her leg someplace (she still has a scar today)
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"You forgot about the time I stuck my finger in the fire extinguisher on the back of your truck and pulled my fingernail right off."
|
|pstalker said:
|"wasn't i a lot of fun!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:BB-Gun Mayhem (with Mike, Doug and Paul)
|
|Place:Our Farm Hosue
|
|Date Remembered: 1958
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time Doug  and his buddies had acquired some BB guns.  They were out shooting one day and they apparently went to a sewer plant and they shot these damn bottles full of holes.  All this bleach was leaking out and an employee picked up one of the se bottles of bleach and it ruined his pants.  I reprimanded them and disciplined them as well as bought the guy a new pair of pants.  
|
|The BB gun thing kept on going.    talorp85gt  and his buddies shot cars driving by.  And I had to buy rear glass for the car that they shot up.
|
|I also had a barn that had broken windows and I bought some new ones.  About a week later.  And there was holes in it.  Now Mike shot it all up!!  Give a kid a BB gun and he will shoot holes in it.  Things never change.  Kids will always get into mischief.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|jmjnerocks said:
|"Do you have any more mischief stories about my dad(Doug)?"
|
|talorp85gt said:
|"I recall replacing the glass in the barn windows, but I never shot the barn windows out.
|
|OK I did shoot out a car window"
|
|drudanks said:
|"I'm sitting here on a show in San Diego with my dad (Mike).  As soon as he read the title to this one (BB guns) he told me the whole story before I had a chance to read it.  These are the kind of stories that make me feel better about all the mischeif I have caused growing up."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Wagon Reassembly
|
|Date Remembered: 1958
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in my dads time.  People would take apart and reassemble wagons on top of the barn at night and the guy would say how the hell did that happen when he woke up in the morning.  Back then you didnt have computers to keep you occupied at night.  So these types of pranks were played on people once and a while.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Outhouse Tipping
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1937
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was 14 years old, we went to tip over this guys shithouse.  This other buddy of ours.  We all got behind it and this one kid fell in the shit that was in the pit.  Even though it was made of wood it wouldnt shatter.  We made the kid that fell in the shit sit on the bumper of the car.  And we made him take off all his clothes and we threw him in a crick.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"Grandpa you were a hooligan in your youth."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Rooster Story
|
|Place:My Dads farm
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1950
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time we were up north where my dad had his farm.  He had an outdoor crapper.  A rooster wouldnt let my wife Verda out of the door.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Parisian Hookers
|
|Place:Our Post in Paris
|
|Location:Reims, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 1945
|
|Memory Category:War Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|During World War 2 I ended up in Rheims, France.  We were supposed to walk around and monitor this region or block and me and my buddy get around this one area on the block and come across this large institutional building.  And there was a whole bunch of girls running around there.  We found out that these girls were all diseased hookers.  And every time we would walk over to that place we got hooted at.  Everybody's got to make a living some way.  There were different classes of whores over there.  There were these pro stores (prophylactic) stores.  By 10 O'Clock at night there would be a huge line there. 
|
|Zigg Zigg fucky fucky two pack cigarette, some of the hookers would yell at you.  Packages of cigarettes were substitutes for cash.  One night, a buddy and I were sitting out at Rainbow corner in Paris and we were watching this fancy looking girl with a fur collar around her. What the hell was she up to?�  She was just standing out on the corner.  One of these diplomats picked her up and about 10 minutes later he dumped her out.  She was an example of a high class whore.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|drudanks said:
|"Is this and 18+ site?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:World War 2 Story
|
|Place:The Plains of Czchecolsavakia
|
|Location:Pilson, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 1945
|
|Memory Category:War Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was out standing guard one night in Czech Republic
| and I was listening to the BBC and they came over with "The War had ended."�  In that town of Pilson, the VIP's decided that they wanted to
|entertain the troops and they rounded up a real circus with lions and tigers
|and horses.  I got on a detail with
|another GI with our jeep and we were supposed to go round up supplies for this
|circus.  
|
|We went to slaughterhouses for meat for the tigers and lions
|and also got into one warehouse that was all full of chocolates; even a breadhouse.
|We had authority to confiscate if they didn�t give up their supplies.  The army would give them vouchers to later
|redeem what we used for the troops, but most probably never did anything with
|it.  
|
|
|
|Bob Hope came in there one time and put his show on.  He was real good in concert and I sat down
|not to far from the stage and there must have been about 10000 GI's in that
|town square.
|
|
|
|The last two or three
|days of the war I was assigned to a little village in a valley to radio duty at
|a cross road and that cross road turned out to be all of the Russian army that
|was coming forward.  When they came to
|the line 1/4 east of this village, there were a lot of Czech people who had
|been abused by everyone all throughout the war. 
|Some of the German troops got cut up with axes and weapons by these
|displaced people (they all hated each other) and I was ordered to not do
|anything.  
|
|
|
|I was there for two days and by the time I left there, the
|military people were separating everyone into these different fields and were
|held in there as a staging area until they figured out where to put everyone.I was waiting to be shipped back to the states to see my
|sick mother and she got permission from the senator to approve my leave of absense.  After that I was still on duty on a ship over
|to Japan,
|but halfway there the war had ended.  After
|that they shipped me back to Boston.  They put me on a train with a bunch of other GIs�
|to Harrisburg.  They were discharging people at this facility
|and I went through a line there and they said well "Taylor we'll call you when you get your
|discharge and in the mean time your on leave." About 6 weeks later I got a
|telegram for a discharge.  I was totally
|not expecting it and I think they had to of made a mistake.  That was the day before thanksgiving in 1945.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:General Patton In WW2
|
|Place:All about Europe
|
|Location:Nernberg, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1945
|
|Memory Category:War Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I saw general Patton several times in passing in World War 2 
|because I was in a special service (a recon service) under which he was the
|general.  One time I remember seeing him
|was a nice spring day in Nurnberg Germany.  We were waiting for orders to go forward and
|our batalion was there for cleanup.  It
|was a week or two before the war ended. 
|
|It was at this time that I had a jeep, and having a jeep was
|like being a taxi driver; you had to take everyone everywhere.
|
|
|
|
|
|I came along this part of the road where it had been bombed
|out and there was only about 1 lane open for about 1/2 mile.  I took my sweet old time.  It was that nice spring day and I thought I
|would take it a little slower than we usually were paced. 
|
|It was then I heard an air horn (bleep bleep).  They used to use air horns with the colored
|troops got assigned driving trucks and I thought it was one of them.  But pretty soon I got to a wide part of the
|road and what went by me was a command car with huge flags with some guy all
|dressed up like a general (general Patton). 
|He said something but I couldn't understand it.  He basically was telling me to get the fuck
|off the road. 
|
|
|
|I also saw him several times in corpshead HQ.  Another time I saw him in a PX (a PX or Post Exchange
|is a place you can buy coffee and other things kind of like a Walmart for troops).  All of the sudden someone yelled "Attention!!"
|It was general Patton again.  That was in
|the spring of 1945.  
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test
|"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Becoming a Man
|
|Location:Zanesfield, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1938
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|
|In my early childhood life I was raised on the farms in the
|midwest during the great depression years. 
|There was no electricity in our moderate dwellings.  No radio or T.V.  After dark we ate our evening meal by the light
|of a kerosene lantern.  Our mode of
|transportation was a 1926 Chevrolet. 
|Things got bad money wise and even the stores in town would no longer
|extend credit to buy feed for our chickens or groceries for our table.
|
|
|
|It was in this environment that I grew up in; sometimes
|shoeless with overalls that were patched ?till they looked like they were a
|crazy quilt.  My father was a livestock
|man of sorts and had been responding to advertisements in trade papers.
|
|
|
|For our salvation he got a job in another state for $80 a
|month as a sheepherder on a million dollar playboy farm.  $80 a month in 1938 was a fortune in those
|days as the best you could get in farm labor was about $1 a day.  In addition to his new wages, we were
|furnished with a modern house with electric, plumbing and other amenities.  To a 15 year old boy this was jumping from
|one culture to another.
|
|
|
|The electric light activated by a pull chain was so amazing
|that I repeatedly had to turn it off and on to try to figure out how it worked.
|
|
|
|Well that fall I started high school in the 9th grade;
|all of my 8 grades previous were in a 1 room country school where 1 teacher
|taught all grades so entering a big city school with several hundred students
|was certainly a surprise to me.  In the
|country school there were only maybe 10 or 12 students and in my age group only
|about 3 or 4 of both girls and boys.
|
|
|
|Now when entering this new school the thing I first notice
|was all of the pretty girls my age and going on they really attracted my attention
|if you know what I mean.
|
|
|
|There was this one girl in my class that kept giving me the
|eye.  Her name was Mary Bakerski.  I met her a couple of times at basketball
|games and other school functions.  This
|one night at a girl/boy mixer, Mary and I got kind of cosy and right then I got
|the male kinda urges and I thought I was falling in love.
|
|
|
|You guessed it, we started to date.  I offered to take her to a movie one Saturday
|afternoon and I borrowed my Dad?s car (a 1929 Hash).  When I picked her up at her parents house, I
|was introduced to her mother, but her Dad sat in his chair in the corner of the
|room and hid behind his newspaper.
|
|
|
|After sitting there for a few minutes, another boy arrived
|to pickup Mary?s sister and then another arrived to go with another one of Mary?s
|sisters.  It was then I found that there
|was a family of 8 girls ranging in ages from 6 to 18.  No wonder the old man kept hidden behind his
|paper with this invasion coming in the door.
|
|
|
|Mary and I dated throughout my 16th year.  We did the thing you mature people do.  Although in those days the word ?sex? was so
|taboo.  But we got rather close to giving
|into better judgment.
|
|I thought I was in love that summer of my 16th
|year.  But when I went to visit one of my
|aunts for about a month in another state and arrived back to see Mary, she had
|got a new 21 year old lover and it just broke my heart.  I had just become a man and that was my
|transition.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Grandpa - it is really interesting to hear your stories.  Keep them coming! - Noel"
|
|stack said:
|"That's a great story. Mary didn't realize what she was missing."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#116;&#101;&#115;&#116;"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#97;&#115;&#102;&#115;&#97;&#100;&#102;"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#116;&#101;&#115;&#116;"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#97;&#100;&#115;&#102;&#97;&#115;&#100;&#102;"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#116;&#101;&#115;&#116; &#97;&#103;&#97;&#105;&#110;"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#97;&#115;&#100;&#102;"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#116;&#101;&#115;&#116;"
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User julieblood Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:9/11, 2001<br/><br/>Do you remember when 9/11 happened?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was living in Saginaw attending SVSU for the year. I woke up and turned the Television on. I didn't know what to do or think so I called my dad immediately. I was so scared for our nation. School was an option for all students that day. I went to check on Josh to make sure he was okay. I did attend my classes that day but we didn't do any work. We just watched the news and talked about everything that was going on. That was truly a tragedy that I will never forget.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Power Outtage 2002 <br/><br/>  Did you experience the great power outtage of the East coast?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Natural Disaster
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! I was working at the tanning salon and the power went out. I was so excited because it was such a hot day and my friends were going out on Christina's boat. I closed up shop, went to Christina's and we lived it up on the lake ALLLLLL night long. We eventually ran out of beer..but it was so much fun to say the least. The next day I couldn't handle the no electricity bit, so my girlfriend and her daughter and I went up north to my cabin.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever had your 15 minutes of fame yet or any other chance to be in the spotlight?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|LOL Dave, you will appreciate this one.  In 5th grade I was in the newspaper with 3 of my other classmates. We had to do a small interview and let them take our picture. I still have the article in my scrapbook that my mom made for me. I was also on Public Access for band concerts and choir concerts!! I was on STLA once as well. Other then that, no.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What memories do you have when randomly meeting a celebrity?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Famous People
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I met Tim Allen and my friend's house about 5 years ago or so.  He was with his wife at a small dinner party. I honestly wasn't that impressed! I loved him in Home Improvement but he is just a regular Joe like you and me. His wife on the otherhand was drunk and disorderly. lol  
|
|I met Darko Millicic a few years ago when he played for the Pistons. My girlfriend and I, Darko and his buddy from Sylvania all played poker one night at his house. It wasn't that great. We chatted a little bit but I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. He had a beautiful house though. I loved the bathroom. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of things have you learned from your most memorable teachers?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Mr. McGuire taught me self respect in the 5th grade. I'll never forget him for that. He has also been in my life in a sad way throughout the years. He has attended funerals of my family members and that to me is so amazing. He taught me that when you enter a room and someone is speaking stay by the door and wait until they are done, otherwise you are being rude. 
|Mr. Brakke taught me how to read deeper into books.  Mr. Mandley taught me that I am better then what I think. He taught me kindness and hope.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who are the people that have influenced your life the most to date?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 2008
|
|Memory Category:Parenting
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My mom has been my biggest influence in life. She was such a wonderful mother. She loved in a way that I've never seen anyone else love before. She was such a giving woman and I have so much respect for her. She taught me how to smile through everything. She taught me to be strong and hold my head up high.  She taught me to love unconditionally.  She was just such an amazing woman and I hope that one day I can fill her shoes.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:worst day of my life
|
|Place:hospice
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Turning Point in Your Life
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This day was the day that marked my sadness for life. I was having a semi decent work day when around 10pm my daddy called me and told me I needed to go to the hospital. My mom had been there for a month at that point so I figured it had something to do with her. I made my dad tell me what was going on while I was driving. He told me that the doctors were at their ends and recommended mom into hospice. It didn't make sense to me. I just couldn't believe what he was telling me. I pulled off the road and cried for awhile. This was the last day my mom actually talked to me. I love her so much and it still hurts and I imagine it probably always will hurt to think about it. 3 Days after being in Hospice my mom passed away. I was holding her hand the whole time with our family sitting all around her. She looked absolutely beautiful. She could still squeeze my hand to communicate which was such a blessing. I feel for anybody who has lost a loved one at such a young age. I will think about this day and the four months I had with my mother for the rest of my life..most likely everyday. Don't take life for granted. Don't take people for granted. Also, don't hold grudges, it's not worth it!! Love yourself and everybody around you. Figure out what is important to you and who is important to you. Two weeks after my mom passed Robby and I broke up. It's been one hell of a year to say the least. It's so strange..I was never afraid to love before this year. I am so afraid to love anyone again. I feel hallow inside and I am scared that the emptiness will never fade.  One of my favorite quotes is, "Noone ever told me grief felt so like fear."  I think it was C.S. Lewis who wrote that. I think. It's so true. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|jessika said:
|"Julie, what a hard thing to share. Thank you (and your mom) for reminding me not to take anything for granted."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah Julie, no daughter or son should ever live through such a thing at this time in your life.
|
|What beautiful and inspiring words you wrote on my website and I am honored for you to share them here.
|
|I have found writing some posts about myself I have been in tears because they were tough memories that you dont think about often because of the difficult and powerful emotions that you had while living through those stories.
|
|Your mom got to see you and Elizabeth and David grow up to be really great people.
|
|I wrote this website so I could try to post memories from my grandma who died a few years ago because I find that one major part of healing is reminiscing and knowing that you loved and spent as much time with the person while they had the honor of living on this planet.
|
|You cannot regret any part of any relationship and I am sure you will honor your mother in everything that you do in the future Julie."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"PS - Robby is a dick and you would have never wanted him since he could not support you through these tough times.  Very insensitive to do that no matter what....
|
|Move on and forget him."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Beer Fest
|
|Place:Reynold's residence
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 25 2007
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Robby's family decided to let us throw a party at his house while they stayed in a hotel for the night. We chose to do BEERFEST! We played many games of Beer pong and cornhole. There were about a good 40 people that showed up throughout the night which was pretty fun! I kicked some butt in Beer pong...but I didn't do so well at Cornhole. I love a fun night that's full of games!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Chilli's
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2007
|
|Memory Category:Friendship
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|After not seeing David Renne for about 7 years we decided to meet up for some dinner and a beer. It was GREAT to see him since we've been buddies ever since good ol Kindergarten.  It's always nice to meet up with old friends and talk about the good ol days and also catch up on everything new as well!!  Thanks for hanging out Dave!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of different food experiences did you encounter while traveling?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Food and Drink
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Fish, lots of different fish. Also, alligator tail. That was actually really delicious! I have learned to LOVE sushi from traveling with some more classy people. I am very interested in trying new foods everywhere I go. I have yet to try Indian Food..but look forward to it!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"well your city and locale for this memory says waterford...
|
|now we know that waterford is not a place to travel.
|
|what kinds of places have you been to?
|
|the states are great to travel in.... less waterford."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:While you were traveling, what kind of special places did you find while wandering?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Relaxation
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I have traveled all around the US. The Mammoth Cave was pretty sweet. I also traveled to the Hoover Damn, Four Corners, Buffalo Bill's Wild Ranch, The Great Salt Lake, Appalacian Mountains, Lake Cumberland,Vegas, Manhattan,Palo Alto,Pittsburgh, Miami, West Palm, Stratford, Mackinac Island, Lake Charlevoix, all the lakes in Michigan, San Fran, Napa Valley, Silverado Golf resort which was gorgeous, all over Florida, Toronto. Every place I have traveled to has been special to me. I loooove to travel and hope for the chance to travel outside of the US one day.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the most adventurous thing you did during these years?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2005
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I drove my 9 year old  beater truck cross country and made it home in time for a tune up and oil change. That trip made me grow up a little bit b/c I had another person with me and I had to take care of him the whole ride home otherwise we would never have made it. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who were your most important mentors in your twenties?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My sister, my parents, my bosses
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Where did you travel in your twenties?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Vegas, New York, California, all over Florida, road trip home from California, Colorado...that might be it. Nowhere out of country.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What did you do for your 21st birthday and how did you celebrate?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2003
|
|Memory Category:Inebriated Decision
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The first night I went to Bonzai Bob's in Lake Orion and got drunk with Tereze. We partied for quite some time that night and the guy who raps that song, I got Dollars In MY Pockets, he was there and free flowed for me about me which was awesome. Later we went to VP where my friend said something really mean to me so I decided to attempt walking home. I made it to a pay phone instead and Kim Robinson came and picked me up. On my birthday I went to Pontiac with Tara Twyman and had a BLAST bar hopping with her. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG if you got Tara, Kim and others on here, I would be ecstatic!  I need to post about making out with Kim and also getting her a Weezer CD.
|
|I have a love letter I sent to Tara too."
|
|julieblood said:
|"I still talk to Kim R. Tara moved to California I believe and I haven't talked to her since right after my 21st. Kim R. is actually on MySpace so I'll email her this site and see how that goes."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I think she is my myspace friend too... I emailed her recently to shoot me her email so I can get her on here with no response yet."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"what's tara's email julie?"
|
|julieblood said:
|"oh geez..I have no idea. I haven't talked to Tara in YEARS!! I wouldn't even know who to ask for that information.."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the most difficult decision you had to make when you became independent and on your own?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Difficult Times
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When things got tight what should I spend my last 10$ on...gas or food.  It was tough.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Were you ready and prepared for all the independence as you headed out of your household?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I wasn't 100% prepared and I'm still not. Independence calls for a lot of responsibility. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:When did you first move out of your family home?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2002
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I first really moved out about 5 years ago. I moved in with my friend Katie and her 4 year old daughter Grace in Rochester. I've moved a few million times since then but unfortunately am back at home. It's okay though, I give it one more year and I'll be in Florida with Robby :)
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"oh Julie Julie.... You me Susan and Robbie need to party when we all get to Florida!
|
|I will be there in February after my wedding.
|
|Who knows... maybe once Susan is done with the Bar exam this week in Florida, she can meet you and stuff."
|
|julieblood said:
|"Congrats on the engagement by the way! Where at in Florida where you and Susan be? Robby will be down there at the end of October and will be living in Jupiter. I would love for the 4 of us to get together!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"We could be in Punta Gorda... orlando, tampa... who knows.
|
|Is Jupiter nice?
|
|Pretty close to you regardles...
|
|I have to call you once you shoot me your phone number."
|
|julieblood said:
|"here's my cell, 248-933-4969.  Leave a message b/c I never answer numbers without names to them!!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The lost porn
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1996
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I think I was in 8th grade and my sister had a friend sleep over one night. It was my sister, her friend, me, and my brother. We were watching scrambled porn b/c we thought it was super funny. Then we had the great idea of calling and ordering a playboy station. We forgot the part were they send you the bill in the mail though. The worst part is that we never even got the porn after ordering it!! When my dad opened up that bill he was pretty ticked off! We blamed it on our brother. He believed us!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Julie Blood... I know I comment on all your memories, but heres another one.
|
|I love the fact that you know exactly why I wrote this site.
|
|This site is meant for small two sentence memories like yours.  Short and sweet because there are thousands of little precious memories that need to be posted like this.
|
|I too have watched scrambled porn when I was in middle school and seen a blue red and purple nipple!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Village Place
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 97-2000
|
|Memory Category:Food and Drink
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember skipping school a lot and going to the village place to drink about 3 pots of Hazelnut coffee a day. It was fun sneaking out of school..especially getting into my friend's trunks b/c they had passes and I didn't. That is until I made a huge batch of fake passes when I worked in the bookstore. I was such a rebel I can't believe it!! I have many great memories at Village Place getting slap happy off the coffee. Also many drunken nights there trying to sober up.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG you are too funny.
|
|I love how you posted 116 memories in like a day!
|
|What a record!
|
|You might want to update each one with a date possibly so you can build a timeline."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Burt's fair
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Pets
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I won my first two goldfish on the fishwalk at Burt's fair. I will forever remember Pitri and Sarah. Yes I named my fish after dinosaurs! I had the fish for years until my parents forced me  into giving them to Christina b/c I couldn't take care of them. It's tough caring after fishies. She killed them and then flushed them. I wanted to bury them. Poor babies of mine. I loved the fairs at Burt!
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
twozniak said:
|"I LOVED THE CAKE WALK!!! I think I took it a bit too seriously though. ;) Face paintings, and ping pong games.... how cool was our school!  My younger brother and sisters, also enjoyed their times at Burt...suprisingly enough, the fair hasn't changed much!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"My favorite part of these fairs was shooting the little pellet guns at whatever.
|
|Whoever put these together put so much thought into having a great fair and it was such a great time.
|
|One time, we even took a cake that we won and we slid it down the big toy slide."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:When did you first feel a great independence from your parents?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Pride
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I bought my first truck!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:When did you cry while in high school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1999
|
|Memory Category:Sadness
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was forced to go to school the day my grandma passed away and two days after my grandpa passed away. I walked into class and ran right back out. I left school obviously. I don't think I really cried too much. I did senior year when Danny Wedzel cheated on me with my bestfriend at the time. I am not a fighter but I grabbed her by her hair and got her on the ground and slapped her lightly a few times. I think I was way too nice about that one. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever drink under age while in high school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Inebriated Decision
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Almost every single weekend we were drinking and smoking the bad stuff. For being as athletic as I was, I was not nice to my body then! I do have some great memories though from all those crazy nights!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"See... my high school experience was a lot different.  
|
|I think thats why our relationship was different when we got into high school.  I was a runner and total bank geek still and only drank a few times in high school.  Too much of a goodie gooodie and busy playing games with Kevin Shear and Dave Clingan and spending time with Rani.
|
|Boy Julie you were a wild one in High school.
|
|We were always pals though even though we didnt hang out as much.  We had a few biology classes together I think too."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever get embarrassed by something you did in High School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yes. we won't talk about that though!! ha
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your first real job?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Jobs and Employment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I started working at the end of 8th grade, beginning of 9th grade. Julian's coney island. I made $5 an hour cash plus tips. I worked there for 4 years. I looooved working there!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever make the local newspaper for something you did in High School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Newspaper Articles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was always in the paper for volleyball
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you excel in anything or fail in anything in High School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2000
|
|Memory Category:Failure
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Not a fun memory. I failed aerobics class b/c my dates in my journal were wrong. I didn't get to graduate with everybody but I was still allowed to sit with my cap and gown and was allowed to go to the all night grad party. I took a golf class at OCC and recieved my diploma two months after. I love golf now so all in all it was fine!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I remember that issue and it was fucking bullshit, you more than anyone deserved to walk with us.
|
|Remember Laura Brandon got into a fight and didnt graduate with us too.
|
|Kev Shear purposefully fell down the stairs.
|
|What a jackass!  I love him."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you fall in love in High School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1999
|
|Memory Category:Love
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Jason Hickman, my college boyfriend. I was crazy crazy in love with him and then he cheated on me. Jerk.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember ever being in the hospital in High School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1997,1999
|
|Memory Category:Hospitals
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I had my tonsils removed. I was in the hospital a lot junior year when my grandpa had cancer and when my grandma passed away. that was the worst weekend of my life.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you remember from your HomeComing and Prom Dances in High School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Dancing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Freshman year- Andy Smerzac and I was not the best date in the world. I was nervous as heck to be going with an older guy.
|Sophmore year- Rembert Parker- I think we danced once or twice. He was a sweetheart.
|Junior Year- Brian Clifton and we had a BLAST!!!
|Senior year- mott's homecoming- BJ Lewis
|           - Walled lake central's- Jason Martin
|Prom- Jeff Morgan and we had a great time!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember a time where you were at the Mall and you just had to buy something?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Shopping and Malls
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was never a big shopper until about a year or two ago. I told ya, I'm a major tomboy!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your high school hold any kind of spirit week or pep rallies?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I loooooved spirit week!! How fun was that!?! I always dressed up for everything. The pep rallies were a blast too..especially when we were seniors!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you receive any significant awards or recognitions in high school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Awards
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Just the MVP in volleyball and all honorable mention for volleyball
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember your first day of high school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1996
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I think I met Brian Clifton on the first day and he was my good friend all throughout highschool. I would love to talk with him again!  I don't think I was that nervous my first day. I knew I had at least one friend in every class.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I am running with his father and step mom this weekend in the great lakes relay.
|
|Clifton is living in NYC right now.
|
|http://greatlakesrelay.com"
|
|julieblood said:
|"That's awesome that you are still running! I heard he was living in NYC with Amanda Hester. If you talk to him ever tell him I say hello!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"yep still running.
|
|Ran the detroit marathon last fall and also ran college cross country for 2 years.
|
|running has always kept me out of drugs in high school.  its a love hate relationship."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you remember from High School Football games?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There was major glory our senior year on the football field. D2 champs baby! I didn't go to a lot of games my senior year. Freshman and Sophmore years I went to as many as possible. Senior year I started dating a guy who was in college so I did other things instead of hangout with the people that should have mattered more. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever been recognized for hard work that you did with a team?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|MVP for volleyball in highschool.  And All-honorable mention for volleyball
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How much do you think athletic skills are based on talent?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Truthfully you need to have skills to play a sport. You can have all the heart in the world but get nothing out of practicing. Everyone needs to practice even if they have all hte skill in the world.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Has athletics and sports helped you form new relationships?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Friendships and relationships. Robby and I met at the golf course while he was playing in the Syron last summer and we are still together. My friend Tara and I are really close and we met on the volleyball court.  Most of the people I'm friends with I met through sports.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Shoot me tara twymans email address.
|
|I really miss her.  So many memories with her."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of things have you collected from your sporting events?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Pride
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I just threw away all my trophies b/c I was tired of the dust piling up on them. I still have some ribbons laying around and certificates and my letter and pins. I kept all my volleyball stats from highschool. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What can you remember about learning experiences that you have gained from participating in athletic events?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Leave your personal life at the door of the gym. There is no I in team.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What raw talents have helped you be better than other people in your sports taht you have participated in?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I've always just been a solid setter in volleyball.  The first time I picked up a ball that was what I was just naturally good at.  In basketball I have a lucky shot. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Can you remember anything from your early athletic life: your first games, teams, events, lessons, and other activities.?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I played softball on Harmony Music's tbal team when I was 3 or 4 years old. Then I played for the Burt Bobcats for many many years! I used to play soccer too and my teams were awesome! I was the best goalie around!! Basketball was fun at Burt b/c my parents were the coaches! 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Give a summary of all of your athletic career.  Name off the teams and events that you have played in.?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|HUGE volleyball player. I play as much as I possibly can play. Tara and I play doubles frequently up at the yard and I have a league at Airway Lanes on Tuesday nights. That league is just a beer league so the vball level is LOW and boring. The yard is sweet ball though! I also love golfing and wish I would have done it in highschool. My boyfriend is actually going to go pro which is pretty sweet :)
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"hey i have a bunch of buy one get one free greens fees...
|
|we should go to this ghetto golf course out in rochester off rochester rd...
|
|lets plan it."
|
|julieblood said:
|"What's the name of the golf course? lol I have a feeling it was my first golf course I played on. Let's definitely go sometime!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What summer was "the best" summer of all through middle school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The last one when Shaun Keough and Jason Potter were my closest friends and would come over all the time. Adam Russell was my bestfriend in the world then too. I miss the days when everyone was super close. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I miss Adam too and we all used to be real close in middle school and elementary school
|
|Those times are always precious because it was a once in a lifetime bond we all had going through school together."
|
|julieblood said:
|"It's funny b/c the friendships that I made throughout elementary and middle school days might not be as great as they used to be but anytime I see somebody or talk to somebody it goes back to the way it used to be. The bonds we made when we were younger are always still there."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What relationships do you remember most from middle school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Friendship
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Danny Wedzel in 7th grade. We dated for one month and we never kissed. I told him I loved him on his families answering machine. lol woops!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What did you stress out about at the time?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Boys and my grades
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What did your hair and clothing look like when you were a teenager growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I will never upload the photos. Just look at my 7th grade picture. NASTY!! I always wore my hair in a ponytail until the end of 8th grade. I wore floods and it didn't bother me then.  I wore too many tshirts. I was not a cute girl then. No one explained fashion to me then...well they still haven't but I think I've figured a couple things out all on my own!!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I actually have all the burt elementary school yearbooks scanned and am working on the middle school ones and eventually high school.
|
|I will have a memorycrawler yearbook section too.  But most likely it will start as a facebook application so millions of people can upload yearbooks and tag who is in them.
|
|You were always a beautiful girl..."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did anyone break your heart when you were going through middle school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There were no major heartbreaks then! The only time I was ever really confused was with Chris Wisnewski and that was b/c I liked him so much but I fought with it and nothing ever came of it. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What things did you do that caused conflict in your family?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I lied and acted out....I could be really bad sometimes. My poor fam!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What were your big first time experiences that you had in your early teenage experiences?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first kiss. Ahhhh how nervous was I!!!  And then the next day he started going out with my really good friend! That jerk!!  The funny thing is I ended up dating him a few years ago. He did a complete 180 since then :) 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Was your home a place where you and your friends could hang out, or was it too embarrassing to bring your friends around?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Homes and Houses
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I had no problem having people over in Middle School. There wasn't a whole lot of exciting things to do but we always found something. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of physical differences did you notice in your body?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|well I am a girl so the obvious happened. I also started getting a light form of acne which I hated more than life itself.  Nothing too crazy for me. I didn't start getting a chest either which made me mad. I thought I was supposed to then!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember your favorite movies and television shows in Middle School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Television and Radio
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Son and Law.  There was also that Ghost Writer tv show on PBS that I loooooved! 90210 if that was still on then.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you consider your greatest accomplishment in Middle School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Pride
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In 8th grade I finally learned that it is okay to ask for help. I went from a D in history to an A. I loved staying after school to get help from Mr.Moon. He was by far one of my favorite teachers at Crary!!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yea Mr. Moon was a great English teacher.
|
|We had these puppet shows that I did with Chris Wis and Clingan the new guy."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did anyone tempt you with Cigarettes or other drugs in Middle School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Drugs
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Unfortunately yes. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Again me being the goodie goodie.
|
|No cigarettes ever, barely any booze."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever get put into Detention in Middle School?
|
|Place:detention
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Getting in Trouble
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I only had to do in school suspension one time I think. It sucked. Mr. Antonozzo was mean!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the dumbest thing you did while in Middle School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:A Bad Decision
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I found a dead bat in my driveway in 7th grade and thought it would be cool to take it to school. I recieved extra credit in science class b/c of that..but afterwards I left it in a zip lock baggy in my locker for the LONGEST time. It was nassssty!!  I also bit Chris Wisnewski and recieved inschool detention. I had a crush on him!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the most frustrating thing about these three or four years in middle school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Puberty, boys, and trying to find myself and figure out who I really fit in with.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your school have Middle School Dances?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Dancing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|LOL I looooved going to the dances!! I never ever danced though. I normally went for the pizza or to chase around the boys! How fun were those dances?!?!! I would do anything to go back to one of those!! 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"But thats the thing... we are too old to have that kind of innocent fun anymore.
|
|Once and a lifetime event... nothing can ever compare because life gets too complicated and serious.
|
|The best thing you can do is reminisce about it a bit and also still act immature and fun loving so you can relive your childhood."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you belong to any clique in Middle School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I hungout with Christina Poponea and everyone in band pretty much. I also hungout with the girls on the basketball team. I never really considered myself part of just one clique. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of new past times did you get into when in Middle School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Hobbies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Hanging out at Summit Place mall back when it was fun and cool!  Going over to friend's houses and doing sleepovers. Toilet papering on the weekends. Going "loping" over at Kelly Fulkerson's house. I also became an avid General Hospital fan in 7th or 8th grade and I still watch it to this day!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I havent thought about Kelly in many many years.
|
|I have memories with all of the Burt people...
|
|Have you seen the 5th grade commercials videos that Mr. K had us do?  Check out 5th grade commercials in the search bar."
|
|julieblood said:
|"I remember Mr. K doing the commercials...I had Mr.McGuire as my main teacher so I didn't do a commercial."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your attitudes toward anything change from when in elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Turning Point in Your Life
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was confused about who I was which made me a little more on the shy side.  But then again I was more outgoing then ever in other situations. I didn't know how to act or how to dress b/c I was constantly worrying about what other people thought of me. Not anymore!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you ever do anything you never had even thought of in Elementary School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I tried a cigarette with Elizabeth Pierce for my first time. I also tried something else in 7th grade and alcohol in 8th grade. At the time I didn't feel too young for any of that but looking back now I could kick my own butt!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you venture into any new sports now that more were offered?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I actually quit playing soccer in 7th grade b/c it interfered with softball. I started playing volleyball in 8th grade which I am still extremely active with nowadays! Thanks Tereze for talking me into trying out for the team!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your friends change at all from how they behaved in elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Everyone tried to act like they were so much older and cooler. But mostly they all stayed the same. By the time we were done with middle school though most of us had changed....and not all for the best :(
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How well did you transition with your new friends in Middle School?
|
|Place:Crary
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|6th grade was fun b/c I had a few girls from elementary in every one of my classes. I didn't meet too many new people in 6th grade. Band helped me make new friends as well. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your first memory?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|David Renne in Kindergarten. I though he was the coolest and cutest boy in class b/c he had a sweet toy car. He was probably good at coloring too. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I am honored to be your first memory.  how appropriate and ironic that you are on here reminiscing with me.  You are such a sweetheart.
|
|Cant wait to hear all of your stories.
|
|Tell me anything about what you want changed on the site and what you dont understand so I can make it easier for my users that I care so much about."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"what was this sweet car that I used to have?
|
|lets talk sometime this week.
|
|pick up your phone damnit!  lol  ;-)"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What are your top 4 favorite books that you read while growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Books
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Are you there God? It's me Margaret. All the babysitter's club books. Sweet Valley High books, and.... the Bible.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the best gift you ever received while growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A rose from my gramps garden. Also my orange bike.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who made you laugh the most when you were a kid?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Christina and I were constantly peeing our pants together. Weak bladders sucked for us!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who was your favorite athlete while in Elementary School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Michael Jordan
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kinds of talents did you have that came really naturally?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Reading and writing. The clarinet was a piece of cake for me.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your favorite toy on the play ground?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Recess
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The big toy and the monkey bars.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I liked the bridge on the big toy.
|
|One time during one of those burt carnivals, I took a cake I won and smeared it all on the front slide.
|
|What do you remember from those burt carnivals.  Post a separate story for those..  those were a lot of fun."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Have you ever baby-sat anyone when you were growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Kids and Children
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I'm still a nanny. I've been doing the kid thing since I was 10. If you know anyone who needs a nanny let me know!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kept your mind interested and occupied in terms of hobbies and collections when you were growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Hobbies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I collected shells and postcards. I loved books
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Scholastic news all the way baby!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:In your grade school years, did you ever get any kind of allowance?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Money
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I think I got 3-5 bucks a week for cleaning all the baseboards in the house. I hate baseboards.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What can you remember from when your family decorated the house for something?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We decorated on every holiday and for every season.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Can you remember some kind of local or world event or occurrence that had a profound influence on your life as a child?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When the Piston's were the stuff!! When they won. Tiger's too.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of crushes did you have when you were in elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I had a million crushes. David Renne, Sean Wood, Blake Peters, Nick Azzarro, Jason Cooley, Justin Davis, Justin DeKruif, Kevin Shear. Like I said, I crushed on everyone!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I swear we actually dated you sometime in middle school.
|
|Did we used to date for a little?  
|
|Thats how bad my memory is.  If we did date, it was like for a week or two.
|
|I remember being on a bus or something when we dated, but that could have been someone different for that week.
|
|You and I always had an interesting relationship...."
|
|julieblood said:
|"We actually dated for a week in 4th grade and then again for about a week or so in 8th grade. But then when we got to highschool you shunned me forever!!! Just kidding! At least we always said hi to eachother!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"We were never madly in love though.
|
|I bet we held hands a few times.
|
|But no kissing.  4th grade was too young for kissing.
|
|God... would I even recognize you if I saw you today?  I totally miss parties  in the summer with Christina and you."
|
|julieblood said:
|"lol I look the same as I've always looked! Same height, weight, hair, everything. 
|
|Christina's house in  the summertime was definitely always a blast!! And yes, we did hold hands in 4th and 8th grade! lol To be young and innocent again :) We should definitely grab a beer one of these days and catch up on the good ol days!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your absolute favorite place that you can remember from your childhood?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My bedroom or Christina's house. I loved sleeping over at my grandma Blood's house. We would play croquet in the backyard and she always made me delicious french toast in the morning. And she would sing me to sleep. She even did that when I was too old for it.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How did your parents spend their time during your childhood years?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Together. We did family trips a lot like camping and boating. They went out on the weekends from time to time. I hated my babysitters. They were all potheads who had boys over. They never really played with us.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What made your life growing up similar to that of a normal stereotypical childhood?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My parents were and are still married and we were always super close. I went to school, came home and played or watched tv, ate dinner, played some more, came inside and went to bed. That was my daily routine. Pretty normal.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was something that you can remember that you were made to do by the adults when you were a kid?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I hated doing the dishes, especially at family functions b/c then there were triple the amount of dishes.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Most schools have "show and tell", can you remember those days you had that event?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I brought my stuffed Fivel doll in. I still have him but he's missing his clothes now. Strange..
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"It was rare, but sometimes our classes would show movies like American tale to us."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your favorite kind of days growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I loved a good sunny day when I could go outside and play all day long. I loved pizza days. Summertime was always my favorite.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the most interesting thing you thought about going through elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I thought that I would write in my diary about all my adventures and one day become famous because of it. I honestly thought that would get me into history books.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What types of things can you remember when you were first learning to read?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Books
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I started reading when I was 3 years old. I remember in Kindergarten going into a 2nd grade classroom and reading to them. I was pretty proud. I like Panda was my favorite book.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you think others perceptions of you were when you were really young?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was a tomboy. I didn't really care a whole lot about what other people thought of me. I was too young to really care.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you remember from kissing significant others?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Kissing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I kissed Matt Carter when I was 3 years old. After that I waited until I was 13 to kiss. Joe Davis was my first makeout.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you consider your greatest accomplishment in elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My two violations.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of things did you do in different weather?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Bad Weather
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Christina and I loved to play with umbrellas in the rain. It was so much fun dancing around and just getting sopping wet. My bro and I used to do that a lot together too.
|Ice skating and sledding in the winter and swimming in the summers. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who was your hero growing up?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Famous People
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My grandparents were my heroes. I loved them all so much!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What fascinated you as a child?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Boys of course! And books, I loved my books. My mom would only buy me one book at a time and if I read it within two days it was too bad b/c she wasn't going to buy me another one for awhile. I still read about a book a week. I'm crazy.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I would have never thought you were that big of a reader. 
|
|I envy you.  I need to read more, but I am an internet dork!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember any assemblies that your elementary School held?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember we had assemblies but I don't really remember them very well.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of animal friends did you make?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Pets
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first dog was Duffer and I loved him so much. My mom tried to explain cremation to me but I was only 5 years old and for years pictured the bad guys blowing him up in flames. I guess this should go with the traumatic question.  I used to believe that my stuffed animals came alive at night when I was asleep. I always tried to trick them but it never worked. I loved snakes and frogs and turtles. My bro and I used to paint the painted turtles b/c we thought they lost their paint. Noone explained that one to me.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the most traumatizing moment as a child?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When David Renne told me that Santa wasn't real. Thanks David, I would probably still be a believer if it wasn't for you!  Just kidding. My neighbor who was like a grandfather to me passed away when I was 10 and that hit me reallyhard. It was my first encounter with cancer that I could remember. Learning about death was very tough. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How excited did you used to get on holidays?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:A Holiday
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I loved Christmas. My bro and I would try so hard to see Santa, but obviously that never happened. But we would wake up between 4 and 5 in the morning and go through our stockings, then put everything back in and go back to sleep. Every year was the same with my bro! 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you belong to any organizations in elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Organizations
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I played softball, basketball, and soccer.  I was a member of Girl Scouts all throughout pretty much.  I was a band member. I loved band.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Except you quit freshman year or something..!!
|
|Sorry for all the posts... I am sure you are overwhelmed with my comments"
|
|julieblood said:
|"I am an internet nerd as well so I looooove comments!!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you have any bad habits as a child?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I back talked a lot. That was fixed after many many bars of soap were ingested..the final fix was with liquid soap. Not cool mom.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your greatest learning lesson in Elementary School?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I learned to love the library more than anything! It's one of my favorite places to be! If you tell someone to suck an egg then you better supply them with the egg.  Mr. McGuire was the best teacher and man in the world. He was like an uncle to me. He told me that I better not kiss Blake Peters and I listened. lol 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who was your first girlfriend or boyfriend ever?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Sean Wood when I was in 2nd grade. We didn't talk ever but I looooooved him so much!! I was the only girl he invited to his bday party, I felt kind of stupid and out of place. It was well worth it though.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you go on any trips in Elementary school?
|
|Place:travels
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We always went on field trips. Boblo Island, greenfield village, Hands On in Lansing, and I know there were more!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of adventures did you have at the time?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Catching snakes and baby ducks were my passion during elementary school days. Building forts and hiding out. Christina and I would play pretend a lot. We thought we were professional singers and ice skaters. We kind of were. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember any school projects or school subjects that you had the most fun doing?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I hated the science fair. I could never think of anything that cool to do. Everything that I wanted to do would have taken a year or two just to find my conclusion. I loved reading aloud to the classroom. I loved chorus but I dislike Mrs. Relyea. How can you ever forget how to spell her name?!?? She made us spell it all the time. We did these sweet paper mache masks in art class. I wish I still had mine, I was pretty proud of that thing. The school play was fun too!! I remember I had a solo for one of the christmas concerts b/c Shalon Morey was sick..that was scary. Can we say off key just a tad bit??
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"R.E.L.Y.E.A
|
|remember when bobby pooped his pants.
|
|yea.... I had to sit next to him in Mrs. Relyea's class.
|
|it was gross.
|
|I also rememebr composing a song from scratch on the piano i think."
|
|julieblood said:
|"lol I do remember Bobby pooping his pants! I always felt bad for that kid b/c noone wanted to be around him b/c he smelled bad. Poor kid, I realize now that it wasn't his fault. He was probably a jerk b/c everyone was so mean to him. He did used to have little flecks of tin foil in his hair tho..which I thought was cool b/c his head would sparkle sometimes!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OH God Julie I wish I had the memory you do!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Who was your best friend throughout elementary school?
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Friendship
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Christina Poponea. We were in Kindergarten and I was over at Erica Ricci's aunt's house playing with her. I was eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich. I looked up and there came Christina hulahooping down the road like she was hot stuff. I didn't like her much. Then she made YaYa call me and invite me over to bake cookies and to sleep over. I didn't want to go but YaYa said Christina was crying so I went to be nice. We were bestfriends forever after that. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was the most exciting thing that happened to you in Elementary School?
|
|Place:burt
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I won the 4th grade spelling bee when I was in 3rd grade. I was a stud. I also won a Halloween best costume award one year too. I think I was either a princess or a ghost. My outfits were way more awesome than they sound. Nick Azzarro always had sweet costumes. I was envious b/c his mom made them all.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG.... what a memory you have...
|
|Such detail!
|
|June Azzaro was always so crafty.
|
|You just bring me back to those burt days.
|
|I dont know why, but burt was so special to me when I look back at those days."
|
|julieblood said:
|"I loved elementary school. Those were the best days ever! Middle school was pretty good too!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is the first activity that comes to mind when spending time with your mother?
|
|Place:mother
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Your Parents
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Laying on the couch and watching old old old movies while I layed on her and she would pet my hair. I still love to be pet. Thanks mom.  Also going to the beach all the time with her in the summertime. She also called me in sick at school and took me out shopping for the whole day. It was so much fun. I thought I was so cool b/c I was 7 years old and skipping school. Way to start me on that one mom!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What is the first activity that comes to mind when spending time with your father?
|
|Place:traveling
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Your Parents
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Boating and camping every summer. Family bike rides around the lake. Trips to the cabin and Mackinac Island. My dad is a super dad!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What made you upset in your earlier years?
|
|Place:Burt
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|David Renne and I used to argue all the time. It was all in fun though. Elizabeth Skrisson and Christina Poponea made me mad at times b/c we were a 3some and sometimes they wouldn't include me and I thought that was really mean. They both could color and draw very well and I just sucked at it so I wasn't allowed to hangout when they were designing clothes and houses. lol It definitely hurt my feelings. I would try so hard to draw better but it never happened until a few years ago. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Oh god.... if I only knew the types of arguments we had.
|
|I cant remember one of them.  Probably because we liked each other so much.
|
|I just cant get over your memories."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your favorite television or radio show?
|
|Place:My livingroom
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Television and Radio
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I loved American Gladiators. My bro and I would watch it ALLLL the time. I believe it was on Saturday mornings. I saw an episode the other day on ESPN classics, it was GREAT!!! I only listened to Oldies when I was little. 
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of games did you play while growing up?
|
|Place:The islanders
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Games
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|All the kids in the neighborhood would all get together and play kick the can, tag, hide and seek, and survivor shot. Only the kids on the island were cool enough to play though. No outsiders allowed! And we also used to go play baseball on the diamond, that was always fun. Me and the boys would always build forts after stealing wood from construction sites. Christina and I would pretend that the jet ski was broken just to see how many guys would hit on us..that was a game I guess. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Okay really I am done spamming your account with comments.
|
|You will now have access to all the interview questions (the work in progress ones).
|
|Thanks for posting a ton today.  You made my day.
|
|Now lets get Christina Poponea on here."
|
|julieblood said:
|"I'll try to find her email address. It's kind of sad b/c we don't talk at all anymore. Maybe once every few months or so. I still see her driving through the neighborhood though."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you have any siblings growing up?
|
|Place:My house
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Siblings
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My older sister, Lizz, and my younger brother, David.  Dave and I used to play together a lot when we were younger. That ended as soon as elementary school ended. My sister and I would play school a lot. She was the teacher all the time, I was always the student. It wasn't fair. We also used to rollerskate in the basement before it became our storage area. I miss rollerskating down there. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ms. Spears
|
|Place:Burt Elementary
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Second grade was a BLAST! I was in Ms. Spears 1st and 2nd split class. I was constantly getting into trouble in the classroom for my nonstop chattering. However, the rewards for doing good work were pretty cool. If you recieved a certain amount of stars you were taken out to McDonalds as a reward.  I was only taken one time, but it was the greatest reward ever!  I also learned how to talk like a trucker in 2nd grade thanks to Elizabeth Pierce! I used my new language on an older boy out on the playground and in return for calling him a bastard he spit in my face! Then I was sent to the "wall" for a timeout. Ahhh the good old days with Cockroach!!! She was evil!! Burt was by far the best time ever!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Boblo Island
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Just a small sweet memory of mine. In 5th grade we went to Boblo Island which was unbelievably exciting. My boyfriend that week was Justin Davis and I couldn't wait to go there so we could hold hands. Yes, I was a dork. After an incredible day of flying around on rollercoasters Justin and I decided to get matching stick on tattoos. He paid for them too which made it even better! We decided on matching roses and stuck them on our biceps.  Sweet sweet times. To be young and innocent again!!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Late night coffee at age 13
|
|Place:My neighborhood
|
|Location:waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1995
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This would be all Christina Poponea's fault of course. We were in 8th grade so we were a little rebellious. We decided to get drunk off of coffee and sneak out of her house. To do this we had to turn the alarm off and make sure YaYa didn't wake up.  We were walking around the neighborhood when a car was driving up the road. I freaked out and jumped underneath a pinetree. Christina on the otherhand thought she knew the person so she continued to jump in front of this car waving her arms. The guy driving got out and yelled, "What the F are you b#$ches doing out this late at night?" Christina freaked out and decided to join me under the tree giving away my perfectly good hiding spot. I got out from under the tree and ran through the open field. It was pitch black out so I couldn't see anything. We heard a gun shot while we were running which was really scary for us. I ended up running into a fence and breaking both of my pinky fingers and then continued to run into a shed and peed my pants. We finally made it back to Christina's house. That was fun explaining to my mom why my clothes smelled of urine and why both of my pinkies were swollen up like balloons. Thanks Christina!! 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Oh god.... I miss you and Christina.
|
|So do you think the guy was shooting at you???  I dont understand...
|
|We did have a lot of adventures at her house.  so many parties.... I actually am now remembering things like the Ouiji board and summer parties on the lake going on the ski doos with her.
|
|I bumped into her at J.D's Key club once a few years ago.
|
|You have got to get her to join this site so I can remember all the good times I had with you guys.
|
|Classic memories when you guys used to be in band before you quit too.... good old Mr. Jones!"
|
|julieblood said:
|"I just ran into Mr. Jones at a funeral last fall. He's doing very well still! Looks the same! I miss band!! 
|
|I don't know if the person was shooting at us or just fooling around..whichever it was it sure was scary!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah who knows... it could have been some kind of firecracker.
|
|Dont forget to tell Christina about the site.
|
|If you shoot me her email I will log in as you and use this new send a recollection page that hasnt been released yet to everyone so she can give her recollection.
|
|And thanks for the wonderful ball kicking recollection.  I am honored to be the only person you kicked in the balls when you werent necessarily in fear of your life.  I deserved it.
|
|We totally need to sit down and have a beer someday.
|
|Did you read my engagement story on here?  Search for engage..  Getting married Feb 2nd."
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User lellel Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:"I tied her up, Geraldo"
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:48346, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1990
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember my mom and I were watching Geraldo one day.  There was this hillbilly who came on and I don't remember what the show was about. I just remember this quote, "I tied her up, Geraldo.  She liked it".
|
|My mom and I started laughing and that was an ongoing joke.  I still quote that guy to this day.  Me and my mom were the only ones who got that joke but I still go around saying it and that's why.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Vday 2011
|
|Date Remembered: 2011
|
|Memory Category:A Holiday
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Today I bought Chloe a Valentine's day card and nearly  started crying at the store.  I was so happy to have the privilege to be her dad.  I feel so grateful.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Watching the Cruisers
|
|Place:Downtown Grand Blanc
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 13 2009
|
|Memory Category:Cars
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Chloe had a lollipop that she got from Huckleberry Railroad when she went earlier that day with my mom, Barb, Linda and the Meischners – we walked around downtown last night.  There was an 
|oldies radio station broadcasting live from the Catholic Church across the 
|street and people were sitting in chairs watching the cruisers.  We walked 
|downtown and people kept commenting on Chloe's sucker.  She kept correcting them and 
|saying “no – it’s a lollipop”.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"see photos still work...
|
|she is getting so dang big..
|
|lets post lots of memories from this weekend when i come in
|
|call me tonight"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Buddy the BIH Dog
|
|Place:Big Easy Grill
|
|Location:Flint, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 08 2008
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Last night Beth and I went to this orientation dinner for the Fox 66 Bringing it Home (BIH) festival that happens this Saturday.  When we got there, we were the only ones with a kid, but there was this person dressed up in a dog costume.
|
|The dog's name is "Buddy The BIH Dog".  The Baldiga's dog just stayed at our house a few weekends ago and his name is also Buddy but we call him "Buddy Boy" and Chloe calls him "Buddybo".
|
|Chloe thought that Buddy was the funniest thing.  She laughed and smiled at him and said "Hi Buddy".
|
|There was not assigned seating and there weren't any high chairs so we had to figure out where to sit.  We ended up sitting right next to the general manager of Fox 66.  He was in a nice suit and I was carrying Chloe and her blankie and she had stains on her shirt and I had a nice scruffy beard going on.  I felt like a hillbilly.
|
|Later Buddy disappeared and Chloe cried out for Buddy and started to cry a little.  Beth noticed that she needed a diaper change so I went into the bathroom and there was not a changing station.  I was just going to stand her up on the sink and change her but then I noticed it was poopy after I took the diaper off and had to take evasive action.  I must have gone through a quarter of container of diaper wipes in my haste.  It was pretty nerve-wracking because she had her head on one sink and was crying.  I was hoping to God that no one would walk through the door.  I'm sure I would have snapped at someone if they made a comment.  Thankfully no one came in the bathroom.  I'm getting pretty efficient about changing diapers.  Soon Chloe will be potty trained though.
|
|We went back out and joined everyone else.  We tried to keep Chloe quiet during the presentation but she wasn't very hungry.  Thankfully they showed some powerpoint slides and commercials that had Buddy in them and that made Chloe smile.  She is such a delight.
|
|The speaker said that they were going to have Beth Stalker at the festival and talked about her being on American Idol vaguely and didn't realize that she was right in front of him.  Someone interrupted him and pointed it out and they applauded for her which embarrassed Beth.  The speaker was also embarrassed for not knowing she was present.
|
|We left and that night went to the Hamlin Pub for Beth's gig.  I helped set up and sat down to try and get Chloe to eat something.  I felt pretty ghetto again having Chloe at a bar at 9:30pm trying to get her to eat.  I'm sure that people around me were thinking "isn't it past her bedtime".  I shouldn't worry about such things because it doesn't matter but every once and a while I do.  Thankfully Chloe had a square meal and we took off after half of the first set.  I have some video of Chloe dancing at the gig that I will post later.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:I got hit by a car
|
|Place:Crofoot
|
|Location:Pontiac, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2008
|
|Memory Category:Automobiles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth sang at the Crofoot last Friday.  She opened for this guy named "Todd Alsup".  He was pretty serious about his music career.  He had a crew of people with t-shirts that said "Todd Squad" and his fans had stickers with his name on them.
|
|Before the gig I was pretty stressed out.  It was my last day of work before my vacation and I had to try and tie up loose ends so I didn't leave Olaf with a lot to do.  I was pretty hungry and out of cash.  I thought we left my wallet at home but it turned out it was in between the seat and the door the whole time.
|
|I borrowed $20 from Brooke and ate at a local diner.  I ran into Dave and Lindsay and two of their friends there and had dinner with them.  I was running late for set-up time and had to cut through the line to get to the front to get inside and help set up.
|
|Jim's new girlfriend Dawn was there.  Also in attendance were Stella, David and Clancy.  Grace Farr and her daughter.  Jim Territo and a friend showed up after Beth finished.  Two guys from my work showed up too: John Burgess and his wife and Mike Loveland.
|
|After the gig I started putting things back in the car.  On my last trip back I was at the corner of Saginaw and whatever road the Crofoot is off of and I was waiting for the walk signal.  There was a car to my left that wanted to turn right.  Their light turned green and my light said I could walk so I walked.  The car was turning but I was sure that he was going to slowly inch up and not proceed until I passed but he kept going.  It became obvious that he was going to hit me so I stuck my hands out and he bumped me and hit the brakes.  I said "what the heck are you doing?".  He looked at me and said "you alright" and then drove off.  I yelled again and said "what the heck are you doing".  I had a camera around my neck but didn't think to take a picture.  Besides, with digital cameras, they take a while to boot up.  I stuck it in the air and pretended to take a picture of him but either he didn't see it or chose not to respond.  Maybe he saw that I still had the lens cap on it.
|
|So I went inside and told everyone that I had been hit by a car.  It's kind of strange because, I know if I hit someone with my car that I would be shaking and saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, are you OK?".  I certainly wouldn't drive off.  Oh well.  I thought I would be sore the next day but I wasn't.  My mother-in-law said I should still get checked out and then went on about how people can develop anurisms that don't activate till years later.
|
|Beth and I had driven separately.  I walked her to her car and then Beth dropped me off near mine.  I walked to it and found that I could not get in the driver's side.  There was someone with the passenger door opened in the car next to mine, preventing me from getting in my car.  They were facing away from me and then I noticed that they were peeing.  So the guy doesn't notice me so I get in my passenger door and climb over to the driver seat.  I started the car and then he noticed me, finished up and stumbled off.
|
|Yay Pontiac.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:the first time I changed my brakes
|
|Place:Horseshoe Circle House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2003
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The first time I ever changed my brake pads was at the Baldiga's house in their driveway.  It seems like it was a cold fall afternoon.  Chet basically did the job and showed me how while Joe SR came by and commented every once and a while.  That was really cool that Chet was able to help me do that - I didn't know that he knew how to do that.  I told him I would buy him a 12 pack of beer and I still have not done that.  I remember my hands getting pretty cold changing the brakes.  I was amazed at how easy and straight-forward it was and it encouraged me to learn how to do more things with my car.  I figured that I should be able to do that if I call myself an engineer.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Chloe takes a walk
|
|Place:Email
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 23 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Dave went to Kensington with us on Sunday.  They did a message on marriage.  They also played Coldplay's Clocks for the prelude.  As we were leaving, I saw Scott Embrey from work leaving too and said "hi".
|
|After the service, we went across the street to Subway.  Chloe was running all over the restaurant and kept climbing around the booth and fell over once and almost got stuck.
|
|She didn't eat much - she was having too much fun.  Afterwards we went for a walk outside and she decided to give us a guided tour around the building.  It was fun.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Austin Chases Me with Big Stick
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:48346, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1986
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There were a lot of trees around us when I was growing up before they built houses over the fields. There must have been a storm or something because one the trees lost a large branch. Austin picked it up and I couldn't believe it because it was a large and long branch with many shoots. It was bare of leaves. Austin started chasing me around with it. I don't know why I was so afraid but I thought he was going to poke my eye out or something. He chased me around the house a few times and I was very angry with him. Looking back it was pretty silly of me - I probably could have just broke the branches.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Heirloom Sword
|
|Place:The Fields
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1988
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So Austin, Chris and I were at Austin's house and he showed us this sword that was a decoration or something at his house. We dubbed it the heirloom sword. I can't remember if there was a made up story about how it has been handed down through the family or not.
|
|Well, we decided to take it with us in the fields. We could protect ourselves from the axe murderers and angry teenagers that were said to lurk the fields. Austin kind of got too excited with the sword, taking it out of its sheath and swinging it madly. Austin then pretended that he was going to swing it at me or stab me. One time he was a few yards away from me and swung it at me and the blade came out of the handle and flew threw the air. It landed near me and stuck in the ground. Austin felt so sorry and still apologized years later. Now it is just a funny story and I can laugh about it but it was very scary at the moment and I was very angry with him.
|
|The blade also got closer and closer to me as we recounted the story over the years until it landed right between my feet.
|
|Good times. Although having someone throw a blade at me is one of the last things I would want to happen to me again, it is a priceless memory.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:She's Not as Sweet as You Think She Is
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:48346, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1988
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that Drake, Pearl, Lucas and Sophie all came into town from California one time. I think that our parents were all out doing something and we were being babysat by our neighbor babysitter LeeAnn. Well, we were playing outside and, as the story goes (for I think the story is larger than my memory of it) young little Sophie got a hold of an axe from the garage and started chasing Kevin, Lucas and me around in the back yard. LeeAnn just laughed about it.
|
|So when our parents got back someone started talking about Sophie and someone must have said "She's so sweet" or something like that. Well, I said "She's not as sweet as you think she is" and it has become a legend.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"So I married an Axe Murderer is a very funny movie....
|
|This story reminds me of it."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Where did your parents come up with the name that they gave you?
|
|Place:Pontiac
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 
|
|Memory Category:Your Parents
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Not sure.  I think they chose "Noel" because it was a nice Irish name.  I really have grown into my name though.  I am a huge Christmas fan.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you look like anyone else in your family?
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In my pictures from when I was a kid I look just like my mom's childhood pictures.  I also have inherited her sinuses.  I can call her on a certain day when my sinuses are acting up and hers are too.
|
|Oh yeah and did I mention that I am the number two crawler again?  Sorry Julie but you are going to have to answer some more interview questions or you will have to settle for third place ;) just kidding.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"yeah... well i know a young childs face that you created that looks just like patsy and YOU!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:divining God's will
|
|Place:Machine Engineering
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 
|
|Memory Category:Love
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I worked at Machine Engineering Beth and I were engaged and I was praying a lot about whether or not it was God's will for us to be married.  I knew I wanted to marry her but I was having doubts about whether or not we were "supposed" to be married.  Looking back it was silly of me to even wonder.  I know that our marriage was meant to be, that even as kids we were meant to end up together.
|
|Well, anyways, this is one of my darker memories because I actually tried to divine God's will.  Our copy machine was not reliable.  You never knew if you put a stack of papers in there if you would get a paper jam or not.  So I put a stack in there and I prayed "Lord, if it's your will for Beth and I to be married, may there not be a paper jam in the copy machine".  I copied the stack and no paper jam.  I felt relief but I also knew almost immediately that what I had done was wrong and what if it had not worked out, what would I have done then.
|
|Looking back, I know now that if you love a person and want to be married to them and they feel the same way about you, that this is enough.  Love is the adhesive that holds people together and where love is God is because God is love.  I don't think I ever shared that story with Beth because I am kind of ashamed of it but I was young and stupid then and I haven't doubted that we are meant for each other since.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your parents have any interesting stories to tell about the day you were born?
|
|Location:Pontiac, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1979
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|No, none that I have heard.  I do know though that I was a "breach" baby I believe so I had to be a C-section.  The cool thing is that I ended up being born on my mom's birthday.  My brother was born two years later on my mom's birthday as well.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"You were not breach, you were posterior, which means you were looking up, not down the normal position"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Victoria's Secret catalog in my trumpet case
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1997
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One day I went to open my trumpet case in band class and there right on top was a Victoria's Secret catalog.  I was so embarrassed and quickly shut the case before anyone else saw.  I soon became angry and wanted to know who had pulled this prank on me.  I didn't want to get in trouble with the school and I had also just became a Christian and got rid of all my porn and stuff so I felt like it was adding insult to injury.
|
|At any rate, I found out that of all people, it was my friend Chas that put it in there as a practical joke.  I couldn't be mad at him.  Looking back it was actually a pretty hilarious practical joke that was played on me.  I am so glad that no one saw it though :)
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah you used to have so many non christian things in your room before you came to your realization of God.  (Some of which only you and I should know about) 
|
|Kevin and I actually had conversations of you throwing away all things non-christian.
|
|I remember him specifically mentioning the throwing away of your "Jason goes to Hell" VHS's.  And some other stuff when you were going through this period of your life.
|
|Its good to promote change in your life."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My First Race
|
|Place:Independence Oaks
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back when my dad started running a lot, he encouraged me to enter in a race.  I was having some problems with my blood pressure at the time and was trying to get cardiovascular exercise in.  I was running a lot at the YMCA and the Great Lakes Athletic Club.  So my first race was the Hidden Forest Trail Run at Independence Oaks.  I was nervous about it - not knowing what to expect from my first race.  I knew that I enjoyed when there was someone else on the track at the gym because it motivated me more.
|
|This was also my co-worker Olaf Schmidt's first race.  My dad had talked him into it too.  He showed up wearing cleated shoes (meant for golfing).  He thought they would help him with traction since it was a trail run.  This has to be the only race where I heard an announcer mention that he didn't want any "show-offs" wearing boots or any other type of shoe.  Olaf had to go talk to the guy and explain that he did not know that he could not wear these shoes and that it was his first race and that he did not have any other shoes with him.
|
|The guy must have noticed his accent and knew that he was not from around here.  He allowed Olaf to wear the shoes.  
|So he fired the gun and we started racing.  I think I started towards the back because I had never raced before and I didn't want to hold people up.  Well, I was definitely next to people who were slower than me and I had to weave my way through until things cleared up.  I eventually caught up with my Dad and passed him.  I can't remember if I caught up with Olaf or if he caught up with me but we eventually were running together.
|
|We came to a really steep hill and I wanted to start walking but Olaf would not let me.  So we kept running together.  Near the end there was someone holding out water and I yelled "splash me" which they did, happily.  It was very cold that morning so that turned out to be a mistake.
|
|Anyway, there weren't very many people in my age group so I ended up getting second place.  I was pretty geeked though to get a medal on my first attempt and it lead me to try other races.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:how we met
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 1996
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I first met Beth through my friend Todd Bauer.  Beth was in "The Music Man" musical with him.  He thought that Beth liked him and he did not like her.  He tried to avoid her and when she was coming towards him he would say "Here comes Beth Baldiga".  He called her "the girl with the bad B.O.".  It wasn't all Todd though - I have to admit that I went along with him.  I looked up to him big time back then.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:customizing my car
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I put a 10 disc CD player in my 1986 Delta '88 Oldsmobile.  My dad bought the display model but we got a warrantee on it.  It stopped working soon after we installed it.  So we took it back and got a new one.  In the end it worked ot pretty well - my Dad paid for a used one and got a new one.  We transferred it to my Blazer when we got rid of the Oldsmobile.  I took the CD player out of the car when I turned it in for my PT Cruiser.  I half-way removed the radio from my Blazer as well.  I was thinking that I would put an older crappier radio in the car when I traded it in but I was not yet skilled enough to accomplish this.
|
|I bought Beth a 10 disc CD layer for her 1999 Dodge Neon and she had it in there for the five years that she had that car.  We took the CD player out before we traded it in for her PT Cruiser.  It's funny that we removed the CD players from both cars but then never ended up installing them in another car or using them.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Taking care of the Little Clo
|
|Place:Grant Street House
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2006
|
|Memory Category:Parenting
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth read a lot of literature on how to raise kids and I kind of just followed her lead.  A lot of it came naturally to us.  We asked people questions as we went.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
littlelizz said:
|"Yep... that's pretty much how it went.    You have gotten much better w/ her since she was a newborn.  But I have to say, we're definitely getting the hang of it now.  Some people continue to give us advise, or tell us how to raise Chloe, but I guess everyone has to deal with that when they have a kid. "
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My best friend's girlfriend
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:48346, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1994
|
|Memory Category:Love
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember in high school that my best friend Jim had a huge crush on this girl named Rachel.  She had media class with us and I remember that Jim, Mike and I used to talk to her a lot.  Anyway, I can remember hanging out in my bedroom with Jim and him talking about her and dreaming aloud about her.  I think that once he called her and talked for a while with her on the phone at my house.  I can't remember if they ever hooked up or anything.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:flipping my Bible
|
|Place:Various
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2004
|
|Memory Category:Photos and Pictures
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first Bible that I bought was a small size student NIV Bible.  I bought one for me and one for Beth at that bookstore in Waterford next to Big Lots.  I'm not sure if it is still there or not but I think it was called "Creative" book store or something and there was a cartoon owl on the sign.
|
|I loved that Bible.  Somehow I got a hold of some planner that was the same size and I was able to fit the Bible in the cover and zip it up.  I used to take it with me everywhere I went; to school or to a coffee house or to my in-law's place.  That's back when I first became a Christian so I was tearing through the Bible, eagerly reading each new chapter.
|
|I was able to fit highlighters and other things in it too.  For the longest time, I had this picture of Beth at Caribou Coffee on Walton, sitting in a chair with an IBC Root Beer.  I remember thinking that it looked like an advertisement or something.  I also had this Polaroid of Beth and I at our wedding shower at Barb's house in it.  I loved to have my Bible open so people at school could see the picture of my hot wife in it.
|
|One thing I distinctly remember about that Bible was that I used to flip it.  I would throw it high in the air and flip it and catch it.  I started flipping all sorts of things and I still do to this day.  I flip my groceries out of the cart from one hand to the other and put them on the conveyor.  After years of successfully flipping glasses at our house I finally dropped one in the dishwasher so I don't think I will flip them any more.  Besides, I don't want Chloe to see me flipping dishware and then imitating me.
|
|Sadly, one night I lost that Bible.  I thought it was at Aaron McLeran's house one night when I was there late and we watched the Lord of the Rings.  The next time I was there I told him I couldn't find it and we searched for it but to no avail.  I wonder where I left it?  Thankfully I did not lose the Polaroids.  Still I always wonder who picked it up and what they thought about all of the notes that I wrote in the margins.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|littlelizz said:
|"so that's what happened to the glass that my mom gave us!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"cool new vintage photos....
|
|when is the scanning project going to finish up?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel gets Mono
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:48346, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1997
|
|Memory Category:Difficult Times
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In the last semester of my senior year in high school, I not only developed a case of senioritis, I picked up mononucleosis.  I was really involved in after school activities, including the high school musical "Guys and Dolls".  Also, Beth and I had just started dating so we would be hanging out with each other until midnight each night.  Basically, I was burning the candle at both ends.
|
|I went to the doctor and found out that I had sinusitis.  It wasn't getting any better so I went again later and found that I had mono.  I think I cried when I heard the news.  The doctor was probably thinking, "what is this kid's problem?"  I had heard that Jeremy Brown had it before and that makes you very tired and I was afraid that I would miss out on the last part of my senior year - the best days of my high school career.  I also heard that once you have it, you are never quite the same.
|
|Well I did get quite sick.  I didn't want to eat and I was always hawking up phlegm and had bloody noses.  I missed a week or two of school.  I think I used up my maximum of my excused absences that year.
|
|At one point I thought that I was ready to go back to school.  There was a Solid Brass gig that day and I think Todd Bauer, Colin McIntyre and Jim Territo showed up at my house.  They convinced me to go to school and I went.  Unfortunately, after two hours I had a bloody nose and had to go back home.  (I think I caught it from Colin too because he had it earlier on in the year and we shared a Slurpee after a Zenith Brass rehearsal.)
|
|I missed our Senior Dinner and I was still a little sick at Prom (you can see how skinny I was in the pictures).
|
|I watched a lot of TV when I had mono and laid in bed and on the couch watching Jerry Springer and the like.  This was when I first became a Christian and I remember watching some televangelist on TV telling me to reach out and touch the TV and receive his healing power.  I think I did but I don't know that I received any healing power.  I no longer have mono so maybe I did though.  Nonetheless, I remember feeling disappointed that I wasn't immediately healed because I believed like the guy told me to.
|
|Through all of this darkness there was one bright spot.  It was Beth.  Man did she ever come through.  She came to my house after each school day and tended to me while I was sick.  She even took my snot rags from me and cleaned out my "snot bag" as my mom called it.  Through this my Mom said that it was then that she knew that Beth was the right girl for me.  Because if anyone could love me that much, they deserved me.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I think I remember this vaguely you being sick.
|
|Photos?  I hope my photo upload facility isnt broken...
|
|Yes I am surprised Beth didnt get mono too."
|
|georgia said:
|"You and Beth sound like the happiest couple...thats really cute"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
littlelizz said:
|"Yeah...  That was something that could've destroyed our relationship, if my stomach wasn't strong enough.  We weren't dating for very long, and I remember being pretty grossed out!  But I felt really sorry for you.  Most girls would've run away and ignored your phone calls after going through something like that(jk)  You better believe, you got yourself a great woman! (LOL)  :) "
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Popping the Question to Beth
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:48346, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Love
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth and I were driving around Clarkston and she knew that I had our engagement ring.  We were going to leave soon for a vacation to North Carolina where I was planning on proposing to her in the Appalachian Mountains.  It didn't quite work out that way though.  We went through the drive-thru at Wendy's in Clarkston and I had the ring in my pocket.  At the drive thru window we recognized someone from high school who was working there.  I told them that I had Beth's engagement ring with me and I asked Beth to turn her head as I flashed the bling in the employee's face.  Another person we knew worked there and she came around to see it.  It was torture for Beth to know that the ring was right there and she couldn't see it.  A word of advice for couples to be: don't do this.
|
|So then we went to Beth's parents' house.  I wanted to ask Beth's dad for her hand in marriage.  Well, it wasn't going so great at the Baldiga's house when we walked in as we quickly discovered.  Beth's parents had just been informed by the police that two of their boys - Johnny and Chet - had broken into someone's house and stolen hand guns.  One of Chet's friends was there too.  I can't remember exactly who broke into the house and who did the theiving and whether or not they were arrested.
|
|Still, I was determined to ask them.  I remember having a lot of anxiety leading up to this moment because I was kind of afraid of doing this.  I managed to get Linda and Joe alone in their formal living room and I made known my intentions.  They were very cordial and Joe offered some advice in the typical emotionally detached way that he does.  I can't remember what it was but I was very thankful for the way they reacted.  Linda suggested that we fool Beth into thinking that they were upset with me and so she yelled at me at one point as Beth walked by the door.
|
|Well, we ended up driving Chet's friend home.  In the future we would run into him and he would always remember the craziness of that day.
|
|Next, we drove to my parents' house and I showed them the ring.  Beth was pretty vocal in her wanting to see the ring at this point.  My mom told us how my dad popped the question to her while she was on the toilet.  So I was feeling some pressure to propose at this time and I gave in.  Beth and I walked outside to the side of the house and I got down on one knee and proposed to her.  Not the most romantic of atmospheres but she said "yes" and I was thrilled!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What did you like to do while growing up?
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Hobbies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I really liked dragging my blanket around.  I enjoyed the muppets.  I had a massive Hot Wheels collection.  I liked it when my dad would get a 2 x 4 or a PVC pipe as a ramp for the cars.  It's funny that I was really into cars and I ended up being an automotive engineer in the Motor City.  I enjoyed Dr. Suess.  Christmas was my favorite holiday and I still love it to this day and get teary eyed when I first play Christmas music every year.  I grew into my name (Noel).  I liked to tell stories verbally, through pictures or words.  As soon as video games were in my house I latched on to them and haven't let go since, although I do spend a considerable less amount of time on them.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you have any siblings growing up?
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Siblings
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Kevin Stalker is my only sibling.  Growing up as young children we were the best of friends.  We would get in fights, sure but we were pretty close when we were younger.  I don't remember interacting with him before and during my elementary school years because my memory is not that great from those years.  But from watching the videos my parents took it seemed that I was very proud to be the older brother and that I really loved my brother and was always nice to him.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you remember about the first few years of elementary school?
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1985
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember a kid named Lenny.  He lived off of Hendricks.  I went to Burt Elementary School with him in kindergarten only.  After kindergarten we moved to Clarkston where I went to Pine Knob Elementary School.  I remember seeing Lenny once after I moved when I went to Dan and Dave's house just down the street.  I don't remember much about our encounter except his brown fence for some reason.  I remember that I met Jim Falk on the first day of First Grade and we have been friends ever since.  The funny thing is that Jim kind of reminded me of Lenny.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your first memory?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I am not sure what my first memory is.  I have a really bad memory and that's why I use this site.  If I remember my first memory, I'll come back and answer the question.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Nice link colors... its probably my fault with one of the baby blue templates on the interview page."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Rocking Chloe to sleep
|
|Place:Grant Street House
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2006
|
|Memory Category:All Time High
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When Chloe was really little we would often rock her in the rocking chair in her nursery and play music. We would play Baby Mozart and Beth's Here With You album as well as this Disney's Princess Lullaby Album. I don't know who bought us that last CD but it was really cool. It was just mellow instrumental versions of Disney movie theme songs. Normally I would have thought that it was corny. However, I just remember rocking her to sleep or feeding her and rocking her and listening to that music. There was something about it - the only word I can use to describe it is that it was magical. It is sad to think that Chloe will never be that small again. I really did enjoy those times with her though listening to that music and rocking her. I broke into tears a few times. I remember on one occassion just thinking about how much I love Chloe and how sad it is that there are people out there who don't love their children that much. I felt so bad for those children that it brought me to tears. It was overwhelming to think that some people in China discard their daughters because of the one child per family law. I also remember thinking about how God must love me even more than I love Chloe and how wonderful that is. How Chloe can't do anything to deserve my love, I simply love her for who she is and how that is analogous to God's love for us. I know it sounds preachy and corny but it is a legitimate memory of mine. I clearly remember thinking this and how powerful of a moment it was. I am so blessed to have such a great family.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My First CRIM Race
|
|Place:CRIM
|
|Location:Flint, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2006
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I only started running recently.  My dad was my inspiration for entering races.  I figured that I could do it if he could, being 27 years older than I am.  So I signed up for the 8K race last year and my Dad and Dave as well as some other co-workers ran in the 10 mile race.
|
|It was cool to go back to downtown Flint since I went to college there and to see so many people there.  My Dad and I walked through the hotel where they were selling running accessories.  It's amazing the things that they sell runners like nipple guards and energy jelly beans.  I ate a nice pancake breakfast in the outdoor theatre and met up with Olaf and Dave, I think.
|
|We waited in a long line for the bathroom at one point in the university pavillion and I think I remember some guy being weird in line.  Dave, do you remember this?
|
|Anyway, the 10 mile race started before my race so I watched my dad cross the starting line and then headed towards the car to get another water or something.  It was cool walking the campus and going to the same parking garage that I had gone to every day for four years.  The Murchie Science Building hallway looked exactly as I remembered it with all of the weird science/cosmos artwork.
|
|I was drinking so much water that I had to go to the bathroom again.  Rather than wait in line in the pavillion, I went in the Science Building.  When I came out, there was this older black gentlemen sitting on a bench and I said "hi" and he greeted me.  I noticed that runners were coming down the road so I thought I would wait to see if my dad ran by there.  The old man started talking to me about how he used to live in New Orleans when he was younger and how he used to walk everywhere he went.  He said that someone told him that he shouldn't walk so much or that he might pay for it later in his life.  He attributed all of his walking in his earlier days to his present joint pain.  He lamented that he could no longer walk around now without pain.
|
|It was kind of weird because I kind of felt the urge to pray for him to be healed of his pain but I thought that was weird and awkward and I didn't do it.  I wonder what would have happened if I had done that - I mean even if he was not healed, I never would have seen him again but I would have a more interesting memory to tell.
|
|Nonetheles, I sat there and listened and talked to him and he told me that he has a son in Detroit who has a very successful business but that he doesn't see him very often because of it.  It was a pleasure to meet this guy and hear his stories but, unfortunately, I can't remember his name.  All I know is that he lives in Flint and walks with a cane.
|
|So I eventually noticed that all of the people who were coming down the street were really struggling and I knew that my dad had already passed this way.  I walked down to the starting line to start my race.
|
|It was a very cool run.  It was nice to run down the streets of Flint.  There were a lot of really friendly people in their front lawns and on their porches.  It was tough though.  One funny thing was when I passed some walkers who were calling themselves "three guys drinking beer and walking" and that is essentially what they were doing.  There was also a church group that was cheering on people and playing Christian music and I remember yelling "Praise God" or something as I ran by.
|
|I finally finished.  I always switch to a sprint as I get towards the finish line because I like to pass a few people as I get towards the finish line.  I probably look really silly but it is a lot of fun.  I don't think that my time was impressive or anything.
|
|Afterwards I cooled down and got in line for my free slice of pizza and the obligatory banana.  I met up with the guys from work and my Dad and Dave but never saw Olaf.  I also saw Mike Hester my old pastor from New Hope Bible Church there as well as Matt Slavin who I keep running into at races.  Matt used to be the praise and worship leader at New Hope Bible Church's Coffee House.
|
|All in all it was a fun race and thinking about it makes me want to start running again so I can do it again this year.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Here is what I remember from that day....
|
|I wake up at the butt crack of dawn to drive to flint.
|
|I still never knew exactly how to get to the location downtown so I just follow the many cars getting of of the exit to get downtown.  I also thought I would never find you guys because I figured you would have your cell phones off.
|
|But eventually I found you guys getting breakfast there at the restaurant.  You tried tempting me with some nice sausages or pancakes or something, but I couldnt eat such things when I was about to do the longest official race of my life up to that point. 
|
|Sure I have done long runs of 15 to 16 miles but never a race more than 5 miles long!
|
|I do remember waiting for the bathroom but I dont remember the weirdo dude in line...
|
|My recollection of the event varies dramatically as I first had to do my race.  
|
|I was at first way in the back of the pack and I decided at the last minute to get forward and not get stuck by all the people.  I went out at too fast of a pace and it killed me the entire race.  I was in too much pain.  But I did enjoy all the people cheering me on!  I was glad to be done with that ten miles.  The bad thing about this race is that I kind of injured myself a little bit and I had to stop training for my marathon for a complete month!
|
|I remember really enjoying like 4 popsicles and a banana right after the race as well as sitting down and enjoying my finish.  I think my total time was like 1 hour and 15 minutes for 10 miles.
|
|After the race I randomly bumped into Kate and Billy and a bunch of other random friends.
|
|Billy was doing the mile run and it was the most exciting finish of the entire day.  Some high schooler beat him and out kicked him.  Which is a very difficult feat.
|
|I also had a very good time in the beer tent with Noel and all Kirt and Noels work friends.  The beer and the hot dog was fantastic!
|
|I also ventured into the science building on the way out or something to go to the bathroom and I believe I got lost a bit.  So i went back to the tent and I think I had you help me get back to my car by driving me there.
|
|But the problem with this was that I didnt even know how to get to the car parking lot by car!  So Noel and I proceeded to drive around until I told him to just take the freeway so I can easily backtrack."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Chloe's Birth
|
|Place:Troy Beaumont Hospital
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 13 2006
|
|Memory Category:All Time High
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Man, how do I begin to write about this.  It was such a sacred event that I feel for me to attempt to explain it is to do so in vain but here goes.  I took the day off work to go with Beth to her 9 month check-up.  When we went to the office in Clarkston, the gynecologist said that Beth's blood pressure was a little high.  Beth also explained that wasn't sure but she thought her water may have broke.  The gynecologist told us to drive to the hospital and he would have us checked out.  We went there and called my parents and some other people to let them know that he sent us to the hospital.  My mom was very excited that Chloe might be born today so she said she was taking off work and would be at the hospital.  They checked out Beth and everything was normal.  Beth would feel a hot flash or something though and then her blood pressure would elevate.
|
|
|
|I told my mom and she said that since we were already here, they might as well induce labor.  I went to tell the nurse this and she said "we are planning on it".  That moment was so exciting.  I went and told Beth and my mom and everyone got excited.  My mom got on the phone and started calling people.
|
|
|
|Susan Baldiga showed up, she was going to help Beth through the labor since she had given birth to Sean just a few months earlier.  
|
|
|
|My mom, Susan and I were in the delivery room as we waited for them to induce labor.  My dad showed up and so did Kevin and Kristin.  We had snackage in our bag and my Mom brought some too.  Beth wanted a better pillow than what they had there and I asked Kevin if he could pick one up at Target or something.  I think I told him I would pay him back.  Eventually Kevin came back with these two nice pillows with red pillow cases.  He also brought me some Garbage Pail Kids - awesome.  I think he said that we didn't owe him anything for the pillows, at least that's what I'm hoping because I don't think I paid him back.
|
|
|
|To induce Beth's labor they broke her water.  We were definitely wrong when we thought Beth could have broken her water and not have been sure about it.  As Beth was having contractions, Susan and I took turns holding Beth and helping her through the contractions.  We would watch the instrument that measured the contractions and let Beth know when they were spiking or going down.
|
|
|
|This went on for what seemed like a long time.  The doctor came in and measured her dilation and it was only like 1cm more.  
|
|
|
|Beth was dissapointed because she was hoping that she was more dilated after all of that pain.  We were waiting around for the anesthesiologist to show up.  Apparently he was busy with someone with a C-section.  To Beth's relief he finally arrived. 
|
|
|
| We were talking with his assistant who saw Beth's name and said. "Are you the Beth Stalker"?  Beth said she was and the anesthesilogist said that she was a fan of Beth's music.  Beth lit up and chatted with this woman for some time which I think helped Beth to be less nervous about the shot.  Finally the anesthesiologist was ready to deliver the shot and I held Beth's hand and looked at her.  I was definitely doing some praying at this point because I had heard anecdotes about how anesthesia can have horrible side effects if not administered properly.  Well, it was over very quickly and Beth soon felt relief.  In 
|
|fact, the next time they checked Beth's dilation they said that she was ready to push.  We were so thrilled that it was actually going to happen soon!
|
|
|
|Sue and I helped by holding Beth's legs and counting to three and encouraging her to breathe and push.  She pushed for about 40 minutes before delivering Chloe.  I won't go into detail but I have to say that it is not as gross as some people think.  
|
|
|
|In fact it is a magical and beautiful thing to be a part of.  I think it makes a difference when it is your own child.  
|
|
|
|Watching a delivery on TV and being present is like the difference between watching the NBA Finals on TV and actually being in the stadium.  When Chloe started coming out I was so excited and nervous that I could not stand - I had to sit down.  
|
|
|
|Finally Chloe came out and Dr. Chu handed her to Beth and I just completely lost it.  I was just weeping so hard with 
|
|thankfulness and joy.
|
|
|
|The staff took her to the other side of the room and started to clean her up and do other stuff.  I was so happy to hear her cry almost immediately and to see that she had ten fingers and ten toes.  I walked up to the table where she was laying.  She was crying and I came over and looked into her eyes for the first time and said "Hi Chloe".  She stopped crying and looked at me.  I believe she recognized my voice from inside the womb.  That was one of the coolest moments ever.
|
|
|
|Susan left after taking some pictures of Chloe - she went and informed my family in the waiting room that Chloe was born.  
|
|
|
|After about a half of an hour alone with Beth and Chloe, I went out to get my parents so they could come in and see Chloe for the first time.  They were just delighted and it was a joy for me to watch them hold her and talk to her.  After they left Kevin and Kristen came in to see Chloe.  After they left, Beth and I were moved to another room.  Beth's parents and Emily arrived at about this time and they stayed for a good amount of time with us.  By this time it was around 3am and we were completely exhausted.  We had to eventually have Chloe go to the nursery because we were so drained.  We probably only had three hours total of sporadic sleep that night.
|
|
|
|The next day Jim Rawlings and Chris White came over as well as my mom.  We stayed the night and were able to leave the next morning.  It was such a great moment to take Chloe in her infant carrier into the car and take her home to our house.  Beth sat in the back with Chloe and talked to people on the cell phone.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Wow man... you did this memory good justice.
|
|I was practically crying with that scene when Chloe finally came out.
|
|It got me so excited to start a family.  I know I will be balling my eyes out when Susan pops one out.  I am sure my mom will have a heart attack when she gets to be a grandma."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Podcast and Super Nintendo
|
|Place:Grant Street House
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2007
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Dave and I did our first podcast in a long time tonight.  We took like an hour to get the podcast working and so we didn't have enough steam to come up with a theme.  The theme kind of ended up being about homeless people and crazy people and charitable acts.  We tried to get a hold of Sabrina but couldn't.  Dave's friend Matt called in and  so did Beth.  We did our very first successful three-way call!  We had tried it before and finally figured out how to do it thanks to a receptionist at the Inn at St Johns.  It was cool having the entire brat patrol (Kevin, Dan, Dave and I) on the line.  I must have accidentally bumped the MP3 player because it stopped recording so we ended the podcast.
|
|
|
|Then we talked about how Google crawls images and scanned some more photos.
|
|
|
|Finally, we ended the night with some classic gaming, playing "Super Mario Kart" and "Lemmings" for Super Nintendo.  May the annals of history record that I schooled Dave on both games ;).  I popped all three of his balloons with one star - nice.
|
|
|
|I had a great time and I hope we do it again.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"of course..... what are you doing tonight???"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Chloe says "mama" and "dada"
|
|Place:Grant Street House
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 2007
|
|Memory Category:All Time High
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When Chloe is not too tired, she sometimes likes to play this game as soon as I get home.  This memory is about the first time we played the game.
|
|When I get home, she is usually happy to see me and smiles.  Beth is sometimes holding her.  I act like I am going to take her from Beth and she buries her head in Beth's shoulder.  When she looks up I try it again and she smiles and hides.  When we repeat it, she sometimes starts to laugh.  The first time we did this, she was laughing very noticeably.  She was a couple months younger and we had not heard her laugh like this before.  I kept doing it and then she made an audible sigh and said "dada".  It was the coolest thing.
|
|So we tried having Beth do it - she handed Chloe to me and Beth kept running up to get her and making her laugh.  Eventually she said "mama".  It was the coolest thing and to date it is the only time where she said "mama" and "dada" so close together like that.  We were both so amazed and proud and knew that she knew what she was talking about.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Awww .... what a smart girl.  Amazing memory"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"she calls both of you dada??
|
|what a funky little stinker!"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Littlelizz said:
|"yeah, that was cool... now she calls both of us "dada"  :)"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Eating lunch with a homeless guy
|
|Place:University of Michigan
|
|Location:Flint, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1998
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember I used to think that it was a good idea to give people money when they asked for it on the street.  It seemed like the charitable thing to do.  Then, probably like most of you, I was introduced to the idea that people who are homeless are in that situation because they have burned bridges and that they will most likely take the money you give them to the liquor store.  Still, it troubles me to just walk past someone who could potentially be in need.  
|
|Well, somewhere along the road someone introduced me to the idea of buying someone a meal when they asked for money for food.  So I tried it once when I was going to U of M Flint.
|
|There was this homeless black guy that asked me for money for food so I asked him if I could buy him lunch.  He accepted and we waited in line in the food court at Subway.  I would like to say that we ended up having a life-changing conversation or that I lead him to Jesus or something but nothing like that happened.  Instead, as soon as we were waiting in line, he just started laughing.  It was kind of subdued laughter.  I wondered what was so funny but still got him lunch and we sat down together.  He sat across from me and ate and just laughed between bites.  I can't remember if I said a word to him or how we parted but that was pretty much it.
|
|It was a very strange experience.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|wrath said:
|"i agree with your methods... if you give them money or change they will just use it to continue their habit which got them where they are now... which im just assuming... they could be there for any reason. but rock on! i want to do this with someone"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:BARFING AT BETH'S GIG
|
|Place:Station 885
|
|Location:Plymouth, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 2007
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The memory starts on Valentine's Day at Benihana.  I had a shrimp stir fry and didn't wit well with me.  Fast forward a week or so to a Taylor get-together at Barb's house.  She served crab legs and it didn't sit well with me.
|
|Well, we went straight from Barb's house to Beth's gig at Station 885.  I did my Algebra homework while Beth sang.  Eric Wilhelm and Jim Rawlings played with her.  I recorded one of her songs and I would post that except I don't know how to transfer DVD to MPG.
|
|Anyway, I started feeling a little woozy and I thought that maybe I didn't have enough to eat.  I ordered some quesadillas or something but they tasted gross to me.  Beth said they were really good though.
|
|It hit me that my stomach was upset and I tried to eat bread and drink water to keep from getting sick.  But then it got to the point where I knew something had to give.  I felt horrible and I was just praying that I would have diarrhea instead of vomiting.  I eventually made the decision to be proactive and go to the bathroom and sit down rather than spew all over the restaurant.
|
|I sat on the toilet feeling awful.  I may have left and then came back but eventually I just knelt before the toilet and waited for it to come up, which it did.  Thankfully no one else was in the bathroom.  Man, it felt horrible but I felt better after it was over.  I went back out and continued to do algebra homework or something and I told Beth what happened.  In a little while I was feeling it again.  Man, it felt so unfair.
|
|I returned to the bathroom and sat for some time before I knelt in anticipation and had some violent dry heaving, only getting out small chunks.  This time there was someone in the john next to me and he had the privilege of sharing this memory with me.  That was very embarrassing.  He probably thought I had too much to drink, but anyone who knows me knows that was not the case.
|
|I went back out to hear Beth sing a few more songs and wrap up the night.  As they were tearing down, it came upon me suddenly and I had to run to the bathroom.  I made it but man was it unpleasant.  I was wearing my trench coat and my coat touched the nasty bathroom floor and even got some small globules on it.  I finally picked it up from the dry cleaners today.
|
|I didn't help Beth tear down that night - I asked her to get the car and I just laid down with the blanket and felt cold.
|
|No one else at the restaurant or at Barb's party got sick.  I asked my doctor if I should get a shellfish allergy test and he said "that was your test".  No more shrimp for me!  However, I can still have raw tuna so I am happy!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#121;&#101;&#97;&#104; &#114;&#97;&#119; &#116;&#117;&#110;&#97; &#105;&#115; &#100;&#101;&#102;&#105;&#110;&#105;&#116;&#101;&#108;&#121; &#116;&#97;&#115;&#116;&#121; &#97;&#110;&#100; &#105;&#116; &#119;&#111;&#117;&#108;&#100; &#115;&#117;&#99;&#107; &#110;&#111;&#116; &#116;&#111; &#101;&#97;&#116; &#116;&#104;&#97;&#116;&#46;
|
|&#109;&#97;&#121;&#98;&#101; &#119;&#101; &#115;&#104;&#111;&#117;&#108;&#100; &#109;&#97;&#114;&#107; &#116;&#104;&#105;&#115; &#109;&#101;&#109;&#111;&#114;&#121; &#97;&#115; &#101;&#120;&#112;&#108;&#105;&#99;&#105;&#116;&#46; &#108;&#111;&#108;&#46; 
|
|&#121;&#111;&#117; &#114;&#105;&#103;&#104;&#116; &#119;&#105;&#110;&#103;&#101;&#100; &#108;&#105;&#98;&#101;&#114;&#97;&#108;&#33; &#108;&#111;&#108;"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:FORTIES AT FIVE
|
|Place:Five Restaurant
|
|Location:Plymouth, 
|
|Date Remembered:Mar 30 2007
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth used to sing at Five Restaurant at the Inn at St John's on Five Mile near Sheldon Road.  She sang every Friday with Jim Rawlings.  Attendance was pretty light at the gig and we were beginning to worry that we might lose the gig soon.  We decided to invite two of our best friends, Sabrina Legacy and Chris Shea.
|
|Chris wanted Sabrina to stop by Clarkston Medical Group where he works.  He wanted her to stop by the front desk and ask for Chris so that this girl named Nicole that he liked would see Sabrina and get jealous.  Sabrina stopped by and I guess made quite a scene saying "Hey Baby" to Chris.  Chris said that his boss gave a double take.
|
|So Chris called us and we asked him to meet us at the Park and Ride off of Sashabaw and I-75.  When we got there, we noticed that there were three people in the car.  It was Shea, Sabrina and her boyfriend, Tony.  This was my first time meeting Tony.
|
|Well, Five Restaurant is a nice restaurant and before we left the house I was debating what to wear so that I was dressed properly.  The restaurant had previously asked Beth and Jim not to wear blue jeans.  Well, Tony was dressed casual - he didn't know anything about the place.
|
|We had to take Chloe's carseat out of our car and put it in Sab's car in order to fit our third guest.  We had a fun time on the way there - my first impression of Tony was that he was quite the character.
|
|The problems started once we sat down at the restaurant.  It is pretty pricy so, understandably, my friends could not afford to get a full meal and drinks there.  Chris and I both had appetizers.  However, Sab and Tony only had waters.
|
|The place was pretty dead as usual and we were the only ones clapping after Beth's songs.  Tony cheered and "woohoo-ed" a little too loud for that place, in my opinion.  Nonetheless, I appreciated his enthusiasm.
|
|The restaurant is connected to a hotel and a banquet and a chapel.  It used to be owned by the Catholic Church and used to be a Monastery.  At one point in the restaurant I played Beth's TCF commercial on my phone to show Tony and the others.  It was a little too loud though and Beth asked me to step outside.
|
|Tony and I sat on the couch in the lobby in front of the fireplace and I showed him the TCF video as well as Beth's music video on my phone.  Just at the end of the song, someone from the front desk told me to turn it down.
|
|Well, I was content to sit in the restaurant and watch Beth sing.  It had been some time since I had been able to sit and listen to Beth.  Since Chloe was born, I have not been to a lot of Beth's gigs and when I was going to her gigs this winter I was doing my homework while I was listening.  Chris was content to listen too for some time.    We talked about this Nicole girl that he liked and who I learned that night seemed to like him too.
|
|At some point I explained to Tony that the hotel was actually part of a larger complex and that there was a hallway with art adjacent to the lobby as well as a chapel.  Sabrina and him disappeared and I assumed they went to check this out.  They were gone for some time and were popping in and out the rest of the night.
|
|Eventually they came and sat down with us.  Sabrina and Tony were buzzed.  They said they had walked down the street to a party store to get some alcohol.  Sabrina sat next to me and looked at some pictures on my phone of the good ol' days.
|
|Chris and Tony left.  I can't remember if I knew where they were going or not.  When Chris got back he was talking about how cool he thought Tony was.  I guess that they went back to the liquor store and Shea bought Tony more booze.  They drank it on the premises of the St. John's golf course.  Shea had brought more beer for Sabrina and they hid it in some bushes on the complex.
|
|When Sabrina learned of what they had done she seemed pretty concerned and went and looked for Tony.  Near the end of the night, someone in a uniform came into the restaurant at the end of one of Beth's songs and asked if he could talk to her.  I didn't know who it was - I thought it might be the owner or something.  Jim, Chris and I feared the worst - that they had lost the gig.
|
|Eventually I asked Jim if I should go out and check on Beth.  I didn't know if it would have been appropriate for me to jump in on a business conversation.  As I walked out of the restaurant, Beth was saying to this person "I am so sorry" and she quickly summed up the conversation for me in a nutshell.
|
|"Noel, go drive up your car and pick up Sabrina and Tony.  They have to stay in your car until the end of the night.  They are not welcome back on the premises" she said.
|
|I immediately went outside and saw Tony and Sabrina waiting by the door.  Tony started right up with his account of the evening.
|
|He said that the guys were following him down the halls and telling him that they were coming with him.  He said that they had to go with him to "Sector Five" and he said "What the H--- is Sector Five?!  I'm not going with you".  Tony continued to swear and act paranoid joking that these people were part of some Illuminati cult or something.  He said he told them "I know my rights" and told them to F--- off.  He said that they said they were watching him on the cameras and saw everything he did.  He said that they said he was going to be arrested tonight.  He said they would call the cops and that they would arrest him as soon as he left the premises.
|
|Sabrina was concerned because Tony had just got out of jail and was on probation.  If he got caught he would go straight to jail.
|
|Tony was saying that he really had to go to the bathroom and asked if he could just go in the bushes.  I said that this was not a good idea.  He asked if we could leave and he could go to the bathroom somewhere and then we could come back.  I said that I was just going to do exactly as they asked.  I was not going to drive in and out of that place and raise suspicion or cause them to want to contact the police.
|
|As Tony and Sabrina continued to explain the evening it became clear what had happened.  After Tony and Sabrina had a few drinks, they started wandering down one of the halls and heard music.  They thought it might be another restaurant or a party and they followed the music.  As it turned out, it was polka music and it was a wedding.  I guess they had already crashed the wedding before they realized it was a wedding.  However, Tony asked the bartender for a drink.  The bartender asked Tony if he knew the bride and Tony said "yes".  Well, as it would happen, the bartender knew the bride and he knew that Tony did not know her, not to mention the fact that Tony was the most under-dressed person in the room.
|
|So, as they left the wedding they were approached by security guards who then proceeded to interrogate them.  When asked what they were doing here they replied that they were at the Restaurant and they just walked down here.  In their defense, the restaurant is open to the public and it serves drinks and there were no signs directing the public away from that area.  Nonetheless, Tony copped an attitude with the security personnel.  Tony said that they were there "with the band" so that's when a security guard went and asked Beth if she knew them.
|
|On the way home, Tony gave a slightly reserved version of the story to Beth, leaving out the part about how he said he was "with the band".  Beth was pretty much silent the rest of the evening.  However, Tony started rapping on the way home retelling the events of the night in song and in different accents from raggae to English accent.  Everyone was laughing except Beth.  I had to laugh because of the absurdity of the evening.
|
|Well, Beth called the management the next day to apologize and her fears were realized - she lost the gig.  Tony had expressed the evening before that it didn't matter if she lost the gig.  He could help her get another gig and, besides that, these people were a--holes.
|
|I was OK with it at first and tried to console Beth.  She didn't like the gig, it was a long drive, the audience was unappreciative and it was often smoky.  Still, she seemed to take it as a personal failure and was very upset for several days.  Despite this she still expressed to Sabrina that, not only did she forgive them, but that she was willing to hang out with Tony again in spite of a rough start.
|
|Well, Sabrina broke up with Tony so we don't ever have to worry about the awkwardness of that second encounter.  And now we are out of $600 a month so money is a little tight.  But God provides...
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"&#79;&#77;&#71;&#46;&#46;&#46;&#46;&#46; &#119;&#104;&#97;&#116; &#97;&#110; &#97;&#109;&#97;&#122;&#105;&#110;&#103; &#109;&#101;&#109;&#111;&#114;&#121;&#46;  &#76;&#111;&#118;&#101;&#100; &#101;&#118;&#101;&#114;&#121; &#109;&#105;&#110;&#117;&#116;&#101; &#111;&#102; &#105;&#116;&#46;
|
|&#76;&#111;&#118;&#101; &#121;&#97; &#78;&#111;&#101;&#108;&#46;"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:I asked for Atari and got Nintendo
|
|Place:Warbler House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1985
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In 1985 I asked Santa for an Atari.  I had played it at My uncle's house and some friend's houses.  On Christmas morning, I received a Nintendo instead.  I think I was initially disappointed because I had never heard of a Nintendo and I wanted an Atari.  However, as soon as my dad hooked it up and started it, I was wowed.  I remember playing Super Mario brothers and remembering that this was the arcade game I played last time we went to Florida.  I distinctly remember dying on the first mushroom when I played for the first time.
|
|My dad went all out, buying the deluxe package for the Nintendo.  It contained R.O.B. the robot with the game "Gyromite", the gun with "Hogan's Alley" and "Duck Hunt" and two controllers and "Super Mario Brothers".  You just can't buy a package that cool anymore.  I was instantly hooked and I am still a gamer to this day.
|
|I remember that we were the first people I knew to have a Nintendo and my friends wanted to come over to play it all the time.  Way to go Dad!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Wow, who can forget when the Nintendo came out! We were one of the last kids to get our gaming system. My parent thought our brains would turn to mush so they held out until my Grandpa got us one for Christmas! That is so cool your dad got the deluxe packaged, as Napoleon puts it "lucky!""
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
thememorycrawler said:
|"Well I was not necessarily a part of this memory so I wil talk a little about my first nintendo.  Dan and I were definitely jealous of you guys and your nintendo and especially jealous when you got the super nes.  But dan and I could always come over to try it out.  
|
|Dan and I got our first nintendo in the mail fromour aunt linda who realized how jealous we were of our cousins Noel and Kevin.
|
|I remember playing it non stop when we first got nintendo.  Dan and I got a sweet entertainment case where we could hold all our nintendo games.  I remember my dad coming home with gradius one day and it was such happy times.  Video games just put such a big smile on our faces at the time.  We were so addicted to it.
|
|This is not the greatest recollection because I am posting this on my blackberry sitting here listening to Beth sing in commerce.
|
|Until your next repressed memry is written.......
|
|Dave TheMemoryCrawler"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:A whole box of GPKs!
|
|Place:Warbler House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1986
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in the day, Garbage Pail Kids (GPKs) were the hottest thing.  I remember that they were banned from school and I can't remember why.  I don't know if it was because they were such a big distraction or if it was because they were so gross.  Well, one day in the midst of they hype, my Dad came home with a whole box of 5th series GPKs!  Kevin and I were so geeked.  I think we got the whole set from that box.  Sometimes Dad would come home with the coolest of surprises.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My first day driving alone
|
|Place:Chestnut Hills
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1995
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I don't remember much about this day.  What I do remember is that my Dad let me drive his Suburban.  I drove through Chestnut Hills and on to Maybee Road headed towards Dixie Highway.  I probably drove to Todd Bauer's house.  I remember as I was turning onto Maybee that I just had this incredible feeling of independence.  It is a feeling like nothing I have felt before or since.  It was genuinely a rite of passage for me.  It's funny how you just want to grow up when you are young and be independent but then as you get older you wish you had less obligations and that someone could take care of your needs.  As I drove out of my subdivision I was making the transition from my youth to adulthood.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Nice upload yo!
|
|Remember .... february is when you have to have the photo project finished.
|
|I will have to get ya a DVD of all your home movies I extracted and encoded."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Learning to Drive a Stick Shift
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 31 2001
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first new car was a 2002 PT Cruiser.  I had long coveted one of those cars.  After returning my Saturn (see previous memory), I got the itch next year to by a PT.  I remember going through that phase of "should I do this or not".  We were at our first apartment at Countryside Townhouses.  I think I was a real brat to Beth about getting the car, saying that I never had a new car and she had her new Neon.  I think I even cried about it.  I prayed about it but I already had my mind made up.
|
|So we went to the dealership and I wanted to keep the payment under $250 a month.  I had to get the base model.  When he also told me that I could get the car for cheaper if it was a manual transmission, that is what I selected.  I figured it would just make me learn how to drive a stick.  So it was Halloween 2002 when I signed the papers and got the keys.  My dad had to drive the car off the parking lot because I was not able to.
|
|So he took me to the old Clarkston High School parking lot and taught me how to drive it.  This was the same parking lot where Dad taught me how to ride my bike when I was a kid and where I had received my first kiss from Beth 4 1/2 years earlier.
|
|It was really difficult for me at first, learning to drive a stick.  I would let off the clutch at the wrong time either causing my car to stall or to lurch forward.  I felt really upset because I felt like I was ruining my new car.  I was kind of getting the hang of it but getting more and more frustrated.  I think we went and picked up my Mom and we drove to downtown Clarkston.  On Clarkston Road I must have switched to the wrong gear or something because I panicked and started to pull to the side of the road and stop.  My dad was getting frustrated with me and yelled for me to not do that.  Then I got really upset and cried.
|Well, I eventually figured it out enough to where my Dad would follow me home to my apartment.  I got off at the Lapeer Road exit - the same one I get on everyday on my way to work now - and safely made it back to the apartment.  It was Halloween and I did not hit any kids so that was good.
|I got back and Beth, Sabrina and Chad had just finished handing out candy.  There were only a few kids that came.
|So I decided I could take them for a ride in the PT to get something to eat.  It started out rocky because Chad was giving me advise about not winding up 1st gear so high.  I probably stalled a few times and got frustrated again.  I think I expressed my frustration to everyone somehow and had to later apologize.
|The next day I had to drive to work (Machine Engineering at the time).  I remember listening to the Mercy Streets soundtrack which has a lot of techno music.  I believe I made it there uneventfully, although I was quite nervous.  I got to show my new car off at work which is always nice.  On my lunch break I decided to go out for lunch and practice driving.  I got a red light at Dixie and 75 and when it turned green I stalled.  So I started the car again and stalled it again.  By this time I became conscious of the line of cars behind me and I started getting worked up.  But I kept stalling it.  My leg started getting very shaky and cars started swerving around me at 55MPH.  I never did get moving during that light cycle.  The light turned red and I had to wait again.  I finally got it to move but I was very nervous.
|Now it is like second nature driving it.  My car has over 100,000 miles.  Beth never learned how to drive it so we bought her an automatic PT.
|
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|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Those PT cruisers are the weirdest looking cars.
|
|But they work for you and they were cheap.
|
|Good story... start getting back into posting memories lel.
|
|I want to see media now!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel Steals a rock
|
|Place:Pine Knob Elementary
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 31 2001
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One day a rock show came to our school.  I was really into rocks at the time.  I liked the ones with crystals in them and stuff.  I really didn't learn anything though because I couldn't tell you the name of a single rock.  At any rate, the rocks were on tables and you walked around and looked at them.  Each rock had a sticker on it with a number so you could identify what it was.  The show was in the gymnasium.
|
|Well, for some reason I got the idea in my head that I wanted to steal a rock.  I saw a nice, shiny small one and no one was looking so I pocketed it.  At first I thought I was pretty clever and I went home and admired my newly acquired treasure.  Eventually though guilt got the best of me.  I started fearing that the people who put on the rock show would notice that a rock was missing and they would come back to the school and look for it.  I feared that they might go to the students' homes and search for the rock.  So I went in my backyard with the rock in hand and tossed it into the fields.
|
|"There, they won't find me now" I thought.  But then the thought occurred to me that someone might find it in the fields and they would trace it to me and find out I stole it.
|
|"Crap!" It was too late to recover the stone.  I thought about the fact that it was not likely that anyone would find the stone in the fields.  Still, a new fear arose- maybe there was a tracking device on the rock!!
|
|Eventually, I grew up and realized that no one was looking for the rock and that I was safe.  Still, it was experiences like this that led me to stop stealing.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"And I always thought you were the sweetest little boy."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"youre the biggest child thief on the site....jeeze....i am not leaving you around my stuff without supervision"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Fuzzy Bunny and Whistling
|
|Place:Pine Knob Elementary
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Dave's "Fuzzy Bunny" memory made me think of something similar.  When I was in Elementary school we did a variety of contests for some event.  One of them was a variation on "Fuzzy Bunny" (see Dave's memory of that name).  We had to stuff as many saltine crackers in our mouths as possible.  Then, we had to eat them and the first person who was able to whistle wins.  Unfortunately, I didn't know how to whistle.
|
|My plan was to just blow through my teeth making a "ssss" sound since that was the closest thing to whistling that I could do.  So I finished first, I was the first one who was able to whistle, or so I thought.  I made my "sssss" sound but the teacher said "that's not whistling".
|
|Well, since then I finally figured out how to whistle.  It actually happened not too long ago while Beth and I were together.  I learned how to whistle and to make a cricket noise which comes in handy during awkward silences (hmm I wonder why I haven't used that during the podcast yet).  At first I could not whistle a song in tune but Beth will testify that I have improved.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The End of the World
|
|Place:Sashabaw Junior High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1990
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In sixth grade,  Chris, Austin and I started writing a book called "The End of the World".  It was about how my friends and I went on Double Dare and won a trip to Cape Canaveral space camp.  Somehow, we happened to be on a space ship at the moment when the world ended and we launched into space.  It was just me and my friends and the girls at school that we liked.  There were graphic descriptions of sexual acts we performed with the girls and illustrations as well.  It was total trash.  It was eventually discarded because Austin would have it at school and would joke about showing it to girls I liked.  There were some close calls.  So, eventually I got my hands on it and destroyed it.  Shortly thereafter I began to write another "End of the World" novel.  This one was "R" rated rather than "X" rated.  I will post memories about that one in the future.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Super Mario Brothers 3
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1995
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember Dad came back from a trip to California once and he gave me Super Mario Brothers 3 for Nintendo when he got back.  That was a very exciting and unexpected moment.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Favorite Aunt Competition
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in the day, Pammie Sue used to send Kevin and I these awesome birthday presents from the Archie McPhee catalog.  This catalog contained all sorts of gag gifts like the whooppee cushion and fake vomit.  We also got these sweet wind up toys from Pam that would walk and shoot sparks out of their mouths.
|
|Barb must have heard us call Pam our favorite aunt because it eventually became a competition.  If Barb gave us a gift and asked "Who's your favorite aunt?" we would say "You are."  Likewise for Pam.
|
|Well, Pam eventually stopped sending the gifts as we got older and she had a child of her own.  However, Pam designed the wedding invitations for Beth and me and on the back it read "Favorite Aunt Productions".
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"10 more memories to go!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Rover Robot
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1995
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was in fifth grade I started writing these books called "The Adventures of Rover Robot".  Rover Robot was this character I created who was from Uranus.  He came to Earth on his spaceship which crash landed.  It was inspired by "E.T.", "Batteries Not Included" and "Short Circuit".  I was really into science fiction as a kid.
|
|Throughout the series other characters were introduced such as "Redrina Robot", Rover's sister as well as a robot pet dog.  I think that Austin and my brother and my cousins all made appearances in the books as did "Johnny 5" from the Short Circuit movie.
|
|Rover Robot was what really got me into writing.  The stories would usually be half a page of writing and an illustration at the bottom.  This format continued on through "The End of the World" book series.
|
|Rover also appeared in "The End of the World" series as our companion and guide through space.  He was my best friend in the books and would always get "The Crew" out of trouble.  Rover also appeared in the RPG that I was working on.
|
|I am still very fond of Rover Robot and regard him as one of the greatest accomplishments of my imagination.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Lighting the Final Fantasy Fire
|
|Place:Sashabaw Junior High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1997
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember in band class I used to sit next to a trombonist named Jeff Smith.  I must have been in last chair or something at the time to be sitting next to the trombones.  Anyway, Jeff offered to sell me a Super Nintendo game called "Final Fantasy II".  I can't remember why I actually bought it from him.  I don't think I had heard of it before.  I never played a role playing game before that except Zelda.  I believe I bought it from him for $20.
|
|Anyway, I immediately fell in love with it.  I loved that you could name the characters.  I also liked that it was the first video game that I played that had a real story with characters with different personalities that you actually cared about.  I think I had started to write "The End of the World" already and so I was kind of in that fantasy zone already.  Also, the graphics and music were unmatched at the time.  I couldn't believe that there was actually a musical score with synthesized instruments that actually kind of sounded like the real instruments to me.
|
|Anyway, I remember that Chris Shea also played the game.  He was a big fan of "Edge" the ninja in the game and so he inserted Edge into our "End of the World" storyline.  In fact, Chris added something about us having to search for crystal pieces which was also inspired by the game.  I believe I named the main character in the game Noel and that Kain was named "Jim" after Jim Falk.  I think that Noel's love interest was named "Emily" because I had a crush on Emily Ayres at the time.
|
|I played that game through several times, changing the names of the characters as my friends changed.  I would change the name of the love interest in the game as I "fell in love" with another girl.  I think the last love interest in the game was named "Kim" so I think the last time I played it through was in 10th grade.
|
|I still have the game and I have no intention of parting with it.  It started the whole Final Fantasy interest in my life and I can still pick it up and play it and get a little bit of that feeling that I had when I was a kid.  I know...I'm a dork.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"I know man, I have a friend at work that won't let his kids play video games.  I played them like mad as a kid and I turned out fine.  It probably kept me from getting in more trouble."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"See... for me my friend Curt Crenshaw convinced Nick Azzaro and I to buy Final Fantasy 1 on the nintendo.  I remember playing a lot of that and having a lot of fun going back to the first town and getting discounted hotels when I was an adult.  I also remember fighting these pirates that were worth a lot of gold.  We beat this game probably 10 times because at one point my dad was addicted to it.  I remember I would always use my family names as Mom, Dad, Dan, Dave or Giz because you could only have 4 characters.
|
|It was amazing and Part two of Final Fantasy was even better.  The story plot was absolutely fantastic.  I also remember like you guys naming the characters to women that I liked at the time.
|
|In part three, I was determined to master it by leveling up all my characters to level 99.  I would spend hours on Gau's level trying to acquire sweet powers from monsters.  I never mastered that one.
|
|What a way to spend your childhood.... I would never give those hours spent up playing that game.  It was just another world!
|
|I too need to start playing part two and three again because they were just so darn good."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Billy Joe McCallister
|
|Place:Oscoda
|
|Location:Oscoda, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2006
|
|Memory Category:Beth Singing Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|While Beth was pregnant, a man named Bill McCallister aproached her at It's a Matter of Taste and said he was interested in hiring her for a family reunion in June.  We thought it was funny that his name was Bill McCallister because Beth sings "Ode to Billy Joe" a lot.  In that song, someone named "Billy Joe McCallister" jumps off the Tallahassee bridge and falls to his death.  Well, we didn't mention that at the time because we didn't want to offend him and miss out on the gig.  We told him that Beth was due to deliver in June so we could not guarantee that we were able to do it.
|
|As the months passed, Bill would call and I would update him on the status of the pregnancy.  We were all hoping that Chloe would arrive on May 29th so she could have the same birthday as my mom, my brother and me.  Also, if she arrived early, we would feel more confident about doing the gig.
|
|Well, Chloe came on June 13th and the family reunion was scheduled for July 1st.  I did not think that Beth would be up for it, but sure enough she was singing on June 30th.  So we hopped in a van that Jim Rawlings borrowed from a friend and the four of us took a road trip to Oscoda.
|
|We had some trouble finding the place and we were running late and competing against the fourth of July traffic.  Nonetheless, we got there on time.  Beth and Jim went to set up and I fed Chloe a bottle in the car.  Then I went to the hotel to get our keys and check in.  Bill even paid for two rooms for us for the night.
|
|On the way a storm rolled in and Chloe started screaming in the back.  This was one of my first times being alone with Chloe.  I really didn't know what to do.  I sang "Follow You" for her and recited some Bible verses just so that she could hear the sound of my voice.  It seemed to work at first and it might have had I not got lost on the way to the hotel.  Eventually I had to pull over and look at the map and give Chloe her pacifier again.  She wanted the pacifier but she would always spit it out because she didn't understand that, if she spit it out, it was gone.
|
|I backtracked to where I had made a wrong turn and continued on my way to the hotel.  This time I thought I should just not say anything.  It seemed like talking would remind Chloe that I was there and make her more upset that she wasn't being picked up.  It was very difficult for me to be silent and just listen to her cry.  I think she fell asleep eventually because I don't remember having problems checking into the hotel.  But when we got to our room she started wailing again.  I had to comfort her and be alone with her and change her diapers. This again was a first for me.  I think she pooped up her back and soiled her clothes and I had to wash them in the sink - gross!  Nonetheless, I really enjoyed just being with her and being the one to comfort her.
|
|I finally made it back to the family reunion with Chloe in time to catch the last few songs and remaining scraps of food.  Chloe slept through the whole set.  Only afterwards did she wake up.
|
|The McCallister family reunion was really interesting because it was racially mixed - which I thought was really cool.  They thoroughly enjoyed Beth and Jim and were dancing to their songs.  I was surprised to see that there weren't really that many people there despite the fact that Bill had shelled out a good amount of money to hire Beth.
|
|Afterwards, Chloe was awake and someone who was a nurse commented on how healthy and beautiful she was.  She showed us how babies have this walking reflex that eventually goes away.  I saw that another guy had a trumpet and I mentioned that I played.  He got it out and I played "Take Five", "A Night in Tunesia" and "Pure Imagination".  He was delighted that he had met another trumpet player and made me play for the remaining family members.  He had this tiny trumpet that was not a picolo trumpet - it sounded like a cornet.  He said he used it to practice in his car.
|
|We had to show off the baby to the family, including the matriarch who I spoke with.  It was hard to understand her though so I found myself smiling and nodding.
|
|Overall it was a great experience.  It was cool that Beth decided to do it instead of staying home.  It paid well and it allowed us to take Chloe on her first road trip.  On our way back we ate at a Bavarian breakfast restaurant and it was delicious.
|
|Maybe not my most interesting memory to others, but I had a great time as a first outing with my family.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I have never read this memory...
|
|Keep em posting."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Playing with Shemp in the snow
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1996
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|
|I remember when Shemp was younger, I used to look forward to letting him go outside through the front door in the winter.  I enjoyed tossing up snowballs into the air and having Shemp fetch them.  He would always catch them like they were a treat or something even though when he bit down, the snow would dissolve in his mouth.  I remember that Shemp would chase us around in the snow and get pretty rowdy.  He would actually chase and attack you if you ran and provoked him.  I would wear gloves though so he wouldn't bite my hand.  Those were fun times when it was dark and quiet outside and you would just hear the snow falling.  The other night I took Shemp out because he sounded like he was going to throw up or something.  I didn't have any gloves on but I picked up some snow and tossed it.  He caught it.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Meeting Veronica Mars
|
|Place:Bob Mervak's Parent's House
|
|Location:Royal Oak, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2002
|
|Memory Category:First Hand Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in the summer of 2002, Beth was preparing for a jazz demo that she eventually recorded with the Bob Mervak group.  On one occassion, Beth was practicing at Bob's house with Bob and Takashi.  Bob's friend Kristen was over.  I think I was just reading or something most of the time but, at one point I got out my digital camera and took a movie of Beth singing "Summertime" (will post later).  The funny thing is that I think that Kristen was right behind me but I never turned around and recorded her.  She was on her laptop; it was a pretty sweet Apple computer as I recall.
|
|Now this was shortly after the "All You Need is a Little TCF" memory.  After the rehearsal, Bob introduced us to Kristen.  She was an aspiring actress in New York.  Beth had her TCF commercial with her and wanted to show Bob.  So we went in Bob's living room and popped in the video (you can see it on the aforementioned TCF memory).
|
|Kristen said that she had some video of some commercials that she was in.  For some reason, she happened to have a video tape with her.  She played it and there were a couple of commercials that we recognized.  Some were from a while back when she was a little kid.  I can't remember them all but I want to say that there was a "Say No to Drugs" one and a cereal commercial or something.  In the drug commercial, she was like a druggie or something, hunched over in a corner.  Her commercials were definately more professional than ours and she actually got paid for them.  Kristen said at one point that she would give Beth's CD to a few people but I don't think we had anything with us at the time.
|
|Well, we said our goodbyes but we met her on one other occasion.  We stopped by Bob's house for a party of his.  Kristen was there and she had a video camera with her this time and was recording people and playing some past video of Bob and Takashi acting up.  I don't recall too much significant about the party except that, I think that Bob's mom introduced Beth to cooking meals inside of those Pillsbury Crescent rolls.  Now, as my family knows, I am a crescent roll fiend, so I enjoyed them immensely.  Since then, Beth has cooked me all kinds of concoctions using crescent rolls.  It has become one of our favorite meals.
|
|Anyway, Bob would give us updates occassionally about his friend Kristen who we met.  At one point he said she was in a musical with Liam Neeson.  On another occasion, Bob went out to visit her.  She was dating someone on Saturday Night Live and Bob got to go backstage afterwards with her.  He met the cast and the special guest as well as the musical guest, Aerosmith.
|
|Later, Bob told us that Kristen was moving to California to pursue her acting career.  Later still, Bob informed us that she was going to be on a TV show but we forgot the name.
|
|Well, her name is Kristen Bell and the TV show is called Veronica Mars.  The memory pretty much ends there.  The only other thing Bob ever mentioned was that Kristen mentioned his band, Jelly Adams once in an interview when asked who her favorite bands were.  We saw JA once at Memphis Smoke.  Beth just subbed a gig for Bob at Maggiano's this past Friday.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"She sounds much cooler than Lindsey Lohan."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:From the Dark Comics
|
|Place:Clarkston
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in the day Jim Falk and I used to write books, magazines and comics together. Nowadays he is a super sweet artist. You can see his artwork on his myspace profile http://www.myspace.com/jimbo17x. I scanned one of the comics that we did. It was called From the Dark Comics. We were big into comic books and horror movies. We enjoyed watching Tales From the Crypt together. This comic book is so gory. It's kind of disturbing that I did it when I was a kid. But hey, I turned out OK and so did Jim.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"I can't believe you still have that. That's so cool. What was the name of those scary books we use to read with the cheap artwork in them?"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Noel, feel free to post the entire document of your "End of the World" book that I kept for years.  Lets see if the database handles that much text inside the memory.  if it doesnt let me know"
|
|lellel said:
|"LOL at the myspace link"
|
|thememorycrawler said:
|"Lel lel!"
|
|thememorycrawler said:
|"Dude I like totally forgot about all the features I built on memory crawler.
|
|I totally forgot how you can attach photos to friends posts.
|
|I did that on this one years ago"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Jazz at a Pizza Joint
|
|Place:Arturo's
|
|Location:New York, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2003
|
|Memory Category:Beth Singing Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We probably got to bed at about 4-5am, completely exhausted after a long day including the events of my previous memory (Open Jam at Smalls).  We knew we weren't going to get much sleep because there was a brunch jam at a place called Arturo's in a few hours.  We slept a little and then got up for what we thought was the next jam session.
|
|Arturo's was on the border of Soho and Greenwich Village.  When we got there we noticed that it wasn't your typical jazz club.  In fact, it wasn't a jazz club at all.  It was a small pizza joint.
|
|Immediately, we noticed the band.  It was the red-haired bassist and Eldad the piano player from Smalls!  What a coincidence!  Beth was just singing with them a few hours ago (see Open Jam at Smalls memory).  As you can imagine, Beth did not want to sing with them.  I really had to twist her arm to get her to do it.
|
|Finally she approached them and said something like "Hello again, I brought charts this time."  I don't know if they remembered her or not but they agreed to let her sit in for a song.  She sang and did awesome!  The levels were great and the audience loved it.  I was a little embarrassed to be recording it with my camera in a pizza joint.  I was also thinking about what had happened last night.  (It's funny because I have no shame now.  I have no problem recording her even if it looks silly).  So what I did was set the camera on the table so the musicians couldn't see it and just pick up the audio.  I will post those videos later.
|
|After the song, the musicians asked her what else she had and they played another tune.  I think Eldad said "This is great" and they played another.  Eventually, they ended their set and Beth spoke again with the musicians she encountered in the dark basement a few hours earlier.  They were very complimentary but the funniest thing was when Eldad said "You should move out here".  This from the same guy who told her to stay in Michigan and be the big fish in a small pond last night.
|
|The manager of the restaurant approached Beth and complimented her.  He asked, "How are your Saturdays?"  We told him that they are free but that we live in Michigan.  We gave him a demo CD of her and the Bob Mervak group as well as her "Don't Know Why" album with Ryan Mackstaller.  He told us he would like to set something up with us next time we are in town.  He even paid Beth for the CDs she gave him so it was kind of like a paying gig.
|
|The kicker was when Beth was talking to Eldad about our trip.  When he learned that we came here for the jam session he said that this was not a jam session.  Once again, our www.bigapplejazz.com itinerary was wrong - but this time it helped us.
|
|So we definitely felt vindicated after that experience.  It cancelled out the night at Smalls.  She had proven herself to these musicians.  I am very proud of her for not backing down and being confident.  When they were finally able to hear her through the system, they heard what she is all about.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Open Jam at Smalls
|
|Place:Smalls
|
|Location:New York, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2003
|
|Memory Category:Beth Singing Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Another jazz club that we visited on our second trip to New York City was called Smalls.  Smalls was a very interesting place.  When we went to NYC, they had just passed a law banning smoking in restaurants and bars.  In some places, you could still smell the smoke in the walls and furniture even though no one was smoking.  Smalls did not sell alcohol or food so people were allowed to smoke there.  You had to pay a cover charge to get in and you had to bring your own food and drink.  It was located in a small basement with barely any lighting.  You basically sat in the dark and the stage was lit.  There were a lot of younger people there.  Smalls is famous for having jazz through the night and into the morning.  We arrived around 2am.
|
|Beth approached the band about singing with them.  They asked her if she had charts.  I think this was the second place we went where they insisted that we use charts.  We were even more flabbergasted because of how we never needed them in Detroit.  Beth had charts for some songs but she wanted to sing ones that she did not have charts for.  They ended up agreeing that she could sing Summertime since charts were not necessary for that song.
|
|I remember that there was a red-haired bassist, a pianist from Israel named Eldad and an older black man on drums.  Beth got up to sing and the levels were not good.  It sounded like she was singing in a box.  The equalizer was definately not set for voice.  Beth could not hear herself very well.
|
|I got the impression that the drummer didn't like her becuase he was like chuckling under his breath or doing something that I remember made me feel like he didn't like her.  It's too bad he couldn't hear her voice.  I remember feeling really nervous for her.  I was sitting right next to the drummer on a couch and could hear everything.  When she was done, she received a modest applause.
|
|Afterwards, another female vocalist came up to sing.  I think she was from a local college; they knew her.  When she started singing, the bassist immediately adjusted the levels for her until they sounded good.  That kind of peeved us off.
|
|Beth spoke with the musicians and the singer afterwards.  She told them we were from Michigan.  The singer and piano player recommended that Beth stay in Michigan and that she could be the big fish in a small pond there.
|
|Beth and I left pretty angry and depressed.  We stopped and ate at a 24 vegan restaurant.  The food was horrible.  We were excited about hearing jazz at 3 in the morning but it did not work out like we would have hoped.  On top of all this, Beth and I got lost on the subway on the way back to the hotel.  We ended up in Queens even though our hotel and the jazz club were in Manhattan.  At one point, we were the only ones in the subway.  It was eerily quiet and there was only one other shady guy down there.  We also saw our first big rat.  It's funny though because, despite all of that, I still look back on this memory with fondness.  I have a habit of looking at the past through rose colored glasses.
|
|But the story isn't quite over.  It has a great twist ending which I will post in my next entry called "Jazz at a Pizza Joint".  I will also post memory media later.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Tetris Fever
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|After Kevin bumped Beth from the top 5 crawler list, I just had to post this memory.
|
|We used to have this sweet version of Tetris on my parents' computer.  Mom used to play it a lot and had the high score.  I think Dad even had a high score at one point.  Anyway, once Kevin and Beth started playing, they were the only ones on the high score list.  The score was getting ridiculously, unachievably high.  Beth would play in the morning before she went to Chili's and Kevin would play in the afternoon after classes.  As each person would play, they would discover that they no longer had the high score but that must have motivated them because the scores kept getting higher.
|
|The funny thing is that, never a word was spoken between the two about Tetris.  It was just like this silent competition.
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Stack said:
|" I guess I never thought about how Beth and I just kept our rivarly quiet. I'm just a very competitive person when I start getting into something. I use to practice tetris by first starting out using my left hand and then finishing with my right on the faster levels.That version was so much fun but I haven't found a version since that I have liked.
|It was so much fun getting on the computer everyday and finding a new score to try and beat. Maybe I can get a copy of that game from our parents when I come home."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Beth sings in French Cafe
|
|Place:Chez Suzette
|
|Location:New York, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2003
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|On our 2nd NYC trip, one of the "jazz" clubs that was on our itinerary was "Chez Suzette" (CS).  I think we went first on Saturday night.  Our plan was to leave Sunday morning.  It was a cool little cafe with art-adorned red walls.  The open mic was hosted by a wonderful older singer named Trudi Mann and a comedic singer named Raymond Noran.  It was very welcoming, unlike most of the other open jams we went to.  We introduced ourselves to the host and let her know that we were from Michigan.
|
|A lot of the people who were in attendance were off-Broadway actors or aspiring actors.  There were a good number of gay guys there.  Each person got up and sang two songs.  One of the acts was two guys singing an old musical love song to each other.  Another act was a woman who was very expressive.  Most of the other singers sang songs that we had always thought were jazz tunes but they originally came from musicals.  They sang them pretty much like the originals.  When Beth sang, she sang the songs as jazz songs.
|
|Beth and I were sitting up front, close to the music and, at one point during the song, the singer looked at me and said "What are you like 12?" and continued on with the song.  We had a good laugh.
|
|Beth went up and sang and did wonderfully.  I can't remember if she had charts or not but the band did the songs very well and Beth shined.  I have movies of her singing there and I will post them soon.
|
|Later, Raymond got up and sang a couple of comedic tunes.  One of them was called "h-t-t-p-:-/-/-downtowngal.com".  I will attach that movie too because it's pretty funny.
|
|Afterwards the hosts were very complimentary.  Beth talked about her experience at Cleopatra's Needle and Smalls and Trudi was very understanding.  She said that was how she was treated when she first moved to the city and that people can be very cruel.  She encouraged us to continue to do what we're doing and invited us to a brunch jam session tomorrow morning.
|
|Well, originally we planned on leaving first thing in the morning because it's a long drive back to Michigan and I wanted to go to work on Monday.  But we decided to end the trip on a fun note and stop at CS again.  I'm so glad we did because we had a great time again.  Afterwards, Beth talked to Trudi some more and she said we were welcome back if we came to town again and she even agreed to fax us charts for "You've Changed" which she did like the next day.  I guess there was a network television producer there that day; he frequents the cafe and enjoys the old standards.  Also, one of the musicians in the band played with Norah Jones at the time.
|
|We left the city with smiles and I have to say props to Trudi, Raymond and Chez as it was a totally awesome time.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Aichy Breaky Heart
|
|Place:Music Row
|
|Location:Nashville, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2003
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back when Beth was first writing her original music for her "Here With You" album, we would often stop by the Clarkston Cafe on a Friday or Saturday night.  The Shenanigans played there every Friday and Saturday for over ten years.  I will have to post memories about them separately.  One of the band members named Gary Griffin informed us that he had a connection with a Nashville publisher.  He suggested that we pitch some songs to him.  Well, we planned a vacation to Nashville and called him up and told him that Gary referred us to him.  He said that we were welcome to stop by.
|
|The publisher's name is Russ and Gary knows him because Russ published one of Gary and Al Carmichael's songs that became a number 1 country hit.  The song is called "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?" and it was made famous by Leroy Parnell.
|
|In Nashville, we drove around trying to find Music Row where the publisher was located and had a heck of a time.  Finally we arrived and it was not what I thought it would be.  Music Row was not a bunch of offices but a bunch of old homes that had been converted to businesses.
|
|So we walked into the front door of this house and saw the secretary.  She had a huge stack of CDs on her desk.  She had us walk upstairs and wait in an office/bedroom.
|
|Russ arrived and we introduced ourselves to each other.  We played some of Beth's music for him.  The only stuff that we had were rough recordings.  There were a couple of live tracks of Beth and Bob Bullock performing at Fernhurst Festival.  There were also a couple of tracks of Allan playing the guitar and Beth singing.
|
|Russ said that he was looking for something more poppy and catchy like something someone would sing in a karaoke bar.  He said that he published the song "Aichy, Breaky Heart" and that, while some people may not like the song, everyone knows it because it is catchy.  He also gave an example of some modern song that I totally didn't like and said that this was what he was looking for.  He wanted a #1 hit.
|
|Somehow we got on the subject of Christian music and he said "I had a feeling that is where you were coming from".  He said that he did not want anything to do with the Christian music industry and that it was even more cutthroat than the secular music industry.
|
|We played some of Bob Bullock's stuff too, including "Narcissist" on my laptop.  I think that Russ thought that song was cute.  I think the song is awesome.  Russ said goodbye and welcomed us to send him any future material with his suggestions in mind.
|
|We left thinking that he didn't want anything that came from the heart but that he wanted to sacrifice artistic expression for songs that you can line dance to.  But, Beth's album went on to do really well as you can read from other memorycrawler.com entries.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I have that damn song in my head now"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My First Kiss
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1997
|
|Memory Category:All Time High
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|    So, Kevin wrote about his first kiss and it made me want to write about mine.  I don't know if any of you knew this or not but Beth was my first kiss.  I was 17 years old.  That's right, I made it all the way through grade school without kissing a girl until the last semester of my senior year.  And it wasn't because I chose that path; I was just a super dork.  The one girl that finally gave me a chance, I ended up marrying, and it's one of the best decisions I have ever made.  Anyway, on with the story.
|    It was Monday, February 3rd, 1997 (pretty impressive, huh?).  After school I went to the L.A. Cafe with Beth Baldiga.  I had resolved that I was going to kiss her.  It was our third date.  I was nervous the whole time.  We had a great time and I think I had a raspberry mocha with a shot of carmel.
|    We drove back to the high school in my Delta '88 Oldsmobile so that she could get her car and go home.  We were standing by my car and we were saying goodbye.  I leaned forward to kiss her and kind of bumped into her and we fell back on the car.
|    Beth laughed and said, "Let's try that again."
|    She kissed me and it was magical.  I was so geeked.  I couldn't stop smiling.  I went straight home and listened to some ska in my bedroom and skanked for joy.  Man did that feel good.  I waited a long time for that.  What an awesome wife.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"awww... lovers forever.  i never knew you never kissed a girl until 17 years of age.
|
|We all know Kevin got into kissing when he was like 7 years old.  PUNKY BREWSTER!! Is a memory KEVIN MUST CONFESS TO!!!"
|
|Stack said:
|"It was worth waiting that long lel. She's a keeper. 
|
|And Dave, I'll still deny that until I die."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Are you a poet?
|
|Place:Baker's Keyboard Lounge
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 2003
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in 2003 Beth and I lived at my parents' house.  We were in between apartments at the time.  We were trying to save money.  However, since we were at my parents' house all of the time, we wanted to go out often.  We ended up not saving much money.  This is because we spent most of it at jazz jam sessions.
|
|On one occassion, we went to Baker's Keyboard Lounge for a jam session.  Baker's is the longest running jazz club in the world and it is here in Detroit (you should check it out).  Beth had sang there before but tonight there was a different jam session host.  I can't remember who it was.  Well, Beth approached the host and let her know that she wanted to sing a song.
|
|We sat and I ate my fried food and coke and grenadine and we waited.  We watched others play and eventually, Beth approached the host again and asked when she was going to sing.
|
|The host agreed to let her sing and she addressed the audience.  Now Beth was a little blonde girl then (she's a little brunette now) and Baker's audience was almost completely black.  The host said something along the lines of "Next we're going to have Elizabeth Stalker.  Elizabeth, are you going to read a poem?"
|
|"No," Beth said, probably stunned just as I was from the question, "I'm going to sing".
|
|"Oh...OK." The host said.  "Alright everybody, stick around because there is going to be lots of great entertainment tonight."
|
|Ouch.  Now that is definitely not a confidence builder before you sing.  But for Beth it motivated her to show everyone that she could sing.  Beth sang and did awesome.  The applause was terrific as was the feeling of vindication.  Afterwards, the host apologized to Beth for making it seem like she couldn't sing.
|
|A week later we went to another jam session, this time at Bert's Jazz Marketplace in the Eastern Market.  We knew that the same host was going to be there.  So, when the time came for Beth to sing, the host gave an awesome introduction of Beth, really building her up, but also building up the audience's expectations.  When Beth went to get the mic, someone in the audience said "Boo" before she even sang.  The host quickly scolded that person though and said something about "that's not how we show people love here in Detroit" or something.
|
|Well, Beth sang and did not disappoint, despite the fact that the bassist was high and messing with the knobs on the mixer, affecting Beth's voice.
|
|That was the normal story for those jam sessions - Beth would always have to prove herself and she did it every time.  I would watch nervously at first for her and then applaud proudly as she finished.  Then I would finish my fried catfish or fried chicken and my grenadine and coke.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Beth wins 6 Detroit Music Awards
|
|Place:State Theatre
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 2005
|
|Memory Category:All Time High
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In 2005, Beth was nominated for 6 Detroit Music Awards and she was also nominated for "Favorite Artist" for the Great Sounds Awards by www.greatstuff2do.com.
|
|Beth, Jim Rawlings, Allan Goetz, Brad Ayres and Andrew Evanch, Dan and Mitch Mountney all came to the awards ceremony.  The year before, Beth and I went with Allan and some people from Tour Connection.  In 2004 Beth did not win any awards.
|
|The pre-ceremony was at the Hockeytown Cafe.  That's where four of the awards that Beth was nominated for were given away.  The first award was for OUTSTANDING ACOUSTIC/FOLK RECORDING.  We listened in anticipation but Beth did not win that one.  Beth I could tell was a little down.  She felt like she was going to be the Susan Lucci of the Detroit Music Awards - nominated time and time again but never winning.
|
|The next award was for OUTSTANDING GOSPEL/CHRISTIAN MUSICIAN.  Jim Rawlings, Beth's guitar player, was nominated but did not win.
|
|The award after that was for OUTSTANDING GOSPEL/CHRISTIAN RECORDING.  Beth was totally not thinking that she would win.  When they called her name we all just cheered and smiled.  It felt so good.  Beth was so unprepared, she didn't even take her jacket off to receive the award.  She was congratulated by all of us and David Mosher who was in attendance as well (David produced and performed throughout her album).
|
|Well, Beth and I didn't stop smiling the rest of the night.  She received the next two awards that she was nominated for: OUTSTANDING GOSPEL/CHRISTIAN SONGWRITER and OUTSTANDING GOSPEL/CHRISTIAN VOCALIST.
|
|After the pre-ceremony ended, we made our way to the State Theatre where the main awards show was.  It was really cool walking around with those boxes that the awards come in; everyone knows what they are.  Beth called my parents and told her the good news.
|
|When we went inside the State Theatre, we saw that Johnny Stevenson was playing in the lobby.  We made our way to our seats.  The first award of the night was for OUTSTANDING GOSPEL/CHRISTIAN ARTIST/GROUP.  Beth was up against CeCe Winans as well as last year's winner, Amy Heard.  When they called her name, we erupted with joy again.  This time she actually got to go up to the podium and accept the award and thank people.  Beth thanked God and the people who helped her with her album.  She forgot to thank her husband but I don't think I even noticed.
|
|There was a long break in between this award and the next one that she was nominated for.  During this break she called some people, including my parents who were so excited about the newest award.  Everywhere Beth went people were talking to her including reporters and band members.
|
|The next award Beth was up for was the "Outstanding Music Video" award.  Forty-two videos were nominated.  Brad Ayres, the director of the video was there from L.A.  When they announced Beth as the winner we were so amazed.  A screen dropped down from the ceiling and they played a clip of Beth's music video on it.  Beth and Brad gave an acceptance speech and I think Beth thanked her husband at this point.  We were so happy for Brad that he could be there and share it with us.
|
|The last award that Beth was nominated for was the Great Sounds favorite artist award.  This one was open to anyone to vote for online.  Beth was up against a number of people including smooth jazz flutist Alexander Zonjic who was seated in front of us.  This one deserves further comment.  During the nomination phase, I noticed that Beth's album was not on the drop down menu and I sent a nasty E-mail to the people at Great Stuff.  I said something like, "How can you miss someone who has been nominated for 6 Detroit Music Awards?".  Man, I regret that - it was so stupid of me.  Anyway, Beth sent an E-mail to them too but she was much nicer.  Well, Beth's album was not nominated but she was as an artist.
|
|Despite my silly E-mail, Beth won the award and it was just awesome.  She didn't give an acceptance speech for this one, we were walking down to accept the award but they just handed it out afterwards.
|
|Well, when we left, everyone was still glowing and we agreed to meet up in Ferndale.  We went to some posh martini bar but we had all developed an appetite so we went to a place that sold burgers afterwards.  In attendance were Andrew, Jim, Brad, Allan, Beth and myself.   I think that all of the guys had burgers and Beth had a chicken salad or something.
|
|I will never forget that night.  We were so happy and I just delighted in watching Beth smile and glow and get what she deserved for a change.  I felt so vindicated after all of the hard work that we had put into the album and into promotion.  It is one of my all-time favorite memories.  Although it doesn't come close to the birth of Chloe it is still up there.
|
|In the days following, I collected all of the newspaper articles that covered the night and watched Beth's website shoot up in rank as RSS Feeds all over the web carried news of the Detroit Music Awards with Beth's name in it.
|
|I hope none of this has sounded vain.  I just took such joy in seeing such a sweet person like Beth get recognition.  She is so humble and worked so hard on that album.  There were days in the studio where she was weeping, trying to get the vocal take that she felt good about.  She works tirelessly at gigs that can many times be thankless.  Anyway, I have to stop writing or I will go on forever.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"When is she going to get her break???  You guys both deserve it.
|
|Still think her CD is the top 10 CDs of all time.
|
|When do I get to hear a new CD?  Make sure Chloe is not screaming and crying in the background."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hillbilly Bug Killer
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 1990
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In the second semester of my junior year, Todd and I would often walk together to my history class.  The teacher's name was Mr. Wynemko.  I think he was the cross country coach also.  Well, Mr. Wynemko had this thing on his desk called the "Hillbilly Bug Killer".  It was a piece of wood and a hammer and a dot that read "place bug here".  We were often the first ones in the class and Todd would remark about how dorky he thought the bug killer was.
|Well, one morning Todd decided to take the Hillbilly Bug Killer.  We had the idea to take pictures of us with it everywhere we went and then after we graduated, we would return the Hillbilly Bug Killer with the pictures.  Well we took many rolls of film with random people and the Hillbilly Bug Killer.  There is even a picture in our senior yearbook.
|Well, we thought it would be funny to continue the tradition rather than return the Bug Killer.  So I gave it to my friend Dustin Brown and he was going to take pictures with his classmates and return it.  Instead, I think he lost it.  I'm going to post all of the pictures later.
|A year later, Beth and I got engaged and went to North Carolina on a trip.  When we were in the Appalachians, we stopped at this little souveneir store and saw that they were selling "Hillbilly Bug Killers".  Each one looked different as they were hand made from different pieces of wood.  I bought one with the intention of taking more pictures and then giving it to Mr. Wynemko.  I took more pictures but never gave anything to Mr. Wynemko.  Today the HBK sits in my office as a paperweight.  Hopefully I can give it to him someday.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I love little things like this.  Its something so unique to your life and can never be recreated.
|
|Its very simple, yet creative.  
|
|But this is a story you wont just tell people out of the blue.
|
|Thats where memorycrawler comes into play right?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel Slaps Rani's Butt
|
|Place:A Missouri Hotel
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2000
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I think Dave will remember this.  Dave, Rani, Beth and I shared a hotel room in Missouri for the Taylor family reunion.  One morning Dave and I were playing video games while the girls were getting ready.  They were coming in and out of the bathroom.  Well, Rani was dressed that day in a similar outift to what Beth wore at the time.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Beth walk by and I gave her a good slap in the butt, as I often do.  To my surprise, I heard "Hey!" and looked and it was Rani.  I was so embarrassed.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"Youre lucky Rani didn't ghetto stomp your ass."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I do remember this well.  Not a whole lot to say about it.  For anyone who doesnt know the story with Rani, we dated for two years and broke up shortly after going to this family reunion after she cheated on me with some jerk who beat the crap out of her here and there.
|
|Shes doing well now though.  Shes married and has kids with a different guy."
|
|littlelizz said:
|"Well, actually, Rani said...  "Did you just slap my butt?"  You apologized like crazy, and you were pretty mortified.  It was hilarious :)"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Buying 1st appearance of Gambit
|
|Place:Napa Valley Comic Book Store
|
|Location:Napa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We have only gone out to California to visit my Uncle Drake a few times in my life.  One time I remember Kevin and I were really into collecting comics.  It was the Jim Lee era of X-Men.  I was busy trying to buy all of the back issues of The Uncanny X-men that I could find.  On this fateful day I came upon a comic book that was pretty hot at the time.  It was the first appearance of Gambit.  I can't remember how much it cost - maybe $15 or $30.  I was so happy to get a hold of it though.
|
|Unfortunately, I no longer have it.  I either traded it to my friends John and Derek for some porn or video games or I lost it with some of my other rare comics when Linda lost her area at the antique store.  But, I don't really care, it is just a thing.  However, it is fun to reminisce about random memories like that.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"He needs to be in the next movie."
|
|Stack said:
|"I think that was during the trip we took out west. I don't remeber going to a store in Napa but I remember going to one in San Fransico with Pammy Sue. I got some back issues of the Fantastic Four for like only 50 cents and a dollar."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Bull Fight
|
|Place:Madrid
|
|Location:Madrid, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1996
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In my junior year in high school I went to Spain with the Spanish club.  I was the only guy on the trip.  Also in attendance were my good friend Erika Breitfeld and Ashley Halleran who I previously had dated for three weeks (the only other relationship I have been in other than with Beth).  There were a couple other students and we toured around the country with some students from California.  Our Spanish teacher was there with her mom.
|
|When we were in Madrid one day we got tickets to a bull fight.  Previously, I had only seen these things on cartoons.  When the bull came out, the bull fighter (or matador) rode around on a horse and threw spears at the bull.  They were kind of flimsy - the blade would stick into the bull and then bounce back and forth as the bull ran.  They kept doing this and the idea was to make the bull slower and weaker until the matador took a sword and killed it.  Well, this was a young bull and it was not doing too much attacking but they kept throwing spears at it.
|
|My Spanish teacher and all of the girls started crying.  I was pretty emotional too because it was rather grotesque.  It was not so much gory but the whole situation was just so pitiful.  Well, the young bull was not killed then and there because it was not putting up much of a fight.  They simply guided the weak thing out of the stadium.  We didn't stick around for any more of it.
|
|Afterwards I bought a little bull figurine in memory of that bull.  I had it for several years until Malinda Savage needed some toys for children's therapy and I donated it.
|
|I will post pictures of the bull fight later.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Check out your sweet memory map now... hopefully it updated properly and finds madrid"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Also.. I never knew you went to Spain and England. 
|
|See in High School we couldnt afford the trips overseas.  So now I am addicted to traveling abroad because that was a luxury we couldnt afford."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I cant believe what they did with that Bull.  I will have to ask Susan if they did that when she went."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel tells NYC Latinos to "screw off"
|
|Place:Broadway
|
|Location:New York, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2002
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|After the crazy woman incident (see previous memory), Beth and Sabrina came out with their new clothes.  They were kind of skimpy and they opened up to show their stomachs (or "midriffs" as women call them).  I thought Beth looked extremely hot and was very pleased at first.  But then, as we walked, more and more people were oggling the girls.  I was getting jealous of all of the looks that Beth was getting.  I told Beth that I didn't think it was such a good idea that she was wearing that on the streets of NYC.  The others just shrugged it off and we kept walking.
|
|I kept getting more and more annoyed and finally pretty angry about the situation and verbalized my displeasure.  Finally, the last straw was when a couple of latino guys did or said something about the girls.  I blew up and told them to "screw off".  I said something about them minding their own business or keeping their eyes to themselves or something and then I just yelled "screw you".  Others witnessed this as we walked but I am sure that it was nothing to New Yorkers.
|
|My blood pressure was pretty high and the others couldn't believe what they had just seen.  It totally was not like me to act like that and it was also pretty dangerous considering that I didn't know those guys and they could have taken me and Chris.
|
|The rest of the day I worried about running into those guys again and that they would beat me up.  In fact, the next year, Beth and I went to NYC again and I even worried that I would run into one of them and that they would recognize me.  However, I know that is totally stupid because I wouldn't recognize them if I saw them.
|
|I remember telling Beth later that I could never live there in NYC and that it was making me jaded even as I visited it.  People there appeared to be pretty cold to each other.  But then the next year Beth and I ran into a lot of warm hospitality.  I will have to post those memories later.
|
|Anyway, I have a picture of the outfits that Beth and Sabrina bought so I am posting those.  Unlike me, Shea did not feel jealous at all that day; he just felt really cool walking around with the girls.  In fact, I think he duplicated and blew up one of the pictures and framed it.  I am not sure if he still has it in his condo but he had it in his last apartment.
|
|Update: I couldn't find the picture of Beth and Sabrina wearing the matching outfits.  However, I found a couple from shortly after the incident.  Beth changed her top after she saw how much it affected me.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Crazy Woman
|
|Place:Broadway
|
|Location:New York, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 2002
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|After Kevin wrote a memory called "Crazy Guy" it reminded me of this memory.
|
|In the spring of 2002, Chris Shea, Sabrina Legacy, Beth and I went to NYC.  This was me and Beth's first time to the city.  I have many memories from that trip.  Here is one of them.
|
|Beth and Sabrina were clothes shopping as they often were.  Chris and I were sitting on a bench on Broadway just passing time.  Across the street from us was an adult woman who was apparently talking to an imaginary friend.  It was a reciprocal conversation because the woman seemed to listen and then respond to her friend.  In fact, her imaginary friend was telling some pretty funny jokes or something because she was cracking up and slapping her knee.
|
|Chris and I thought that it would actually be kind of cool if we could tell ourselves jokes and make ourselves laugh.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Stalker, Pennsylvania
|
|Place:Stalker, Pennsylvania
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1996
|
|Memory Category:First Hand Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember we went on probably our last family vacation to Niagara falls in between my junior and senior year in high school.  My dad was just starting to get into researching his geneaology.  He found that there was a city named "Stalker" in Pennsylvania.  Apparently the Stalker family first settled in New York and Stalker is right at the border of New York and Pennsylvania.  My dad wanted to visit a cemetery to see some of our relatives' tombstones.  We took my Dad's third Suburban (the last one).
|
|It turned out that Stalker was a tiny town.  (So small that it doesn't show up in the drop-down menu on Memorycrawler.com).  It reminded me of a small dirt-road neighborhood in Clarkston.  We were surrounded by trees everywhere we went.  There was a cemetery and a few houses and a bridge to New York and that was it.  We visited the cemetary and my Dad probably took some photos of the tombstones.
|
|Other than that, there wasn't much to see so we left Stalker, Pennsylvania, making sure not to blink so we didn't miss it.
|
|I do remember though that, as we left there was this small and narrow one lane bridge that was kind of high up and crossed a stream or river.  It was kind of scary and fun as Dad drove his Suburban over it.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"That was interesting. It was right after my bball camp in Pennsylvania. You guys picked me up and we stayed at the La Quinta Inn."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Beth sings in NYC Part 1
|
|Place:Cleopatra's Needle
|
|Location:New York, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2003
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|On our second trip to NYC, Beth and I were determined to hit as many jazz club jam sessions as we could.  I had visited this site called Big Apple Jazz or something and got the addresses and times for each of the jam sessions.  I planned our weekend around it.
|
|As it turned out, I had some bad information.  We were searching around the Times Square area for this one jazz club only to find that it had closed down.  So we made our way uptown to another jazz club.  When we got there we asked about the jam session that night and we were told that there was not a jam session that night.  In fact, the host that we had written down hadn't been doing it for a couple years.  Finally we went to Cleopatra's Needle.  There was an open jam there.  We found out though that they didn't really care for female jazz vocalists.  They insisted that Beth have charts of the songs that she wanted to sing.
|     I guess we were spoiled because at the Detroit jam sessions, you never needed charts.  You just told them the song and the key and they were good to go.  I think that there is just so much competition in NYC and that female jazz vocalists trying to make it are a dime a dozen.  I think that the musicians just get so tired with it that they aren't willing to give a new person a chance.
|       Anyway, they let Beth sing and she did well and got a good response.  One of the funny things was that there was this guy who was dressed all in one color.  We went to Cleo's Needle twice and one night he was wearing all red and on the other night he was wearing a different color.  He called himself by whichever color he was wearing and he played the melodica.  The melodica is like a cross between a keyboard and a harmonica.  You blow into it and you have white and black piano keys to make the notes.  It was kind of big in the '80s.
|       I think the second time we went to Cleo's needle, it was the same guy hosting the jam session.  He was not happy to see Beth and actually picked the song and key that she was going to sing.  Beth still did great and we had a fun time.  I will post more memories of our 2nd NYC trip along with some pictures and video in the future.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Very interesting story...
|
|New Yrok Jazz clubs are a lot of fun to go to though.  But it sounds like they are all jerks though."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Permanent Hearing Damage from Prince
|
|Place:Aunt Becca's Car
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1984
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember riding in the back of Becca's car once on the way back from her apartment.  She played some music so loud it hurt my ears.  I think it was Prince or something like that.  I don't know why I remember this random tid bit but I thought I would record it to see if I could get any recollections from anyone.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|drudanks said:
|"I remember I made this book in school when I was a kid.  I had all my family members in it and a picture to represent them.  Aunt Becca's picture was her driving down the road blasting tunes!"
|
|stack said:
|"I recall this incident. There was also a lot of Bobby Brown being played. I think Becca's hearing has been permanently damaged from it."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"drew your book with aunt becca and her tunes is hilarious..."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Well Noel, I do remember taking you and Kevin, David and Danny for rides in my old Mustang, my old Pontiac, and other vehicles.  I do remember playing rap music and hip hop music.  Yes, I was into Prince, big time.  Sorry if you got hearing damage from Prince, or any other music that I played.  I remember I used to play Two Live Crew for David and Danny all the time.  A few songs Laura did not want her kids to hear, but they heard it anyway.  LOL"
|
|rtaylor525 said:
|"Well Noel, I do remember taking you and Kevin, David and Danny for rides in my old Mustang, my old Pontiac, and other vehicles.  I do remember playing rap music and hip hop music.  Yes, I was into Prince, big time.  Sorry if you got hearing damage from Prince, or any other music that I played.  I remember I used to play Two Live Crew for David and Danny all the time.  A few songs Laura did not want her kids to hear, but they heard it anyway.  LOL"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My 1st car accident
|
|Place:Walton and Sashabaw
|
|Location:Drayton Plains, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1994
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I can't remember who was in the car.  Becca was driving and I think that the Brat Patrol or part of it was in the car.  We were on our way to my house for a Taylor holiday gathering.  We were driving north on Dixie and somebody cut us off or Becca cut someone off or something.  I just remember that the guy was driving weird and that he got in front of us.  I can't remember what car Becca was driving - I think it was a purple Blazer if that makes sense.
|
|Anyway, we turned right on Sashabaw and when we got to Walton, the guy stopped suddenly and Becca kind of bumped the guys bumper.  What resulted was the funny part.
|
|The driver got out of his car and started complaining.  At some point he laid on the ground and said his neck or back hurt or something.  Finally an ambulance showed up and they said that he appeared fine but that they could transport him if he was willing to foot the bill.  Apparently he felt fine after that.  One of the officers told Becca that he knew the guy was faking so we were allowed to go on our way.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"It was after she took all of you guys to best buy or someplace to immediately spend your holiday gift certificates."
|
|stack said:
|"my neck, my back, my neck and my back"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
rtaylor525 said:
|"This is great, because I was meaning to post this memory by myself, but you already did it for me lellel.
|
|Well as I recall.  I remember Becca was changing the radio station when she ran into the crazy psycho actor who proceeded to act like he was hurt.
|
|Immediately after the situation, he went crazy on my Aunt.  Swearing up a storm.  Becca was very upset and scared at what this asshole was going to do.
|
|We were all fairly young.  But if it was today, he wouldnt have gotten away with his actions.  
|
|The asshole was very animated and waiving his hands all around.  BUT THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO HIS CAR!
|
|Eventually the cops came and an ambulance and they totally called it out that his guy couldnt possibly of been hurt.
|
|It was a very interesting first accident for me too...
|
|No more changing the radio station when you are stopping Bec."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"This is great, because I was meaning to post this memory by myself, but you already did it for me lellel.
|
|Well as I recall.  I remember Becca was changing the radio station when she ran into the crazy psycho actor who proceeded to act like he was hurt.
|
|Immediately after the situation, he went crazy on my Aunt.  Swearing up a storm.  Becca was very upset and scared at what this asshole was going to do.
|
|We were all fairly young.  But if it was today, he wouldnt have gotten away with his actions.  
|
|The asshole was very animated and waiving his hands all around.  BUT THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO HIS CAR!
|
|Eventually the cops came and an ambulance and they totally called it out that his guy couldnt possibly of been hurt.
|
|It was a very interesting first accident for me too...
|
|No more changing the radio station when you are stopping Bec."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Grandma Dot gets peed on a lot
|
|Place:Grandma Dot's Condo
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1988
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time Kevin and I were staying the night at my  Grandma Dot's house in Florida.  Kevin and I slept in her bed and she slept in the middle.  At one point in the night one of us wet the bed.  Grandma turned the other way and then the other one of us peed on her!  I don't know the exact details of what happened but it is just a funny story that has stood the test of time.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"That was the first time I had ever seen a Walmart."
|
|pstalker said:
|"Actually, it was at a hotel and Detroit Metro Airport the night before we flew out to California to Drake and Pearls for Christmas"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
pstalker said:
|"We were on our way out to California to visit Drake & Pam.  We had an early flight out, so we stayed at the airport the night before.  Grandma Dot was all excited to have you two sleep with her until she woke up in the morning and you both had peed the bed."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Drew's old 'hood
|
|Place:Waterford
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1983
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember Drew's old neighborhood.  We used to love going to his house and swimming in the pool in the summer.  We also had fun in his basement where we played Nintendo on a projection screen TV.  I remember in particular playing Super Mario Brothers and Duck Tales.  Drew also had one of those poles that had a ball attached to it like on Napoleon Dynamite.  I never knew how to play that game as a kid until I saw ND.  Drew also had a sweet tree fort that was probably the inspiration for the tree fort that me and my friends later created.  I also remember going to the ice cream store and 7-11 near Drew's house as well as some park or playground near his house.  Good times.  I still pass that area on our way to It's a Matter of Taste in Commerce Township because Beth has a gig there every other Wednesday.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah their house was fantastic.  There are so many memories there its unreal.
|
|You need to add drew as a friend so that you can simply check the checkbox before posting a new memory so he can give his version of the story."
|
|Stack said:
|"They had this video game about the Bible on NES. I liked playing the Noah's Ark one where u picked up all the animals."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Pranking Sara Treder
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1994
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time Todd Bauer and I pranked Sara Treder, who I liked back when I was in tenth grade. It was quite a lame prank call. Todd said Would you like to buy a magazine?! in this really strange voice. All she said was What? and that was it. We had recorded the prank on the computer though and we would play it over and over. I think I even had it set up so that, when Windows 3.1 booted up, it played the wav file of the prank. We were such dorks. I wish I still had the wav file. I wouldn't be able to post it though - the memory crawler needs to add audio media capability ;)
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Ohhh man!  Feature requests inside of the memories!
|
|I will think about it..."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"How do you like the rotating memories?
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Red Wings Theme Song
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2002
|
|Memory Category:Beth Singing Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|After the TCF Jingle, WDIV asked Beth and Alisa to record a song for the Red Wings.  They were in the finals and it looked like they might win.  Writing a song about the Red Wings was not an easy thing.  Beth, Alisa and I were at Alisa's apartment and we were trying to come up with lyrics.  Everything we came up with was lame.  We were listing all of the names of cities in metro-Detroit that we could think of to see if we could get rhymes.  Then I suggested that we call Alisa's co-writer Allan Goetz to see if he could come up with some lyrics.
|    They met the next day and Allan came up with some beautifully nostalgic lyrics about the Red Wings.  They used the melody line from one of Alisa's existing songs.  Instead of "I don't have two sticks to rub together.  I don't have a place to call home" the lyrics became "Summertime, never tasted better.  Oh those days of June still etched in my mind".
|    Channel 4 said that, if we paid for the recording they would try to put something together.  We went to Joby and George's studio where they recorded the audio for the TCF jingle.  Sabrina came along with us.
|    I remember Sab and I went out and got Chinese food and brought it back.  We were all hanging in the green room.
|    The final product wasn't terrific but it was pretty good.  We E-mailed it to Mitch Albom but nothing happened.  I guess Channel 4 did put together a video but the hype was all over before we could get anything going.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:All I need is a little TCF!!!
|
|Place:Cranbrook
|
|Location:Bloomfield Hills, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2002
|
|Memory Category:Beth Singing Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth and Alisa heard about this "Sing that TCF Jingle" contest. 
|Auditions were held at "METV" booths at local malls.  They went to
| Great Lakes Crossing and auditioned on the last day.  The winner
|received a trip to Universal Studios Florida and got to record a
|commercial for TCF Bank.  Beth and Alisa won and here is the video
|of them singing.  Channel 4 recorded a video of them singing at
|Cranbrook and here is the video.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
littlelizz said:
|"I saw the "TCF Jingle Contest" on television and wanted to try-out, but I didn't want to sing alone in front of the "MeTV" booth.  I called my friend, Alisa and asked if she wanted to enter the contest with me because we had, previously, won a "Tubby's Submarine" singing contest. And I figured we could win this one if we sang harmonies and played guitar.  we got together and, since neither of knew exactly how the song went, we made up the melody, which I think was better than the original commercial melody.  We went to the mall and played our song in front of the MeTV booth while a small crowd gathered around us...  It was the very last day to enter, which is how Alisa and I usually work.  Anyway, We got a call about a week later, saying that we won the contest!  We recorded a song and video of our experience in the studio, but, apparently, the footage was too "racy"....  How dare we wear tank tops and jeans on a 90 degree day!!  So, we had to re-shoot a video at Cranbrook Gardens and wear more "appropriate" attire.  And that is how this video came about.  We also won a trip to Universal Studios, which ended up being more stressful than fun..  Alisa and I didn't talk for a long time after that trip, but now we're good friends again and still perform together, from time to time....  "
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Sewage Back Up
|
|Place:Grant Street House
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 2006
|
|Memory Category:First Hand Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth and I were getting ready to go to her gig at the Clarkston Cafe when we noticed that there was a flood downstairs.  The laundry tub was full of water and stuff was coming out of the toilet (not just water but TP and other matter).  I had to take decisive action.  Beth went to the gig while I stayed home and cleaned up.  This was the first and only Clarkston Cafe gig that I ever missed.  It ended up being a really busy and fun night and people later expressed how odd it was that I wasn't there.  I called Uncle Mike and he came over and took a look at it.  He suggested that I call a plumber and that I rip up all of the carpet that was soaked.  Well, I went to work.  I had to tear up the carpet and roll it up and put it on the curb.  I also had to do the same to the carpet padding.  Then I had to bleach all affected areas to sanitize them.  Then I had to clean all the carpet that I didn't tear up because I had walked on it all.  I started at about 6pm and didn't finish until like 5 in the morning.  That's when I called my boss and left a message that I wasn't coming in that day.  I think that Beth stayed either at my parents' house or at my aunt and uncle's house.  Since she was pregnant with Chloe, we didn't want her to be around any fecal matter.
|
|The plumber came a few hours later.  I guess there was a tree root that had invaded the plumbing.  He took care of that with a snake cutter tool.  We still have not replaced the floor in the basement.  We need to put tile or something that won't be destroyed if there is another back up.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|rtaylor525 said:
|"Noel,
|
|Gosh what a gross job you had to do.  Nasty.  Lucky your baby had not been born yet.  Have you thought about getting the tree in the backyard taken out?  Hopefully this will not happen again.  Your Aunt Becca."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I dont remember ever reading this memory.  It might have been written when you were on your craze Noel.
|
|But now you havent posted any memories in months. 
|
|But I forgive you because you are scanning stuff.  
|
|Git R Dun!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Clarkston Cafe Confrontation
|
|Place:Clarkston Cafe
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2004
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back when Beth was first starting to sing at the Clarkston Cafe, there was this guy named Larry there.  He would come pretty regularly and sit at the bar.  He had a friend that was there with him most nights.  They were pretty crude but that was to be expected at the bar.
|
|One time Larry heard Beth sing "Natural Woman" and Larry was impressed with one of the notes.  Then he started talking to me about his favorite singer, Koko Taylor.  He went on and on and compared Beth to Koko Taylor.  He said that Koko had a really hard life and that you could hear it in her voice when she sang.  She had soul.  He said that perhaps I needed to give Beth a spanking or make her feel pain so that she could go to that next level with her singing.  I just kind of smiled and nodded, not knowing at the time how to react to such a strange situation.
|
|On another week Larry was there and he kept going about how Beth needs to be like Koko Taylor.  He had purchased one of Beth's CDs and said that it was nice but that she needed to do more blues or something.  I can't remember the words that he chose to use to describe Beth's CD but they were kind of patronizing.  I took offense and then rebuttled that Beth is not Koko Taylor and that she shouldn't try to be someone that she's not.  I think I made a comment that it wouldn't be real or something.
|
|Well, the next week he was there again and picked up right where we left off.  He said "I've been thinking about what you said last week and I think you are wrong."  He then proceeded to tell me why I was wrong and why Beth should be more like Koko Taylor.  He said that stuff sells.  I responded by saying that Beth's music is a lot like Sarah McLachlan or Alison Krauss.  I said that Sarah McLachlan fills the palace with her type of music so she doesn't have to be like Koko Taylor to sell records.
|
|He insisted on arguing with me.  I don't even know why.  When it became obvious that the conversation was going nowhere I just said "Whatever" and went to the rest room.
|
|The whole time, one of my friends, Raquelle from Kensington, was sitting next to me and she witnessed the entire exchange.  As I walked out of the bathroom, I passed him and went up to sit in front of Beth.  Raquelle told me later that the guy was saying that I was a "Deusche Bag".
|
|He walked out upset and said something to me along the lines that I would regret what I did.  For several weeks following I was always watching to see who would come in the door and see if it was him.  I was wondering what he meant when he said I would regret it.  Even a year later I think I still had anxiety about him making an appearance.  Well, it's been over two years since the confrontation and Beth no longer sings at the Clarkston Cafe.  The restaurant was purchased by Kurt Catallo and is being rennovated.  She lost her job in the shuffle and we are working on getting her back in there with a jazz group.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|rtaylor525 said:
|"Kurt Catallo does not know what he is missing if he does not re-hire Beth to sing at the Clarkston Cafe."
|
|drudanks said:
|"Noel, you did the right thing, that guys sounds like a real jackass type.  I've also learned to just avoid them because they're everywhere you go."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel called a Freak
|
|Place:Snowapple
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1995
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back when I was in 10th grade I biked practically every day up to Kim Deacon or Ashley Halleran's house or to Music Master.  I was growing my hair out and it was almost shoulder length.  I wasn't quite a skater because I couldn't skateboard - I was what was called a poser.
|
|Anyway, I was biking one day down Snowapple as I usually do and this G-Dawg yells out "Freak" to me.  I took offense because I really didn't think I looked like a freak.  I think I cut my hair really short that summer.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Fun with Horror Movie Killers
|
|Place:Conrad House
|
|Location:Suttons Bay, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in the dizzay our family would drive up to Suttons Bay each summer. Suttons Bay is just south of Traverse City, I believe. That is where John and Derek lived. They are Bill Conrad's kids and Bill is one of my dad's best friends.
|
|I remember one year that we bought these toys from Kmart or something. They were little hollow, round, squishy balls that had a hole in them so you could use them as squirt guns. The strange thing was that they were faces of horror movie characters. I had one of Jason from the Friday the 13th series and one of Freddie from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. I used to watch those movies a lot as a kid - disturbing huh? But somehow the squirt guns were good clean fun.
|
|I think that we lost the Freddie toy in Lake Michigan.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:hit in the eye with a shovel
|
|Place:Warbler House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1988
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time at our house in birdland, Kevin and I were shovelling in front of the house.  We had these small, cheap red metal shovels with wooden sticks and a red plastic handles.  Kevin must have been shovelling near me because he brought his shovel back and poked me in the eye.  I remember crying and making my way up to the front door and that I was crying blood.  I guess that Kevin just missed my eye.
|    I remember going to Dr. O'Neil's office before it was at Clarkston Medical Group and getting some stitches.  I was laying down and I remember feeling something really cold touching my eye.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"Good old Dr. O'Neil"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"This reminds me of the time I knocked my brother with a bat by accident"
|
|Stack said:
|"The only thing I recall about that situation is you at the doctors office. You were crying the whole time untill Doctor O'Neil started putting the stiches in. Once he started doing this you said it tickled and cheered up a little bit."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Gradual Destruction of my Action Figures Part 1
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1991
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Sometimes action figures would come with some kind of movement. You could lift their arm and it would spring back into place. Well, I twisted one of my GI Joes only to discover that it would twist back similar to other action figures. I also found that they could be twisted almost a complete 360 degrees and they would spring back into their normal orientation. Unfortunately, the Joes weren't intended to be twisted in such a fashion. One time I twisted one of them and it broke. The body fell off of the legs. Then I was able to see why. Basically, the top was connected to the bottom by a glorified rubber band. After I discovered that, I stopped twisting them, but I started taking them apart to see if you could put one Joe's body on another Joe's legs. It was very difficult and there were casualties.
|
|I don't know why I remember this.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Home Economics
|
|Place:Sashabaw Junior High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1991
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that we had a teacher that we used to make fun of.  She was our Home Economics teacher.  She was overweight and short and had large breasts.  We called her "Torpedo T---".  You can guess what we called her.  
|
|Me and my friend  Chris  put a character in our book called "Torpedo T---".
|
|I feel really bad about it though because it was cruel and she didn't do anything to deserve it.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Peeing My Pants in Front of the Class
|
|Place:Pine Knob Elementary
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1988
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|It was fourth grade and I was in Mrs. McCurdy's class. She was a great teacher overall, but I take issue with one thing. In pairs of two, the students researched a country together. After their research, they gave reports on their country. Wesley Derryberry and I researched Yugoslavia. Before our report, I told the teacher that I needed to go to the bathroom. She said I could not go.  Wesley started out and was reporting as I crossed my legs and tried to keep from peeing. I couldn't hold it any longer. I felt the warm liquid run down my leg and saw it begin to puddle by my feet. It was quite embarrassing! My friends were in that class as well as a girl I liked at the time - Elissa Shires.
| I walked over to the teacher and told her that I peed my pants. I was sent to the office where they gave me a dry pair of pants and my dad came and picked me up and took me home. I never returned to school again - just kidding.
| Even in high school, my friend Jason Tiefenback remarked that he remembered when I peed my pants in front of the class.
| Classic memory.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"It was always your Dad who came to the rescue, because he worked right in Clarkston."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"The root of feeling embarrassed comes from peeing your pants.
|
|Now when you search for "pee" on my site, we will have two good peeing stories."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Mortal Kombat!
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1994
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember we were doing a video in my class about the planets.  We went outside and each person was teamed up with someone else.  Each team represented a planet or the sun.  We lined up outside the high school away from each other proportional to the distance between the planets.  The video camera would come to each team and they would say what planet they were and give some facts.  My team member was Jeff Williams.  I do not remember what our planet was.  I do remember that, as the video camera went to the next planet, I screamed "Mortal Kombat!"  The movie trailers were out at the time and someone screams that at the end.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Charlie Chaplain Ghost
|
|Place:Farmridge House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1986
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I have a memory that I am not sure if it is a memory or a dream. From the content of it though, it has to be a dream. It was at my parents' first house. I woke up and noticed that I didn't have my blanket with me. I walked down to the basement to get it. My parents had this tall picture of Charlie Chaplain down there. When I went down there, I either heard the picture talking or it moved or something. I was frightened and ran back upstairs. Weird memory.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"I think that Charlie Chaplin picture is still in our basement."
|
|stack said:
|"That was a freaky painting. Didn't that happen in Birdland though?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Awesome Birthday Party
|
|Location:Pontiac, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1984
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember I went to my friend Ben Weiner's birthday party. It was just him and me and another one of his friends named Mike. We went with Ben's mom to Chuckie Cheese's and afterwards we went to Toys 'R' Us. I can't remember how it happened but I think that Ben's mom let us get some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. I think I got Splinter. That was a fun and memorable birthday party indeed!
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Being Kicked in the Gnads by Ben Weiner
|
|Place:Pine Knob Elementary
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1984
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember we were out on the playground by the monkey bars and my friend Ben Weiner and I were fighting for some reason. Ben ended the fight by kicking me in the groin. That is the only time I have been kicked in the groin and I still remember what it feels like. I think a man only needs to have it happen once in his lifetime and he will never forget what it feels like. I don't think that any of the playground monitors got involved or anything. I just had to be a man and deal with it.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"ironic how the guys name was weiner...."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Christian Boy Band Encounter
|
|Place:YMCA
|
|Location:Estes Park, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2004
|
|Memory Category:First Hand Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A couple years ago Beth and I went to this music conference.  It was at the YMCA in Estes Park.  Normally, when someone says YMCA, you don't really get a flattering picture in your head.  In this case, it was this beautiful park in the middle of the Rockies.  The conference was put on by the Gospel Music Association.  I think it was called Music in the Rockies or something.
|
|Beth went there to compete against other artists.  There was an artist showcase and people were graded on their performance and songwriting skills.  Unfortunately, Beth did not make it past the first round.  However, a lot of other cool stuff happened for her that I will probably post later.
|
|What I wanted to write about was a funny encounter we had.  There is this Christian band Plus One which is like the Christian answer to NSync or Backstreet Boys.  Beth and I both thought it was quite lame that there had to be a Christian answer to those type of bands.  Nonetheless, Plus One was playing at one of the evening concerts.  This was a several day event.  Beth and I watched one of the concerts with some old guy and Point of Grace.  On the other nights though, Beth and I hung around the camp fire outside.  There were not many people that would be around since they were all inside for the concert.  We made some friends around that camp fire and sang worship songs.
|
|One evening, some one new showed up and started talking to us.  We thought he was really cool.  Eventually we found out that he was one of the band members of Plus One!  I could feel that another one of our friends was embarrassed too because I think we had talked earlier about how lame that band was.  I still haven't listened to any of their CDs, but I have a greater respect for the band now.  The guy was really down to earth and cool.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"What an goodie goodie.  Some of those band dorks are completely retarded.  You on the other hand were original and outgoing.  Some people are just debbie downers.  Here you are trying to celebrate doing well and this guy comes up and tries to ruin your fun."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"whoops that comment was for your other memory.... just delete it. and this one."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Being Chased From Gotham City
|
|Place:Gotham City Cafe
|
|Location:Ferndale, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1996
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Me and my friends enjoyed going to coffee houses back in high school. It was kind of when they first started appearing, before the massive onslaught of Starbucks. There was one called Gotham City Cafe in downtown Ferndale that we heard about.
|
|So we went. I think it was Jeremy Davidson, Dave Belch, Justin Harris and me. Dave and I were in our band varsity jackets and Justin and Jeremy were wearing leather jackets, Jeremy was looking particularly preppy. It turned out that Gotham City Cafe was a total Goth hang out. It was very dark and strange in there and people were just kind of sitting on the floor. I can't recall if we got coffee or just decided to leave. At any rate, I think that people might have chuckled at our preppy appearance.
|
|We left and drove around the block in front of the Cafe. I think I yelled fags out the window and before we could think, some big guy jumped in a truck and started driving after us. Luckily, we had a head start on him and lost him. Man, I was such a jerk.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"
|
|Yeah you were a jerk.  But so was I sometimes in High School.  Oh the good old days when you and I were totally immature!
|
|One time I was in Kutna Hora in the Czech republic and I randomly went into a Goth Bar too.  They always look at you funny, when they should just be friendly and say whats up."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Can You Feel It?
|
|Place:Silverdome
|
|Location:Pontiac, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1996
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In my senior year in high school, I was the section leader for our trumpet section.  It was pretty big.  I think we had like 35 members or something.  I was pretty outgoing.  I would jump around and swivel my hips and say "can you feel it?" like Ace Ventura.  At our Band-O-Rama event awards were given out based on student votes.  I received the "Spark Plug" award nearly unanimously.
|
|At our state competition, we did a great performance and it was now the time when the awards were announced.  They got all the way to 4th place and we got nervous.  In 1995 we had received 4th place.  In 1993 we got 7th and we got 8th in 1994.  Finally, they announced that we got 3rd place.  It was so exciting, being my senior year and getting the best placing we ever received.  (In Michigan you can't really get first place because Plymouth Canton does every year because they spend tons of money and do totally untraditional things - but that's a different story).
|
|Anyway, I started doing the "can you feel it" thing in the bleachers.  At one point, a student from another band approached me and said that I was doing behavior that was unbecoming or that I was being rude or something like that.  I can't remember exactly how it happened but I believe as he walked away, I said "let's hear it for Penis" and started applauding or something.  Me and my friends used to say that for some reason.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|littlelizz said:
|"Let's hear it for penis??  So, were there a bunch of kids applauding or just you?"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"What an goodie goodie.  Some of those band dorks are completely retarded.  You on the other hand were original and outgoing.  Some people are just debbie downers.  Here you are trying to celebrate doing well and this guy comes up and tries to ruin your fun."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I absolutely love the photo you have here..  I miss marching band"
|
|lellel said:
|"I know man - I miss marching band too.  It's weird, I have these dreams every once and a while that I joined back up and that we are doing a performance but I don't know where to walk because we never practiced. It usually ends in disaster, but they are fun dreams nonetheless.  They are so vivid - it's like the exact experience of marching is somewhere deep in the memory banks of my brain."
|
|Stack said:
|"I remember trying to explain to my freshmen football teamates how proud I was of you after that. They didn't understand because they were meat heads."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My Religious Conversion
|
|Location:London, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1997
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In my adolescence I was an atheist.  I read a lot of science fiction; I read Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.  I enjoyed having late night discussions about the universe with my friends.  My perspective was that the universe is infinite; while there is no God, there are an infinite amount of worlds.
|
|I had another side to my atheism which was a little darker.  I frowned upon those who had religious convictions.  In retrospect, I was kind of an evangelical atheist, seeking converts.  I remember hearing a couple of things from my friends that allowed me to let my guard down.  One of my friends said that I was being close-minded, even as I was accusing Christians of being close-minded.  Another friend said "Seek and you will find".  I think one of those friends was Kim Deacon and the other one was Paul Talbot.  I remember Paul and I having really deep conversations and one in particular as we listened to Metallica in his pick-up on our way to Car City Records in St Clair Shores.  This was in 1996, my Junior and Senior year.
|
|For some reason, I was moved to seek in December of 1996.  I remember feeling stupid at the time but I knelt down by my bedside and prayed, saying "God if you are out there, show me".  That was it.  Later that month the marching band went to London for the New Year's Day Parade.  This was my second band trip out there.  The first was in my freshman year.
|
|It was tons of fun and I think that I had totally forgotten about my prayer to God.  I remember that, on New Year's Eve there was a dance at the hotel and that I didn't go.  I mostly stayed in my room and I was kind of melancholy.  There were some fun things that happened and I plan on recording those in a separate entry. Then on New Year's Day we marched.  This was to be my last marching experience with the band (other than the Memorial Day Parade).  It was the last time playing that season's selections though.  It was a cold and wet day, but not snowy (it doesn't snow often in London).  It was a long march and difficult to keep my lips and arms working.
|
|I really don't know how to describe to you what happened next.  The only thing I can compare it to is the story of Saul on his road to Damascus and how Jesus appeared to him and he was converted and became Paul.  Except that no one appeared to me and I didn't see any light or anything.  I just kind of heard or felt a voice saying something like "I Am" and, in that moment, I knew that there was something greater than myself.  I marched the remainder of the time with renewed vigor.  I recall snapping my horn up at the appropriate time and passing someone and them saying "Ooh" or something.
|
|After the march people asked how it went and I remember just saying that "it was a religious experience".  I didn't know how else to describe it.  After that I didn't think much about it during the trip.  When I returned, I knew that I had to go to a church.  I knew God existed, but I didn't know if he was Buddha or Jesus or what.  I went to a Catholic Church service at St. Daniel's with my friend Todd Bauer but I didn't really feel anything.
|
|Then I met Beth.  We started dating.  I knew she was Christian and she knew I was an atheist.  We didn't really talk about any of that.  We were in the stage of our early dating where we spent every single day together.  Looking forward to the weekend, I asked her what she was doing Saturday night.  She said that she was singing at a Coffee House.  I expressed interest but she said that I probably wouldn't enjoy it, it was a Christian event.  But I told her I wanted to go.
|
|The place was called Coffee House and it was started by Beth's brother Joe Baldiga.  It was sponsored by New Hope Bible Church of Clarkston.  It was a weekly thing that happend from like 7-10pm or something.  The first thing that struck me--other than the 70's shag carpet and panelled walls--was the diverse make up of the people there.  They were all young, but they seemed to be from every different clique.  Band geeks, hippies, jocks and preps were all hanging out and having a good time.  They sang songs, discussed the Bible and Joe gave a short message.  Afterwards they played ping-pong and pool.
|
|It just felt good.  I really did feel a sense of fellowship and love that I did not feel at high school.  It felt real.  The next day, when I woke up, I knelt at my bedside and gave my heart to Jesus.  I don't know how I knew I was supposed to do that, but I did it.  I grabbed my grandfather's Bible and I went with Beth to a church service at Shepherd Fellowship in Waterford.
|
|I remember telling Beth as I walked in the parking lot with her that "I'm a new man".  And it was true.  My values and outlook on life have changed.  I am never without hope.  Lunch is almost over so I have to stop but I think that this basically covers my "religious conversion".  I will have separate entries of some interesting stories during my early Christian walk.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Very very interesting Noel... I always wondered what your expereince was like converting and how it kind of happened because I always knew of you as being an athiest and all of the sudden an epiphany occured.
|
|Very cool man.  You have so much love in  your little world.
|
|Rock on!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"This memory came right after my sinning with Kevin in Vegas.... is there a coincidence?"
|
|lellel said:
|"Hey Dave - it had nothing to do with that.  I was actually thinking how much I miss that I wasn't able to be there or to be at Jimmy or Robin's weddings."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Well you will be able to see my wedding soon.  That will be fun.  Maybe Chloe can be in our wedding if she can walk.
|
|
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Student Announcements
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1997
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Derek Bannasch and I used to do student announcements over the PA in the morning. We were very eccentric and dramatic with our announcements. We aspired to achieve the fame of last year's announcing team of Jim Territo and Brandon Williams.
|
|Once, at the closing of the announcements, they signed off by saying These announcements have been brought to you by Rudy's Meat Market: nobody beats our meat. Unfortunately for them, they were no longer allowed to give the announcements.
|
|So one morning we closed our announcements by saying These announcements have been brought to you by Rudy's Meat Market and that was it. When I turned around I saw that one of the staff was frowning and they scolded us.
|
|Just to prove that I am the dorkiest user on the site, I have scanned official documents to back up my story ;)
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Borrow my automatic document feed scanner to scan all of your stuff.
|
|I scanned 3500 photos with ease in two weeks"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG I totally forgot that when you are in high school and you do well in a sporting event that they announce your name.
|
|I would always get excited about that.  Especially when they announce that you broke the school record."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ionia Music Festival
|
|Place:Great Lakes Music Festival
|
|Location:Ionia, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Sad
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|As I wrote my last memory about the Ionia Music Festival, it reminded me of two sad truths.
|
|As I mentioned in my previous entry, Jill Orler went with us to the festival.  Sadly, Jill was killed in a car accident a couple years ago.  I will have to post some memories of her in the future.
|
|Also, on the second day of the festival, I left Beth with Jill and Chas and drove off to a Solid Brass gig.  One of the people in the Solid Brass was Colin McIntyre.  Less than a year later, Colin committed suicide.
|
|I was just thinking of how strange it is that I was with two people that weekend who have passed away already.  I am only 27.  It just reminds me that we have to cherish those who are with us for the time that they are here.  None of us knows how long we will be here.  But Dave, the nice thing is that we can share our memories of these people on your site.
|
|I have attached some pictures of that weekend.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"That is why I think this site will be successful.
|
|I really dont care if I make any money on the site because the site has already become my personal legacy for my self and my loved ones.
|
|If I die tomorrow, I know this site will bring a lot to peoples lives.
|
|Its crazy.  All that work I put into it is sooo worth it.  Thanks for being a great user lel.  I cant wait to see you soon.
|
|I might stop by to talk about the site soon."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Bleach
|
|Place:Great Lakes Music Festival
|
|Location:Ionia, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth, Jill Orler, Chas Claus and I went to a Christian music festival.  We camped there and had a great time.  I was geeked about picking up a lot of CDs because I had just gotten into listening to Christian music.  There were a lot of bands there that I hadn't heard of before.
|
|One of them was a band called "Bleach".  We didn't actually see Bleach perform.  We just kind of heard them as we walked around the stadium and the campground.  We were browsing the different bands' tables and looking at their CDs.  We came upon Bleach's table and somebody approaches us and asked us how we liked the band.  I think we said "They were good".  We asked which CD he recommended and he pointed one out.  We got back to our camp site and I opened up some of the CDs we purchased and started listening to them.  While we were looking at the liner notes to the Bleach CD, we noticed that the guy we were talking to was the lead singer!  We were kind of embarrased because it would have been obvious to him that we had never actually seen the band even though we said they were good.
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
littlelizz said:
|"That's, pretty much, what happened.
|
|We heard the band playing from outside the performance area and thought they were really good, but we didn't actually see the band playing. Later, we were approached by a greasy looking guy, and he asked us how we liked the band.  I just figured that he was one of the campers, since it looked like he hadn't showered in a few days.  We were pretty embarrassed once we opened the cd case and saw his picture on the inside..  "
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The first time I ever stole
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1982
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When  Dan  and  Dave  used to live in Waterford, there was this party store within walking distance of their house. We used to walk up there all the time and load up on candy to eat as we stayed up all night playing video games. On one occassion we went there and I don't know why but I stole some Bubilicious gum. It is strange that I remember that to this day. I can still see the interior of the party store in my head.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"I recall going in the back room and getting illegal fireworks."
|
|lellel said:
|"I remember that as well."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I think I remember that occasion.  I can safely say that I never stole any candy from Sam.
|
|We probably yelled at you or something.
|
|This memory reminds me of the time that Kevin brought a whole box of Air Heads to our house and we ate the whole box in one night playing video games.
|
|That was the same night that I broke out my tape player and began to record all of your CD's to Tape with my new tape player.
|
|You had a lot of Nirvana music and other rock."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Origin of Lellel
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1992
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Here's the story behind my username. I think it was Derek Conrad that started calling me Nalel. Then it turned into Lel. And now Dave calls me lellel. I used to call Kevin Keevinalel.
|
|Kevin and I used to make weird noises. We used to say yiyiyi. We called this the Dane Fife mating call. Dane was my childhood bully so it was our dorky way of getting back it him (behind his back). We used to make this weird noise that happens when you smack your tongue against your bottom lip and make this distorted face. I will have to find a picture of one of us making the face - I know they are out there as we did it often.
|
|Recently I started using the word Nalel again. It cracks my friend Sabrina up every time that I say it. I say it like this Naaaalel and make a funny face.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|littlelizz said:
|"you are such a dork :)"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"total.... dork.... but hey he's the coolest dork on this site because at least he posts a memory a day.
|
|you know what they say.  a memory a day keeps the doctor away.
|
|I think I won the dork arawrd for today by saying that."
|
|stack said:
|"leleleleleleleleleleleleleleleleleel"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah well I just rememeber how much Kevin used to love you soo much.
|
|He was always sooo bitter when you had more important things to do than hang out with him.
|
|Like when you met Beth, things never would be exactly the same as when you were kids.
|
|You have got to post the memory of the time you used to intricately hide porn behind stuff in your room!  LOL"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Collectors
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There used to be a ska band in my high school called the collectors.  I think that Brian and Steve Trevaskis were in it as well as Rob Chism and Todd Bauer.  Maybe Dave Belch was in it too.
|
|Anyway, that was back when ska was cool and there was a good-sized group of skankers at our school.  I remember that The Collectors played in the high school cafeteria after school one day.  I think it was for the tailgate party or something.  I totally skanked that day.  I think that Beth was there with Jim Territo at the time and she was dating him then.  I have a picture of it which I will have to scan and attach to this memory.
|
|Todd was not available to do a gig with the Collectors once so they asked me to do it.  It was at the Alano club on Clintonville and I-75.  I got all dressed up and did the gig.  Even though I sucked, I enjoyed the gig.  It was probably my first time playing out in front of people with my trumpet other than school-related stuff and the Solid Brass.
|
|Well, they never called me back for a gig after that.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"I saw that gig. You and Todd stole the show, you guys sounded good. That is the only show I really remember seeing there."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Franko De Muerto
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1996
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that there was always this table full of latino gangsters in the cafeteria.  For some reason, my friend Todd didn't get along with one of them.  His name was Franko and we called him "Franko De Muerto" which is something like "Franko of death".
|
|His name evolved.  It became "Franko De Muerto Espierto" which totally doesn't make sense but it rhymed.  I think it means Franko of Death Hope.  Then it became "Franko De Muerto De Espierto Vash" or something.  I think we thought that it meant "Franko of Death of Hope Cow".
|
|Anyway, I remember that there was once a confrontation.  I don't know if we threw food or what but they approached Todd and our preppy table and then followed Todd out into the commons area and surrounded him.  Nothing happened though - maybe the bell rang - I can't remember clearly.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Damn lel.... you are catching up with me and my total count of memories...."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel falls off of bike part 2
|
|Place:Motor City Guitar
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1996
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Lorne Deacon, Todd Bauer and I went on a bike ride to Waterford. We were right next to the old movie theatre where Motor City Guitar is now. We were on our way back when Lorne decided to pass Todd and then come around and pass me. While passing me, he knocked my handle bars and I came tumbling down.
|
|This accident was a bit more gory than Noel's bike accident Part 1. I also did a good deal of swearing. My dad drove up to get me in the Suburban. Lorne felt really bad about it. I just think it is funny that Lorne was involved in both of my bike accidents.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel falls off of bike Part 1
|
|Place:Snowapple
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1996
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time I was biking past Kim and Lorne Deacon's house. Lorne was in front of the house and he waved Hi. I waved back at him and then fell off my bike.
|
|I got some good scrapes and a hefty chunk of embarrasement.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Greenland
|
|Place:The Fields
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1993
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|It was probably late winter or a January thaw when Austin, some other friends, and I visited "Greenland".  This was a part of the fields that was marshy and we could never really explore.  I can't recall why we called it Greenland.  Since it was winter, we thought we could explore it by walking on the ice.
|
|Someone threw something out into the middle of the ice and I walked out to get it carefully.  Unfortunately, the ice was too thin and I fell through.  The good thing was that the water was only about waist deep so I was able to come running and screaming out.  I ran all the way home and my mom helped me take off my pants and warm up.  I think we put my legs in warm water and had some hot cocoa or something.  I'm not sure if we ever visited Greenland after that.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I was there when that happened.  Although I totally dont remember the name of it.
|
|Remember the time where we made up stories about that guy on the motorcycle and we said that he was a murderer.  Or about the time that we went to that wierd house 4 houses down and thought a psycho lived there...?"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Nice memory name of "/""
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Beth gets jazz "Fever"
|
|Place:Jim Falk's House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1999
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Shortly after high school, my friend Jim Falk taught himself how to play bass and drums.  Jim asked us a couple times about coming over and jamming.  He had a song he wanted Beth to learn.
|
|We came over and so did Todd Bauer.  Jim played Peggy Lee's "Fever" for Beth and she took a liking to it.  We set up a microphone in Jim's basement and we practiced the song and recorded it.  I can't remember if Jim played bass and Todd played drums or if it was the other way around.  Anyway, I was pretty green when it came to improvisation so I just did finger snaps on the upbeats.
|
|Then we did George of the Jungle.  Todd played guitar, Jim played drums and I played the trumpet.  It was a total train wreck, but we had a good time.
|
|It was all recorded on cassette tape and Todd took it back to college and doctored it up, adding some synths and reverb.  I remember him telling us that someone was listening in on him in the lab and they commented on how good it was.  Someone said that they thought Beth's voice sounded familiar.
|
|It came out pretty good and Beth was inspired to learn jazz.  This was kind of the beginning of our jazz band Lady and the Tramps.  We still have the recording of "Fever" on tape, but I don't know where the copy of "George of the Jungle" is, which is probably a good thing.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|littlelizz said:
|"That was fun listening to that old recording of fever...  I have come a long way since then!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Oblivious Lel
|
|Place:Tijuana Taxi
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1996
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember back when I was the first one to drive and I could drive to Dan and Dave's house by myself for the first time.  We used to all be in my mom's 1991 Blazer which I called the Tijuana Taxi.  One time we were driving down the road that Waterford Mott is on.
|
|At the intersection where there is a gas station and an ice cream store we were stopped and someone wanted to turn right out of the gas station.  I think I was blocking them or something.
|
|Anyway, Kevin or Dave gave the driver the middle finger, unbeknownst to me.  I turned right and got stopped at the next traffic light.  I had the windows rolled down and I was off in my own world listening to Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.
|
|Just before I turned left there was much excitement in the car.  They told me that the guy pulled up behind me and got out of his car.  He walked up to my car and yelled at Dave and Kevin through the open window.  Somehow, I was unaware of the whole thing!
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG I dont even remember that!"
|
|stack said:
|"I remember that. Dave was just sitting there looking at the guy and rolled the window up on him in mid sentence."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"How could you have been unaware about the whole thing.  
|
|I am glad that the guy didnt pull a gun out on us.
|
|I hate how there is so much violence and hatred in the world.  But when asshole teenagers flip people off, it just promotes more hatred.
|
|But who is to say what the guy actually did.  It was probably being ghetto and was trying to start stuff with us.
|
|I need to post the memory of the time that Dan and I almost got into a fight with a guy who wanted to fight my mom for pointing at him going the wrong way down a parking lot at target."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Intro to Kensington
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Beth had this religion class at OCC.  At the time we went to New Hope Bible Church.  As part of Beth's assignments, she had to go to different religious services.  I went with her to a Hindu service and a Reform Jewish service.  She also went to a Christian service at Kensington Community Church.
|
|She came back from it and told me about it.  She said that they did not have a single cross in the building.  She told me more about it that I can't remember.  I do remember thinking though that it was a watered-down church because it was "seeker-sensitive".
|
|And now I go to that church and I love it and I don't think that it is watered down at all - I think it is relevant.  And the moral of the story is "Judge not lest ye be judged".
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Awkward Date
|
|Place:Showcase Cinema
|
|Location:Auburn Hills, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1996
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Once I went  a date with someone named Shannon.  I told myself that I was going to be more bold than in previous dates.  So, on the way into the movie theatre, I grabbed her hand.
|
|I could tell that she didn't like it because she suggested instead that I give her a piggy back ride.  So I did.  Awkward.
|
|Nothing ever came of that date.  Thank God :)
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The End of the Fort
|
|Place:The Fields
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1995
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|As I started to become more social in high school, I spent less time at the tree fort and so did Chris Shea.  The fort began to fall into disrepair.
|
|One day I was playing video games with some people at my house.  I know for sure that Kevin and Jimmy Territo were there; I can't remember who else was there.
|
|Anyway Kevin heard some screaming coming from the fort and saw that someone had fallen off the fort.  There were two kids and the one that was not hurt was asking Kevin to call 911.  Kevin asked what happened and apparently, the kid had climbed to the fourth story of the fort and started destroying it.  I think Kevin was tempted to not give them the phe.
|
|911 was called and the ambulance arrived shortly thereafter.  My parents were out and when they came home there was an ambulance in the driveway.  They were freaked out but probably relieved that neither of their kids were hurt.  The funny thing is that I didn't even realize any of this was happening.  I was just in my own merry gaming world - probably playing Super Bomberman or Tekken 2.  I didn't know until my parents came in the house.
|
|The kid who fell off the fort's name was John Schorsh and the funny thing is that he dated my wife before we met.
|
|Well, they built houses in the fields and cut down the tree that supported our fort.  The funny thing is that they were unable to feed the tree through the shredder because it had too many nails in it.  They had to haul it away.
|
|I think that now the tree would sit right about where our neighbor's two-story living room is.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|</a>My External Frie said:
|"Yes, Noel, you were always clueless about what was happening around you.  That's what makes you so special."
|
|lellel said:
|"I guess I got my memory wrong.  The kid with the red hair was John Schorsh who Beth dated and the one who was injured was his friend.  Beth thinks it was someone named Andy."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Stack said:
|"So this kid with exremely red hair comes running up to the house. Apparently his buddy fell out of the fort and broke something. Before calling anyone I ran back to the fort only to realize that it had been vandalized. I was so pissed that I didn't even want to call 911. I kept asking the kid why they messed up our fort. He was panicing and kept saying it was like that when they found it. I knew he was fibbing. I'm not sure if I even called 911 for him. Karma is a bitch!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Peeing on Ant Hills
|
|Place:The Fields
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1992
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We used to have these huge ant hills in the fields. They were mounds of dirt, probably about two feet in diameter by one foot in height. There were literally hundreds of ants crawling on top of each other doing who-knows-what.
|
|My brother and I would pour various substances on them or throw caterpillars in the mound and see what happened to them.
|
|One time we peed on them. Those were simpler times.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"I would rather pee on those hills than in the house."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Kids smear poop on my parents door
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There used to be these two boys that would come over to our house for a while. They were Kevin and my age. I can't remember their names or how we met them. What I do remember is that, one time, they were over and I think Kevin and I locked them out of the house and we watched them in the backyard from the window on the door in the garage.
|
|Apparently this upset them. Since we weren't going to let them in, one of them picked up some of Whiskey's poop and threw it or smeared it on the window as we watched.
|
|If I remember correctly, they weren't allowed over after that incident.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|littlelizz said:
|"Oh my goodness! That is discusting! That really happened??"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"oh man i havent read this memory for some reason. 
|
|thats sick!"
|
|stack said:
|"I think those two kids are in the penitentary now."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Sega Master System
|
|Place:Birdland
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1981
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember going to Ryan O'Connor's house when I was a kid.  The only thing I can remember about it is that his house was in Birdland and that we used to play 8-bit Sega Master System at his house.  I thought it was the coolest thing that he had that and I always wanted to go over there and play it.  I haven't seen Ryan in years but I saw his brother Justin recently and he said that Ryan was in Seattle or something and doing well.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"Last time I saw Justin he was at the Pine Knob Wine Shoppe buying a 40 ounce of beer with a huge beard."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Kevin fights his friend
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that my brother used to hang out with this kid named Justin O'Connor a lot.  If I remember correctly, Justin was kind of short and round and used to stutter pretty badly; he was also a little slow or something.  The thing that I remember the most about him was that Kevin and him would always get into fights before he had to leave.
|
|And I am not just talking verbal fights.  Justin would pound on Kevin and they would wrestle and yell at each other.  Yet, for some reason, he would be back again a week later or something.
|
|Kevin and Justin had the strangest friendship.
|
|I saw Justin again about 5 years ago at the Frosty Boy right next to my old job at Machine Engineering.  He was dressed kind of like an "alternateen".  I can't remember what he said or if he still stuttered, but I remember being really impressed at how much he had grown physically and socially.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"I added the only picture I could find of Justin to the memory.  It's at one of our birthday parties."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
stack said:
|"Yes we did fight alot. I think I would just get frustrated because I was so young and didn't understand that he was "different." In high school we were reunited as he was our football manager. Alot of the kids were always mean to him, but I stuck up for him. I mean he and I had roots going back to Birdland. My most recent encounter of him came at the Pine Knob Wine Shop when he was buying a forty ounce and had some broad in his car."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel lies about getting some action
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1983
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I can't remember the year exactly but it was the year of my dad's high school reunion.  One of his friends came from out of town and brought his kids.  His daughter was a couple of years older than me.  I think her name was Krista Birkelo or something.
|    I think Kevin must have been there and I think John and Derek were too but I'm not sure.  We were all playing video games in my room.  Through the course of the night, I fell in love with her.  As a little boy, this happened to me a lot of times with a lot of girls; unrequited love with some random girl and dreaming of her for the next few weeks.
|    Anyway, nothing happened because I was just a little boy and she could not have possibly had any interest other than to be flattered.  But afterwards I went around telling my friends and my cousins that we kissed.  I think the lie grew bigger with time and some people were told that I copped a feel.
|    Well, nothing actually happened other than me maybe fooling some people for a few moments.  Eventually I came clean.  I continued to be the one cousin that had not kissed a girl for the longest time.
| 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|littlelizz said:
|"Oh, yes, I remember.  You showed me a picture of her...  I thought you told people that she was your girlfriend...  Anyway, that's nothing compared to the time that I told everyone in my jr. high that I was going to be on start search!  Now that was a pretty big lie."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I kind of remember how you actually didnt kiss many girls.  
|
|We all know about how Kevin used to kiss the TV at Punky Brewster.
|
|Very interesting story lel.  Glad that Beth Signed up.
|
|Post the memory about the time you became a Dad."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I dont remember this specific memory though."
|
|Stack said:
|"She kissed you and John both. Then you guys went in the bathroom looking at the lipstick marks on your cheeks."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Stack said:
|"You and John were so happy about that nigth. You guys probally talked about that night for a couple years.  I remember that you and her were write to each other for awhile. She lived in Butte, Montana. I think you didn't wash your face for a week after she kissed you."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Starburst Jelly Beans
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1996
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In the first semester of my Senior year I had a second hour Advanced Speech class.  The only one of my friends that was in the class was Anthony Knakal.  There were others that I knew in the class but Anthony and I used to sit together (the class was in the theatre).
|
|    Also in attendance was Beth Baldiga (see "The Girl With the Bad B.O." memory).  She used to sit by someone named Roxanne Haight.  I didn't really know Beth other than through my friend Todd.  As for Roxanne, I didn't like to get too friendly with her because, at the time, I thought she had a thing for me and I didn't have the same feelings for her.  Beth tells me that I was pretty anti-social in that class.
|
|    So one Friday night at an away football game in Lake Orion, we had a pep band.  Beth was there because she was dating my friend Jimmy Territo.  I was kind of a ham in the marching band - jumping around, yelling and shaking my booty.
|    On Monday, Beth approached me and said, "You're so reserved in class but you were so outgoing at the game."
|    I don't remember this but Beth says that I said, "Whatever."
|    On another occassion, I brought a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans to school.  People kept asking if they could have some so, by second hour I told myself that I would not share any more of them, no matter who asked me.  Lo and behold, Beth approached me and asked if she could have some of my Starburst jelly beans.
|    "No".  I responded.
|    You're probably wondering how we ever ended up hooking up.  That will have to be another memory because my lunch break is almost up.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I dont know how you got that girl... you were a total ass!"
|
|littlelizz said:
|"I agree.. you were a total ass!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Girl with the Bad B.O.
|
|Place:Clarkston High School
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1995
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Me and my friend Todd used to hang out all the time in high school.  We would go cruisin' in his old van and listen to rock music, Herb Alpert and Chuck Mangione.  I looked up to Todd because he was a better trumpet player and had more girl fiends than I (I had none).  Todd and I would often meet at each other's lockers in between classes.
|    On one occassion, Todd said, "Uh-oh.  Here comes the girl with the bad B.O."
|    I didn't understand and he said "It's Beth Baldiga."
|    The name did not ring a bell but she approached and said "Hi" to Todd.  She was kind of shabbily dressed and I didn't smell anything at the moment, but I went along with Todd.  We would refer to her as "the girl with the bad B.O." from that day forward.
|    Anyway, Todd was in a musical with this girl as well as someone named Stephanie Whiton.  We both had the hots for Stephanie at the time but Todd wanted to ask her out.  He thought maybe we could go on a double date with Stephanie and Beth and go bowling.  He thought that Beth and Stephanie were friends.
|    So, one day when Beth came by he asked her about it.  Later I found out that Beth thought Todd was asking her out.  Well, I think it turns out that Stephanie had a boyfriend and so the bowling thing never happened.
|    However, Beth and I are married now and I just think it is funny that this is how we first met.
|
|
|  
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"You were so mean to your future wife.
|
|I cant believe that she had bad BO or something.  I am sure she didnt really and it was just High school rumors.
|
|You two were the biggest dorks, just like me."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:GI JOE Aircraft Carrier
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1986
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember my brother used to have this 7 1/2 ' long GI Joe aircraft carrier toy. The thing took up his entire bedroom and we used to be able to stand on it. It cost over $100 and was the envy of everyone who came over. Definitely, check out the pic for this one. We used to play with our Joes on that for hours.
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I mostly remember how it took up Kevins whole room and you had to practically walk on it to get to his bed.
|
|I also remember that me and my brother were super jealous that you guys had that.  But we were never that much into GI Joe.
|
|Good times, good times.  Post the memory about the time we lit all of the toys on fire with gasoline!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Family Day
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that we used to have this neighbor who was a younger, blonde-haired kid named Jesse.  He used to always want to be a part of our group but we were mean to him.
|
|One day Kevin,  Dan and Dave were over and we were out in our front lawn, probably throwing madballs over the roof or something.  Jesse came down and wanted to see what we were doing and if he could join us.  We fabricated a holiday to get out of this one.  We told him that today was "Family Day" and that you were supposed to be with your family today.  Dan and Dave were over on Family Day because they are my cousins.  Therefore, Jesse could not hang out with us today but had to be with his family.
|
|The weird thing was that I think I remember him believing it and going back up the hill towards his house.
|
|Man we were meanies.  Sorry Jesse.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Family Day ruled..."
|
|stack said:
|"That kid was a toolbox."
|
|Stack said:
|"It didn't stop there. I use to be pretty mean to him on the bus and at recess. I think that eventually led his parents to put him in public school. Sorry Jesse."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Bringing Dan to Coffee House
|
|Place:Coffee House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1999
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I used to go to this Christian Coffee House every Saturday night. It was called Coffee House. It started out as a laid back format, where people discussed the Bible, sang songs and hung out afterwards playing foosball or pool. 
|
|It was a ministry of New Hope Bible Church. Some of the members went to a pentecostal revival in Toronto, hoping to catch some of the fire and bring it back.
|
|I would invite friends and family to come with me to this occassionally. One night I invited dan10878 to Coffee House. Unfortunately for him it was a very pentecostal evening. There were people dancing and crying out and doing other strange things. One person just kept jerking forward like she was punched in the stomach. It must have been a very strange experience for Dan.
|
|I remember him saying at the end of the night something like it wasn't his thing, but if I was into it, then that was cool.
|
|I go to a different church now; people don't run down the aisles or make funny jerking motions. But I still keep in touch with the Coffee House people and they are really cool.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"If Dan doesnt post a freaking memory I am going to take a knife to my chest! lol.  Good story lel"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Whiskey
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1994
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember when I came home from our marching band trip to London after New Year's Day, 1994. My parents picked me up at the airport. I was glad to be back and see them again. However, they had some bad news for me. While I was in London, Whiskey (the family dog) died. I was deeply saddened by this but he had been getting older his health was failing. My parents cheered me up by taking me to the Summit Place Mall and buying me a Super Nintendo game. It was Clayfighter.
|
|I remember really liking the game and I was surprised by the intro music of the game which actually had voices singing; that was the first time I had heard that on a video game.
|
|I didn't have to wait long to get a replacement for Whiskey. A few months later we got a little black labrador for $35 and named him Shemp.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I just saw an old video of Whisky the other day.  It was pretty cool.  Its on grandpa's DVDs."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Halloween and "Lou"
|
|Place:Birdland
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1984
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I went trick or treating with my dad, my brother and my cousins one year in my old neighborhood in Birdland. After receiving candy from each person, we would thank them.
| dan10878, however would always say Thank Lou. He had a lisp or something at the time.
| Eventually, one of had to ask, Who's Lou?
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"That was the year you were dressed at ORCO from HE-Man!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"What about the donny did it story...!!??"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Halloween and Punk Rock Music
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1994
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember my sophomore year in high school me and Lorne Deacon went out Trick or Treating. We were too old to be doing this but we wanted the candy and thought we would have a good time. We thought we would be too old to get our candy stolen from us.
|
|On Snowapple near Chris Shea's house we saw that there was a large group of hoodlums walking towards us. We thought we would ignore them and walk by. They surrounded us and demanded our candy. It was pretty scary because I remember some of them had weapons and I remember one person carrying a blade.
|
|We told them we would not give them our candy and when they insisted, Lorne said No! and ran away. I was left alone with the hoodlums. As they closed in on me, I thought for sure I was a goner.
|
|But then, from out of the crowd, someone yelled, Leave him alone, he listens to punk music!. It was true, and never was I more thankful that I had been introduced to such bands as NOFX and Rancid.
|
|I looked to see who my savior was and it was no other than Tim (I forget his last name). I played trumpet in his band called the Punk Monkeys for a little while.
|
|I was allowed to leave and I joined up with my cowardly friend. I never trick or treated again after that...
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Thats pretty crazy lellel.  I cant believe someone pulled a knife on you thats insane."
|
|stack said:
|"Thats one of favorite stories. Tim's last name is Robinson and we've become good friends over the years. He recently was married in the fall and I was unable to attend."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Food Fighters
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that we used to have these toys called "Food Fighters".  Kevin and I had a huge amount of toys.  I think that we had just about every food fighter.  These action figures were a staple in our catapult game.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"dude i totally forgot about those!!!!!!!!!!!!!  rock on"
|
|Stack said:
|"I just recall  having this one figure in particular. He had this cool gun and that's the only reason I liked him."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Old Bessie
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1992
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that there was this one spot in the fields where there was a good sized hole.  It was not quite long enough to lay down in but it was waist deep.  There was a rusted out spring mattress next to it and we would sometimes bounce off the mattress and into the hole.  We called the hole "Old Bessie".  It was a landmark of my childhood and of the fields.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"It was a good spot to hide from the people riding four wheelers, because we thought they were in a gang or something."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My summer house
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1991
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember that I had a childhood bully named Dane Fife.  I remember that him and his sidekick Trevor came by my house one afternoon and started saying "Is this where you live?"
|
|Because he was my bully and I thought he was making fun of my house I lied and said "No it's just my summer house".  How lame.
|
|But it get's even lamer.  Dane clarified and said that he was talking about our mailbox.  It was a very big mailbox and he was inferring that I lived in it.  Very lame.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"We even had a song we made up about him (Dane Fife).  He became a great basketball player in High School though.  Classic stuff"
|
|Stack said:
|"He wasn't that good"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Returning a Car
|
|Place:Saturn North Dealership
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2000
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember when I was in college wanting to buy a new car.  My Blazer was having all sorts of problems.  However, I was only working one day a week while Beth worked full time.  Nonetheless, I crunched the numbers and thought it was possible.
|
|I first went to the Dodge dealership looking at one of the new style Neons.  I actually ended up putting in a down payment/deposit on one for $1000.
|
|But my dad suggested that I check out the Saturn dealership saying that they have cheaper prices for better quality, plus they had a 30 day return policy.  So I went there and I liked what I saw.  I ended up buying a small brown Saturn that had a moon roof.  A few days later was the Taylor family reunion and I left the car in Michigan rather than drive it there.
|
|After talking it over with Beth, we felt that the best thing to do was to return the car.  We could not afford the over $300 a month for the payments.
|
|I was upset about this and quite fearful but I had to do it.  I walked into Saturn and said that I wanted to return the car.  The lady was bewildered and got her manager.  The manager reamed me a new one, accusing me of joyriding.  (I only put 70 miles on the vehicle.  If I was joyriding I would have put a couple thousand).  He could not comprehend how someone would buy a car and return it, and yet, that was their policy.  So I got my money back from them and the Dodge dealership.
|
|From this I learned that I can face my fears and that, if I can return a car, I shouldn't be afraid to return anything.  If I could stand what that manager dished out, I can stand anything from a sales person.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"only you noel...."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Capture the Flag
|
|Place:The Fields
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1990
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A rival fort emerged near the top of the hill by the power lines in the fields. It was probably more soundly constructed and it was completely enclosed on all four sides. However, it did not have the height that ours had.
|
|I remember that me and some of my high school buddies challenged the owners of the rival fort to a game of capture the flag. The flag was a person from the other team that you had to rescue and return to your fort. 
|
|What resulted was a fierce and no-holds-barred competition. Not content to simply chase or out run us, the other team absconded Rick Davies and began to give him an ample beating.
|
|That pretty much ended the game. We treated our captives nicely though. Despite the fact that they were forced to sit atop the fourth story where there was no guard rail, we provided them with efervescent beverages from my dad's green cooler and gentlemen's magazines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"lel.... i love the fact that you are on memorycrawler while at work.  keep it up."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"you need to upload pics of the old 4 story fort...  taht thing was insane... i have never seen anything like it"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah I was too much of a wuss to climb up to the 4th floor"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Fort
|
|Place:The Fields
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1997
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Back in the day, Chris Shea, Adam Lamb, Austin Moening and I built a 4-story tree fort in the fields by my backyard.  It started as a 1-story fort but we could not resist the urge to continue to build higher on the perfectly-suited tree.  It was a majestic thing with a superfluance of nails.
|
|The first level was enclosed in plywood and the second and third levels were just floors made of 2 x 4s.  The fourth floor was more like a ceiling or roof.  There were no guard rails on the fourth floor and it was very high up and kind of scary.  It was one of the triumphant accomplishments of my youth.  Me and Shea hung out there a lot--and yet--I don't have a single picture to prove it.
|
|Update: I found a picture of us on the fort but it is at night and all you can see is a 2x4.  I was talking with Chris the other day and he said that my aunt took a picture of us all on the fort.  I will have to search my parents' albums for that photo.  Dave, when can I borrow that document feed scanner?
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"you dont need proof.... i remember it.  
|
|you neglected to talk about the time that the firemen and police took it down because some deuche bag kid fell off the other tree fort."
|
|Dan10878 said:
|"I remember never even going up to the 4th level because it was just a 2 x 4 that you had to pretty much balance on.  We had some good times at that fort.  Dan R."
|
|drudanks said:
|"Hey if I spit off the fourth floor can I play videogames with you guys?"
|
|newsie682 said:
|"in your pic... you are like.... hmmmm.... how can i add a 5th floor?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Vault
|
|Place:Waterfall Plaza
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1991
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember going to the Vault every Thursday and blowing my allowance on comic books. The Vault was a comic book store that was located in the Waterfall Plaza in Waterford. It closed down after a few years. Probably because me and my brother stopped shopping there.
|
|I used to buy all the variations of the X-men and Spiderman comics and Kevin used to buy the Fantastic Four and Punisher comics. I remember I bought all of the first issues of the Image comic books when they first came out. Shortly after that, Kevin and I stopped collecting.
|
|They had an extensive back issue selection that I would browse, picking up issues of the Uncanny X-men that I did not have.
|
|It's a shame that a lot of small businesses like that can't stay in business. I still have most of those comic books - some four or five boxes. I think everyone was collecting at that time so my comics are barely worth more than I paid for them, 15 years later.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"Do you think the owner of that place still collects comic books?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My introduction to pop music
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1991
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember when I was first really introduced to pop music. Previously I had liked a song here and there and I owned a Paula Abdul album (Spellbound). However, I really only listened to jazz and classical.
|
|I think I was in tenth grade. It must have been 1995. I remember that Jim Falk introduced me to Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones. Shortly thereafter, I remember Austin Meoning playing Green Day for me in my room. And I remember liking what I heard.
|
|I remember running downstairs and informing my parents of the music that I had discovered. They smiled and humored me and soon after I started spending my allowances up at Music Master instead of at Video Game Master and The Vault (a comic store).
|
|Back then I used to be able to buy a few albums with my $20/week allowance. Nowadays that only buys me one album at Best Buy. I guess I could still download two albums of MP3s for $20 but it just is not the same.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I bet you were jealous when Bec took Dan and I to see Paula Abdul."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Rifle River Scenery
|
|Place:Rifle River
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|
|I have definitely been reminiscing about Rifle River lately.  I remember the scenery.  I remember when we started getting close how the road would be less wide and we would be surrounded by tall trees.  What I didn't understand then was that this was because we had got off the expressway.  The road looked like many roads in Michigan look like and because of this I would never be able to remember how to get there just by the landmarks.  I remember that we would always stop at this one part first where the canoes were and Dad would do something - probably register or sign in or something.  Then we would go to the spot where we would camp.
|
|The campground would probably be hard for me to find.  I don't remember it having a sign or anything.  Just a gate that you had to get out of your car to open.  I do remember the dirt road winding down until you got next to the river.  There were two spots where people camped - down near the river and up a little higher past some trees.
|
|My dad would always get there early to set up his camper near the river.  I remember many summer nights laying in the camper and listening to the sound of the river and letting it lull me to sleep.
|
|I remember the campfire on the upper level where the adults would gather to discuss things that we kids were totally disinterested in, except for the occassional dirty joke that my dad was so good at telling.
|
|I remember floating down the lazy river to this one spot that had rapids that kind of made a natural slide in the river that you could slide down with or without an inner tube.  That was downstream from the campground.  Sometimes we would go upstream from the campground.  The water was always very cold but you would usually get used to it.  We would often play with our toys in the river until we got older and that wasn't cool.  We exchanged our toys for Gameboys at that time.
|
|I remember a party store that we would always visit to get supplies.  Kevin and I would always get candy there.  I remember getting those little colorful dot candies that were suck to a long sheet of paper.
|
|I can't forget the annual trip down the river that we would take.  It would seem to last for a long time and you never knew when you were close to being done because the river scenery seemed to repeat itself as the river wound past each corner.  At times I felt as though we would never reach our destination, that we passed it somehow.  Because of the winding back and forth I lost what little sense of direction I had and felt like we got lost.  This was not possible though since the river only took you one way.  We would start out together, but by the time we got closer to the end, it was just me and my brother and my dad or me and my cousin.
|
|What fun times those were.  I definitely need to recognize how cool it was that my dad took me there each year.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Dave,
| I think I accidentally deleted your comment when I was attempting to close the window.  I agree - I would love to camp again."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Oh my god Noel.  I cannot believe you have a ton of photos from in the river. 
|
|I cant wait to let you borrow the scanner so you can digitize all of your photos!
|
|These photos bring back a ton of memories.
|
|Pick out your favorite memory and I will make it the featured memory of the site on the home page!"
|
|lellel said:
|"I agree Kevin - we need to take our kids on a yearly trip like that.  Better start making some cousins for Chloe ;)
|
|I posted a few more pictures"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
stack said:
|"That is such a great description of the scenery. It definetly makes me remember so many little details about the river and the campground. On the upper level by the adults firepit was this long path that extended forever. It was a  great spot to hide from the zombies. Above that level was yet another level where we would usually start the game of zombie tag. 
|
| I recall those beer cosy that we hung around our necks and placed pop in them. There was also that mud slide that we would sometimes stop at. I remember not liking it very much though. 
|
|  Going down the river we use to always wanna finish before everyone else,even though it was clearly not a race. Thinking back we probally should have just taken our time and enjoyed the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.
|
|  When I have kids and Chloe gets older we should definetly do something like that."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The one girl at Rifle River
|
|Place:Rifle River
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The Rifle River events were primarily intended as a father/son venture.  However, I remember that there was one girl there.  She was younger than me and I think her name was Maureen.  She was there with her father and brother.  I can understand why her father brought her along.  I have a daughter and I would want to do the same.  I just remember my younger brother Kevin having the "hots" for this girl.  They would often play in the river together with their innretubes.  I'm not sure if he ever kissed her.  He would look forward to seeing her there every summer and I remember him being disappointed on the years when she did not show.  Kevin always had his game on with the ladies.  I was a little slow to start on that.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Stack said:
|"Yes her name was Maureen, and she was my first kiss. The kiss took place in our pop up camper. We would write to each other alot even though she just lived in Lapeer. I guess when you're that young Lapeer seems like another country(Even though Lapeer seems like a third world country). During either my junior or senior year in high school I ran into her again. My buddies and I were playing in the  Lapeer Gus Macker. After one of my games I looked over to the sidelined and saw her entire family. It was wierd but we talked for a little bit and I think I got her digits."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Gangstas at Rifle River
|
|Place:Rifle River
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1996
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember it was one of the first Rifle River trips for me. There were some older kids there (probably teenagers at the time) and one of them in particular was a troublemaker. I remember that he said that he was part of a gang from Chicago and that they were a national gang, terrible and powerful. This had a fearful effect on me. I remember it being one of the first times I had heard about such a gang. I am not certain, but now I know that teenagers say a lot of silly things like that to make them feel important and validate themselves. I know the guy's father and the kid is probably just a spoiled suburbanite. But still, as a kid I remember feeling pretty inimidated.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I remember that deuche bag.  I still cant get over how special these trips were.  Those were the good old days.  When are we going to go back there Noel?"
|
|stack said:
|""GD do you know what a GD is," I believe was the toolboxe's quote. When we said that we had no ideal nor that we cared what a GD was he explained it to us anyway. "Gangsta Disciple." I believe they were based out of the south side of Chicago, but probaly they came from Aurora with Wayne and Garth."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Zombie Tag
|
|Place:Rifle River
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1994
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember playing "Zombie Tag"  with my brother, my cousins Dan (dan10878) and Dave ( TheMemoryCrawler) and my childhood friends John and Derek Conrad.  It was kind of a mix between"tag" and "hide-and-go-seek".  Zombie Tag could only be played at night.  One person was "it" at first.  Everyone else hid.  The person who was it was only allowed to walk because Zombies can't run.  (But really they only had to walk when no one was looking).  Being "it" really sucked in Zombie Tag since it was dark and everyone else was hiding in a large forest and you could only walk.  The people who were hiding were allowed to move around too.  They could yell out to the others to notify them that the Zombie was coming.
|
|However, if a Zombie was able to sneak up and "tag" someone, then there were two Zombies.  We would play this way until there was only one person left and he/she was the winner.  It was a lot easier to catch people when there was more than one Zombie.
|
|I loved those nights, hiding behind a tree trying to see if I could spot a Zombie on the move.  It was kind of scary actually but more of a thrill.  But man, I did not enjoy being a Zombie - I thought it wasn't fair.
|
|Anyway, we would do this about once a night because it took a long time and as kids we had short attention spans but for some reason we always came back the next night to play it.  There was something mystical about it.
| 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Yeah, Dave I agree.  This is site is great because of that reason.  Once I start writing down my memories, I start remembering others.  Plus there are many things that I have forgotten that you remember which helps to fill in the historical gap."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I just had so much fun playing this game!"
|
|stack said:
|"That game is how I recieved my first kiss."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
My Cousin's said:
|"Yeah Lel.  I dont know who made this up, but the game was fantastic with about 20 or so kids.  I actually totally forgot all of the rules entirely and until you posted this, I recall we just played light tag or something.
|
|I definitely remember that it was actually creepy and scary when you would see a zombie.  We did play on some insanely dark nights out there at that campground.
|
|Next time there are a bunch of kids that age I will have to teach them how to play.  I love the fact that multiple people can become the zombies and whoever outlasts the other wins.
|
|Good times.   This is another reason why this site is important.  I have already had a few of these memory recollections come through and its fantastic what people forget and what people remember."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:TurboGrafx-16
|
|Place:Woodcrest House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember countless charming hours playing Turbografx.  Bonk's Adventure, Keith's Courage, DJ Jazz Jeff, Splatterhouse and those pinball games, Air Zonk.  Man, there still has not been a game system invented that left the same impression on me.  The games were these tiny cartridges and the system was called "Turbo" because each controller had a turbo button.  I never owned one.  My brother received it as a Christmas gift.  When we really started getting into comic books, he traded it to our friends John and Derek for some comic books.  Now our comic books just sit in their cardboard boxes collecting no value but collecting plenty of dust.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"That 16 bit grafic was intense."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Catapult Game
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1997
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember playing this catapult game at my cousin Dan (dan10878) and  Dave  (TheMemoryCrawler)  Renne's House.  We would arrange some of our action figures on these chalkboard trays on the floor and we would take turns firing balls from catapults at each others action figures.  The team that knocked over the other team's action figures first won.  I would always use these madball action figures heads with the Madball catapult.  That was a sweet game.
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"The chalkboard trays were our old covers for these sweet toy boxes (of which my brother once took a dump in when he was really little when he was sleep walking). Those were the best trays because I would use them for everything.  All my drawings were done on them.
|
|Yeah the action figure wars were quite fun.  I think you need to post the memory about Joel Hole as well as  that same day when we had a huge race track on your porch.
|
|I also remember with the action figure wars we also used to use nerf guns to shoot at these things.  And whoever had any action figures standing won the match.  I need to post some memories about the times I used to set up all my XMen."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:GI Joe Fights
|
|Place:Me and My Brother's Bedrooms
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1995
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember having GI Joe fights with my brother. We used to pretend that our action figures were waging war with each other. They would sneak into the enemy's base (each bedroom being a base) and attempt to take out the enemy. It was funny because it was kind of arbitrary how we would determine whether or not one of the GI Joes successfully shot the other GI Joe. I think it was based on whether or not we were willing to give up one of our action figures. If it was one of our cherished Joes we would say no way, you missed or he dodged it.
|
|We would sometimes get in fights because one of us would claim that we had a straight shot at the opposing Joe. It was a good time, nonetheless.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"The worst was when we started using all of our toys. Needless to say someone would always get Wolverine. I don't beleive he was ever killed."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Spinjas
|
|Place:My brother's room
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1996
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember playing "Spinjas" with my brother in his room.  "Spinjas" were little toys that looked like warriors, ninjas, aliens, robots and dinosaurs.  They were plastic and they were set on top of a "top" so that they would spin.  The Spinjas would fit into these plastic ejectors that you would twist and then press the button to release the Spinjas into the plastic arena.
|
|The idea was that two people would shoot their Spinjas into the arena.  The arena was shaped like a bowl so the Spinjas would collide.  They would usually hit each other a few times.  Whichever Spinja spun the longest won.
|
|Selecting the right Spinja for the job was crucial.  They weighed differently and some were more aerodynamic than others.  A heavy spinja might easily kill a lighter Spinja's spin, but he might not spin as long as the other Spinja.
|
|My brother and I played this game for hours.  I distinctly remember the noise that the Spinja would make when it was released into the arena.  I remember playing so that the losing Spinja had to be given to the winner.  You would play until someone ran out of Spinjas.  Because of this, you didn't want to use your best Spinjas first.
|
|Those were some good times.  They don't make toys like they used to.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|stack said:
|"Spinjas were the whip. They had two different colors on the bottoms. I believe they were gold and black. I think black was suppose to be the bad guys but I felt they were misunderstood."
|
|thememorycrawler said:
|"Sweet!"
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User newsie682 Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your absolute favorite place that you can remember from your childhood?
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Disney World
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Eating "adult" foods
|
|Date Remembered: 1982
|
|Memory Category:Food and Drink
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I love food.  I'll eat pretty much anything except carrots, celery,  peanut butter, and squid with tentacles still attached.
|
|I don't remember living through this particular event, but I heard the story from my mom and dad.  Apparently, when I was 2 years old, my dad took me to a seafood restaurant when my mom and Kate were still in the hospital after Kate was just born.  My dad ordered his meal, and then ordered a side of clams for me.  The waiter told him, "You know, we have a children's menu....would you like me to bring her some chicken fingers or a hamburger instead?"  My dad said, "No, she'll eat the clams.  It's OK."  The waiter thought my dad was crazy, and he brought my dad's meal and some chicken fingers (he didn't bring out my clams!!!)  I really liked seafood so my dad gave me his meal, and he ended up eating the chicken fingers.  He said that the waiter couldn't believe it...I (the 2-year-old) was devouring a full seafood meal while my poor dad had to eat the kids' menu chicken fingers.
|
|I also used to love eating filet mingon, swordfish,  lamb, mushrooms, and bananas foster (the bananas foster was given to me by accident though, lol).  Additionally, by the age of 2, my parents had taught me how to make British-style tea (tea with milk and sugar) and we have video documentation of me putting milk and sugar in my tea, gulping it down, and waving my glass around asking my dad for a refill.  
|
|I can't wait to teach my kids to eat all kinds of weird food.  I'm so glad my parents taught me to love food and not be a picky eater because I have always loved trying new dishes (especially when traveling) and I like knowing that I can order pretty much anything off a menu and enjoy it.  I like expanding my palate, and am really looking forward to going to South America on my honeymoon so I can try stuff that is hard to find in the United States.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"You have the best pallette in the world.
|
|This is one of my favorite memories of you. 
|
|You probably havent changed a bit since you were a little child. 
|
|Thanks for sharing this cute story with everyone."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My 23rd Birthday
|
|Place:Canada
|
|Location:Windsor, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2005
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|For my 23rd birthday I wanted to do something really fun, because I usually don't do much to celebrate my birthdays. Kelly suggested that we do a girls night in Canada because we still thought Canada was fun and Kate and Jill weren't 21 yet. So we decided to spend the night at the Windsor Casino hotel and just wander around and hit up all the bars without having to worry about who would drive home. We all drove over to Canada in one car, and for some reason we decided we would bypass the duty free liquor shop and just find some liquor once we got to Windsor. Well, we drove around for about 20 minutes, and couldn't find anything. Finally, we stopped at what looked like a convenience store, but they didn't sell alcohol there (because Canada is weird). The convenience store was run by an Asian man, and we asked him for directions to the nearest liquor store. He gave us directions by telling us how many twaffics (traffic lights) to go through before we turned. So we got back in the car to drive, and at every light we counted twaffics--One twaffic, two twaffic...: and so on. But the man must have been mistaken because we never found the liquor store, and we just went to the hotel. 
|
|We checked into our hotel room without incident, but realized something about the room was a little strange. We were all starving and went downstairs to a little food court, where we all got bowls of pasta and breadsticks. These bowls of pasta were HUGE, and I couldn't finish mine. I looked over and saw that Kate had finished hers and I jokingly asked if she wanted to finish mine. To everyone's surprise (and disgust) she said yes!!! LOL...we will never let her live that down. Kelly says it reminded her of the movie Seven where the gluttonous guy was forced to eat spaghetti until his stomach exploded.
|
|After dinner, we went back to the room to get ready to go out. As we were getting ready, someone (I don't remember who) finally figured out that we were in a handicapped room. We had all been confused as to why there were metal bars on every wall and why the light switches were so low, but after we figured that out we laughed for like 1/2 an hour. Jill stayed in the room to watch the Pistons game, and Kate, Kelly and I went down to the casino bar. I think we each had 3 Camacazi (sp?) shots and finally went back to the room to get Jill. We watched the end of the Pistons game (it was the last game of the CHampionships and we lost--Jill was not very happy) and headed out to the bars.
|
|I don't remember a lot of details about the bars, but one interesting thing that happened was that Kate got approached by a guy on crutches who asked her to dance. She laughed because she thought he was joking but he was serious and he gave his crutches to his friend and hopped on one leg to the dance floor. Kate was laughing so hard, and she humored him and danced with him. Meanwhile, I hung out with Jill and Kelly, whose boobs looked great in their shirts (lol) and we got approached by a lot of random guys. This one guy bragged about how he could get into the VIP sections of all these bars (are there even VIP sections in Windsor bars) and then asked if he could crash on our floor in our hotel room. Obviously, we said no. And then when we were going back upstairs to our room at the casino, these 2 random guys (who were trashed) asked us if THEY could crash in our hotel room. How stupid can people be? Do girls actually fall for that?
|
|Anyways, the next morning, Kelly, Kate and I put on our Napoleon Dynamite shirts and we each spent about $20 in the casino before we went home. It was a fun and interesting night...I'm sure there is a lot I'm missing, but that's pretty much the whole story. :) I also have more pics somewhere that I'll have to upload.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"What a great memory hunny.  I was shocked when you and Kelly were telling all of these events of that night.
|
|I just thought you guys simply got drunk and passed out at a hotel in canada.
|
|NOT had the most random adventure full of excitement and craziness!  
|
|Those drunken nights are so interesting."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Toda la noche en la playa
|
|Place:The Beach
|
|Location:Valencia, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2003
|
|Memory Category:Travel Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This is just one of many strange stories from my trip to Spain a few years ago.  It was one of our (mine and Kate's) last nights in Valencia, and a group of our friends decided it would be cool to hang out on the beach all night.  I think Kate and I had dinner at "home" and then we met up with everyone later at the Palau, where there was some kind of play or something going on.  
|
|We all walked to the beach, equipped with wine and speakers for Leslie's portable CD player (I remember a lot of Dave Matthews Band music that night).  It was fun to talk to everyone, but the time kind of dragged on after a while as everyone started getting a little tired.  To wake ourselves up, Kate, Ann and I went to a club that was a little ways down the beach.  It was probably about 2 AM at that point, and we could barely even get through the door because it was so crowded (people just start going out around 1 AM and stay out until 5 or 6 AM).  If it hadn't been soooo crowded, it would have been an awesome club.  There was a deck outside, and there was a room upstairs for salsa dancers.  I remember we took our drinks up there and sat down for a while to watch the dancers, and I started falling asleep, lol.  We probably only stayed for 1-2 hours and headed back to the beach.  Everyone was starting to get super tired (especially after drinking so much wine) and at one point we all laid down, although no one fell asleep.  While we were laying down, 2 people passed by, but no one else was near us for the rest of the night.  When Kate finally sat up, she said, "Where's my purse???"  We all looked around our little area and it was just gone.  I'd heard that pickpockets in Spain are quick and unless one of our friends swiped it, it had to have been swiped by those 2 people who had passed us by earlier.  The purse had some money, both of our IDs, our house key, and Kate's glasses.  I felt so bad for her, especially because her vision's really bad and she had to wear her contacts the rest of the trip (which kind of hurts your eyes after a while!)  She calmed down after a while, and we sat up to watch the "sunrise" which actually was nothing but grey.  Honestly...this was to be the one day in 5 weeks that the sun didn't rise and it rained all day.  Go figure!
|
|We were all just ready to leave at that point, and we went to get a cab.  One funny thing is that Luke had rolled up his pants because some girl had splashed him with water, and he was wearing white socks and black shoes.  We ran into another guy from our school and he laughed at Luke.  Kate found it really funny too:)
|
|Kate and I finally made it back to our "house" and had to ring the doorbell to wake Esperanza up at 6 AM.  She was REALLY mad that we had lost her key and made us pay to get a new one on top of the 20 minute lecture we had from her (all in Spanish, of course).  We went to sleep until about noon and spent the rest of the day wandering around town with our British roommate (a 30-year-old guy from Australia) but that's another story.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|thememorycrawler said:
|"awwww.... what about the time Kate lost her wallet at JDs?
|
|Then you and I hung out at Lukes waiting for them to come back.
|
|Do you at all remember that night?
|
|;-)
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The American Girl Tea Party
|
|Place:Troy Public Library
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1996
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I don't know what made me think of this, but I remember one time my dad took Kate and I to a tea party.  On Saturday afternoons the library would have a lot of random events, and one happened to be the American Girl Tea Party.  The American Girls were a collection of books for kids, and they were series of stories of different girls living in different time periods.  For example, my favorite was always Samantha, who was a girl that lived in New York (I think) in the 1940's. Now they have an American Girl store in Chicago that sells clothing and dolls of the characters.  I'm sure my parents would have had to shell out hundreds of dollars on that stuff for Christmas presents if it was around when we were little.
|
|Anyway, Kate and I loved these books and really wanted to go to the party.  I'm not sure why my mom couldn't go (I think she had to study for her finals--she went back to school) but my dad agreed to take us.  So we got there, and he was the only guy in the room with all the mothers and a bunch of little girls dressed up like their favorite American Girl.  I can't remember exactly what happened, but I'm sure all they had to eat was tea and cookies and I think they read passages from the books or something.  I'm sure my dad was kind of embarrassed, but looking back on it, it's really cool that he sucked it up and took time out of his weekend to take Kate and I to a lame tea party:)  haha...I love my dad!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Awwwwwwwwwwwww"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My First Date with Dave
|
|Location:Rochester, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 2004
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Dave and I had our first date on January 17, 2004.  Initially, we were going to go to an OU basketball game, but he cancelled on me so we decided to meet the next Saturday and do something else.  I think we had been planning on going to go get drinks after I got out of work (at 8:00) but I got out of work early that day because it was super slow and I decided I would rather go home and make myself look cute for my date than stand around staring at my co-workers picking their noses.
|
|Dave picked me up around 6:00 to go to dinner.  The first thing I noticed when he arrived was his cute curly hair!  He had been wearing a hat when I first met him and I had no idea how rad his hair really was. ;)  We decided to go to Cooker by OU, but when we got there the building was pitch black and the neon sign was off--it was closed.  (Side note--I've always been a little upset that Cooker went out of business because they had awesome food.  I think Carson's is technically supposed to be the new Cooker, but it's just not the same).
|
|There aren't that many restaurants that are right by OU, and we ended up going to Crapplebees for dinner.  We had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated, and we somehow got on the topic of high school and I think we talked about marching band the whole time we were waiting.  We had a good time at dinner.  I think there were a few typical first-date lulls in the conversation, but overall we had a lot to talk about.  I'm usually pretty quiet around people I don't know well, but I felt comfortable talking to Dave. 
|
|After dinner, I had no idea what we could do but Dave immediately suggested going to Mainstreet Billiards.  I liked that, because I'm just an indecisive person and I like when people suggest places to go.  I also liked that as we were walking to the car, Dave was holding me around the waist so I didn't slip on the ice.
|
|Mainstreet Billiards was also a lot of fun (I had never been there before).  We sat at the bar and talked some more, and then a table became free so Dave "taught" me how to play pool.  I didn't tell him at the time, but I had already had a few other guys try to teach me to play before that, and it was pretty much a hopeless case.  Dave tried his best, but I sucked and I probably always will suck at playing pool.  Nevertheless, it was really fun.  After a few games of pool we went back to the bar and somehow the conversation turned to past relationships.  It sounded like Dave had dated a lot, and he even dated one of my sorority sisters.  Because I still didn't know him well, I didn't want to get my hopes up that he wanted a relationship (in case he was the kind of guy that dated like 3 girls at the same time or something).
|
|We held hands when we walked back to the car and Dave drove me home.  At the end of the date we said goodnight and I gave him a hug, although he says I gave him the "cheek" when he was trying to kiss me.  I didn't even know he was going to kiss me, and I was also getting over a cold so I wasn't even thinking about kissing him.  Apparently this bothered him a lot because he thought I didn't like him, but that totally wasn't the case.  I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to a fun life w/ him:)
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"You pretty much have the whole story here.  I swear I remember meeting your parents that night and sitting on the couch talking with them, but I might be mixing memories of early dates with that night.
|
|I remember seeing just how beautiful you were even with out the beer goggles.  I remember it was dark in my car, but you were just so darn cute and interesting.
|
|When we arrived to the final dinner place, you were so elegantly dressed with that sexy white sweater that showed off your shoulders.  That has got to be one of the sexiest outfits I have ever seen on a woman. 
|
|I am a suggestive person and I think I suggest places randomly just because I think I like putting and throwing ideas out on the table for people to see if they are interested in the idea of it.  So we were off to mainstreet billiards.
|
|I remember after teaching you to play pool and we were sitting there and basically the whole place turned into a dance club.  I was thankful that you didnt want to see my skills.
|
|I find that the most adorable thing that you were thinking about whether or not I wanted to be in a relationship or not.  I know you heard that I had "dated" one of your sorority sisters.  But with her, nothing felt right.  Obviously things felt totally natural with you and I.  More so than any other woman that I have met.  We just clicked and felt sooo freaking cumfy around each other from day one.
|
|I got such an adrenaline rush from holding your hand the first time in the snow there.
|
|When we got back to your house, I went in for a kiss and got the cheek.  I looked too far into why that happened on the way home and started getting upset that you didnt like me.  I cried a little cause I have been turned down and rejected too many times in the recent months and was seeking a good girl to be my girlfriend.
|
|From the time of this post, in one week it will be our three year anniversary of our first date.  Love you so much Susan.  You are the best girl in the entire world."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Protecting the house
|
|Place:Our house
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1980
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Kate and I (for some reason) were starting to get into reading detective stories.  So we (or maybe I) came up with a brilliant idea to run two "night shifts" to keep watch over the house to make sure that no burglars or murderers came into the house.  So on our first night on the job--I of course took the early shift--I told Kate to set her alarm clock for 2 AM and she was supposed to come into my room and "report" the situation.  She came to my room and I was asleep and really tired, and I told her to just go back to bed.  That was when we realized we just weren't cut out for working nights.  And our house was always safe after that, even without two four and six-year-old girls staying up all night and keeping watch...imagine that:)
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I love you sweetheart.  These are all private memories that only you and I can see.  Why did you tell about the time that you made your sister stay out until 3 AM because she was on an important assignment."
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User stack Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Mr. Belding Sings the Blues
|
|Place:Dimples
|
|Location:Burbank, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 2007
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|   Dimples  is the hottest karoke bar in SoCal(Southern California). It's located right next to Warner Bros. studio so they get a lot of struggling musicians/actors making demos there. They record a persons performance and then give them a dvd copy of it. You can check out their website and  see the live performances going on now as we speak.
|
|  On this particular evening we were presented with a treat. None other than Dennis Haskins gets on stage to sing. That's Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell for those who don't know. He started off with a strong performance, I have to say I was impressed. The place was jamming until an underage(probally) drunk girl jumps on stage. This broad starts grinding on Mr. B and grabbing his pee-pee. Naturally Mr. B can't cocentrate on the song and starts blowing the lyrics. To quote Mr. B I'm thinking to myself,"Hey hey hey, what is going on here?"
|
|  I come to find out this girl use to be a big deal. She was on a girl group started by the Disney Channel and use to go on tour with Aaron Carter. The fame(?) must have got to her and she basically had an E True Hollywood  moment with the booze and the blow. Now she can be found at Dimples grinding on Mr.B and trying to touch his pee-pee. 
|
|  By the way Mr. B  came back after the broad left and set the roof on fire. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Kevin, you're tied with grandpa for third place..."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I see the last activity on Kevin was in April.
|
|I now have a cool last activity section that descends by the last thing a friend did on the site.
|
|So when you upload new media, your friends can see it."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:I got my mojo back baby, oh behave
|
|Place:Five Star Basketball Camp
|
|Location:Pittsburg, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1999
|
|Memory Category:Life Changing Occurrence
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|  I must first start off by  saying I'm sorry for not posting my many memories on the hottest site on the web. It's been extremely busy at work lately, which is good. Also, this is the only time I've been able to use the web(at work). Now Kristen and I finally(after 6 months) have internet capabilitys. Now one of these days I might pass Lel as the ultimate crawler. But this is not a blog so here we go.
|
|  During my four year run in high school my parents sent me to basketball camp every summer. It wasn't just any camp, this was the best in the nation. The players I went head to head with everyday are now in the N.B.A.
|I must say I did hold my own for a little white boy from the C-Town. The camp took place at Robert Morris College in Pittsburg and brought out the best in teachers and players.
|
|  Syracuse was always my favorite school. It was a dream of mine to one day play for jim Bohiem and the Orangemen in upstate New York. On this particular day I was preparing for a game at camp. I noticed this older white man wearing a Syracuse jersey near our court. I started talking to him about the history of Syracuse basketball. I could tell he was impressed by my knowledge of the team history. He then told me that he was here because Syracuse was recruiting a shooting guard at camp. I ask who and found out I was going to be playing this guy in about ten minutes.
|
|  It was on. I had the perfect scenario to carry out my destiny that I had dreamed about for years. It was all on me to play the best game I could ever envision. To make it even more dramatic, I was matched up with this dude. I play shooting guard as well. I have always been a team player in basketball, but this game meant my future in this field, at least I thought. 
|
| Our team won the jump ball and I got the ball right away. I took a dribble and busted a jumper right in this kid's face. That's pretty much how the rest of the game went. I never made a mistake, and this kid was on me the whole time. My teamates couldn't believe it. 
|
|  The game was tied with under 30 seconds left. The other team had the ball. This dude I'm guarding has the ball and I know he wants to take the shot. I get picked by this big 250 pound guy who ends up playing at Duke. My man gets free and hits a wide open jumper with little time left to put his team up by 2. Our squad has no timeouts left so we have to go with it. The ball is pushed up by our point guard and I recieve it about 4 feet after halfcourt. I grab the ball and realize I'm head to head against the person who is going to take the spot at Syracuse I've been dreaming about my whole life. The two dribbles I take leave me at the 3 point line at the left wing.  I pull up and bust a three pointer right in the face of this dude. The buzzer goes off and it's like slow motion on the final shot of Hoosiers. Do you think I would write a depressing story here? Of course I hit the shot as time expires.
|
| For someone who plays this sport a game winner is the most pleasing individual accomplishment. Needless to say the Syracuse scout loved me but told me I was too small. The guy I was lighting up all day was 6'3 and about 185. And by the way he got kicked off the team half way through his freshman year and is probally now selling crank on Jefferson  avenue.
|
| It all happens for a reason. I now am taking care of the greatest girl in the world, in the 2nd greatest city in the world(behind Detroit) and loving every second of it. ONE!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I miss going to your basketball games in high school and seeing Patz dance around goofing off.
|
|Those were a lot of fun.
|
|What a great sports moment.  I need to post some of my glorious one-on-one moments against runners believe it or not."
|
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Wow, what a game! I think that recruiter made a big mistake! It's heart and drive that makes a winner not height, grrrr! I used to play basketball for my church team and we were unstoppable! I know that feeling you were talking about being the game winner!
|"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Michelle... where is a new story from you??
|
|I see you have been enjoying perusing the site and commenting.  But add some wonderful stories.  Here, I will even add a recollection for the time I saved your son.  Please write about that experience a bit if its not too painful."
|
|pstalker said:
|"Do you realize how much fun I had watching you play?  As a mom, I can say all the trips to Penn and the money was well spent."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"awww... I got all the stalkers reminiscing on here except for Kirt.
|
|I know kirt has some good stories."
|
|lellel said:
|"I was always really proud watching you when I went to the games. I would always stand and cheer for you when you sunk one.  I was dissapointed that Coach Fife didn't give you more playing time.  This is a sweet story!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Pimpin' on the playground
|
|Place:Pine Knob Elementary
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1990
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I am proud to say I'm writing the 300th memory on the hottest site on the web. Back in elementary I had this girlfriend. It's not like we made out or even went on dates. The extent of our relationship involved holding hands on the way in from recess. There was a group of us and we all had girlfriends that did the same thing. We made sure we were the last ones in from recess while we were holding hands, I guess we thought we were cool or something. I was pretty cool because I wore skids and cross colors(westside!).
|
| Needless to say our relationship came to a tragic end. One day I decided to get away from the cross colors and skids in favor of a new t-shirt. The shirt read "My girlfriend or basketball?" and on the back of the tee it said"when do we play?" My girlfriend approached me and asked me if the shirt had any truth to it. I explained to her that it not only had truth to it, but it was my lifestyle. She broke up with me by having her friend give me a note.She had no balls. Well at the end of that recess the only thing I was holding was my wiener.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Kev you post some of the funniest memories on the net.... quality stuff!"
|
|lellel said:
|"quality"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cheap robot
|
|Place:Stalker House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1980
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
| I might need Dave and Lel's help on this one. We use to have this game for the NES back in the dizzay. I can't remember the name for the life of me but it came with this robot straight out of a 1950's sci-fi movie. The robot was hooked up to the controller somehow. I remember the robot would go through ellaborate movements just to hit the a or b button. It would drop these spinning discks onto some platform to hold the a or b button in. Once the discks stop spinning the button would be released. I can see now why there was only one game for this robot. Maybe it was ahead of its time or maybe it just sucked. Lel and Dave I need your feedback.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I totally remember this.  What's funny is that no one would belive me when I told them this story.  The robot had two tops, a spinner and two spots to spin the tops.  One of the Nintendo controllers would fit in this slot in front of the robot and the other would be used by the player.  When you set a spinning top on the one of the two spots, it actuated a lever which depressed either the A or B button on the other controller.  But the button would only be held so long as the top was spinning.  If you waited too long, the top would stop spinning and it would fall off and the button would no longer be pressed.
|
|The only game I knew that you could use it with was Gyromite.  In the game, you playwd a scientist that tried to navigate his way past these little monsters.  You went up and down ladders to avoid them and you couldn't attack them.
|
|Where the robot came in was that there were these pipes in the game that would block your path.  The robot was the key to moving the piper up and down.  There were three levels to the game.  If you moved a pipe up or down, it would block one of the other levels so you had to think ahead of time about which pipe you wanted to open or close.
|
|To open the pipes you pressed a buton on your controller and the screen would flash briefly.  Depending on what button you would press, the robot would move left or right or pick up a top or let go of it.  For as long as a top was spinning on the spot, the pipe would remain open.  As soon as you removed the top or it fell off, the pipe would close.  If you weren't careful, you could get trapped with a monster or, worse yet, get squashed by the pipe.  The only way to kill the monsters was to squash them with the pipes.  This was difficult to do - your timing had to be impeccable.  It would get pretty crazy with both tops spinning at the same time and trying to take one out before it stopped spinning and drop it back in the spinner quickly.  It was a lot of fun.
|
|The funny thing is (other than the fact that I have just written a treatise about this robot) that you could have just had someone on the second controller holding down A or B to open and close the pipes but it wouldn't have been as much fun.
|
|Although it was extremely fun, the robot (named ROB as I found out on the internet) could only play one game.  So, who was going to spend the money on that robot for just one game.  This was when video games first came out so the marketers didn't realize that the only effective accesories besides the controller are the steering wheel and the gun (remember the power pad?)"
|
|lellel said:
|"I totally remember this.  What's funny is that no one would belive me when I told them this story.  The robot had two tops, a spinner and two spots to spin the tops.  One of the Nintendo controllers would fit in this slot in front of the robot and the other would be used by the player.  When you set a spinning top on the one of the two spots, it actuated a lever which depressed either the A or B button on the other controller.  But the button would only be held so long as the top was spinning.  If you waited too long, the top would stop spinning and it would fall off and the button would no longer be pressed.
|
|The only game I knew that you could use it with was Gyromite.  In the game, you playwd a scientist that tried to navigate his way past these little monsters.  You went up and down ladders to avoid them and you couldn't attack them.
|
|Where the robot came in was that there were these pipes in the game that would block your path.  The robot was the key to moving the piper up and down.  There were three levels to the game.  If you moved a pipe up or down, it would block one of the other levels so you had to think ahead of time about which pipe you wanted to open or close.
|
|To open the pipes you pressed a buton on your controller and the screen would flash briefly.  Depending on what button you would press, the robot would move left or right or pick up a top or let go of it.  For as long as a top was spinning on the spot, the pipe would remain open.  As soon as you removed the top or it fell off, the pipe would close.  If you weren't careful, you could get trapped with a monster or, worse yet, get squashed by the pipe.  The only way to kill the monsters was to squash them with the pipes.  This was difficult to do - your timing had to be impeccable.  It would get pretty crazy with both tops spinning at the same time and trying to take one out before it stopped spinning and drop it back in the spinner quickly.  It was a lot of fun.
|
|The funny thing is (other than the fact that I have just written a treatise about this robot) that you could have just had someone on the second controller holding down A or B to open and close the pipes but it wouldn't have been as much fun.
|
|Although it was extremely fun, the robot (named ROB as I found out on the internet) could only play one game.  So, who was going to spend the money on that robot for just one game.  This was when video games first came out so the marketers didn't realize that the only effective accesories besides the controller are the steering wheel and the gun (remember the power pad?)"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Spending time in the clinker
|
|Place:Michigan State
|
|Location:East Lansing, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 2001
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|  I am not proud to say but I have spent a couple hours in jail. My friends and I were visiting our good friend at Michigan State University. We started the night out at a house party that was kind of lame. After about three beers we decided to go back to his dorm room to hang out. On the way there I'm extremely lost driving around the campus, it gets kind of confusing. I end up turning down a one way street that wasn't labeled very well. Needless to say I get pulled over.
|
|  In my car there are two of my friends, Pete and Ajay. Pete is seating shotgun and for some reason the cop lets him go. Pete has been drinking a lot and is clearly underage. This didn't seem to bother the cop as he let him go with beer in hand. I go through all the sobriety tests and pass them with flying colors. When it came to the breathalizer that was another story. I blew under the legal limit but since I was a minor it didn't matter. They put the cuffs on me and set me nicely in the back of the squad car. I should have requested the pink fuzzy cuffs but cops usually don't have a good sense of humor. I remember the whole time someone in their dormroom was blanching the song "bad boys bad boys." I wanted to kill those kids but I probally would have done the same thing. 
|
| Another squad car pulls up and they take my buddy Ajay away for an m.i.p. and an open intox. Ajay is Indian so we think there was racial motivation behind this, since they let Pete go with a beer in his hand. Ajay ends up spending about 12 hours in the county jail in a huge holding cell with about 50 other dudes. I on the other hand was taken to the local campus station which has only two personal cells. They take my mug shot and finger prints, standard procedure. In the other cell was a girl who was puking the entire time I was in there.
|
|  After about 2 hours the cop tells me I can go. I thought I was gonna have to post bail or at least stay in there longer, but I wasn't gonna ask, I just left. So I go next door which apparently is where my friends dorm turns out to be. This was a horrible experience and I don't wish it on anybody. All of this is finally off my record so it makes life easier, but it took almost six years to get it off. 
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Is that when you had to do that video about drunk driving?"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Check out my MIP story if you havent read it already.
|
|At least I didnt spend time in the clinker...
|
|But it still sux."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Douja
|
|Place:Stalker House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1990
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Noel and his buddy Austin were over one day playing a micro machines video game. My buddy Jason Brogan and I decided to join in because it looked fun. I don't remember what the game consisted of but I know Jason was the bulldozer. He kept screaming about the douja, referring to the bulldozer. We thought it was the funniest thing, I guess you had to of been there.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Actually, you could play 8 players on Micro Machines - good times.  I remember the event - every time I see Jason I saw "Doj-sha".  Austin remembers it too (I wish I had his E-mail)."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Man that game was fantastic.  
|
|It was on the playstation and we used to play 4 player on it with everyone.
|
|The object of the game was to outrace others until they fell off the screen."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Pistons win the Championship
|
|Place:The Palace
|
|Location:Auburn Hills, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2004
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
| The most memorable and funniest time I ever had working anywhere, was the night the Pistons won the world championship. I drove to work that day with one of my best friends named Eric Herzog. On the way into work we just knew that tonight was the night that the Pistons were gonna take it home. Eric called into 97.1 and talked to Greg and Michelle. They were asking people where the party was gonna be at if the Pistons won. Eric told them the party was gonna be at Hoops, which is a bar right down the street from the Palace. Hoops is where a lot of the Palace employees and players would go after games. While Eric was explaing why Hoops was so cool he said jokingly that Rick Mahorn was alwayw up there cheating on his wife. We laughed it off and went into work
|
|  Once we got into work we told our boss about Eric being on the radio. He kind of got mad because apparently the word had gotten around about the Rick Mahorn comment. The Palce was just as bad as high school when it came to gossiping, and since Mahorn was a fixture at the Palace people didn't find it funny. We kept our mouths closed for the rest of the day about that situation.
|
| When the game finally started around 9:30 Eric, my boss, and  I decided we should start drinking in between work. We concocted this drink with Monster Energy drink and vodka, it was great. The energy drink helped us work faster so we could get everything done before the 2nd half started.
|
| Eric and I would always watch the 2nd half of games with the bus driver for the visiting team. He was this old guy who knew a lot about bball but hated the Pistons. We found this secret tv out in the loading dock that only the three of us knew about. Well during the finals more and more people found out about it and started joining us. There was this guy who drove for David Stern, some security people, and even Kid Rock got down on the action when he was going for a smoke break. When the  4th quarter  hit Eric and I knew there was only one place we had to go. We watched the entire 4th quarter cheering on every play with our new friends(which our group turned into about 15- 20 people). When the final buzzer sounded I had never heard that place so loud, it was pandamoneum.
|
| In our warehouse we had champaign set aside for the players to drink. We tried bringing it to the players' locker room but were denied entry. After this our general manager came down and told us that if the players  didn't want it that we could drink the champaign. Now this was great. Sitting down in our warehouse enjoying the celebration with champaign and getting paid for it.  There were alot of people who requested the night off so they could watch the game. But there was no way I was going to be in any other buildning that night than the Palace.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"heck yes man.... what a fantastic memory.  what a great experience.
|
|You had such a pimping job.  Once in a lifetime to know all these famous people.
|
|And now you are doing the same thing in Cali.
|
|When are you going to write movie scripts and become famous in Cali?  You know that you would be great at that"
|
|lellel said:
|"That's where I wanted to be that night but we had a fun time at my parent's house.  I think that was the first year that my parents had the big screen TV.  Beth and I were there.  That was the year that Beth became a Pistons fan.  She loves watching Pistons play-off basketball."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dave's 21st birthday
|
|Place:The Reactor
|
|Location:Windsor, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2002
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When Dave turned 21 we decided to go to Canada. I think we went here because Kristen wasn't 21 yet and it seemed like a good time. So Dan, Kristen, Jessica(Kristen's friend), Dave and myself go to this bar called the Reactor in downtown Windsor. I always liked this bar because they made these special shots that lit on fire and tasted like cinnamon. About twice a week they would have these thong contests where girls would dance around on stage in thier thongs. I believe this was happening on this particular night. So it wasn't that late and we were all having a good time,so I thought. I look over and Dave has his head down on the tabe clearly passed out. Before I can say anything to him the bouncer comes over and tells me I gotta get my buddy out of here. So that ended the night.Westside!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"i need to post the memory of my actual 21st birthday at gameworks!"
|
|pstalker said:
|"what the hell does "westside" mean anyway?"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I have so many blurry nights in Windsor.  I do remember being so messed up that night that I needed to put my head down on the table.  But man... I dont even have that much to say about my 21st birthday over there with you.
|
|I guess thats what happens when you are killing brain cells."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Shemp doing it doggystyle
|
|Place:Stalker house
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1996
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
| As most of you probally already know Shemp use to have a huge crush on must of the blankets in our house. He expressed this love by ravishing(humping) them anytime someone held one up. This one time when Noel and myself had our friends over during high school it got out of hand. Some of Noel's friends were in my room holding up a blanket and Shemp started doing his thing, doggystyle. Shemp was really going to town. It got kind of loud and I believe it upset my Dad, I'm not sure if he was sleeping or not. My Dad came in and grabbed the blanket from Shemp and the dog proceded(this site needs spellcheck) to bite him. Well my pops wouldn't stand for this so he grab Shemp and basically tossed him down the stairs. All our buddies got silent for the rest of the night. My friends still tell this story, thinking it was one of the funniest moments at our house.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Kirt took Schemps hoe away...
|
|He took offense to that and went into attack mode.
|
|Schemp would have a heart attack if he humped a blanket now.  Please see this memory if you havent already.
|
|"
|
|littlelizz said:
|"I almost forgot that Shemp used to do that because it has been so long.  That was a funny trick."
|
|lellel said:
|"oops - I did that last comment as littlelizz instead of lellel. That probably confused you."
|
|pstalker said:
|"POOR LITTLE GUY-HI-HI"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Comics and Cards
|
|Location:Waterford/ Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1995
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Noel brought up a memory of the store called"The Vault." This made me think of "Comics and Cards."It was located at Walton and Sashabaw, basically on the border of C-town and Waterford. The guy who owned the joint was like the comic book store guy in the Simpsons only a little bit thinner.
|
|  My biggest memory of the place was putting an Isiah Thomas card on layaway. I'd go in there every week and put like 5 or 10 bucks towards the  purchase of this collectors item. After I gave the wierdo my parents' money I would always look through the smokey glass of the counter, and stare at this basketball card. I'm not sure how much that card is worth today but I could never part ways with it.
|
| 
|
|  
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"wow... was that a rookie card?
|
|that sounds expensive at the time.
|
|I miss the old pistons team.  When the pistons are on ESPN classic, I just cant not watch them."
|
|littlelizz said:
|"I totally remember that place.  I can think of the layout in my head right now.  It was really small.  I still remember the mural that was on the side of the building.  I think it had Spiderman and a cartoon tiger representing the Detroit Tigers.  We spent a lot of our parents' money there.  I think I bought the first appearance of Cable (X-Factor 87 or something) for like $80 there.  For some reason I remember the owner looking like Pat Reily.  Those were the days back when comic book stores just sold comics and cards.  Nowadays they would have to be supplementing their inventory with Anime and Manga to stay in business."
|
|lellel said:
|"oops - I did that last comment as littlelizz instead of lellel. That probably confused you."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Crazy guy
|
|Place:Noel's Oldsmobile
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1998
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was a freshman in high school Noel was still a senior. This was probally the last time Noel and I hung out a lot. It' s kind of a shame, but Noel did find the love of his life so I can't blame him. On this particular night I think Noel and I were coming back from one of his friends parties or something. There was this jerk off who was tailing us and flashing his brights. Neither of us recognized the car so we pulled of into this neighborhood off of Clarkston road where it's very curvy. The car continued to follow us untill we somehow ended up in a driveway. This guy gets out of his car and starts accusing us of egging his house or something along those lines. We had no ideal what he was talking about, but he was pretty pissed off. I'm not sure how we got out of the situation but he's lucky Noel and I didn't tag team his ass and show him that the Stalker boys can throw down. Noel you definetly have to remember this.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"I just can't imagine you and Noel tag teaming anyone."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"I remember this night.  For some reason I am thinking that we went to Jimmy Territo's house.  The guy followed us everywhere we went so I started getting  kind of concerned.  We were looping through the S. Eston neighborhood where Chas Claus lived and Sara Treder.  The roads were so narrow in that neighborhood that I didn't even realize that I had turned into a driveway until it was too late and we were cornered.  I remember suggesting that you go out first and talk to him.  I still feel bad about that to this day because if that guy was out to hurt us, that was a really crummy suggestion.  Anyway, I got out of the car with you and that was when the guy started making all of these accusations.  We were driving in my 1986 Delta '88 Oldsmobile with a Clinton/Dole '96 sticker on it.  And he said that someone told him that someone with a grey car with a Clinton/Dole sticker on it egged his house.  It must have been a set-up from my friends.  I doubt any of them thought that the guy would chase us down, though."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Shemp's first day
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1990's
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|nyThe first day we got Shemp was quite the memorable moment. We found an ad in the Oakland Press about puppies for only 35$. This was just after we lost Whiskey so I didn't think it'd be such an easy transistion. Anyway, we pull up to this house in Pontiac right by Northern High School. I now believe that the house was some sort of opium den or possibly(to avoid any sterotype) a crack house. This might explain many of our dog's actions. In the house there were many puppies but only two that were running around and playing with each other. We got lucky and picked Shemp. On the way home in the future Tijuana Taxi, Shemp pooped. It was love at first sight for the Stalker family. That night Noel and I both wanted to sleep with Shemp. So what ended up happening was the last time Noel and I shared a bed together and the last time Shemp slept with anyone else besides my parents. Shemp still remains a good dog and poops in more places than the car.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"When you come home at christmas he can poop on your bed"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"omg, it makes me soo sad seing him in his condition and seeing him when he was a puppy...
|
|nice utilization of the new add media to your friends functionality lellel"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"How can I forget this?  I remember that I wanted to name him "Shotglass".  I have a picture of us in the bed with Shemp so I will post that soon.  Isn't it crazy how fast time goes by?  I just remember him as this crazy puppy and now he is on his way out.  It will be really sad when Shemp goes - sadder I think than when Whiskey died.  Shemp was really there through all of it for me as I was growing up and finding myself.  He would always love you unconditionally and want to just be near you and have you pet him.  A lot has happened in our lives during his life."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel was a thief
|
|Place:Mike and Laura's
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When Dan, Dave, Noel, and myself were really into GPKs Noel did a very bad thing. A couple of Dan and Daves friends came over with their GPK collection. I recall that they had a very extensive and rare collection. I myself, was amazed by what they had put together at such a young age. My brother on the other hand I believe was jealous. After the two young kids left the house Noel had a surprise. He had a stash of those kids GPKs under his butt he was hiding. When the facts of the situation became clear to Dan and Dave they went crying to Laura about the situaion. She made Noel give the cards back to the rightful owners and he never stole again. I'd like to thank Aunt Laura for teaching my bro a valuable life lesson. He never stole again??
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|dan10878 said:
|"lol... thats hilarious... i wonder which friends of mine came over to hang out.
|
|Oh I see... it could have been anyone cause it was located at our house, not yours.
|
|Interesting.  I dont recall this at all."
|
|lellel said:
|"I think I did steal a few more times.  I have to post those memories.  Kevin - I love your comments and stories - they had me cracking up and remembering things I forgot."
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User sweet_mom100 Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Jacob's great escape
|
|Place:Boise
|
|Date Remembered:May 1999
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Anna, Noah, and Eli have been sick with one of those awful 24 hour bugs this weekend and it inspired this memory! When Jacob was about 16 months old, back in the day when we had only one child, he got sick. He was throwing up all night. He threw up in his bed twice and then in our bed twice. By the end of the looooong night, I was exhausted from caring for him. I slept next him on the floor laying on towels.
|Jeff had to get up early for work, but when he left he didn't lock the front door as he usually did. No worries, Jacob can't open the door yet right? Wrong! As I was sleeping next to him, he got up, went down stairs, and opened the front door and left!!! He was only wearing a diaper because I had given up on pj's after the 2nd round of puking. When I woke up I was shocked to find that Jacob wasn't next to me!!! I ran downstairs and to my horror I saw the front door cracked open!!! I threw on a shirt and some of Jeff's shorts and ran outside screaming and crying his name. I ran to the little park in our complex, but he wasn't there. Then I looked towards the street and began screaming harder, I had never been so terrified! As I ran towards the street I saw an officer holding my little Jacob. Thank Heaven Jacob was safe. I told the officer the whole story. He said that he saw Jacob running stopped to get him. I am so thankful that officer was there. After that we put up 2 different locking devices to keep our guy corralled. 
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Ahhh.... finally a memory you posted that posted properly.
|
|It's a miracle that kid is still alive..... he is so mischievous."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Our Lost Wedding Ring
|
|Place:Indian Creek
|
|Location:kuna, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2006
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Hmmmmmm, I can't see the memory I posted. Can anyone else see it?"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I dont know what happened, but I tested it out and it looks like there is some obscure error with the Firefox HTML editor, not postings its value correctly.
|
|That is fixed now.  I am sure this memory is about Jeff losing the ring in the river.
|
|I am sooo sorry that the program failed.  Please write a quick overview of what you wrote about.
|
|Love you guys.  Good luck with your pageant."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:We Move,d Again
|
|Place:everywhere
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2006
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Newly weds
|
|Place:Missouri
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1998
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Jeff and I had just gotten married and it was the first morning home from our honeymoon. We had just moved into our first little apartment with a tiny kitchen and I decided I wanted to make breakfast for Jeff. I tried to cook eggs but since I had no experience with cooking they all got stuck to the pan. Jeff came in and laughed and asked if I put butter or oil in the pan to keep the eggs from sticking. What?! You have to put butter on the pan? I asked Jeff. He couldn't believe I didn't know that. Seriously, I had never cooked eggs, or much of anything in my life up to that point. Hey, people aren't born knowing how to cook eggs! I had one of those wonderful sets of parents that did EVERYTHING for me. Well, Jeff showed me the correct proceedure to use butter and THEN cook the eggs. 
|The next morning Jeff about died when he walked into the kitchen and I was trying to cook bacon in butter! Who knew bacon created its own non-stick properties, hehe! 
|I felt like and idiot that I couldn't cook worth a darn and and began to cry! Jeff hugged me and told me everything would be ok.
|Since then, Jeff's mom and my mom mobilized and got me (much needed) cook books. Everytime I went to my Mother-in-laws home she would demonstrate cooking lessons for me. Now I can proudly say I cook! At the moment the expertise I am working on is homemade pies, yum!
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Animal Instinct
|
|Place:Missouri
|
|Date Remembered:May 1991
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|    When I was about 13 my best friend Brockel had horses. In return for helping her family care for the horses, Brockel's dad taught me to ride. I loved riding and my favorite horse was a fierce gelding named Chestnut. He was mean but he could run so fast! One afternoon my girlfriends and I were all out riding when a tornado arose. We couldn't see the danger, but the horsed definately scensed it. I was leading the ride and and motioned Chestnut on but he wanted to turn around and the other horses were following suit. 
|    Things get really creepy when a tornado is about to strike and everything around us got eerily quiet. With the horses being so stubborn and the dark clouds coming we decided to turn back. As soon as we did the horses all bolted! I pulled the reins as hard as my scrawny arms could but Chestnut and his incredible strength were no match for me. My friends and I were all at the mercy of these powerful beasts! All we could do was hang on for dear life. What a ride!!! It was scary yet so exillarating at the same time as Chestnut jumped creeks and dodged trees. Horses are like dogs when it comes to finding their way home. They went strait to the stables. By the time we got home, people were running for cover against the tornado. Chestnut and the other horses basically saved us.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I have never read a story quite like this.  It is like something out of a movie.
|
|Brockel is also quite a name!"
|
|lellel said:
|"cool story!!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:How I met Jeff
|
|Place:Missouri
|
|Date Remembered:May 1997
|
|Memory Category:Significant Other Tales
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|    It was the end of my senior year of high school, I was 18 -years-old. A little background: I moved to Springfield in October of my senior year because my dad got transferred from his job. I was pretty fine with the move because for one thing, I had moved alot in my life,  I didn't care for the small town of Kirksville, Missouri we moved from, and I loved meeting new people.
|    I was sitting at home bored one Friday afternoon and thought I would call my girlfriend Julie and see what she was up to. At this point I had never met Jeff, but he answered Julie's phone with "Hi, you have reached Boston Market, Julie speaking." I was really puzzled and told him I had the wrong number. Jeff laughed and told me he would get Julie on the phone for me. When Julie answered she told me that her friend Jeff was over and he was joking around. Julie told me she was going to the movies with her boyfriend Jake, and their friend, Jeff, and she invited me to join them. 
|    When Julie introduced me to Jeff, my first thought was "who is this hot friend of Jake and Julie's?" Julie had told me that Jeff was in college and he was single, wink wink! Julie knew I already had an awful boyfriend back in Kirksville who was controlling and manipulating my life even from a long distance away. She really wanted me to get away from that guy. I didn't think Jeff would really be interested in me because he was 3 years older than me and cool collage man. 
|     The four of us went to dinner at Steak N' Shake and Jeff paid for my meal. Jeff and Jake told me that no girl pays for a meal when they are out with them. When Julie and I went to the Ladies room, she told me that Jeff must like me because the line that "no girl pays" isn't excatly true. She continued to tell me that last week they all went out and her friend Erin came along and Jeff  didn't even offer to pay for her meal, (hmmmm). We had a great time at dinner and Jeff was so funny! Julie told the guys how I was a model for the JC Penny prom gown collection. Instead of Jeff acting all impressed, he told us he had a layout in the GQ magazine and then he put his hand on his chin and posed as a male model! I died laughing, I though he was so witty and cute! 
|     We then went to the movies to see "Austin Powers" at the theater and Jeff insisted he pay for my movie ticket. I love shivalry and he definately had me impressed. We all enjoyed the movie and now "Austin Powers" is our movie, you know some people have a romantic song? Well, our thing is a goofy movie, hehe!
|    I Hope this isn't getting too long and involved but hang in there! After the movie we all went bowling. Eeek, bowling was not my strong point and I made a complete fool out of myself! I had long acrylic nails and I couldn't grip the bowling ball very well. At one point Jeff gave me a helpful tip and I ended up launching the ball into the next players lane while slipping on my lane. I was sooooo embarrassed but luckily Jeff could see beyond my awful bowling skills and married me that night, just kidding, just seeing if you were still paying attention, hehe! Anyway, we all laughed and had a fabulous time.
|By then it was midnight and we were getting hungery again. I called my mom to let her know that we were going to grab a bite to eat before I came home so she wouldn't worry. We went to Ziggies Cafe and once again Jeff paid. I was getting to be pretty expensive for Jeff and we weren't even on and official date or anything. As Jeff opened the door for me he put his hand gently on my back as I walked into the restauraunt. That small touch spoke volumes to me and when I looked at Jeff I felt butterflies in my stomach and I knew he liked me too!!!
|    After the wonderful evening was over Julie was going to take me home and Jeff piped up and offered to drive me home in his cool camero. Julie and I were going to go skating the next day after I got off work and Jeff asked me if I would like him and Jake to come along (even though I found out later he didn't really like skating). I wanted to see him again more than anything so I agreed.
|    When I got home my mom was waiting up for me and I told her how I met the most amazing guy! I was so excited. We went skating the next day and I was hooked. My prom was in one week and I dumped my jerky boyfriend so I could invite Jeff instead. After that, Jeff and I were inseparable we had a whirlwind romance and got married a little over a year later. Jeff is my dream come true. I adore him. I can't believe our life together. We have been married 8 and half year  and I am now sitting here looking into the eyes of our 7 week old baby girl while our 3 little boys are running around our home together.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"awww.... I am just shocked at how young you were.  
|
|You are lucky that Jeff was a sweet dude and didnt judge you by your age.
|
|He knew you were the biggest sweetheart in the world even though you still were in high school. 
|
|You guys are the best.  Tell Jacob I told him to stay out of trouble and to stay safe.  Cause life is short."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Where is Jeffs recollection?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Idiot Test
|
|Place:Missouri
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1997
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was a freshman in college and very worried about my grades because my parents were paying my tuition and told me if I didn't do well I would have to pay the tuition myself. I really wanted them to know I took this expensive education seriouly.
|I had a really cool english teacher who was pretty casual about things. He was getting ready to test us on grammer principles and things relating to that. He went over the review and kept telling the class we didn't need to study because the information was so basic that 1st grades could wing it.
|When I got home I went over the materials and burst into tears because it looked so difficult to me. I thought about what an idiot I was that 1st grade material look extremely hard. I was so scared about looking completely stupid in clas,s so I studied for 3 days, staying up until the wee hours memorizing the info. My friends all talked about how relieved they were to have one less thing to study for thanks to our wonderful english teacher. I didn't say a thing.
|Well, testing day arrived and I felt confident I had finally mastered first grade grammer that somehow I missed way back in first grade. I wizzed through the test and was so relieved that no one would find out what a dumb blonde I really was.
|The following day the results were in! Much to my shock I was the ONLY person to even pass the test! I got 100% while eveyone else failed. The teacher thought I was brillant. He couldn' understand why no one else passed. Maybe because he told us not to study? Anyway, I learned it never hurts to study even basic things in life.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Trust me I am the same way.  I was doing madlibs with Noel on the podcast and I probably didnt know what an adverb was among other things.
|
|Check out the podcasts.  You will love them.  Thanks for posting your first memory.  Sorry if my Europe memories drowned out your 1st post.  But I have been needing to post all of them on here."
|
|========================================================================






Memorycrawler.com User TheMemoryCrawler Memories



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Church abuses, 2002<br/><br/>Do you remember when Catholicism gains headlines when many people make claims of sexual abuse by its priests?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|adDASasasdDAS
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Enron, 2002<br/><br/>Do you remember when Enron Corporation screwed over America?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|aifsuydiyffw
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:asdlkfjasdlkjf
|
|Place:kljaslk;fj;aksldfj
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 08 2011
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|dsffdas fasd fasdf das adfs asf asdadsfhjadsjfasdjkf asdf adsf afsd asdf asd
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
aklsdjfaskdfj said:
|"iphbiuyhiouhjiujoiuj"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day One and Two: Off to South America , plus the sharting story
|
|Place:Taco Bell
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 10 2008 to Feb 13 2008
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The night before we left for South
| America it was crazy packing.
|We went to wal-mart late at night to pick up things and did 
|errands all
|morning such as getting insurance for Susan’s engagement ring, getting 
|money,
|paying bills, dry cleaning and much more.
|The day was just really rushed with lots of things to do and 
|eventually
|we went to the mall to pick up Susan some things she needed too. I talked to Michelle for a while over the
|phone and we headed home.
|
|  
|
|We got back to the place about 2:30 or so and were 
|still
|doing last minute stuff before our transportation arrived….. finally 
|eating
|lunch even though we forgot to eat during the day we were so busy.
|
|  
|
|I was standing around doing some dishes when I felt
| a
|farting sensation, so I just ripped one out.
|Come to find out I sharted badly in my pants. This
| was 10 minutes before the bus was to arrive
|to pick us up. 
|
|  
|
|I walked very funny like into my room near the 
|bathroom and
|attempted to not have it become more messy than it already had been. Susan noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
|
|  
|
|I yelled to her from the bathroom…. “Hey… umm… I am
| going to
|take a quick shower really quick.” She
|probably was thinking…. Ummm …. Okay. 
|
|  
|
|So I got all cleaned up and the next thing to do 
|was to put
|on the gold pants that were the exact same “parachute pant” that I had 
|on
|previously only a different color. Susan
|never noticed and I then awkwardly did a “load” of laundry without her 
|seeing
|me, but eventually she heard a funny noise coming from the laundry room…. I
|said…. “Oh I had to do a quick load of laundry before we left”. She replied “It’s going to smell like mold
|Dave.” I said… “It’s fine.” 5
| minutes later….as if things could not get
|worse I say:
|
|
|
|“Honey… where’s my wallet.”
|I gasp and say “Oh shit” and run to the washer.
|
|  
|
|Wallet was ruined and lots of money needed to be dried off
|minutes before our bus arrived.
|
|  
|
|I confessed to my weird behavior and told her the 
|whole
|story of sharting myself silly in the kitchen trying to push a fart out 
|quickly
|and we managed to dry off the hundreds of dollars in my wallet and 
|grabbed my
|mom’s new wallet she bought me for Christmas and used that in South America.
|
|  
|
|We safely got to the airport and had great 
|conversations
|with our fellow Floridians on the way.
|No sharting on the ride over there or on the plane either…. 
|YAAAAAEEE!
|
|  
|
|Plane ride of course wasn’t the best…. But it 
|wasn’t the
|worst either and when we arrived we paid 107 Brazillian for a taxi to 
|our
|hotel. Even though this seemed like a
|lot…. The people who paid for Royal Carribean’s bus had to wait hours 
|before it
|came and we paid about the same price as them.
|
|  
|
|We checked into our beautiful hotel in Sao Paulo and I will 
|write a little more
|about those fun times around our hotel on a separate post. 
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you think others perceptions of you were when you were really young?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|More or less a prankster.  These cute little curls allowed me to get away with a lot of things
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Florida Memories With Matt Wild
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 01 2009 to Oct 01 2009
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I convinced one of my best friends Matt to come with with me at my company down here in FL last summer.
|
|He had left NYC and was at his parents and didnt have an official nine to five job, and we had an opening.
|
|He eventually accepted the 3 month contract position and was expected to come to this BBQ that my boss was putting on by driving down here.
|
|Of course Matt forgot that they took that Friday off at the DMV, so he flew into Tampa W/O a car. So for the first month or so, I drove him everywhere. 
|
|He had basically a duffle bag for that first month and he lived with me and Susan in the spare bedroom. Here are all the memories I can think of that we had together during his short stay in FL.
|
|The best memory was when we went biking in the woods, it took two hours to get there because we are douche bags and we took what we thought was the "back route" to get to the trails. Little did we know we would be knee deep in mudd, spiders and spider webs, snakes and other possibly poisonous FL things. Riding bikes until a hairy spider was right by matts face and then we turned aroundWe got drunk one night and played racket ball that night and then I jumped in the pool with my shoes onOur pool days at the hotelsDMW'sPlaying racketball outside of various walls (even in the pool)
|Dominos pizzas, coding and Day of DefeatSetting the alarm clock for him, like a dad would doHis first day work, he ordered an order of hush puppies onlyEveryday after work he would want subway and other pre-dinnersThe BOONT ALE where he drank it at the FLY bar, but then paid top dollar for it laterHim wearing Jeans and Sandals to work and him getting spoken to about it
|Overall it was great to work with Matt for him to see my life down here in FL.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|kkstalker said:
|" 
|
|Memories swim in whisky, they don't ever drown...to punish those who think they will dissapear with on more round of drinks. But there she is as big as life warming up my glass. Memories swim in whisky they don't ever drown.They are always there with ever swallow you put down 
|
|Gary Stewart 
|----- "
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"test"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
wrath said:
|"too many memories. ill try and start from the top.
|
|so left NYC and was working with mr doak on projects, but i felt the need for a stable 9-5 as well, not to mention i would be working with my friend dave. so i said why not. i didnt have much time to pack, find a place to live and drive down there, so i just jumped on a plane to fla international. dave and susan picked me up and we instantly coined the term "mom and dad" it just felt appropriate because i felt like a little kid being picked up from school.
|
|they gave me the tour, took me to HPS and then surrounding areas. i honestly had no idea what to expect with the whole thing. both staying with dave and susan, florida AND the job. i hadnt been to FL since i was a kid. so i have NO idea what i was getting myself into.
|
|the room i stayed in was great, i think the bed was dressed with susans purple comforters from college life! dave set me up with an old work laptop (thankfully) and i was able to work on stuff with doak as well as game a little! we played a lot of zombie and day of defeat.
|
|i remember every morning getting up at the latest possible moment, taking a shower first, getting dressed the either going back to bed while waiting for douche bag to get ready or jump on the PC. my favorite thing was the coffee! dave finally merged from tea to coffee and of course susan drinks it, so i was in great hands! (nice coffee maker too) dave would always eat a banana too. yogurt. 
|
|anyway we would always be running out the door late, and it was almost alway raining or sunny. either way i loved it. we definitely pulled an office and space and strolled in 15mins late. haha. loved it. i remember always instant messaging him around 4:30 asking when we were leaving. lik GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!! gmail talk is what we used.
|
|so my first desk was next to bob i think and john. i got to hear some amazing interviews. some people didnt even know what a class was. wtf? how does one even get an interview or to that point without even knowing basic programming methods???
|
|i remember bob talking to me about their movie trips after work. how they would hit the bar, he told me every detail and really got me excited for it, because i am a movie buff. anyway he ends it with, something along the lines of how only "employees" or full time emps of HPS are welcome. LOL? so yea they connection drifted away. 
|
|ugh so many memories. lets talk about the robot room. this was great. there is this room where they stick their temps who are on the same project to promote working together. i think in reality they were just cleansing their full-time space. we were the scum and locked in a cage! working next to someone, literally, doesnt improved production, im sorry. just because i can tap them on the shoulder doesnt mean communication has improved. infact it is now worse in that situation. loss of focus is definitely inherited. this is why we have meeting rooms and email. you plan, then work, plan the work, plan then work. ugh it was a mirror image of the wild west there!!
|
|once i moved out of daves place i would show up to work on average at noon or so. i loved walking into the robot room too. all you heard was typing. SO classic. i also remember starbucks runs and julians sweet car. there was a quarter mile stretch that we will literally floor it on just to see his in-car volume automatically increase! lol. always cherish those starbucks runs. i have to say that the one thing i miss about HPS are the people there! such great people!!
|
|my place was awesome,it was a sublet of a sublet. ryan, a recruiter at apex basically was subletting it out to me, and mimi, the owner of the condo, was subletting it out to him! it was so nice, fully furnish. so i setup shop and worked night and day.
|
|the roads were super horrible, i always remember my car bottoming out from all of the pot holes!
|
|DMWs. dave and i would go on average on DMW a day, sometimes more and we would take our sweet ass time!! we would find our way over to the second building and plop down in the stairwell. shooting the shit for a good 15mins. i would always stress how im leaving.. lol and never would. i stuck it out for three months! mostly for dave, but also because i didnt want to "burn" anyone. funny story about that..
|
|i remember go to a place after working in a circle area. forget the name, but the restaurant was up stairs and dave and i drank a beer outside while waiting for susan. susan showed up and we all decided to go somewhere else. oh yea i believe we went down to the bowling alley! and i swore i saw mitch! but apparently didnt.
|
|more later"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Latch Key
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Work Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Day care growing up was a lot of fun.
|
|Usually we would be in day care until about 5 most years in elementary school.
|
|But I made a lot of friends and we used to play a lot of games and get extra time on the playground.
|
|A lot of dodge ball was played.
|
|In the summers a few summers we did an all day latch key which was fun too. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your absolute favorite place that you can remember from your childhood?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|That would probably be ELEIA beach , Nick Azzaros house or Noel and Kevins house
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Power Outtage 2002 <br/><br/>  Did you experience the great power outtage of the East coast?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 
|
|Memory Category:Natural Disaster
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was driving home from Compuware stuck on I75.  I stayed at home with my family the whole weekend
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Falling In The Lake Fishing
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered: 1989
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|OK I havent posted an extreme amount of time and there havemt been many site updates on the code, but I havent been very reminiscent as of late.
|
|I was just thinking about this time when I was in elementary school where my dad and brother both took me to cass lake. At the time my brother had a fishing rod, but I didnt.
|
|I think he had one of those donald duck fishing rods.
|
|Anyways, I was kind of sad I didnt have one, so I took some of their fishing lines and made a make shift pole out of a stick.
|
|I was happy casting out my 6 foot line, until I got ambitious and I stepped closer to the edge of the water and really gave it a hard cast.
|
|I completely lost balance and fell into the muddy lake.
|
|My brother and father laughed their butts off and we probably went home after that.
|
|I plan on posting more so keep watching for the emails again.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:First Boys Night Out Since I have been Married
|
|Place:Matt V's House
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 18 2008
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I have been married for about 2 and a half months now and mostly just hang out with my best friend Susan.
|
|But sometimes it is good to have a night away and to hang out with the boyz.
|
|When I started my new job this week I instantly made lots of friends.  
|
|All the developers at my new job are really great people and really cool and hard working.
|
|So anyways, last night I played smash with this programmer friend of mine named Matt.
|
|He and I drank a few beers, played smash, philosophized and ate pizza.
|
|We have a lot of the same opinions about programming techniques and about a lot of different topics.
|
|It was really great to finally have my first boys night out where men can be men and we can just chill.  
|
|Thanks Matt.... good to know I got some new friends here in Tampa.
|
|Feel free to sign up to my website and critique my two years of PHP work to create this blog software called memorycrawler.com.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"I miss boy's night out :(.  I wish I could play Smash with you and play as Kid Icarus or R.O.B.  When are you in town again?"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
vongles said:
|"Well, it's been more than a day since this happened, so I'm pretty sure what you said covers it - I mean, unless you purposely left out that moment where we looked into each others eyes and knew that we were safe together.
|
|Seriously though, it was a good time, next time we'll need to do it when we can get a little rowdier - three beers and some video games does not make an evening make. Saturday we'll turn it up a notch."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:New Condo Photos
|
|Place:Courtney Palms Condos
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 05 2008
|
|Memory Category:Photos and Pictures
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I also wanted to update friends and family with pictures of our new place.... I know all of you have been wondering what our exotic life is like down here in Florida and for the first time in my life I have a home that I can be proud of because I made it all happen and set this place of.
|
|Since my cousin Anthony came up here this last weekend, Susan and I spent a few hours cleaning the place up.
|
|It was a good excuse also to take some photos of all the un-packing we had to do with our 26 feet of goodies we drove down here in a truck.
|
|Enjoy!
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day Twelve : Ushuaia
|
|Location:Ushuaia, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 19 2008
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We departed from the ship with two new friends (Enrique and Marina from Brazil) we met at a Honeymooner/Anniversary party and left the ship about 10:15 AM. 
|
|Most of the people on excursions left the ship at 7:15 to catch a two hour bus to get to the beautiful countryside parks and whatnot.. but we saved a ton of dough by walking around in this safe portside town. Most excursions here were 120 and above in price.
|
|We walked around and spoke with the people who worked at the End Of The World train excursion and found that we could do the same thing that the other people on the boat were doing but for only 35 dollars for two.  We continued walking around town glancing in stores mostly and also took many great photos from around the hillside overlooking our ship docked and much more.
|
|We reached our first destination which was an abandoned jail and now museum.  At this point I finally threw out my paper cup with my morning tea which screamed American Tourist and we enjoyed a pretty decent museum with some interesting statues of famous inmates.  I especially liked the space suit which was used to fight fires.
|
|We then attempted to make it back to the train ride place at noon but were too late and kind of missed it.  Further talking to the locals they explained that we really didnt miss anything special.
|
|We now had about 4 hours to spend in town, so we continued back down the main street with all the toursity stores and shops and it just continued for at least another mile.  We took some panoramic views of the mountain ranges and the marina below and above the hillside and eventually got to the end of the road.
|
|We began seeking restaurants for a traditional Argentinean meal of Steak and meat and we were largely successful when we found Bodegon Fuengino and had one of the best meals I have had this whole cruise including Pepper Steak, Potatoes, Local Beer and Dulce De Leche Ice Cream for about 30 dollars for both of us to eat.
|
|We left for the ship after the meal and then waited in the largest line to the ship I had seen thus far.. the problem with this was that there were nearly 90 mile an hour winds nearly blowing us over and we had to wait here for 40 minutes in line while people checked in.
|
|This sucked. But didnt entirely ruin our day and we spent some healing time from the cold in the hot tub when we got onboard.
|
|It was a fantastic day and this city reminded us so much of Europe and Switzerland as you can tell from the 50+ photos we took today.
|
|These high winds also produced a negative effect on the ships schedule. Right now we are stuck here at the dock because it is unsafe to leave in these windy conditions.  This could get us into Punta Arenas a little later than expected.
|
|More honeymoon posts and photos to come!
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Trumpeting with The Coachmen in a Green Suit (Filmed by Bill Monet)
|
|Place:Tina's Country House
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 28 2006
|
|Memory Category:Weddings
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I am sitting here having one of the greatest valentines days ever in the history of my life with my new with in Buenos Aires Chile and this video I found on my video camera just showed up in today's pictures that I was downloading off the memory stick.
|
|This is the video of me at Kate's wedding playing with the Coachmen Freddy The Freeloader and another song who I forget the song name.
|
|Bill Monet... my great friend.  Thank you for not being too drunk not to press the record button. 
|
|The night you video taped this moment, we all thought you forgot to press record.  But you just put it on the direct to memory card video mode of Kate's wedding.
|
|Finding this video made me sooo happy to see my performance at Kate's wedding!  Billy you are the best. Susan and I miss you already.
|
|We love the moment when you put your drink in front of the camera.
|
|Come visit us soon in Tampa Bro!!!  
|
|Enjoy the video....
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
zoomzoom said:
|"I knew that I wasn't too drunk to press the record button.  I guess I didn't know how to operate it, I am not sure how I taped it on the memory stick.  I felt so bad about not taping it.  It is really crazy that it turned up a year and a half later."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Moving in My New Place in Florida and the Cockroach Neighbor
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 04 2008 to Feb 08 2008
|
|Memory Category:First Hand Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The morning we had to unload the truck sitting in the parking lot, I rearranged the parking job and took up two handicap spots to perfectly lay the walk way very close to our stairs.  Susan and I unloaded the 26 foot truck in about 3 hours and I lifted some crazy heavy things that day.
|
|My neighbor Keith helped us out big time and helped me transfer our bed and dressers into our place.  He was ripped and definitely could handle the weight.  He and his wife Karen are awesome, new friends for sure!
|
|I spent the rest of the day setting up tables, beds and breaking down boxes before our friend Tim came over.
|
|That day when setting things up, Susan found a little creature who I knew was a current resident. A cockroach inside of the Dishwasher!  She screamed really loudly and after I killed it with a pole and wiped it up I freaked her out a little bit too at some point after things died down when I was cleaning out the dishwasher.  
|
|I never told her of it when I initially saw it on the wall because I had planned to look through all the cupboards and I never could seem to find its home.
|
|It was good fun, but hopefully we don't have problems in the future.
|
|By the morning I had our place looking like a real home and had broken down a lot of things.
|
|One sad thing that happened though, was that my new macintosh was hacked and all the data was somehow deleted off of both my laptop and my big computer.  I was auto-connected to the NETGEAR wireless and a hacker was most likely on the other end cracking my root password or something.  This happened the night before leaving for my honeymoon and all my wedding photos were lost among many other projects and things that I never backed up.  This really was the worst attack on a machine of mine ever and I now know that macs aren't really that secure.
|
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|drudanks said:
|"That sucks about your MAC! This proves to me that MAC's are no better and not work the $$. Anyway congrats on the new place! Send me your address so I can google it. I had a few cockroaches in Las Vegas. When there's one there's more. always. Get a few different kinds of cockroach bait at hoe depot and leave all over in corners of the house. That should do the trick. You'll know when you find dead ones. Good luck Tampa Mang!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Driving A Truck Across Country with My Wife
|
|Place:All Across The Country
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 02 2008 to Feb 04 2008
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The day after my marriage was also a very big day, for Susan and I planned on packing up all her stuff in Troy into the parked truck and planned on leaving that night to stop somewhere in Ohio that night.
|
|In the morning, our hotel was a wreck from all the gathering and getting ready that all the bridesmaids needed to get done the previous day.  Susan and I dreaded cleaning all this up, but it wasn't as bad as I thought.
|
|We did kind of get freaked out from this noise that sounded like someone was breaking into our hotel though.  It sounded like someone was opening and closing our door. It was extremely loud and you could tell it was happening in the next room.  After getting up a few times investigating, I found that it was the wind that was opening up our balcony door and pushing it inward to make that noise.
|
|Susan and I then ordered our first meal as husband and wife and it was a delicious eggs Benedict.
|
|Later it took a few hours to pack up all our belongings into my brother and fathers cars and then around 11AM a ton of close family members met up at our hotel and we all hung out in the living room for a while.  While getting my stuff ready, one of my tasks was to grab some stuff from Linda's office that was supposed to be things that they gathered during cleanup.  I grabbed the only wedding boxes I could see and luckily Susan's mom followed me there, because I accidentally grabbed wedding stuff for the Saturday night wedding.
|
|As we left the Inn at St. Johns, Kate gave me the "I'll be watching you eyes" pointing at her eyes and then me, indicating that I take good care of her sister.
|
|We got to Susan's house and unloaded the stuff from the cars and had a quick little opening of the presents party immediately following we loaded up the truck and packed a 26 foot truck to pretty much capacity with both our crap from both households.
|
|As my parents began leaving, this is when all the emotions began to run wild as my mom was upset that I was never coming home to live with her again.
|
|Susan's side as well, when we were coming to the moments before leaving for Florida, were very emotional for everyone.
|
|But eventually I started up the truck and we were off!   My father in law took a video of us and our "Just married" sign as we drove away.
|
|Emotions again ran wild with both of us knowing that we were leaving Detroit for a new place.  We will be back eventually, unless we cant imagine living in the cold ever again, but leaving your area you grew up in for 25 years is not that easy.  I have so many close friends and family that are only a short distance drive to hang out with.  It was so bittersweet as well as emotional because our wedding was over with and it went by so fast.
|
|Susan and I ate at Taco Bell that night and had planned on making it to the very south of Ohio, but when we gassed up for the first time about 2 gallons of red liquid dumped onto the ground.  A few good Samaritans helped decipher the problem and explained that it was the anti freeze and that I wont make it very much farther, so Susan and I stayed up in the Holiday Inn and it was quite nice.
|
|I called SOS for Penske and Susan and I relaxed while we looked at the 1000 photos that the photographer took and really enjoyed them as we fell asleep.  I was awoken by the truck dude who filled up my antifreeze but couldn't figure out the problem because it was dark.
|
|We drove all day and had a lot of fun doing it, until we got to Tennessee and the truck broke down on the side of the road as soon as we hit the mountains from Overheating.  I tried to fill it up with some Antifreeze but and continued driving but it failed again.  On the phone with SOS again, I was glad I had my GPS unit because it was able to give precise location of our truck, without it I had no clue what part of Tennessee I was in.
|
|This threw us off on our schedule a lot and we barely made it to Chattanooga to our free hotel stay with my Marriott points.  We had an excellent meal-to-go at Shoney's and ate it in our room and caught the very end of the Super bowl and passed out.
|
|Nothing really interesting happened all day through Georgia except that at some point our Just Married sign flew off the truck.  That sign was hilarious because you just don't see things like that on the road and many people waved and honked at the new married couple.
|
|We got very excited as we entered into Florida and had some orange juice as we picked up brochures for all the potential places to visit in this tourism centered state.
|
|Florida was a very long haul from here and we didn't have time to pick up my car at my friends house that night because Shawn our realator had to work at 9:30.
|
|As we entered into the new condo complex there were about 4 cars behind me and there was a gate that you had to pass, so Susan quickly suggested to go into the side corner where you would waive your pass.  This deemed a very bad decision because essentially I was stuck inside this thing!  I was really nervous about this, but luckily the pass unit had some metal poles to guard it from being taken out of commission by my truck.  I bent some bushes and made some rubber marks on the curb from riding on the side walk, but eventually I made it out!
|
|We got into our place and Shawn hooked us up with a place to stay for the night so we didn't have to unload the truck for our bed that night.
|
|We made it across country into our new place!  It is beautiful and you all will have to use it as a vacation home with full hotel amenities.  Susan and I keep saying how we are shocked that we live here because it is more of a hotel than anything.  
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day Eight: Montevideo Sights
|
|Location:Montevideo, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 15 2008
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There wasn't much to say about Montevideo Uruguay, Susan and I were a bit tired and a lot of the city just looked either similar to Brazil or Buenos Aires and/or there weren't a whole lot of grand and interesting things that the guide or the city really came a crossed to us.
|
|There were a couple of nice viewpoints and we got some decent photos on the tour and probably the coolest sight of the day was an old government building all made of marble mostly.
|
|Once we got back to the ship I had more fun after we had eaten and exchanged a bit of money for more pesos for this country.
|
|We walked just outside the pier into the market area and did a bit of browsing and met a nice man and his family who were kind of pan handlers.  Susan found a great Matte set for cheap there and we even almost purchased a handmade sheepskin leather rug for 70 bucks US but we would have had to go back to the boat to get our money which deemed time pressing for the boat left in 30 minutes.
|
|Oh well.
|
|We also had a cappuccino real quick as we discussed the rug and overall are glad that we didn't purchase it for we really don't have any where to display it in our new place and we have enough things to pay off right now.
|
|Overall it was decent city, but doesn't really differentiate themselves from the other countries down here.  We just miss Buenos Aires already..
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day Seven: Romantic Valentines Day In Buenos Aires
|
|Location:Buenos Aires, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 17 2008
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Our day started off early for our city tour of Buenos Aires Argentina.  Getting on the bus, we had the most amazing tour guides who seemed to be really relaxed and less rushed than at Rio De Janiero.
|
|Our first stop on this romantic day was the first cemetery in the city.
|
|It was one of the most unique cemeteries I have ever seen and Evita was buried there.  We took many photos of various sarcophagi and it was interesting because the caskets were in plain view in a few of them. 
|
|We had to wait in line to see Evita's family grave.  But Evita herself was buried underground so that she may truly rest in peace.  
|
|There was a huge tree that I got a picture of outside of the graveyard and there were many professional dog walkers hanging out there with 4 to 7 dogs they were watching.
|
|Next Susan and I went to the town center with the familiar pink government building of which the president helicopters into each day to work on time.
|
|Right around the corner there was an amazing cathedral that was very beautiful and totally different than many cathedrals in Europe.  There were guards by the tomb of the general who fought for the independents and it was one of the few churches who actually allowed swords inside the facilities.
|
|Next we went to La Boca which used to be an old alley and poor area of which people used to throw garbage away in the alleys. But now after many years of art and hardwork on the alleys and streets from one man and other artists it's a complete fantastic tourist and shopping district.  All of the buildings were painted with vibrant colors on their aluminum walls and there were hundreds of shops of every nook and cranny.  
|
|I bought a Matte souvenir cup, sippie and Matta leaves and am excited to try it out on the boat to see what it tastes like.  I hope I like it. I think I will.
|
|Susan bought a painting of a couple doing the tango for about 20 dollars US.  
|
|We also went to a scenic viewpoint and took pictures with an Argentinean manikin as well as took a posed photo of us Tangoing for about 1 dollar.
|
|Next the bus headed back to the ship, but they dropped people off at Florida street and here is where all the fun shopping began!
|
|I bought a new jacket that says Argentina on it, much like that Italy zip up jacket I have.  I also bought another matte cup which was better than the dried pumpkin cup I had previously bought as well as I bought a bunch of candy.
|
|Susan mostly bought a cute sundress as well as a wallet.  But we just had the greatest time in the world shopping on this street, it was very nice.
|
|We rushed back via taxi to get to the ship only to be rushed eating and quickly getting ready for our 4:30 excursion to the Tango show.
|
|During lunch I gave a worker the evil eye because she wouldn't let me pickup my own drink from the stack of them because in order to prevent any future breakout of stomach flu, they are taking extra precautions.  Susan snipped at her too about how we are in a rush and it wasn't like we were touching our hands on all of the cups.
|
|Once we arrived to this beautiful bar/basement for the show and it got underway we were very impressed with the professionalism of the dancers and the excellent live music including a full 5 piece orchestra and an accordion.  We got served a few wine beverages as well and I snuck some video of the show for your viewing pleasure even though they would yell at you if you got caught taping.
|
|The second half of the show consisted of Argentinean folklore music live and I had chills down my back the whole time!  I even bought a CD afterward of them.  Second, they had a Gaucho who essentially took these yo-yo type strings and hits the ground with them, one in each hand.  He does a fast dance and criss-crosses the yo-yo's without touching each other.  Really it's tough to describe what the gauchos do in this dance, but this guy was a showman to say the least and it was one of the most enjoyable things I have seen live in a while. He had so much skills.
|
|Finally they ended with the Tango of All Tangos with the famous Tango song.
|
|We were giddy after the show because we enjoyed it so much and I was acting like a goofball in the bus saying weird things.
|
|When we got back to the boat we had a fantastic dinner with our friends at the formal dinner and I bought Susan one rose for Valentines day and told her that each year I will get her one more for as long as I live.
|
|What a great day we had in Buenos Aires and we cant wait to fly back for the shopping and cheap travels here in Argentina.
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day Five and Six: At Sea, A little Puking For Me
|
|Place:Atlantic Ocean
|
|Location:Santos, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 12 2008 to Feb 13 2008
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We had two days at sea and we spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool and other things.
|
|I played a texsas holdem tournament and sadly I lost when I called someone with AA. God I was stupid to call his betting pattern. I should have known better.
|
|Oh well
|
|Things got worse after that because the waves got really bad and made Susan and I queasy.
|
|Susan dry cleaned her dress for the formal night with the Captain and even started to get ready and I was in bed still in the fetal position because of the motion of the boat.
|
|She also began to feel really dizzy and 20 minutes before we had to be somewhere I got up and said we arent going because I felt too dizzy.  We got a little scared because we certainly didnt want the whole cruise to be sick.
|
|But we ordered room service and I got up to get the door.  The server didnt look well at all and was stumbling with our stuff in our room and nearly tripped and fell on Susan's suitcase and I recovered it and set it down.
|
|Two seconds later I was sea sick..
|
|The rest of the night was movie night and we slept in until 10:30 again.
|
|The next day at sea, we spent some time working out and more relaxing and typing out these journals here, but it was pretty much a wash day and we were waiting to arrive in Buenos Aires the following day on Valentines day.
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day Three: Sau Paulo Hilton Adventure
|
|Location:Sau Paulo, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 09 2008
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When we arrived to our hotel in Sau Paulo, we had so much fun checking out the modern Murombi rooms and the amenities we had.  We were tired, exhausted and gross feeling from the lack of showers.  But we got a great Brazilian/Italian meal and I had a few beers for about 30 Brazilian.
|
|We wandered around this safe World Trade Center for a while and took a bunch of pictures.
|
|The weather outside was absolutely fantastic with zero humidity and great sunshine.
|
|We took a two hour nap and eventually woke up seeking more food, but to no avail we could not find anything open in the WTC.  So we had to pay about 100 bucks to eat inside the Hilton.  It was decent food. But absolutely fantastic service and totally relaxing atmosphere.
|
|That night at about Midnight we overheard a noise coming from a wedding down below and it started right at midnight.  We were a bit worried that in Brazil, the weddings start at midnight and last all night with that racket, but it eventually ended.  The building opened up its glass doors, so that's why the music traveled that far of a distance.
|
|In the morning, I went downstairs and talked to the Royal Carribean person and organized us to ride onto the second bus of which we were not previously booked on. But considering the high cost of taxi's in Brazil, it was cheaper and easier to get onto this mode of transportation to the Santos pier.
|
|We waited for a few hours and got onto the bus and I think paid 40 a person to ride on this ride.
|
|I was tired, but woke up at the most opportune time when we hit the Amazon type jungle.
|
|I didn't have my camera at this time, so  I can only explain what I saw.
|
|We drove on a freeway through the thickest and most green jungle you can possibly imagine.  Only it is not just a flat area, but it was as if we floated above cliffs at least 300 meters high.  Very narrow two way highway and barely any guard rails.
|
|But it was a sight unlike anything I could imagine out of a book or movie.  Seeing this jungle in person was so heart-wrenching.  I love seeing nature and mountains and always get excited to see the landscape of the world more than the man made things.
|
|There were small waterfalls just bursting out of the trees and no houses or towns in the mix. Just the forest.
|
|But at least 1500 meters below we also had a fantastic view of Santos and the pier at some points.  
|
|I just wish there was a lookout point, but I am assuming that it really isn't the hottest tourism destination to take photos.
|
|It was unbelievable and I wish I had my camera.
|
|We got to Santos fine and there were a lot of great people watching sights.
|
|Watching the locals walk around and ride bikes.  I even saw a man taking a nap underneath a billiard table as others were playing.  There were many smaller slums, but it was interesting to note that almost 90% of them had the huge 1980's size satellites for their cable TVs.  I had some videos of the Brazilian life that I can accompany this story with.
|
|We finally made it! we called our parents to let them know we made it while we were in line and we got onto the ship!
|
|I was a bit cranky from my lack of sleep the night before and was trying hard to get back to take a nap in our room, but there was the fire drill and a lot of people knocking on the door to bring our luggage up.  It was soo good to get a nice meal and lunch when we boarded because Susan and I kind of skipped breakfast because we were in a hurry to get our stuff ready for the impromptu bus ride to Santos.
|
|All in all, the day consisted of me being overwhelmed with too many things to do and things to see and I vented my slight frustrations with the boat having too many fun things to do on the first day docked in Santos.
|
|We mostly just ate and relaxed on the first day and the boat set sail for Rio that night arriving in the morning.  Butt-early in the morning can you tell I was cranky about this too???
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Honeymoon Day Four: Rio De Janiero
|
|Location:Rio De Janiero, 
|
|Date Remembered:Feb 11 2008
|
|Memory Category:Travel Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|We miserably woke up at 7:30 ish and it was dark and we didn't want to meet up for our early excursion to the Sugar loaf Mountain.  The ship had you meet in the large Theater to get your assigned cattle bus number for your stereotypical expensive drive through town to get your candid smiley photo in front of the sights.. smell any pessimism and sarcasm here?
|
|I know it is a safe excursion for sure. But I had my doubts you get what you pay for with some of these.  Most of the people paid for the "Best of Rio", that hit up the Corcovado (Christ The Redeemer Statue), The Sugar Loaf View as well as got a Brazillian lunch and tour of the Cathedral.
|
|Susan and our tour group first got to the Cathedral fully modern and made of concrete and it was so huge and apparently it holds like 5000 people or more.  It was pyramid shaped and had the most beautiful stained glass and a huge cross at the top.  I took some pictures and videos of this and took a picture of our new friends from New Zealand, Allan and Pauline,  Kiwi's rock.
|
|Allan loved my goofy sense of humor and we were cracking up about something about the Sugar loaf cooking tourists in the oven heat or something like that.
|
|I loved his immature humor like me.
|
|We arrived at the first Mountain riding up the cable car and things just seemed rushed a bit.
|
|And on the real mountain, she gave the group 20 minutes of picture taking and 'relaxing'.  I told her that Susan and I are possibly leaving to do our own thing, because we had all day in this city and we certainly did not want to pay tons of cash to get back to the main area of the city if we got driven back to the port.
|
|We met a couple who just approached us and asked if we were from America and chatted with us about things to do and what beaches to hit up.
|
|They were so nice and amazing people and gave us full confidence in going out on our own into the city.
|
|They also mentioned about the wild monkeys who climb around the forest in the South end of the Sugar loaf.  We ventured over there and I even captured some really neat videos of the animals.  (Will upload later)
|
|We eventually got back down after our ice cream and water break and even had a little scare with possibly losing our tickets to get back down the cable car.  Luckily Susan had her ticket in her purse and we eventually just grabbed a taxi and told him to take us to Ipenama beach.  
|
|He and Susan began to speak a little in Spanish even though he fluently spoke Portuguese and he convinced us that he would take us to Corcovado for essentially for free. But we must have interpreted it wrong. I think the free part was the part to take us back to the Ipenama beach.  Oh well. He was fantastic and he took us through some poorer villages going up the mountain that only taxis could drive through because of the steep drive.  I video taped the whole drive. It was crazy.
|
|He then stopped and took photos of us on a helipad near Christ the Redeemer.  It was fun and I was excited as we got closer and excited that he was possibly just taking us up there for fun and for free.
|
|We got to the top and he gave us 35 minutes to go see him and we waited in line for a free elevator to the top.
|
|It was the most fantastic view up there and I mostly used the 35mm camera wide angle to get Susan praying in front of Jesus as well as other shots I tried to get her head in and my head in.
|
|I even tried to stand up on a safe ledge, but a man whistled at me to get down.  Oh well..
|
|This was even more impressive and exciting than even Sugar loaf but each had their own indescribable view.
|
|A guide told some other tourists that the sky from today she has only seen 5 to 10 times with views this clear. So I feel blessed to get such views of Rio De Janiero.
|
|Susan and I got dropped off and paid the 150 bucks to the cabbie and he explained he would take us back to the ship pier for another 100. Which was pretty accurate for the real cost of a taxi, taxi's are just outrageous in Brazil, but I will only ever be in Rio Once.
|
|The Ipenama beach was probably the coolest beach I have and will ever go to. It was clean relatively safe and lots of great people watching and people playing sports and getting tans.
|
|Susan and I got some amazing pictures of us on the beach with the mountain in the background.  Very famous and recognizable view you may notice from this beach.
|
|We stayed away from the Copacabana from various pieces of advice from people and we even went into the shopping district before the beach to pick up some cash for the cabbie home as well as getting lunch from a local sandwich shop and finding the bathrooms.
|
|No one on the ship from what I heard really got to relax at the beach like we did.  We bought a beach towel from a panhandler and both got to swim in the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil.. very exotic stuff and we really spent a lot of money to do all this stuff. But we figured that many parts of the rest of the cruise would not include Ocean side beach stuff and these were the things we wanted to do.
|
|On the way out of the beach, Susan picked up a raw coconut of which we had two straws to drink out of the fresh coconut juice.  A must-do local thing.
|
|And we eventually made it back to the ship in one piece and with 20 Brazillian left.  It was quite adventurous, but we could not just stay in the ship the whole day while there were so many things to see and do while in Rio.  If the 
|"Best of Rio" had not been booked, we wouldn't have had the desire to do so much.  But again, things usually work out for Susan and I because we work great together as a team making decisions.
|
|We ended the day telling our friends at the dinner table about our adventures ditching the tour group and slept in until 10:30 the next day.
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Our New Place
|
|Place:Courtney Palms Condos
|
|Location:Tampa, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 17 2008 to Jan 24 2008
|
|Memory Category:Homes and Houses
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So this week I went apartment hunting but found that you can pay the same price to rent a home or condo, so now I am leasing Courtney palms 2 bed 2 bath condo for Susan and I's marriage.
|
|We will never want to leave this gated community and the price was very cheap for such luxury.
|
|Compared to the 600 a month ghetto apartments that one advertisement had me visit, this is a steal.
|
|Our Tampa life will rule, you guys can all visit sometime and it has enough space for all our crap.
|
|Wish us luck on the moving part of things the weekend of the wedding.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"for 350 more a month than the ghetto cheapest apartments in 100 miles... 
|
|I think I found a nice and cheap place."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:I am unemployed....why not be a mechanic?
|
|Place:GB Home
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 08 2008
|
|Memory Category:Automobiles
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So yesterday a bank decides to seize all assets of my company and now I and my whole company is UNEMPLOYED!
|
|Yes indeed it is the worst thing to happen to a person before their wedding. But some of my colleagues are far worse off than I am. The worst part about getting laid off for the first time is the fact that I was supposed to get paid tomorrow and now I am not because our company has less money in their entire account than I do in my bank account.
|
|Wish me luck people!
|
|Anyway, tonight Noel came over and I completely helped him with his brakes.
|
|We went from computer nerds to flat out car mechanic newbs. And helping him save 150 bucks was a refreshing change from just being on the computer looking for jobs.
|
|I learned a lot, but Noel knew what he was doing a little too.
|
|And his new brakes are fantastic.
|
|Ben Taylor and Paul Taylor must be proud of us.....
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"People probably think I am a wuss for wearing that mask... and in all the pics.... Noel has his taken off.
|
|But the reason we had those is because Noel sprayed crap and also when we hammered the rotars you can inhale "dust" apparently....
|
|Ben??  Paul?? Are we wusses for wearing that?"
|
|wrath said:
|"jeez. dave got grease on his hands! ya wanna learn let me know nub"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"yeah thanks for the offer WildMan....
|
|I wish i was going to be living in michigan to have you teach me.
|
|Grease on the hands was the coolest part.
|
|But then the orange be gone crap was even cooler...."
|
|wrath said:
|"haha yea. i will be joy riding to visit when i get the talon on the road again. and grease on hands is bad. use rubber gloves next time! carcinogen city"
|
|Auntsandy said:
|" 
|Hi honey, 
|Wow, so sorry to hear of the employment status. Well, on the bright side, there are still lots of jobs here in Florida.  You better look in the Tampa Tribune and see what the situation is there. Well, keep us posted on the situation. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Love and miss you, 
|Aunt Sandy 
|"
|
|Bjorn Freeh said:
|"You're wrong, Oh Crawler of Memories. Losing a job is not the worst thing that can happen prior to your wedding. It's not good, but it's not the worst.
|
|You have youth and talent on your side... you'll be fine."
|
|wrath said:
|"i have an aunt sandy too."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah, just having my friends and family posting stuff on my site, makes all the hundreds of hours of spare time I put in the past soooo worth it!
|
|Thanks for your support guys.  I hope you enjoy Noel and I's stories on here.
|
|It was a whirlwind finding all the memories that Matt and I have had with our former company on here. 
|
|PS - Noel.... you might not like the food.... its really exotic!  Good luck man!
|
|"
|
|drudanks said:
|"This sucks. No more free dinners in Vegas!"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"Although my company did not go belly up, I still got a raw deal this week.  Monday I took Beth's car into the dealership because the steering wheel was shaking.  They came back and said that I needed new rotors and brake pads, new tires, a front end alignment and a new hub and bearing assembly.  Well, I am supposed to be working 12 hour days right now to get some approval drawings ready for Friday but I had to take a nooner on Monday to get the car fixed.
|
|So I paid $85 for the dealership to look at the car and declined them to do the work for $1000 and said I would do the brakes myself.  I went to Belle Tire.  They called me up later and said it would require even more work and that it would be $1200.  Sweet!  Just what I need after charging up my credit card for the holidays.
|
|Well, today the car was fixed and I picked it up and did the brakes at Dave's house to save at least some money.  Thanks for helping out Dave!  It was a lot of fun.  It is always more fun to do that job with someone else than to do it alone.
|
|Mike and Laura gave me some food that their neighbor made for them and I am going to eat it for lunch tomorrow and try it out.  Her name is Sue-hah or something and she is from Iraq."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Susan's Lawyer Oath
|
|Place:Troy Court Room
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 27 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Court Room
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I am so proud of my Susan. Seeing her in front of a judge getting sworn into the Bar the other day was an amazing thing!
|
|Check out the video.
|
|Give a recollection Sue and Mike!
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hidden Varsity Jacket in Math Class
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1997
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This would not be a big deal, but the math teacher used to hate and  
|refused to allow any jackets in the room, even though it was kind of  
|cold in there once and a while.
|
|She was going along teaching, when she basically tripped a little and  
|picked it up..
|
|The jacket obviously was mine and had my name on it.
|
|Kevin and Dave Clingan just laughed and laughed.
|
|We used to do other things in that class like always would call on  
|each other.  If you answer a question right, you picked the next  
|person to answer.
|
|Kev would always reply "CLINGAN!!!" in such a funny manner.
|.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Spider Scare
|
|Place:Email
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 22 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yesterday I scared the crap out of Matt....
|
|He and I were on a nice walk, enjoying the Sun and we were walking in  
|the woods at the back of a building.
|
|Near these doors that have not been opened there were tons of spider  
|webs.
|
|Matt and I veered into this spiral shaped web and we could see the  
|large creepy body and legs of a very large spider.
|
|So Wild man has the great idea to take a stick and poke it.....
|
|He slowly began to do it.... when....
|
|CCCZZZZAAAAAAA!!!!!!   I grab his back with both hands to freak him  
|out grabbing him like the spider is biting him.
|
|He went running and screaming....
|
|The spider also came out very very fast and it kind of creeped me out  
|too.
|
|Normally if you freak out a girl like this in a scary movie when it  
|is tense.... I have not been able to scare someone in this situation  
|and I was extra cruel because he is a dude.... a chick would have  
|been soo freaking mad.  Guys can only be cruel to other  guys like this.
|
|Maybe thats why matt doesnt use MC.... because of the spider on the  
|home page!  lol
|
|.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What types of adventures did you have in your college years?
|
|Place:Oakland University and Beyond
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2002
|
|Memory Category:Adventure and Excitement
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|New York City was a great adventure.... but that was my Senior year.
|
|Search for New York to read about that.
|
|But also my toronto trip with Bill that is also a separate memory is on here too.
|
|Hmm.... what story that is adventurous that is not posted yet?
|
|I had a lot of adventure when in cross country with all sorts of trips in the midwest.
|
|Also many many many trips with Joe V. and friends when we would go to all sorts of smash trips together across to different states.  Joe what is your favorite memory here?
|
|A lot of parties can be considered adventurous.... many beers consumed at these.
|
|When my parents got married in las vegas that was a lot of fun too.... great adventure there... but I already posted that.
|
|Gosh.... I think I posted all my favorites.... I need to think harder as to what my greatest adventure was.  Any ideas college mates?  Am I missing something here?
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Origin of "The Brat Patrol"; Plus the "Donny Did It Video"
|
|Place:Patsy's Old House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So the brat patrol started even before all four of us became conscious friends.  Our parents just put us all together and it worked.  We always had a lot of fun playing together and being kids together.
|
|In this video I am truly the "Rat Squirt".  I am just gargling and crying months after I was born hanging out with Noel, Kev and my brother.
|
|In the middle of this clip you have Dan and Noel and Patsy sliding down the famous Sesame Street Swing Set that we all came to love and enjoy over at the Stalker house.
|
|But toward the end of this video is the most famous video in the entire family.  "The Donny Did it Video"!!
|
|Noel and your wittiness even back then you were wise.
|
|Don't spank me... spank Donny!!!
|
|Sorry Drew or never letting you in our Crew, you were born to late and we always felt too tight of a crew.  We were like the Sopranos and Noel is Tony the President.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"I seem to remember it differently - I guess I never actually said "Donny Did It" - I was a little more clever than that.  That is a hilarious video - like miniature Laurel and Hardy.  I totally remember that table and the Sesame Street swing set and the sandbox.  Good times.  Thanks for posting this video, Dave - keep posting them."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cedar Point With Matt
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 13 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|It was about 6 O'Clock the night before and I had kind of planned a  
|co-workers son who was about 15 years old and I barely knew him....  
|but regardless my goal was to for sure go to Cedar point.
|
|So I was talking to Wild Man on the IM and he also took the week off  
|from work, so he said he was down to go.  So after I told him I would  
|pick him up after dinner with Susan and I also called that coworkers  
|son and told him I found someone to come with me.
|
|I felt bad, but oh well.   matt hasnt gone to a theme park in years  
|and he is my best friend.
|
|So after the lovely dinner, I drove to Matts and picked him up and  
|got back to my house and stay up until like 1 AM programming and  
|watching 300 the movie.
|
|We were tired the next day and matt got like 2 hours sleep.
|
|We got to the radio station and signed our forms and moved the car to  
|another parking area.
|
|We listened to the D.J's ahead of us talk about anything and  
|everything the whole way, but it was fine, I just slept a lot of the  
|way.
|
|Once we got there the park had not opened yet and we had to wait.  We  
|tried to get on the disaster transport first, but it was closed.  So  
|I think the first ride we rode was the Iron Dragon.  It was pretty  
|chilled but matt enjoyed it.
|
|I really dont know what was next exactly.... was it the Magnum Matt?   
|Matt really liked the Magnum, I tried to take a video while on it....  
|but the dude made me delete it.
|
|I think next in the progression was the Top Thrill Dragster... and  
|this is when the life changing occurrence happened for Matt.  Zero to  
|like 130 MPH in 3 seconds.  We were near the front cart and it was  
|pretty freaking amazing.  Except for the crazy photo that made me  
|look like I was crying.  I really wasnt crying just trying to keep my  
|eyes open while deflecting very strong wind.
|
|We probably ate some crappy lunch at the weirdest restaurant in the  
|park after this.
|
|After that we probably went on Disaster transport for an easy  
|ride.... and then walked around back and went onto the Millenium  
|force maybe.
|
|I ended up taking a nap on this crappy wooden bench where it was loud  
|with music and people and roller coasters.  But somehow I was out in  
|like two seconds.  matt and I needed a break after I woke up so we  
|went into the Cowboy area where we found this sweet checkers set  
|where we made up a whole new game of checkers.  Here were the rules  
|as we can remember:
|
|Crowned 3 Times : You Can Jump Diagonally Twice
|Crowned 4 Times : You Can Jump Forward and Straight Now
|Crowned 5 Times : "The Sweeper"
|Crowned 6 Times : Move Three Diagonally
|Crowned 7 Times : Ghost Any Direction
|Crowned 8 Times : Telportation
|Crowned 9 Times : ??
|
|We cracked up so hard at these crazy rules and it was a lot of fun!
|
|Matt refused to go on any wooden coasters, so we continued walking.   
|Eventually once we got to about 3 O'Clock matt and I got pretty tired  
|and needed a break, so we found the perfect relaxing spot.  Out by  
|the pirate ship and the magnum there is an entrance to the hotel  
|beach area.  We found some chairs and passed out for two hours.  We  
|also checked out this sweet one legged sea gull and took a pic.
|
|After we got up, we went to the raptor and matt also loved this one!   
|We went on the Millenium force again.  And the wind was so bad in  
|your eyes that I closed my eyes half the time being in the front  
|cart.  This turned out to be a bad thing because I ended up puking a  
|little bit after.  People made fun of me a little and matt also had  
|his own comments.
|
|Seconds later... we buy the worst Chinese I have ever had in my life  
|at the Panda Express.  It tasted like card board!  matt agreed.
|
|I am surprised I was able to eat after puking a little.
|
|I cannot ride rollercoasters without any kind of break in between...  
|if I ride over and over and over... I get sick.
|
|We rode a few other coasters... but the final coaster was top thrill  
|again... but this time in the front cart.  WHERE ALL THE BUGS COME  
|AND ATTACH THEMSELVES!  It was sick!
|
|So that was our cedar point experience in a nut shell.
|
|Matt fill in the blanks yo!
|
|.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lorenalee said:
|"Sounds like it was an interesting trip! Great pics too!! :D"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"And how appropriate.... I had a memorycrawler tee shirt on."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
wrath said:
|"this was an awesome time! im glad i went. i wasnt that tired from only getting two hours of sleep because i slept untill 5pm the day before.. haha. dave on the other hand got just as much sleep but worked all day the day before :(
|
|the checkers game was amazing. who would of thought we could of had so much fun making up our own game of checkers? haha "the sweep" classic!
|
|i started losing track as we were playing. theres no way id remember 9. but i think it was teleporting, because thats the ultimate.
|
|the drag ride was amazing. all my life ive totally been against amusement parks. just didnt appeal to me.. thanks for giving me a chance to actually try one out! i want to go again!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ozz Fest 2007 At DTE Energy Theater / Pine Knob
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 26 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Some of the highlights of the day, were :
|
|-Seeing OZZY Rock out Old Tunes!
|-People Watching
|-Catching some random dude just pass out right in front of me  
|probably because he was too drugged up (his face would have went into  
|the concrete had I not stopped him)
|-During one show, hundreds of people tore the sod out of the ground  
|and were all throwing it around!  It was an amazing sight....
|-Watching OB in the pit and seeing his nipple bleed a little (ewwww)
|-And other random things and people.
|
|It was a great time and when we got home we ate some spaghetti Freddy  
|from Marianellis.   A bit of a long day for sure....
|.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Sweet Bike Ride and Spiderman 3
|
|Place:Email
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 04 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Matt and I went on. a sweet bike ride once.  We did this bike ride to  
|ride up to get a burger up at red robin before we saw spiderman 3.   
|When we got there we parked our bikes in the back of the restaraunt  
|and it really smelled badly by the garbage dump.
|
|We had dinner and rode back and it got dark.  Matt had mentioned how  
|a friend ofa friend had died riding his bike the other day..... Scary.
|
|We stopped by this sweet party store where we bought booze for the  
|movie and what sucked was that we had to take this heavy 2 liter in  
|our bikes and the booze.  The dude at the store laughed how we were  
|buying drinks and riding home on our bikes.
|
|Later brian berris came over but didn't pre-buy his tickets for the  
|midnight showing....so he was screwed cause we already knew it was  
|sold out.  We contemplated trying to sneak him in.  But instead we  
|watched his hilarious videos he made at wrecklessmediaradio.com.  We also watched this retarded and scary dude on youtube.
|
|The movie rocked and was great with the exception of this guy who was  
|balling and crying the whole time.  Whe the movie ended, the dude ran  
|out in a fit.  I don't know what his problem was.
|
|Later in that night (like 3 in the am) matt and I programmed websites  
|to this  sweet ambiance music off of itunes radio.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Great Mentos and Pepsi Experiment
|
|Place:Email
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 2000
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So goes the great Mentos and pop experiment...
|
|My brother finally learned about it recently and wanted to try it out.
|
|I had already done it twice by this point of the video and we got it pretty high.
|
|The first video I did with my company randomly when John got everyone out into the parking lot to watch this happen.
|
|We made a sweet module to dump all the mentos in the first time, but I think there was a backup and not all of them went in.
|
|Hope you enjoy the vids.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Clear Radio
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1988
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I used to have this old radio that I got when I was a child.
|
|It was totally cool because it had a tape player and recorder and I would use it to record radio stations and some of the hot songs from the times like Bobby Brown, TLC and many more.
|
|I loved being down in my basement listening to this old radio listening to the top stations like 95.5.
|
|In the memory name, I refer to this as the clear radio because you could see all the compartments and components that comprised the unit.
|
|Even recently I went through some old cassettes interested to see if I could hear these radio station recordings, but I could not find any. 
|
|They were taped over by such recordings like Esham, Insane Clown Posse and other ghetto artists.
|
|Oh well.  I wish I had a pic of this radio. 
|
|What a great XMAS present from my mom.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dream Cruise Podcast Disaster
|
|Place:Woodward Avenue
|
|Location:Pontiac, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 18 2007
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Noel and I are actually really good with audio setup and take a lot of precautions not to lose our podcasts as we are recording them.
|
|But on this monumental occasion we went down to the dream cruise off of woodward and interviewed at least 15 people and had such great conversations and audio effects with all the cars.
|
|Sadly, because of THE WORST IPOD ATTACHMENT the ITALK We lost our entire podcast!!!!
|
|The i-talk is the worst piece of hardware manufactured to date!  No one should buy it and pretty much the whole Griffen Technologies corporation needs to go down in flames because of such a crappy product.  I mean talk about a product which is totally designed and doomed to failure.  You had to manually set it to low gain in order for it not to pop and now the thing just deleted our entire show.
|
|We had such a great show lined up but now all we can do is upload the photos and videos we took while we were doing the show.  We clicked save and yet its not even there!!!!!
|
|Thanks to all of those who thought we were recording!  We had a wonderful time with you all.  And we werent pulling your leg, it was actually recording.  Oh well at least we had good conversations even though it wasnt recorded.
|
|At least we got to talk about our mission and goal with the website and got to promote it.
|
|The podcast also allowed us to interview people and get to know our fellow car loving americans.
|
|It was a great try, but Noel and I will have to try our show out at the Renaissance Festival in a few weeks.
|
|Sorry Georgia, Noel and other listeners..... but these things happen especially with a poorly made product.  Oh well, I am not too sad.  Things like this happen and it was out of our hands and the hardware is the one that failed.  We had good intentions and made the effort to have a great show.  Hopefully you guys like the media uploaded.  You can get a feel for how the day went.  So sad how we LOST IT...  ;-(
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I did upload some videos now too!
|
|Check Them Out...
|
|Yes... recollections are very sweet, but only meant when you invite friends via the memories you post.
|
|Let me know if there is anything confusing about how you invite friends when posting, or anything I could do to make the recollection process easier.
|
|I do have a spare polo Georgia..
|
|I think I also have your address.
|
|I think I smell a package coming your way.
|
|We arent too saddened about the podcast... it sucks... but we had fun promoting the site."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"What a total bummer!  We got up early to head out there before the traffic got back.  We were hoping to get out of the GB before 8am but it ended up being closer to 9am.  I went to Dave's neighborhood to pick him up.  He showed me the shirts right off the bat and I must say that they are top notch.  No more ghetto tees (my other one fell apart in the wash and I use it for home improvement).  I forgot the extra microphones so we went back to my place and Chloe had woken up.  I got to see a little sunshine before we left.
|
|We stopped at McDonalds on the way there and listened to Coldplay's X & Y and Newsradio 950.  Traffic was light but it was hard to find a place to park in Pontiac as everything was barracaded.  We ended up coughing up the $10 to park in the Phoenix Center.  I also had to pay a convenience fee at the ATM.  We made our way to the porta-johns and someone actually approached us and asked what we were doing.  We were a sight to see dragging our equipment around with all of cords and matching shirts.
|
|Well, we took a lot of time getting the audio right and setting up the board inside the bag so that the levels wouldn't change on us.  We ran tests too and everything was working.  We checked on the Ipod throughout the podcast making sure it had not stopped on us and everything appeared fine.  In retrospect I wish that it had stopped on us because then we would have started it again and probably would have some audio to share with our listeners.
|
|Maybe once we pick up the iRiver we can take a break every 15 minutes - stopping the player and saving the file and then recording again to guarantee that we get something.  Then we can splice it together.
|
|Well, early on we met this kid named Justin who is in fourth grade.  He says he has been to the Dream Cruise every year since he was six weeks old.  His grandfather had a 1979 Jeep Cherokee and his shirt was the same color as the car.  At one point we were going through a lull and trying to find people to interview.  Dave approached this father and son and asked them if they would like to be interviewed.  The father said it would cost us a dollar and Dave said "You're not that cool" and they walked away.
|
|It was a lot of fun talking with everyone about their cars and meeting all sorts of new faces.  These people took a lot care with their cars and worked hard on them.
|
|I had a great time but I was so disappointed that the podcast didn't come out.  It's weird that there wasn't a file at all.  That's why I kind of like Windows because at least it gives you an error when something like this happens.  But with the Ipod it appeared like everything was fine and then the file was just not there.  I shouldn't have traded my Iriver in for an Ipod.  Oh well, Dave and I are going to pick up and iRiver and make things right.  Our next podcast at the Renaissance Festival will be splendid."
|
|georgia said:
|"woo! my very first memorycrawler recollection!
|
|no podcast? oh no! im totally devistated!
|i vow to never purchase an ""iTalk" in my life lol
|the pictures look like you guys still had a good time promoting the show (nice display folder idea!)
|i definately want one of those super cool tee-shirts...you guys look totally professional!
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ice Queen...
|
|Place:Patzs House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 01 2007 to Aug 02 2007
|
|Memory Category:Movies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So my Aunt Patsy and I hang out a lot recently because I like keeping her company and watching TV and movies during the work week. Uncle Kirt her husband is away in Mexico right now.
|
|It breaks up the tedious 80 miles of driving have to do from Grand Blanc to Troy and saves me some money on gas.
|
|So last week we see this movie on demand called "Ice Queen", Its a total B-Movie, and really is bad. But I think the directors knew this and just wanted to hang out at an empty ski resort and have fun. More power to ya guys!
|
|So we are watching this movie and it feels like a movie from the 1990s, but in fact it was filmed recently.
|
|The movie was such a roit and entertaining because of how bad the acting was and the plot. It also seemed like the directors wanted to make pornos too because there was a sex scene too.
|
|But the greatest part of the movie was when the Ice Queen neandrothol was attracted to one of the characters and she began to act all sexy like as she growled toward the people she was going to kill.
|
|It was a riot and Patsy and I will never forget this movie.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|pstalker said:
|"Dave, you must not have anything to do to be able to find media on that crappy movie!"
|
|lellel said:
|""Can't wait to miss it" as my mom always says"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"go to bed lellel... thats why you are always spacey because you never get any sleep"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Running, Live Radio, Helium and Cedar Point... How Random....
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 15 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This morning I was out on my normal run heading toward downtown Grand  
|Blanc and at about 2 and a half miles I get to the local ice cream  
|shoppe where I see a van with a lot of speakers in the back and then  
|I notice that it is CK 105.5 Flint's van and there are some people  
|gathered around.  So I approach as well and talk to the radio show  
|dude.  Apparently they were giving free tickets to movies, cedar  
|point and also tickets to "Lapeer Days."
|
|The catch was that you had to suck up helium and with out saying  
|"ummm" "and" or "or" you had to explain why you wanted the tickets.   
|So I waited around for about 20 minutes and listened to the people  
|before me try to win their tickets.  One lady had to do something  
|different to win the "Lapeer Days" fair tickets.  She had to come up  
|with 5 different words out of the letters found in lapeer.  Everyone  
|won....  The lady that won the Cedar Point tickets she sounded  
|demented like something out of "The Excorcism"  but she won.
|
|I talked with the radio dude about my podcast and about running and  
|other things.  He asked if I ever considered being on radio?  It  
|definitely was interesting to think about that.  My mom suggested  
|that I maybe setup their computers to get in the door to do radio  
|show stuff.
|
|Anyway, so my time was up and the previous lady brought in another  
|helium balloon from Krogers.  I talked with Mike and Stephanie from  
|the morning show and told them I ran the marathon.  They said I  
|should be good because I have good lungs.  So I sucked up half of  
|this helium balloon (which is one of my favorite things to do).  And  
|said something along the lines of. "I love listening to Mike 'plus'  
|Stephanie from CK 105.  I really want these tickets to Cedar point so  
|I can take my fiance with me to have some fun."  I said a few more  
|things and I completed it without saying and  "ummm" "and" or "or".   
|Which is a miracle because I say them a lot in the memorycrawler  
|podcast.  Oh and I also said something about how Mike and Steph  
|should listen to my podcast and I shamelessly plugged in  
|memorycrawler!!!!
|
|All in all, it was yet another random and fun experience that really  
|makes your week.  These types of random occurrences really make life  
|a lot of fun and are perfect for posting on memorycrawler.  Who would  
|have thought that I would get free Cedar point tickets on my run as  
|well as sound so funny on the radio!  It was a perfect random  
|morning.  Now I get to take a bus down to cedar point this  
|Tuesday....  more memories to come with this....
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I also got a free monitor today too!  My work was throwing them out so now I get a larger monitor to program memorycrawler on!
|
|Woot Woot!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Fish Viewing...Chunks Spewing
|
|Place:Grandma Renne's House
|
|Location:Key West, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1999
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One year, my family and I drive a very long drive down to Florida in  
|Naples to see my grandma and all decide to drive even more to Key  
|West.  Sandy also met up with us on this trip, of which I will post  
|at a later time.
|
|But this particular memory involved a boat outing for a glass bottom  
|boat.
|
|It sounded like a wonderful idea, so my parents paid for our seat and  
|we get out to this area where there was tons of beautiful fish and  
|things.  Then the boat stopped and the waves began to control the  
|boat, sliding it up and down.  Within minutes, I exited the room and  
|"got some fresh air".  I was the first person who exited.
|
|Minutes after that, my mom exited and barfed over the edge of the  
|boat.  I simply laid down on the floor and sucked it up.
|
|Sooner later, more and more people we outside catching more air and  
|spewing more and more.  It was disgusting.
|
|The final "survivors" were my grandma Renne and a small child who  
|enjoyed every minute of it.
|
|There were probably more fish because they all ate the puke, so my  
|grandma had a great time.
|
|The crew of the ship we overheard in their voices laughing over the  
|intercom.  I am sure they see this thing all the time.
|
|What a waste of money, just to get sick.... but what a memory also.   
|I know I will never be going on a glassbottom boat again in my life.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|georgia said:
|"omgosh thats hilarious, im actually lauging! 
|did you guys eat the puke-eating fish that you caught? eww
|... what a great memory"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Auntsandy said:
|"I remember this incident well, in fact, I think we insisted that everyone go on this this boat while we did not.......for fear of seasickness. I guess we had the last laugh that day.  "
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Noel, Kevin and Patsy's Birthday
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 09 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A very fun birthday party with my family.  What more is there to say.... watch the vids and pics.
|
|Noel, Kev, Patsy.... post a recollection if you remember anything interesting.
|
|I cant remember much other than the video of Noel eating the frosting.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"I actually don't remember too much about it in retrospect either.  All I know is I love when our family gets together!  Thanks for being there Dave and taking the photos.  I hope I can see you at another one of our family birthday parties."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Memories Via Email
|
|Place:Email
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Aug 09 2007
|
|Memory Category:A Really Great Memory Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I love my memorycrawler users!
|
|And that is why I put so much functionality into memorycrawler.  Now  
|you may post as many memories as you want via email!
|
|Send an email to newmemory@memorycrawler.com and you will be able to post memories on the fly with this GREAT  
|ADDITION to the site!
|
|Your Subject will become your memory name and of course, the body of  
|the email will become the story.   The date will become today's date  
|in order to promote daily memory occurrences.  But you may edit it  
|afterward to change the date if you just do not feel like logging in!
|
|Happy Crawling!
|
|-Dave
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Random Monster Truck HIll
|
|Place:Burt Elementary School
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1987
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|There used to be this hill on the East side of the playground that we would have a lot of fun on
|
|We would make little tracks and race monster trucks down it.
|
| Chad was for some reason really cool because he was really into cars and trucks and I think he used to bring lots of monster trucks to play with.
|
|But for some odd reason they did not like the fact that we would play on this hill for fear that kids probably would roll down and hurt themselves.
|
|Eventually they fenced off this part of the playground.
|
|It sucked.
|
|It also sucked how you would get in trouble if you went in the woods.
|
|Very overprotective rules.  Just let the kids be!  I remember playing lots of hide and seek type games in those woods at Burt in after school hours.
|
|What do you remember from this Hill Chad and other Burt people?
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
twozniak said:
|"I remeber that I was much too busy chasing Blake and Kevin for a while (1st, 2nd grade)...I loved the jungle gym that was shaped like a flying carpet, and I burned my bum on he slide.  However, probably the most traumatic thing was the day my shirt got ripped off....NO JOKE!  I loved to play soccer with the boys on recess in 5th grade and little Bobby ran buy me as I was trying to kick and grabbed my flannell (oh yes people, the flannell) and it ripped completely off.  One of the ladies who watched us on recess saw the whole thing (I think all us mean mean children all called her 'cockroach' awwwful)and I have never actually seen someone get so red before!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Describe a time where you felt in danger as a young child?
|
|Location:Davisburg, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1983
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first memory of danger was when I was drowning... or at least I thought I was drowning.  I was panicking to say the least and sucking and guzzling up water in a lake.
|
|But then my brother lifted me up and "saved my life"?  I say it like that because I cant recall if I was in real danger or not...
|
|This was not as dangerous as the time last summer when I truly saved someones life in the water!  Go ME!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Where did your parents come up with the name that they gave you?
|
|Place:Beaumont Hospital
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1982
|
|Memory Category:Your Parents
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My name stemmed from Davy Crocket and Dans stemmed from Daniel Boone.  Typical names, Dave and Dan (To Be Settled In Barcelona), but I bet not a lot of people are named after them.  Pretty good names mom and dad.  Very American!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Tooth Knocked Out
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was mentioning one significant memory I had with Chris Wade my brother's friend and it reminded me of another memory I have with him of him doing damage down in the basement of the Hendricks house.
|
|Pretty much we would rough house like any typical boy would do, no big deal there.
|
|But on one particular occasion I was running down the stairs and I turned a corner and he was obviously running upstairs.  We knocked into each other.  My mouth knocked into his head.
|
|The cause and effect was my tooth that was not LOOSE AT ALL, got completely knocked out.  I cried with my mom up in her room.  It hurt pretty bad.
|
|This is another perfect entry for the user submitted questions and inspirations section.  This page has been here since the start of the website, but no one has ever posted an inspiration.  Now they are fully integrated with the Interviews section.  So as you are reading my memory, think of some similar memories that people might relate to.  Your question and inspriation will help people remember their past!
|
|Every child will never forget the feeling of a loose tooth.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Butt-Hole through The Wall (Starring Chris Wade)
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1988
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time my brothers friend Chris Wade was spending the night and we all used to like to play baskteball games in the house.
|
|The way that we would play such games is with a nerf type basketball hoop that would reside and sit on the top of a closet door.
|
|So on this particular night,  Chris does a slam dunk backward (probably because there was a dunking contest going on) and his ass went completely through the wall!
|
|I dont know how he did it, but that was some kind of huge ass he had as a kid.  My parents were so pissed.
|
|Eventually the wall would never be the same after Dad dry walled it.  You could always tell there was a hole in the wall there so we would hide it with TVs and other things so it didnt look bad.
|
|Holes in walls always have a good story to them when you think about it.  Because something always has to happen when the hole occurred. 
|
|So think of a memory of where there was a hole in the wall.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What can you remember about your first encounter with some form of death?
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1988
|
|Memory Category:Death
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My great grandmother Renne was the first person I had known that passed away.
|
|I would create a bio popup of her, but all I can remember of her is her kissing me and hanging out at her apartment. 
|
|I was at a very young age when she died.  I do remember the funeral too, but didnt understand what death was back then.
|
|One sad memory I have was that I refused to kiss her when she was very sick.  My parents knew it might be the last time I would see my great grandma Renne.  I was scared to kiss many of my family members who werent my mom and dad.  I would always wipe the wetness off my mouth and thought it was yucky.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:"Apollo 13," 1995<br/><br/>Do you remember when Ron Howard released his thriller Apollo 13?
|
|Place:Waterford House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 
|
|Memory Category:Movies
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This is a great film.
|
|One of my dad's favorite movies.
|
|He calls it a sleeper film.  Even though theres lots of action, theres still some parts that can put you to sleep.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:No Dog For Me
|
|Place:Cedar Point
|
|Location:Sandusky, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1982
|
|Memory Category:Difficult Times
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Here is the situation:
|
|The Stalkers and the Renne's frequently would go to Cedar Point almost each year.
|
|On this particular year toward the end of the day my Father and Kirt played this bowling ball game to get the kids these huge stuffed dogs.
|
|The way the game worked was you would have to roll the ball up three small hills and not roll back so that the ball is in the farthest point out.
|
|I vividly remember standing there in anticipation and excitement as Noel got his, Kevin got his and then Dan got his.  But mine was more difficult to get for some reason.
|
|And on top of that the moms came and realized the boys were spending all this money on a stupid dog and they told them they had to stop at a small crappy purple dog with hearts.
|
|I dont remember the rest of the night for I was probably the most upset out of my life here.
|
|The photos are simply fantastic.  View on.
|
|There is another pic of me reinacting it in high school.  But it wasnt until recently when Noel scanned his moms photos that I actually saw the original traumatizing moment.
|
|What a precious memory... I would not want it any different.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"I don't remember Dave not getting a big dog but the pictures prove it's a fact.  The only thing I can remember is watching my Dad play this game and how difficult I thought it was.  I thought my Dad could do anything because he was able to win me a big Dog at this game.  I think that our parents were just running out of money so they had to stop playing.
|
|This memory reminds me of a movie that I saw called "In America" where an immigrant family moves to NYC and does not have any money.  The father goes to a carnival and plays one of these games for a prize.  He isn't doing so well but he has his eyes on the largest prize for his kid.  If he gets it he can get his money back or double or nothing or something.  Anyway it's this really tense moment where he puts all of the money down to get the prize and his wife thinks it's a bad idea.  The crowd is cheering him on and you are just thinking "don't be stupid" the whole time.  Well, if you want to know what happens, watch the movie.
|
|Anyway, I have some extra photos from that day.  I remember that big dog and hugging it and having it at our house but I can't remember what happened to it."
|
|laura said:
|"I have felt like a bad mom all these years because we ran out of money to get Dave his big dog.  If we would have won Dave the dog we would have not even  fit it into the car.  We went with two families of four in a station wagon.  The fourth dog would not have fit into the car.
|
|We could of stuck it out the window that was stuck open for the entire ride home.  Wow what a memory."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:New Friends in New Places (The Shibaozhai Pagoda)
|
|Place:Yangtze Cruise Lines
|
|Location:Shibaozhai, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 16 2005
|
|Memory Category:China 2005!
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Today I woke up a bit late because it was quiet and very dark. I checked my email and had my morning tea as well as headed downstairs to have breakfast. This morning at breakfast, Clare, my waitress taught me how to make a crown out of a paper napkin. Now I can make a crown for the kids, the bra for some laughs and the rose for my girlfriend (sorry I haven't created one for you yet). All in all... Good origami skill learning this morning.
|
|Our morning excursion consisted of a small village which had a huge pagoda that we could climb. The foggy setting set a mystical and spiritual ambience appropriate for this location. This was the first day of bad weather and I certainly couldn't complain. I am glad I didn't take a shower this morning because climbing up this pagoda caused me to sweat up a storm.
|
|Once again while getting off the boat, the tourists were bombarded by sellers mostly yelling "You like?" and "1 dollar!" There was a Buddhist band playing some music and dressed up in traditional wear as we walked off the ship. There were a whole slew of tent sellers on both sides of us as we walked on uneven ground up a hill toward the steps of the pagoda. We were told these tent shops would have items suitable for the friends you "just don't like." Ironically, all of these shops will be washed away from the Yangtze river when the dam is completed in 2009. It will become a large island then with just the pagoda preserved.
|
|So we made our way to the start of the stairs. This particular pagoda was used for prayer and was built along the natural wall of the mountain. Originally there were no metal nails used, just indentations that hung it from the 90 degree mountain edge. The pagoda is older that the United States.
|
|We made our way to the top and I climbed to the highest point... the super heaven. I gave my camera to Levi and he took good photos of me. Once we were finished seeing the top of the temple and I had stepped over the tall bridge in three steps for good luck, I spoke with a Chinese man who looked about my age and asked if he was from China and the next thing you know.... He and his three lively friends came to practice their English. Zhou Wang, Liu Tong, Zhou You and Yvette were very very very nice and I had such a blast explaining American culture and learning about Chinese tradition. After talking about things like dangerous Detroit, a very difficult to pronounce for the Chinese Christina Aguilera, their school, American movies and music and a ton more, we took a photo together and I gave them all postcards from Michigan. I asked them if they would come shopping with me and so we headed down to the tents. I told them that I might be looking for something for my girlfriend (if I could find something nice in these shops). They pointed out many different kinds of items suitable items for a woman. But we mostly got distracted from shopping by goofing off and having great conversation which in turn turned me off from the shopping. Half way down, I taught the guys how to greet someone in America. I taught them the important greeting of "What's up?" I have been teaching all of the Chinese this important and critical greeting, because it is essential in being cool in the US. Next, Liu Tong ended up buying a purse to give to Susan. It is a culturally looking native purse which says "Three Gorges Culture" in Chinese characters. Also Yvette gave me a hat that women use as a gift. In return I asked Liu Tong her Chinese Zodiac and then I found a rock that had her sign carved in it.... knowing that she likes rocks it was a perfect gift to return. In the end I took a final video of them to say goodbye and I headed back on the boat.
|
|From 10:30 until lunch I showered, organized stuff and talked about my experiences interacting with the locals. I might have played some Mahjongg as well; my activities are blending in more and more on this leisure cruise.... For sure I know I am on vacation though.
|
|After lunch, a healthy American burger, I saw some scenery outside, learned some Chinese in a class and painted a snuff bottle. A snuff bottle is used to carry snuff obviously, but these artists buy crystal and glass snuff bottles and paint on the inside of it with great detail. It is quite popular throughout China and we learned how to tell the difference between the fake and real ones. Essentially the bottles are painted upside down with a paint brush. 
|
|After the discussion about the craft, they asked for volunteers to try to paint to inside. Me, being the outgoing one (last night being in a skit and who an hour ago was haggling a seller in Chinese as a volunteer) decided to volunteer for this activity to paint the inside of the bottle. The artist had initially begun a tree branch with pink blossoms and when I unveiled my artistic skills.... I extended his branch where it was missing a spot and I also painted a crappy looking bat, an ugly moon and I disgustingly signed my beautiful artwork with "The Dave" (assuming I would buy it off him and give it to Susan). After about 10 minutes of trying to get my point across that I had ruined his bottle and that he would have to throw it out anyway, I gave up because he didn't know what I wanted. The translators later told me that I only temporarily ruined it and that he didn't have to throw it away after I was finished.
|
|After all that, Stamps and I had an hour long conversation about China and about the things we were witnessing as the boat passed by. It is really hard to explain what I witness everyday here. I can capture very few moments on my video camera, but there are things that I cannot explain in words or capture in any other medium. I guess if I sat down and thought about it I could capture it for others to read or see, but much of what I experience out here just sits in my heart as a feeling and an understanding; a first hand experience to the complex Chinese life. 
|
|Before dinner at 7, I had made plans to fly a kite with Steven (the local kite maker on the boat and a good friend I have made so far). We play Mahjongg a lot and talk a bunch as well. He gave me the large dragonfly kite and I took it up on the top deck. It was tough to get up high, but was very beautiful while in flight. Somehow a friend got some pictures from his balcony on the starboard side of me and the kite..... That guy gets some great photos of the most random stuff. It was tough to get the kite very high in the air, but it was still very neat to see flying.
|
|I headed to dinner and already had a buzz from the 1994 Great Wall of China wine that Les gave me and during dinner I continued to consume more alcohol than I had to eat. It was fun and I could tell people were giving me a "shit" because I was drinking. But regardless, I was the conversation starter at dinner and mostly spoke with our national guide Rocky about his personal life and other things of interest about him. I might have been a bit loud, but that is standard operating procedure. Mary commented on how I called the "captain" of the boat a "driver" and how I shouldn't have called him that because I am an educated man. But I am just not proper in many ways. 
|
|Anyway after dinner we took a group photo and Stamps reserved the room for a lecture. I declined because I wanted to get my picture taken in an imperial gown as well as other things going on. After my hilarious photos, I paid Steven for an "under the table" business transaction that would benefit him instead of the boat company that profits off his artwork. I paid him upstairs in the balcony and we met up with our friends Travis and Levi. Somehow we got on the conversation of Qi Gong (An ancient practice to become closer to the heavens through meditation) While doing this I felt an energy I have never felt before in my hands and stomach. It was very relaxing listening to him speak about how we should breathe in. It was totally breathtaking and was so amazing.
|
|We finished the night playing Mahjongg and then I packed for the following morning. All-in-all it was a wonderful day of becoming more aware of Chinese life.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Second and Third Gorges
|
|Place:Yangtze Cruise Lines
|
|Location:Daxi, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 15 2005
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|Memory Category:China 2005!
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Today I woke up, had some morning tea and went for a 4 mile run on the treadmill. I have to stay in shape so I can run the great lakes relay a few weeks after I get back. I was sweating up a storm and was a bit late to breakfast. Some of my friends commented on me as I ran. 
|
|Breakfast was bad as usual, a combination of crappy American and some Chinese. I tried this very hot pickled stuff and it totally reminded me of Korean food. 
|
|We arrived at our destination port to get off for our excursion and found that we were unable to dock due to a large size fire that had occurred on a passenger ship. It was pretty crazy and it delayed our excursion into the narrow canals to see the second and third gorges. These required us to get on a smaller ship to see the second gorge and a very small wooden traditional Chinese canoe to see the third. Anyway, back to the fire, it finally stopped and moved away. We saw the damage up close as we docked to our second ship. While traveling through the second gorges we saw much more interesting things along the way. Our guide pointed out a hanging coffin in which ancient civilizations either found a hole or created a hole in the steepest wall on the gorge to be used as a burial. It was difficult to see, but we found it. There were apparently monkeys around, but were also difficult to see because of the distance and the trees. But that was okay because the gorges were as close and beautiful as ever. I have been shooting many minutes of videos on these. I will compile a very nice movie DVD for myself when I get home. We came across islands that will be completely covered by 2009 and many more things that will be gone. Even at the end of the trip I bought a book commemorating all of the things that we have seen that will be underwater. The China government is doing its best to either move or rebuild things, but the land East of the dam will be forever changed. When I read this book, the translation to English was very broken and they had to of used a computer to translate the book. In the book there were also original coins that were used by the early settlers of the gorges. This river we were going down used to never be a river and was a creek that could be crossed by foot. While cruising in the larger boat, we approached many fishermen and also a family that had climbed down from the top of this 3000 meter mountain (a dangerous hike) and were waiting for a taxi to go into town. I videotaped them and yelled "Ni Hao!" There were many kids in the group and they were yelling as well. It was cute.
|
|Next we got to the first stop where we changed to the traditional boat. The Global Holidays group, AKA Oakland University got on its own boat. We had a cute little local guide who sang us traditional mountain love songs and who brought these traditional mountain men clothing. A kind of dark and grassy hat and shawl. I was up in the front and he invited me to put on the clothing for pictures. Dr. Stamps took a ton of funny poses that I did.. These will definitely be Susan's favorites of the trip. They are somewhat similar to the sock photo (beautiful backgrounds and funny poses). This section of the gorges, although a medium size tourist trap with many boats of Chinese going back and forth, was the most beautiful of the boat ride thus far. You will just have to see the videos. After the local guide sang, a person mentioned to me that I should go up to sing a song similar to them, but to only use Japanese and Chinese manufacturers like Toyota, Nintendo, Mitsubishi in place of their Chinese words. I did it and Dr. Stamps videotaped me with the mic. It was pretty funny.
|
|Most of the way back I talked a lot with another local guide who explained many questions I had about the information provided in my book. It is really sad that the water will overwhelm this area when the dam is finished. Once we were back on the boat we had lunch and I was mostly distracted by learning origami. I made the classic boob and bra fold and everyone at my table cracked up. A worker saw my advanced skills with the bra origami and I asked her if she knew of some more folds. She showed me how to make a rose out of a cloth napkin. Now I know how to make a rose out of paper or cloth. Pretty neat. It is hard to describe all of what I eat to you guys, but almost every single meal is pretty phenomenal. I am not eating dog or cat and that is only done in some remote parts of Asia. I will try to pay attention to names more. But definitely when I get back to the states, I will not just be eating Almond Chicken every time. 
|
|The mid afternoon I got on the net some more and also practiced our skit for tonight's talent show. Some of my friends in our group had an idea to play out this old fable called Ming Lao and his mountain. Many Chinese people do not know of this fable and it is probably an American tale that takes place in China. It basically goes a little something like this; Ming Lao and his wife have problems with boulders and rain ruining their home at the bottom of the mountain. His wife tells him to see the wise man and he repeats this three times with no avail trying different things to try to move the mountain away from his house. The wise man finally says to pack up all their belongings and says to close their eyes and do the dance of the mountain. Taking steps backward, Ming Lao's sees that the mountain has moved. 
|
|We practiced the play once and just totally winged it when we performed later that night. After I got done with that, I passed a side room where Daniel, them main guide on our boat, was teaching some westerners how to play Mahjongg. I have always wanted to play and learn and I am so glad I stopped by.... I had so much fun playing and it is a lot like rummy. Now I will probably buy a mahjongg set to teach my friends. It is really cool knowing how to play because maybe I can gamble with the locals sometime. That would be an experience because they are so good and play in the streets all the time. 
|
|The rest of the night consisted of dinner, transferring my pictures to my MP3 player and the show. Later that night I was talking to a local kite artist who works on the boat and everyone was asleep so I asked him to play Mahjongg with a new guy in my group. We never got a forth player, but at least we taught a new person. It was a good day. Talk to you guys later.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Mountain Life
|
|Place:Yangtze Cruise Lines
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 14 2005
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|Memory Category:China 2005!
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|============================STORY=======================================
|Today was our first full day on the boat. We slept on the cruise ship overnight even though we had not set sail yet. Once Rich woke up, I watched a bit of The Incredible Hulk until the ship was off. The breakfasts here were not too impressive this morning. 
|
|After breakfast we got off the boat just east of Yichang to tour the three gorges dam. This dam was started in the early 1990's and will be completed in 2009; after which the landscape East of it will be forever changed. The main purpose of it is to prevent flooding of the Yangtze West of the dam and another benefit of it is the power source. It will be the largest dam in the world. The rising of the river caused 1.1 million people to have to relocate; many of the older generations not liking this idea. 
|
|Docking the boat there was a huge frenzy of people trying to sell very crappy products and poorly made junk souvenirs. They horded all of the people on the cruise and were super aggressive. I just smiled and made gestures, but I would not even think of buying this crap they were selling. After we got on the bus, they said to not even acknowledge them. It was a really interesting experience, but tourism is huge on this river, by both Westerners and the Chinese. We got on the bus and met our local guide. She spoke very clear English and was very stylish in her clothing. I took a picture near her at the dam. Driving up to the dam, it was closely guarded by some serious looking army guards to ensure safety of the project. To the right was a huge loch that spanned 5 different compartments. This was more impressive than the dam itself. The dam was not very tall, but very wide. Its height was nothing compared to the Hoover dam. After we took pictures near the dam, we went to another location and Professor Stamps had me whip out the Oakland University flag for a group photo. What I didn't like was that many people had already headed to the bus and we didn't have everyone. I gave those Oakland Alumni the evil eye and joked around a bit. 
|
|When we got back, we had a very good lunch and had to spend three hours crossing upstream through the huge loch. They crammed many ships into this loch and as we traversed through, I spent a lot of time on the internet. I spent a lot of time on it because of distractions. I was distracted from people complaining about how slow the internet is, but also I had some very good conversations with Les and Larry who are on the OATS tour. I totally wanted to join up with their group when I heard that they are going to Tibet. I spoke with Larry (who is a retired Lawyer out in Sacramento and who works as a transportation lawyer) about his database that he has created. Les and I had wonderful conversation about my rug purchase and much more things. He cracks a lot of jokes and it was very fun speaking with him. I also was helping other people who were having troubles while I was typing up my journals and figuring out how to crack their systems so I can load up photos. The internet is too slow to send photos online, but we'll see what Xi'an has to offer. 
|
|The mid-afternoon had a lot of beautiful and amazing sights to offer. We began sailing through the 1st of the three gorges. The most interesting thing about these lands is the fact that they look relatively infertile and yet there are tons of trees and shrubbery that live everywhere. They probably live off of the minerals in the rocks, but it was pretty crazy seeing how everything grows around here. Every single mountain surrounding the river is at almost a 45 degree angle and yet thousands of people live throughout it. Farming the mountains on very difficult land and fishing in very dirty water. The water is pretty polluted with shoes, wrappers and mud. But regardless is very beautiful. I took a lot of good photos and videos of the gorges.
|
|After the gorges we had a wonderful meal and I drank some wine. By 8 o'clock I was passed out because I was so tired and I slept a total of 10 hours.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Traveling the Silk Road while Drinking Green Tea
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|Location:Yichang, 
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|Date Remembered:Jun 13 2005
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|Memory Category:China 2005!
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|============================STORY=======================================
|Leaving the local online store, I returned to the front desk and the man gave me 15 out of 20 of my Yuan back. For an hours worth of internet surfing, I had to pay 5 Yuan or about 50 cents or so! Whereas while in the hotel I paid 80 Yuan for 30 minutes. Although I paid 30 Yuan in taxi rides to get there, I would rather support the local community and have an adventure. I easily found a cabbie to get home. 
|
|I got back about 6:30 and the wake up call came. I got home just in time. We had to get our luggage prepared and outside our door at 7:00 so the bell boys could get it. I told everyone about my little excursion and they thought I was crazy. I really enjoy going out by myself in China; it so much reminds me of my great experiences traveling alone in Europe. It is really interesting and relaxing, I feel it is safer than Detroit.
|
|I had a nice breakfast and then headed out wandering again for 20 minutes. While walking, I met up with Liz and Mary who wanted to find the poor traditional alleys I had seen. Before that, as I first approached, I said "Gimme all your money." Liz was scared at first, but still found it hilarious and she said I remind her of her son. As we went down, I couldn't find the same alley, but we did find a poor little woman selling some loose tea. I had recognized the green tea from when I drank it the day before and it smelled really nice, so we all bought a bit for 5 Yuan. We didn't even consider haggling because the girl looked like she could really use it. I enjoyed how the locals gathered around to see the business transaction. I liked smiling and saying hello the most.
|
|Once back to the bus, we headed toward the jade Buddha temple. Here our local guide explained Buddhism and once we arrived we went straight to the main Buddha statue. This statue was the most heart wrenching, pristine, peaceful and beautiful thing I have ever seen. There were no photos allowed but it was a beautiful moment I will cherish forever. The next 15 minutes we could spend looking around at people praying to other Buddha statues, people in traditional brown Buddhist dress and people lighting these sticks on fire to commemorate the dead. I gave 10 Yuan to donate and the ladies helped me write that out in Chinese (I took a picture of my first written character). Professor Stamps and I approached some cute old countryside ladies and he talked with them in Chinese. I goofed around with them about my curly hair and they were giggling. I asked professor Stamps to ask them if I could take a photo with them and the picture turned out to be one of the funniest pictures yet. I took a video as well. 
|
|After the temple, we went to a silk rug factory. I learned a lot from the worker who explained the process of taking a silk worm cocoon and turning it into a silk thread. We later watched factory workers hand stitch these rugs; each of which can take from 2 months to 4 years of weaving to create. Bear in mind that this duration is 8 hours a day 6 days a week; a type of hardwork, patience and dedication unknown to most cultures. I began to think about how Chinese and manufacturing workers deserve a much better life to create such an artistic craft. This type of job would never be conceived in the US; it is just too complex, delicate, and it would never sell because the cost of man hours would be too great. In one tour I learned so much about this type of art of which you step on and "clean your shoes." What I am leading you into is the value I see in these rugs. And that although you might not find that 4 months of fine craftsmanship and beauty using the finest material in the world has no value....I would contradict that statement. So after careful consideration, I purchased a beautiful rug from the city in China that is known for its Silk.... Shanghai. Mom and Dad, I know you won't understand and this purchase is something that you would never fess up to, but I probably will never tell you the price I paid for this rug because you would freak out. At least I didn't get the 4000 rug like this other guy. This is more of an investment than anything and if I ever get into a financial bind, I can easily sell the rug and its certificates on Ebay. There are many more reasons why I made this purchase and I feel it was a good idea to purchase this for myself. I probably will never be back in China again (that is.... until I fly out to Tibet.)
|
|We had Mongolian barbeque for lunch and it was excellent. I mostly talked with my group friends about my purchase and I began to feel really good about it. Already I can make predictions about who will respect the purchase and know its value. Susan will love it (See video... if I can ever get the bandwidth to upload all the photos) and my mom will feel it's a waste of money. Dan will think its sweet and Barb will like it as well. Just think that for my huge rug that there are 120 threads per square inch sewn into the rug. I will kill anyone who spills on it.
|
|We then went to the airport and took a flight to Yichang where we would start our cruise.
|
|Driving here, it was a much more rural and traditional Chinese city with lots of wilderness. I got my first glance at some rice patties. Our first stop was the river and a park. The most interesting thing was the playground where adults exercised on a metal cheap walking machine.
|
|I decided to go walking down some alleys for adventure and people tagged along. We went into a family store (looking like a tornado came through) and the others looked at pottery. I left on my own to a local tea shop, where I spoke with the man about having a taste test to see if I liked some of his stuff. Here is where Sandy will freak out.... I DRANK THE LOCAL WATER. I am pretty sure it was boiled though, but it may come back to haunt me. The most interesting learning experience here is that I saw just how difficult it is for Asians to pickup on our nonverbal. They just don't understand how we are trying to communicate and it takes a while to get points across from both sides. I basically told him I would think about it and he sent me away with a huge sampler. I felt bad, for I knew I wouldn't come back and I tried to give him money for it. He insisted and refused the cash and booted me out of there. 
|
|After that, we had a wonderful buffet. I went to get up to procure my favorite drink so far on the trip. My favorite drink is a Chinese fruit punch. It is made of pear juice, lemon juice, apple juice and sugar with little square chunks of pear, mandarin oranges, and apples. I know this because I was talking to one of the nicest people I have met thus far; Johnny. He spoke great English and I taught him to say "What's up?" We had broken conversations between him having to serve each person's glass at the drink section of the buffet. I probably got him a little in trouble with his managers. In the end, I had to leave in a hurry so I whipped out a 1 dollar bill and wrote my email addy on it. He will contact me for sure; it will be nice conversating with him over email.
|
|Once we left for that, we got to the ship where we were greeted with a loud brass band as we boarded. I was extremely tired and as soon as I got my key and I went to bed. Only to wake up at 9 because the loud speaker was announcing a meeting. I fell back asleep and woke up 30 minutes later dragging myself to the meeting. I totally missed everything and I just went back to my room, finishing the night watching batman and writing in my journal.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:China Totally Rocks
|
|Location:Shanghai, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 12 2005
|
|Memory Category:China 2005!
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Right now it is 5:30 AM in China. It is so easy to wake up this early here. I think I woke up at 4 AM and then I took a cab alone out to find an open internet cafe. The driver didn't know any English, but the hotel people helped him with what I wanted. The place is packed right now with people playing games and hanging out. The driver stopped in the middle of the road and asked for directions. It was interesting.
|
|Anyway in regard to yesterday's activities, we started off the day by taking the bus to the bund river. On the drive over on this large freeway, I noticed many of the small apartment buildings (all owned by the government) had all of their laundry hung out to dry on bamboo sticks. 
|
|This is the huge river port that separates the old city from the new. And for those of you who don't know, there is a lot of European influence here because of the affects of the opium war and the occupation of France and England. When we arrived there were hundreds of Chinese tourists. Probably people from the rural areas who have never been to the big city. The most amazing thing about it wasn't the large towers that are the largest in the world across the river; but the Chinese fascination with two African Americans we are traveling with; James and Tessie. They just stared at them because there are not a lot of blacks and westerners that come through this way. The scene was of overcast and possibly pollution. There were many pan handlers selling 3 dollar Rolexes. (I will buy many of those when in Beijing because I lose watches so often). There were buildings like the peace hotel, the pearl tower, the jummou building as well as the highest office building in Shanghai. It was a neat little stop.
| 
|Next we went to the Yu gardens. This is a 400 year old traditional Chinese garden owned by a rich man. It has very good harmony with Nature and the home. I took many videos of this sight. If you think of a traditional oriental garden; this would be it. Huge rock formations, small trees, ponds, bushes, dragons, corridors and resting places all were meant to help the mind be creative and to relax. Perfect fung-shue. I am beginning to understand what it is all about. The yin and yang; a balance of positive and negative. We crossed zig zag bridges which are designed so that evil spirits can't cross (they are dumb and can only go in a straight line.) I took videos of the golden coy (carp) that you can imagine should fit perfectly in a Chinese pond.
|
|Near the gardens we next went shopping in the "Chinatown" of China! This is traditional architecture at its best. You know..... The neatly shaped roof tops. But at this Chinatown... it was all about shopping and tourist traps. There were items of all kind. Half of which I didn't understand. I had to contain myself not to purchase stuff because there is still a long way. I crossed the street with Prof Stamps and nearly got hit by an oncoming motorcycle. It was awesome!!!! That street was dangerous. At the shop across the street a local talked to me in English to come inside. This is the technique that they all do. Anyways, she spoke really good English and we had excellent goofy conversation. The whole time I was smiling and she had mentioned that I was a "very very happy person." I felt like I should support her store because she was so nice so I bought a 5 dollar wooden dragon. After this we had the most phenomenal Chinese lunch you can ever imagine! This was all overlooking the old town. I AM LOVING THIS PLACE!
|
|We next went to a museum. I checked out this old bronze collection and later I had some tea and randomly walked up to some guy form England and struck up a conversation. I saw the rest of the museum and in the gift shop I bought a CD with traditional china music.
|
|At 4:30 it was back to the hotel for "nap time" but professor Stamps and I decided to go for a walk. We went furniture browsing and he bought a small folding chair for 10 US. I totally wanted the 26000 Yuan bed set that was imported from Burma and was hand carved. We turned down an alley and chit chatted with some locals trying to lead us in their grand opening store. They said in broken English that we would get a free umbrella. We found the umbrellas and I acquired one. We saw we only had 30 minutes left to get back and we turned around. Turning down the wrong way we ended up in this very poor street. It is hard to describe this and I took no photos out of respect. Basically this wrong turn took us straight back into time into a traditional setting. People in these 12 X 12 feet homes made of fired bricks running about 1 and a half stories high. Very open feel with no doors or windows. We saw people cooking outside, playing mahjongg, playing badminton, and people in this quasi grocery store. Possibly 3 generations of family living in such a small quarter. My brother says he lives somewhat vicariously through my fun little trips, but it is these moments that are just hard to describe when I am out here in other countries wandering. These are the experiences that help you learn a lot and experiences that help you appreciate the things you have back home.
|
|Once we got back we left for dinner and ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING SHOWS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!! I am just speechless at how perfect this acrobatic show was. You have to see the videos to experience it. I don't even want to describe it because I need to get going now to get back to the hotel in time. I can't wait to show you guys this amazing show. Yesterday was unbelievable! Talk to you guys later! 
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you venture into any new sports now that more were offered?
|
|Place:Crary School
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1998
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yes, I started running in 8th grade in track and field and cross country.
|
|In cross country, I remember naming myself shoeless joe, cause on my first race ever my shoe fell off and I kept on running.
|
|Another opportunity in high school came along when my brother convinced me to join football.
|
|The week we learned all the plays, I was ironically learning all the plays for our show in band camp.
|
|So I never knew where to go and what people were doing in the play.
|
|A lot of learning experiences through new sports.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Great Taste Less Filling
|
|Place:Cedar Point
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|Location:Sandusky, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1993
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember being on the Gemini at Cedar point when I was a kid.
|
|"The Gemini" is a wooden roller coaster that has two tracks and two trains that kind of race each other.
|
|The most interesting thing that ever happened on there was some drunk guys were yelling "Great Taste, Less Filling" from the miller light commercial and they got both cars to yell back and forth the whole time. It was pretty sweet.
|
|Another memory I have on that ride was the time where I went continuously on it about 7 times in a row because there was no line.
|
|I almost puked after the seventh time and got the watery mouth symptom.
|
|This ride is a great ride... the coolest thing about it is the fact that when you go down on the first hill, and are holding your hands up, you can get freaked out cause it looks like you are going to whack a wooden over pass with your head.
|
|What a great ride... cant wait to ride it this summer with my tickets I bought recently.
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:ECG Las Vegas
|
|Location:Las Vegas, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 29 2007 to Jul 01 2007
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So my company was soo cool and decided to celebrate becoming a new company by flying and inviting everyone out to Las Vegas for a fun filled weekend.
|
|And they went all out.  The flew us out there, gave us some new company swag, 50 dollars in gambling money, a hotel for two nights and an extravagant dinner.
|
|So I get to Erica's house on friday and we drive to the airport.  I hang with a few work friends at the airport for a few hours until boarding.  matt V. missed his first flight and somehow we thought that others as well were going to miss the flight.  But somehow everyone made it.
|
|When we landed, Drew called and told me he would pick me up.   So I waited for him to pick me up and we attempt to drive to Bellagio so I could check in, bu the traffic was kind of bad and we also veered away from the strip because we had food on our mind and were attempting to find the In-And-Out burger he thought was off of Tropicana.  We didnt find it, so we just settled for Jimmy Johns.  Drew had a gargantuan sandwich and we went across the street to his condo/apartment.
|
|We relaxed there and then left for the hotel again.  We checked in and also got settled into our magnificent hotel room.  We chilled a little here and Drew took a nap while I went to go see "O" Cirque De Soile!
|
|"O" was absolutely fantastic!  It was so worth the hundred and some odd dollars to see it.  It was after all my first Vegas show.
|
|It was so beautiful and unbelievable!  Really artsy.... really detailed in all aspects.
|
|Halfway through I realized that the music was actually live too!
|
|Some of the highlights were the teeter totters where they gained so much momentum to make the end person fly 30 feet into the air.  Another highlight was the dude that was on fire for at least 10 minutes.  The final highlight was the guys that dove into the pool from the very top of the ceiling.  I just was amazed the whole time!!  I couldn't believe half of the things they did!!
|
|After the show, we mingled with some more ECG people for a bit and people tried to get me to come in the limo with them to the bars.  But I just wasnt in the mood to really do that.
|
|So basically Drew and I left and the whole night walked around drinking our beer and alcohol that we picked up at the store.  We also did not have dinner so we got some pizza that these mexicans made for like 5 bucks.
|
|We partied with a few people from the streets and met some locals about our age.  All of those guys were pretty funny talking to people on the street.
|
|OKAY GOTTA GO TO DINNER... WILL UPDATE THE REST LATER... ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING A RECOLLECTION PLEASE POST.. matt WILD... PLEASE POST WHAT YOU DID THIS WEEKEND.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
drudanks said:
|"Dave you definatley left the part out about you sneaking into your work dinner party and the california gold digger girl that said you need a haircut. I quote "you better cut that before the wedding". And then made fun of us because our clothes didn't cost enough money.
|
|Oh and when were at the pool at the Belagio and that Asian woman took her bathing suit top off not realizing that she was naked underneathe. Well as I remember she was...and they were pretty small. She was so embarrassed and I have no idea how someone accidently takes her bathing suit top off.
|
|All in all we had a pretty fun weekend. Dave send me some pictures of Red Rock Mountains that we took together."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hanging with my friend "Sean Casey" From The Detroit Tigers
|
|Place:Star John R
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 27 2007
|
|Memory Category:Famous People
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So tonight I went to a Chimes Movie night to go and see "Live Free or Die Hard" and my buddy Andy points out that Sean Casey from the Detroit Tigers and his family are up at the front booth buying movie tickets.
|
|Andy takes a photo of his back and I call up Susan to tell he who I saw. 
|
|I see him hand his tickets to the guy and he has a bunch of twenties he is putting away. Of course he pays with hundreds. He's Sean Casey! He also went straight to the theater after ball practice to be with his family. What a guy!
|
|I go down to theater 14 where we were seated and I realize I have to go to the bathroom.
|
|As I am walking down, Sean Casey is standing in line getting loads of popcorn and drinks for his family.
|
|He leaves them at the counter and goes to the bathroom too. As I am drying my hands he is drying his as well.
|
|"So whatchu seeing tonight?" I ask. We look at each other.
|
|"Fantastic 4 and you?" Casey Replies. "The New Die Hard.." I tell him.
|
|We walk out and I follow him to his food. 
|
|"So guess what, my Fiance is really mad that she missed seeing Inge as a Barista out in Ann Arbor yesterday..." I explain. "There was another player serving coffee too." Darn it ... I cant even remember McCullens name! I mean....Guillen! Long story short... I thought I saw a guy named McCullen on the field when Susan was asking me who was at base ... and she will always make fun of me now for it.
|
|"What's a barista?" Casey Replies. I thought this reply was totally a guy response... most guys dont pay attention to that kind of crap.
|
|"Its like a starbucks."
|
|We start walking toward our theaters and talk about how Die hard wouldnt be ideal for his family to go see.
|
|The whole conversation was the most magical thing in the world cause I have never really talked to someone who is a major celebrity.
|
|Sean Casey was the nicest most energetic person I can ever imagine. You can tell he is just very humble, smart, proud and hard working.
|
|I love the Tigers and any other MLB organization that really love their communities like the Tigers do.
|
|I finish off our conversation with "I will see you in a few weeks at the game..."
|
|I call up Susan again to brag. I also surprise my work friends with who I just got done talking with.
|
|Only I will randomly talk to celebs without even being nervous. I wish I had a memorycrawler business card and would have thought to give it to him.
|
|I love you Casey! You are now my tiger! Now we are pals!
|
|;-)
|
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|wrath said:
|"the tigers are detroits savior.. lol
|
|wish i could have been there!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah definitely...
|
|The tigers are the sprit of Detroit in my mind.
|
|Its the only sport that is for people of all ages.
|
|A working man can take his family to a ball game with out getting raped by the Palace of Auburn hills or having less in his account to put food on the table by going to see a Lions or Red Wings Game."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
anelsen said:
|"Ahhh Sean Casey.  His nickname is "The Mayor".  You can see why he earned it being a nice easy-going guy to talk to.  I've never heard a single bad story about the guy.  All the stuff you hear on the radio is all positive stories about how nice he is, and what a great clubhouse and team guy he is.  Very cool.  Also, I'm pumped.  I don't think anybody goes to that theater to "go to that theater", so he must live close by.  And I live close by!  Sweet!  I live close to a Tiger!
|
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Rollerblading Accident
|
|Place:Michelles House
|
|Location:Warren, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 24 2007
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Last night I went over to Michelle's house to go rollerblading with her dog. We barely get down the road to this light to cross the street and I start going with Ginger. I started going even though the light said not to walk,.... thats because I was paying attention to the lights and I knew that we now had the right away. 
|
|I hear Michelle say... wait wait... dont go yet. Then I hear a smack on the ground. Then I hear some 17 year olds laughing... I look back and Michelle is on the ground.
|
|"No Biggie" I think and stop and wonder why she is not getting up. "Dave... I am really hurt". She can barely even get up and I in turn fall backward on my ass.
|
|She really fell on her arm really hard.
|
|We start going back to her house and she began to feel dizzy and had to sit down. Started going again... she felt dizzy some more.
|
|So I just cruise back to the house to get my car and to pick her and ginger up in my car. As I pull up, Ginger runs toward me and damn near pulls her broken arm off.
|
|After getting back to the house she sluffed it off just thinking that it was a sore tendon from the fall. So we watched "Babel" and then called it a night and left for Clarkston.
|
|She in turn went to bed and last night at about 3 AM checked herself into a hospital because it got really bad and she couldnt even move her hand and arm. The docs couldnt believe how long she waited to go to the hospital.
|
|Michelle... you are a fucking klutz. Always follow the person paying attention and dont be a worry wort about your dog or anything. 
|
|And always pay attention to your surroundings.
|
|And finally... always remember what side the break is on your rollerblades.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Super Mario Dream
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1992
|
|Memory Category:Dream
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was a kid, I had this dream that caused an idea.
|
|I had a dream about super mario.  But mario was actually a nintendo system.
|
|The nintendo system had a smile on his face and he would jump on other characters from other games like Link, Zelda, Donkey Kong and other games.
|
|Well I did some research and Nintendo games are fairly easy with lots of tools to hack them.
|
|So maybe someday, I can create this game..  
|
|Should be yet another dorky project of mine that I can take on.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:test
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|tet
| aesdf
|asdf
|asdf    asdf
| as
|df 
|a
|sf 
|a
|as fdas af ka dfslamsdf asdf 
|asdf
|
|asdf
|
|
|
|asdf asdf
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ummm... whats your last name?
|
|Place:Compuware
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2004
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So heres the deal.
|
|I was dating Susan... ummm jeeze what is my fiances last name again... for like two months or so?
|
|And I still didnt know her last name.
|
|I think I asked her before, but I still must have forgot or something.
|
|So anyway, we head down to Compuware to go to Canada for a fun night of food and probably gambling when I have to sign Susan in as a guest at my work to show her around the building. 
|
|When I wrote her name... I just wrote "Susan". And I think this is when it gave it away that I didnt know her last name still. I guess I just felt retarded asking her again when I didnt know it.
|
|Oh well... she still said yes when I asked her to marry her, so thats okay.
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
newsie682 said:
|"This was hilarious because I specifically remember that Dave asked me what my last name was when we were talking on the phone one night. And, you know, that's understandable because the topic never really came up, and we had been only been dating a few months. But this particular incident Dave is talking about happened at LEAST 6 months after we started dating (I know this because I remember--don't ask how--that I was wearing pearl earrings that I bought in Hawaii--and I went to Hawaii 5 months after we started dating). Anyways, the second I saw Dave hesitate putting my last name down I just laughed to myself because I knew he had no clue what it was.  After going to Compuware, we headed to Canada and as we were presenting our licenses to the border patrol guy, I noticed Dave take a long, hard look at my license (most likely to see what my last name was).  Then the rest of the night, I noticed that Dave made a real effort to repeat my last name. We went to Canada to meet my family for dinner and the rest of the night Dave called my parents "Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor."  I think he's remembered my last name ever since then:)"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Car in Fence
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1993
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time, my brother and I were going somewhere with my mom and for some reason both of us left to go back in the house for something.
|
|Only we left the car door open.
|
|So my mom for some reason backs up right into the fence!
|
|The door didnt get taken off, but it totally bent it backward.
|
|Interesting story that I totally forgot about.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What do you remember from High School Football games?
|
|Place:Waterford Mott HS
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2005
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|High School football games were definitely something very special to me.
|
|Being a sweet trumpet in the marching band we would obviously be tucked in the right hand corner of the track, playing lots of cheery tunes when something good happens.
|
|But some of the greatest memories occured in between the 3rd and 4th quarter.  Where the band would do "the mosh."
|
|The mosh would be exactly how you would envision it, a huge pit of dorky bandos pushing each other like the Deftones or Tool was on stage.  The drummers would be playing a passionate beat as we beat the crap outta each other.  (they eventually stopped it so no one would get hurt)
|
|I loved playing at half time too.  It was so much fun.
|
|Boy things will never be the same and those events were once in a lifetime events.  I had a lot of fun in high school.  
|
|Anyone who is still in high school reading this, cherish the fun times you have with your classmates in high school.  Cause even if you come back to watch a game, its just not the same.....
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:?
|
|Place:Crary School
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1994
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yeah I built many sweet things in Mr. J's technology class.
|
|I messed with transistors and elecrical units.
|
|I made these things called J-Flyers which are little mini helicopters.
|
|I also made a car go very fast by mounting a CO2 cartridge on the back.  My car eventually broke and I got a D on that project and the whole class.
|
|Even though I did terrible in that class (getting a D or so) Mr. J was hilarious and a lot of fun.  He made me into the dork I am now!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:How well did you transition with your new friends in Middle School?
|
|Place:Crary School
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1993
|
|Memory Category:Learning Experience
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Middle school was the worst.  I mean I transitioned well, but I think everyone was so caught up in trying to fit in with some kind of crowd that many of them started changing how they acted.
|
|Those were definitely confusing times.  Classes were a lot more serious in middle school too.
|
|And they took away my favorite recess time!
|
|But I guess the question is, how did I transition with my friends...
|
|I made many new friends in middle school.  Many ghetto friends too.  One guy of which I almost faught in 8th grade even committed murder later.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What kind of things did you do in different weather?
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1983
|
|Memory Category:Bad Weather
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I used to love playing out in the rain every once and a while.  I would just get really wet and wouldnt do much in particular.
|
|When it was snowy out, some of the greatest memories occurred while snowboarding and sleding.  We would always go up to the E.L.E.I.A and sled and snowboard down these awesome hills.
|
|I remember making huge snowmen in elementary school during recess.
|
|Pretty standard kid stuff in bad weather.  But we received a lot of bad weather in Michigan.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Uncle Paul Playing as a Kid
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 
|
|Memory Category:The Toilet
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So my mom is telling me today about how when Paul was a kid, he used to love to play outside a lot.  And I mean a lot.
|
|Apparently he played so much that he didnt care to even come in to go pee.
|
|So a little bit of a spot would show up on his pants and then over time would grow more and more.
|
|Talk about a dilligent and dedicated man.
|
|Love ya Paul.  Hope you can expand on some of the things you liked doing as a kid.
|
|Post a memory about your childhood.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did your high school hold any kind of spirit week or pep rallies?
|
|Place:Waterford Mott HS
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2000
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yeah they werent too great.
|
|The band would always march in there.
|
|People would seem to like the band playing different songs at the Pep rallies.
|
|The football players would always be the center of attention. But there would be many different games and activities that people would do.
|
|I remember we would get out of class early which was great.
|
|They were pretty fun. I didnt hate them. I just liked socializing and goofing off with all my friends and cheering on those athletes about to go into a big game.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Did you receive any significant awards or recognitions in high school?
|
|Place:Waterford Mott HS
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 2000
|
|Memory Category:Awards
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was Oakland County's scholar athlete of 2000.  There was only one person from each school that was picked by teachers as being exceptional in class and in sports.  I got my bio in the paper and everything...
|
|I remember my name being called off on the announcements when Clingan and I broke the school record.
|
|I actually cant remember much more than that.  I was track captain and was section leader in marching band.  But I never got a ton of awards.  Oh well.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Me vs. A Mob of Black Dudes
|
|Place:Summit Place Mall
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1994
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one day, Chris Wisniewski and I were doing our usual weekend outting from his house and were walking to Summit Place Mall to play Killer Instinct all day and we ended up taking this random neighborhood street.
|
|While walking down there, there was a porch where a bunch of kids a few years older than us were hanging out.
|
|I vividly remember having these dorky sunglasses on for some reason and also dressed like a normal middle schooler.
|
|But these guys just couldnt handle a couple of white dudes walking down their street. 
|
|So they all took off after us and followed us slowly.
|
|This freaked us out big time and it was about 7 to 10 of those assholes against us two.
|
|Eventually the inevidable occurred and we conflicted as they caught up. Once they were near, I went into Renne' Attack mode. 
|
|The bloody pissed off "I am going to kill you" eyes, broke out!
|
|I chased after all of them in a fit and rage. Yelling you wanna fucking start shit!
|
|One of the kids on his bike fell over and many of them were caught off guard. They didnt expect that and many ran away like a bunch of bitches.
|
|Eventually I realized what I was doing and I stopped.
|
|Gladly they didnt retaliate and left me alone....
|
|Crazy stuff!
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|julieblood said:
|"lol that's hilarious! I remember the temper that rarely showed. I think Chris had it too. Do you talk to Chris anymore??"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah still hang out every once and a while.
|
|I do have a wild temper if you do something really immoral and disrespectful to me.
|Otherwise I am at complete peace.
|
|You should see me out on the road if someone does something stupid."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your largest purchase you made in High School?
|
|Place:Suzuki Dealer
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1999
|
|Memory Category:Money
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Probably the 1500 dollars I put down on the Suzuki that I have been driving ever since then (about 8 years now).
|
|It definitely was worth it. 
|
|The thing that really sucked about it was the fact that it was almost my entire life savings up until then.  I barely had any money left.
|
|I remember in high school I used to compare everything to the amount of money it cost for a videogame system.
|
|So if something like my car was equivalent to 8 playstation 2s.... that was some serious cash flow.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your favorite television or radio show?
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1998
|
|Memory Category:Television and Radio
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|XMen.  The cartoon.  Because I am a huge nerd.  Thank you very much.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Pushin Pennies
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1982
|
|Memory Category:Money
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|All of my life growing up at the Hendricks House , my grandma Taylor used to collect all of her pennies for months and give them to Verda Taylor  my brother and I.
|
|We stored them in a large glass water container that had to of been from the 1950's. The container got so heavy over the years that it was so difficult to even lift.
|
|So finally when I was in 8th grade, my brother, nicholas Azzaro and I counted them all up in my basement.
|
|The total amount from pennies was roughly 400 dollars! We spent all day counting them and the bank thought we were insane!
|
|What an interesting thing for my grandmother, Verda Taylor to do. Her growing up through the great depression sets precedence with what the true value of money is.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"I totally remember those penny jars.  Every time I think about saving my spare change, I remember those penny jars."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Safety Patrol Kiss Attempt
|
|Place:Burt Elementary School Playground
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1991
|
|Memory Category:Kissing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was in 4th or 5th grade I got this idea in my head to sweet talk and romance a girl while we were protecting and serving classmates by making sure they didnt get killed walking the street.
|
|It was the safety patrols job to monitor the street going across South Lake Rd from Burt. It was actually very rare that we would help anyone out because most kids just ate inside the gym and didnt live near the school.
|
|So my idea of romance was to kiss Laura Brandon because I really thought she was a cutie. 
|
|And in order to prepare for this (this being my first kiss ever) I really had to kind of "prepare." So as embarrassing as this is, I will post it. I pretty much the night before kind of hugged and envisioned my romantic kiss with her with my pillow. Acted as if it was her pretty much.
|
|But the day came and I was very nervous as to what would happen. When come to find out Laura wasnt there and some other girl took her place. I remember feeling quite relieved and also a little mad that she wasnt there.
|
|Oh well. It was an interesting memory.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cry Baby
|
|Place:Chimes
|
|Location:Troy, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 2007
|
|Memory Category:Pets
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My cat cry baby, has been having some problems lately.  A few months ago she had fleas and iwth my parents help, we got rid of them.  
|
|Now she is not cleaning herself very well and she smells like urine.  So there was a ton of drama this week, mainly with us trying to figure out what we should do about it. 
|
|The cat is acting pretty old.  With problems with gook in her eyes, her obesity, her not being able to jump up on things and her puking and piss problem.
|
|The drama starts with my Aunt Becca , who has said for the past year that she would be interested in taking CB because Susan is allergic and my parents refuse to take care of the cat after I am married (which they shouldnt its my cat).  So pretty much Becca just booked the vet appointment under her name and I had a 9 O'Clock vet meeting.  Its all fine to get the cat checked out, but the problem is, I dont want to have to put the cat down before my wedding if it is sick now.  I would rather not pay a thousand dollars to get her healthy and give her shots if she has some kind of fatal disease or something.   Its really hard to explain my situation with the cat, but after lots of yelling with Becca and my mom and me, I just took her to the vet because I cant just get her put to sleep if we dont even know if she has anything wrong.  My parents just want that.  But I just took my fiances wonderfully humane answer when she told me "You cant just get her put to sleep, I will live with her and we can take her to Florida with us."  I felt soo good after hearing that, cause I was assuming she wouldnt be able to live with the cat until the end of her life.
|
|But I took her to the vet and tried to get an honest answer at what I should do, but that was impossible, vets wont recommend putting a cat to sleep, they need the money for you to come back and get her fixed up.  
|
|Well the blood tests came back negative as well as the urine tests.  She is fine, so we need to figure out how to make her clean herself properly and then we can work from there.
|
|On that day where I took her to the vet, I was assuming I could just drop her off all day and pick her up at the end of the work day.  But they just did the tests in like 30 minutes and we were on our way.  But the problem is, I work 30 minutes away from where I was at and couldnt just drop her back off, I was already late for training anyways.  So I decided I would rather her stay in my car where she can relax rather than be in some scary place where she cant smell her daddy Dave.
|
|So I have some great photos and videos of her.  I spent all of my 10 minute breaks and my full lunch hour with her.  I should have let her out in the woods, but I figured she wouldnt go to the bathroom.  She did very well the whole day and I even fed her some food water and some tasty sausage for lunch.  It was an adventure for her and she even took a big dump on my car seat when I was pulling into my driveway.  
|
|We definitely bonded on that day and I would be sad to lose her now.  Get better CB!
|
|>
|
|CB's pee is better and she doesnt seem to have any problems anymore.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hendricks Yard
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 1998
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I have been thinking a bit about the things I used to do in my back yard at my house growing up.  There is not one story that completely sticks out to be written as a full memory so I will try to bullet the things that happened in my yard so I wont forget some of the fun things that happened there.
|The first big memory that happened here was the time my brother fell off of the tree in the back yard.  It was very early on in living at that house, maybe a few months after we moved in.  He was in a cast for a while.We even had a second tree pretty much in the neighbors yard next to us that we would climb around.If you cut through the house be hind us a bit, you can get to this small little patch of woods where we used to hang out once and a while.One time near our shed in the back, a kid next door threw a large rock and hit my brother in the head.  He probably got a small concussion or something.  My dad was so furious and he looked like he wanted to kill someone.  In fact, he looked like he was going to fight the 18 year old Carl Bruckner.One time, when we were in middle school, my brother and I made a little 2 liter bomb type thing out of tin foil and some other blue substance, I forgot the ingredients.  Basically it exploded when you shake it up.  It sounded like a shotgun blast.My dad once had a really shitty van once.  I was kind of wandering around the lawn for some reason and he started it up.  It was so loud of a blast that it scared me and I ran away to the house.  This was not good cause I slammed my knee right into the corner of the porch.  I still have a scar today from that and was put into a small cast.This porch was the same porch where I kissed Michelle my neighbor and near there where she gave me a huge embarrasing hicky.Alot of time was spent in Middle School and High School on the basketball court.We used to shoot three pointeres from the porch which was very difficultMy brother also gave me that black eye of which he wrote in this memoryOne time we were hanging out with Jason and Chad (The influential ghetto dudes we used to roll with) and we completely slam dunked the basketball rim and broke it off.  We later were able to fix it, but stillWhen we were really young there was a lot of sprinkler fun and squirt gun fights.One time I was using my Super soakers and shooting a bee hive and I got stung for the first time.I vividly remember trying to ride my bike for the first time in that driveway.My uncle Ted paved our driveway for very cheap because it used to be dirt.  He was soo freaking cool.One time in our front yard a kid went through our mail and stole a check that was written to an electric bill and tried to sign it in his name and cash it.  So my mom looked up his last name off which he wrote and left across the street in a check that he failed to cash and we had the cops go to the house of the person on our street.  He was very young but very stupid.When we were in middle school, we used to light of a lot of fireworks in this yhard.  We would blow up old toys and other random objects to see how they would explode and what not.  The drain pipes were especially fun as they made lots of noise.  But once, a cop came by while we were lighting off a saturn rocket (25 bottle rockets all togehter).  We tried lighting it, but spotted him and gladly it didnt fire because we ran away and he knew what we were doing because it was the 4th of July (in Michigan it is illegal to use fireworks).  He let us off with a warning but I remember my mom seeing the cop and yelling at us probably.We used to have this wooden panel going across the lawn in between the ditch and the street (see photo)... many times we would run across this and try to balance going across.  It was pretty sweet.
|And finally, of course I had to mow the lawn once a week and do all sorts of chores.  It sucked and took up my time but it was a very valuable chore to help my family out.So those are some of my memories of the front and back yards at the hendricks house.  It being spring out right now reminds me of all the great times outdoors as a child growing up. 
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Man, those pictures bring back some warm memories - it's too bad we can never go back and re-experience it.  I remember playing basketball a lot in your driveway.  Also, I remember walking to the park or woods or something down the road and also walking to the party store a lot."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
drudanks said:
|"I remember we used to collect pop cans and walk through your backyard to the party store and buy pop and candy when my mom wouldn't let us have it.
|
|I remember that you Dave used to shave your hair off and leave it in a pile right in your driveway out the kitchen door. Your mom was embarassed when we pointed the pile of hair out to her. 
|
|That shot from the front porch was worth like 10 points and if your were lucky enough to make it in a game of h-o-r-s-e than it was almost a guaruntee that noone else would make it.
|
|Super soakers came out when we were kids and water balloon fights in the fron yard."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:One of My Scariest Moments
|
|Place:M59
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1991
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One of the scariest moments that ever happened to me was once I was riding in a car with Jenice Winowicki and Valerie to Jazz band in high school and we were going through a solid green light.
|
| Val and I could never find the seat belts in this car in the morning.  And as usual, we didnt have them on because they were stuck in the seat somewhere probably.
|
|So this car drives straight through the light on the corner of Cass Lake Road and Elizabeth lake road and miraculously, Jenice's father completely swerved and dodged it.
|
|I was sitting on the side of which would have been hit by the car.  It was a near possible death situation.  I would have minimally went to the hospital with broken bones.
|
|Somehow that always happens with me.  The moment I dont have a seat belt on ... bad stuff happens.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:Do you remember your first day of high school?
|
|Place:Waterford Mott HS
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1996
|
|Memory Category:School
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yea I remember my first day, I remember the people next to my locker.  I loved having my brother to help guide me and support me.  We also had a really fun guy near our lockers.
|
|I remember at the time I already new many new people from Band camp and also football.  I even was dating Millicent Motzny at the time probably.  So things were going good.
|
|There was so much excitement in the air.  Being a freshman definitely sucks.  You have no respect.  And rightfully so...
|
|It was sweet cause I probably didnt even take the bus on my first day of high school.  My brother drove me everywhere.
|
|The first days of high school and college is all rules and syllabi, you get your expectations set that day and you get to meet your teachers and professors.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Answering Interview:What was your first memory?
|
|Place:Disney World
|
|Location:Orlando, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1980
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My First memory ever was at the greatest place on earth.  Disneyland! 
|
|I obviously dont remember everything from it.  But I do remember being at a parade at night.  
|
|I dont know why this sticks out to me as the earliest memory I have in life, but for some reason it feels the faintest and oldest one I have.
|
|This could have been when we went to Florida and my grandpa Renne first met me.  This was in 1983.  It was either on this trip of the one in 1985 when I had my first memory. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:San Diego Sun
|
|Location:San Diego, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 25 2005 to Jul 30 2005
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Sometime after my first trip to China. Maybe a few days later, I immediately had a business trip out to San Diego for training while working at Compuware.
|
|I was living in Ann Arbor at the time and had not been back there for like a month straight. 
|
|So I fly out there and it was such a long flight! Even though I just had ridden at least 18 hours from China, 5 hours seemed very long to me to travel within my own country.
|
|I get there on a Sunday afternoon and I swear I didnt even get settled into my hotel. I think I immediately took my rental car out and around the city until I found a good spot to park and start rollerblading. I was rollerblading all around Mission Bay and the board walk in San Diego and having a really good time enjoying the atmosphere. I had some people take some photos of me as the sun set. And I just was really appreciating such a beautiful new city that I have never been to. I went to a crab shack and had some seafood and just brought my blades in there with me.
|
|Eventually it got dark and I headed back to my room. In the morning I had breakfast at the Courtyard and bumped into some colleagues of mine, which was nice cause I didnt know exactly which building across the street was the one that we were going to be training in.
|
|We had training sessions Monday through Thursday that week and I wont really talk about them much because nothing interesting came out of them. I really disliked the products I was supposed to sell and never thought they were very valuable to customers. They were quite boring to me. I dont know why, but it was my first real job in the I.T. industry and I dont want to quit just because I am not passionate about the value and service that the software provides.
|
|
|
|
|Anyways, here are some of the things we did after work.
|
|One night, I think monday, we all had drinks and dinner at a really nice place.  It is famous for its history with the race tracks.  Even though I am the youngest person there, only 22 at the time, my friends and colleagues still welcome me and we all have a great time.
|Another night I organize a whole movie night out to get some nice Mexican food and also to go see the new Sci-Fi Thriller War of The Worlds.  We attended it at the outdoor mall there in town.  It was again a lot of fun.
|During the day we would always eat lunch together and chit chat with my new friends.  Most of these Compuware employees were quite good at Networking computers whereas my interest lies in software development.  But we all still enjoyed these teaching sessions and lunches.  I wish I could remember all the names of the new friends I made, but I havent communicated with these folks in quite some time.  One day during lunch I spoke with a man about Marriage and his one recommendation would be that before you get married you should buy yourself something very nice that is only for you.  I liked that piece of advice and might do it if I have some money left over before the wedding.
|I cant recall which day I did all of this, I think we got done with the training early on thursday, so I spent the day going to all sorts of places.  I went to this electronics store called Fry's and looked for some sweet deals that people were talking about.  I also went to many parks and historical districts and rollerbladed all around even though some areas said not too.  (I am a rebel).  In my day travels, I met an old man feeding hundreds of squirrels.  We stood around feeding and talking for about 30 minutes.  There was even some people who tried to tell him to stop feeding them.  He being a right wing liberal and environmentalist gave them a piece of his mind.  I learned a lot about Squirrels then and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment with him.  It was totally random.
|
|
|The reason I had so much more time to travel was that I thought it would be fun to try out the red eye flight, so I could have more time in such a beautiful city such as San Diego. That turned out to be a bad idea. I got no sleep and had to be into Detroit on friday to go to Compuware and work. It sucked, but that fun day out in the sun was well worth it. It was my first business trip, and I did have a really good time. Check out the vids and pics.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"a "right wing" liberal?  That must have been interesting.  I have never met one of those :p"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cedar Point Trip
|
|Place:Cedar Point
|
|Location:Sandusky, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2005
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I decided to pick up some tickets randomly to go to Cedar point with Susan in the summer of 05 I think.
|
|One the way there, I remember we hit a bunch of traffic on the Sandusky exit and luckily I packed some whopping good bagel sandwiches so that we didnt have to starve to death.
|
|
|I tried to get Susan to ride the Mellenium Force that day, but she
|refused.  Somehow I convinced her to ride the Magnum with me and she
|was scared shitless.
|
|
|Another random thing I remember was that I bought my famous Cowboy hat there.  See my Easter memory.  Keyword "Easter" in your memorycrawler search.
|
|It was kind of cold that day, so it looks like Susan didnt come prepared and had to borrow my Italia jacket sweater.
|
|I am sure you will think we both look like crap in the photos, but when you are riding rollercoasters, your hair never looks good.
|
|I think the last ride of the night before we left was these Power towers.  It was a total adrenaline rush!
|
|Finally as we were leaving, I attempted to win a family guy stuffed animal, but was unsucessful.  I was totally pissed because I dropped 20 dollars trying to win this thing.
|
|We tried eating at some local joint right around the corner for dinner, cause we werent starving for dinner at 6 probably because you eat junk food all day long.  But at that place, it was too packed, so we decided to keep driving until we get out of the city.  
|
|We found a mall to eat dinner and had some excellent fast italian food.  We both really liked it.
|
|On the way home I took some farm roads home and Susan and I had a blast goofing off on the way home.  It was a really fun day trip and we should do it again this summer, seeming as it is going to be our last summer in Michigan.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"yeah man, eating at Cedar Point is always a pain.  The stuff inside the park is a rip off and it is hard to find anything to eat in Sandusky besides Mickey D's"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Florida with Susan
|
|Place:Grandma Renne's House
|
|Location:Naples, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 02 2007 to Jan 08 2007
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I wanted to take the initiative for Susan to meet my grandma early,
|because if I didnt organize some kind of meeting I was thinking that
|she would never get to meet her before our wedding. 
|
|
|
|See my grandma lives all the way down in Naples Florida, and I know my
|Grandma Renne cannot travel to come see our wedding this upcoming
|February.
|
|
|
|So I found some dirt cheap plane tickets and bought them. As the trip
|got closer and closer my parents had some heated discussions with me
|about how I need to rent a car. But the prices were more than my plane
|ride and I refused to pay 450 dollars for a damn rental car.
|
|
|
|So we flew out there with no rental, but I organized a nice car to pick us up. It was 50 bucks to get to grandmas house.
|
|
|
|I think once we got there, we immediately went to the beach and took
|some of our first pictures. I think Susan was already in love with
|Florida. She had been down here in the past for spring break, but never
|really had been in a nice city like Naples. We also went on a walk in
|the rich neighborhoods surrounding Vanderbilt Beach Drive. I think we
|relaxed and talked with my grandma that day. I dont recall actually
|doing a whole lot but relaxing.
|
|
|
|The following day we took my grandma's Firebird to the Coconut Point
|mall. It is still right now under renovation, but I would highly
|recommend it to anyone going to Naples. It reminded me of when I was
|in San Diego at the outdoor mall there. We ate a really nice lunch at
|this sandwich shop. Unfortunately there were no local sandwich shop
|guitarists there.
|
|
|
|Susan did a bunch of shopping while I stayed in Borders. Eventually we
|left to meet up with Jeff and Sherri, my Cousin and Aunt to go to a
|high class fast food restaraunt with my Aunt Sherri and my Cousin Jeff
|called "Cheeburger Cheeburger". It was the best. A gigantic burger
|and some fries. Totally healthy. Sherri was bitching for a while
|because we were late, but then she forgot about it. She bought the
|meal when she didnt have to, that was nice of her.
|
|
|
|On the next day, I had some business I had to take care of, so I
|rollerbladed into town about 10 miles or so and even had lunch at a
|very nice place. It was frustrating because I was at one coffee shop
|that was too expensive to work in, it was like 12 bucks for 2 hours of
|internet. So I rollerbladed to another place way down off of airport
|road. It was here that my laptop completely broke and the chord
|couldnt charge my battery anymore. So there goes my work for the
|week. Oh well.
|
|
|
|I bladed back and called Susan and met up with her on her walk back
|from the beach. I dont recall what we had for dinner on that Thursday.
|
|
|
|But I definitely can recall what we had for dinner on Friday with my
|cousin Anthony. We all went to the greatest Ribs place in all of
|America. Michelbob's ribs! This was of course one of the tastiest
|restaurants I know of! Our plan after this, was to hit up the bars.
|So we drove way north to a Sushi place that converts into a bar and we
|all had a really good time there. But before that we went to one of
|his friends house and it was one of the coolest bachelor pads I have
|ever been to. The guy was a perfectionists in his decorating.
|Everything was so modern and everything was so artsy, nice and
|expensive. Anthony was a blast that night, he really convinced us at
|how nice life is in Florida. When we got back to grandma's we raided
|the pringles and the fridge and there was an accident.... a whole
|bottle of V8 fell and spilled all over the place. Talk about a
|complete mess. We had to move the fridge to clean it up. We all
|continued to drink and conversate on the lanai and on the dock
|adjoining the ocean canals. It was a very late night and we stayed up
|until about 3:30 talking about Anthony and his recent breakup with his
|English girlfriend as well as new potential flings where he debated how
|he should persue the relationship. I feel for the guy and wish him
|good luck in his new relationships with the ladies.
|
|
|
|After sleeping in on Saturday a bit, we eventually got up off our asses
|and went to the Tin City mall. It is such a unique mall. Mostly with
|stores that have junk, but it is something that I used to love as a kid
|buying souvenirs of shells and other crap. So I had to show Susan it.
|
|
|
|We ended up eating a little food there as well as buying a Mango wine
|from this shop. I bought a couple of photo frames but that was about
|it. There was a really cool candle shop there and we both were tempted
|on buying all sorts of different shaped candles of anything you can
|think of.
|
|
|
|On the way across the bridge Susan took a pic of me and I had sweat
|stains under my armpits. We always crack up looking at it. So view
|the memory media to check out the photos.
|
|
|
|That night we went to see "Sugar" at the Naples Dinner theater. We
|took my grandmas car again. Sugar, is the exact story from "Some Like
|It Hot" (One of my favorite movies). We arrived early and dug into the
|best meal we had while we were down there. The prime rib was one of
|the juiciest and flavorful meat I have had in years.
|
|
|
|These cute old couples took our picture for us and we took a picture of
|them too. Later, Susan noticed of the cutest ladies taking a ziplock
|bag and sticking a bunch of the prime rib into it. We cracked up so
|much. We were soo stuffed at this point.
|
|
|
|We had much conversation on which state we want to live in once we are
|married. We have to pick one, so she can take the bar exam in that
|particular state. Then she or I suggested to live in Florida. It
|really made sense. It was soo cool to make our first big decision. We
|pretty much feel it is the right thing. We have so many friends and
|family here. We can have some fun in the sun. We would probably
|retire in this state. Lawyers make a killing here and theres a lot of
|work here. And its the number one state to find a job. Sure the
|hurricanes are very scary, but thats not a reason to not move here. So
|we are going to do it!
|
|
|
|The play was fantastic and we had a lot of fun. We were excited about our new idea to move out of Michigan.
|
|
|
|On Sunday, we organized and drove up to pick up a rental car that we could take to the airport at 5 in the morning the next day.
|
|
|
|After that Susan and I took the new rental to the Navy Pier. On the
|way, we ate at a really nice place for lunch and sat outside. We
|discussed more about living in florida and every point we had was very
|positive. We're pretty stoked. We didnt have a whole lot of time to
|chill on the beach because we took some time walking down the whole
|pier. We saw a lot of people fishing and even some pelicans and
|seagulls floating from the wind.
|
|
|
|After laying down, we got back in the car and started driving to a mall
|when my cousin Jeff called. We decided to come to his apartment and we
|picked up some snacks and tea drinks for him and I. When we got there,
|Jeff proceeded to tell us about how he was so tired and hungry that he
|got a big glass of milk and fell asleep with it and it spilled all over
|himself. I think he was playing his guitar too. I didnt understand...
|but his problem for the day was that he needed money to dry and wash
|his sheets and comforter. He had fans going in there and all. But
|Jeff is a funny guy, as we were talking about our jobs and how much he
|makes, he said how he makes XX amount a year more than me. 5 minutes
|later he asked if he could borrow 5 dollars for a pack of cigarettes
|and to do his laundry. Now this isnt my high school cousin. He is
|like 40 years old. Susan thought he was joking at first, but then when
|she realized he was serious.... "I will send you a letter with the
|money back" she almost couldnt hold in the laughter. Ohhh Jeff... you
|and your randomness. We love you though.
|
|
|
|We chilled at the pool where I proceeded to play lots of Marco Polo
|with Elementary School kids. It was fun. After the pool, I loaned
|Jeff 75 cents for the dryer because he didnt have any money.
|
|
|
|That night after taking my grandma out to Outback Steakhouse and having
|a spectacular meal, we went back to her house where I played a snoopy
|boy and went into a bunch of her drawers and asked her about all the
|random things she has in her drawers. I didnt go through her underwear
|drawer like a creep, my grandma loves to collect items and she had so
|many strange and weird things and I was curious about all of them. It
|was a lot of fun.
|
|
|
|So that was our trip to florida in a nut shell. It was a wonderful
|time and I am so excited about all of the life trips I will have with
|that beautiful woman. Shes the best anyone could ever have! I am sure
|she really appreciates my Christmas gift to her.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dump off Boat
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1982
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Apparently my dad was fishing with a friend in the 70's or 80's and his friend took a big dump off of the boat while he was fishing with him.  When we were discussing memorycrawler some time ago, this story was brought up and my brother and I could just not stop laughing.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|georgia said:
|"lol! thats hilarious...sorry i havent been posting much lately, but ive been a bit busy...whens the next podcast? im dying for my next memorycrawler hit lol :)"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Next podcast is this sunday and Noel and I talked about calling you up somehow...
|
|How would that work best do you think?
|
|Email me with some thoughts.
|
|We want to hear our number one listener."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dads K-Mart Ditch Experience
|
|Place:Kmart
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1988
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My dad once got into a bad accident on the corner of M59 and Cass Elizabeth Lake Road.
|
|He pretty much could not stop and swirved into a ditch in front of the Kmart complex.  He apparently said there was a weed whacker guy working when it happened and he came close to his vacinity.
|
|My parents just had bought this Chevette and it wasnt probably even insured full coverage.
|
|The accident was scary because his forehead went through the glass.  When the ambulence arrived he pretty much refused service because the ambulence was so expensive.  His forhead was bleeding all like hell and he wanted to simply walk home, but the cops forced him in the ambulence.
|
|A year later he was still pulling glass shards out of his skull!  Two years later, we all could still see the dent left in the ditch.  Hopefully he posts a recollection of what he remembers about this accident.
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
golfnmike1959 said:
|"This is why you wear a seat belt!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:M.G.M Male Gum Mutilation
|
|Place:O.C.C Campus
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1995
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When my mom was going through dental school she did lots of tests on me to learn.  Meaning she cleaned my teeth a lot.
|
|
|
|On one particular occasion, she probably was scraping near my gums and since at the time I didnt floss much, they started bleeding a lot.
|
|
|
|I always try to blame her and tell her that she cut my gums.
|
|
|
|I also remember whenever I would get my teeth cleaned in her office I would take the air suction and make it suck out all of my air in my lungs.  
|
|
|
|Other things I would do when my mom is cleaning my teeth would I used to gleek on her and laugh.  
|
|
|
|Man I am a jerk.
|
|
|
|For those of you who dont know what gleeking is, it is when you can control your salivary glands to spit out a little saliva kind of like how a snake would.
|
|
|
|Fun stuff.
|
|
|
|I think I need to seek assyluym from my mom for Male Gum Mutilation.  ;-)
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dont Cross The Streams
|
|Place:Warren House
|
|Location:Warren, 
|
|Date Remembered:Apr 1986
|
|Memory Category:Embarrassing Moment
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This is weird!
|
|I remember when I was a kid that my brother Dan and I would go take a wiz together. Talk about a once in a lifetime event.
|
|I have no clue why we would do this, but it wasnt a big deal. We would go against the golden rule of not crossing the streams.
|
|I am just wondering what the purpose of going pee together was? Interesting memory..... but it happened and thus it must be posted!
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Getting Kicked in The Balls By Julie Blood
|
|Place:Burt Elementary School Playground
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1990
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So I am hanging out on the playground and I dont remember the circumstances, but somehow I made Julie Blood so angry at me that she grabbed my shoulders and slammed her knee right into my family jewels.
|
|I remember losing my breathe completely... she seemed to know what she was doing.
|
|But of course, I went to a teacher to tell on her.
|
|I think it might have been  Mr. Kowalski. 
|
|Anyways, even though the pain had gone I was still crying in front of her and him I think. She was forced to apologize to me.
|
|Her and I always had interesting relationships.
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
julieblood said:
|"I am going to say that was a payback for stabbing me with a pencil in Mr. Bakos' class. It didn't feel too good!! We always made eachother angry!! I have only kicked one other boy in the junk since then but it was in self defense so it was very well worth it!  I felt bad for you b/c Mr. McGuire made you go the bathroom and check it all out downstairs and make sure there weren't any bruises or anything. I am so sorry for that!!  Buuuuuut you did ruin Santa Claus for me!! I was a true believer and tried convincing you that I saw him but you ruined everything and told me he wasn't real. That was the day my innocence was lost!! lol just kidding."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Sledgehammer Golfing
|
|Place:Jeremy Phillips' House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1991
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time my brother and I and probably Scott Vogt, were all hanging out playing basketball at our friend Jeremy Philips' house and we saw a sledgehammer and a golf ball sitting around.
|
|We hit the golfball with a sledgehammer so hard (Jeremy was a big guy so he probably did it) that it flew all the way across the street and nailed a house.
|
|Luckily no windows shattered.
|
|We did this all across the neighborhood for a while until the golf ball finally shattered into pieces.
|
|The insides had a ton of rubberbands like Pee-Wee hermans rubber band ball. There was all this white substance too.
|
|It was pretty sweet. We did some other off the wall thing that day too.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Chilis Poisoning
|
|Location:Sterling Heights, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2002
|
|Memory Category:Sickness
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time at Chilis I got some kind of food poisoning.  I had the chicken fingers.  Have you ever had a bad case of food poisoning?
|
|I hated Chilis for the longest time.  My case wasnt an all out bad case like some people when they need to go to the hospital, but somehow I knew it was the fried chicken I had there.
|
|Chilis finally rejuvinated themselves when they cam out with the 
|
|QUESADILLA EXPLOSION SALAD!!!!!!!!
|
|Chilis rules now! They better pay me for this advertisement!  WHATS YOUR CHILIS MEMORY!!!!!!!!!!!??? LOL.  GHETTO FABULOUS.
|
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
newsie682 said:
|"During my first year of law school, I would go to Chilis with Cynthia, Amber, and Renee and Amber would always order the quesadilla explosion salad.  One day I decided that it looked soooo good, so I ordered it the next time I went there and have been hooked ever since.
|
|One night (during my 1L year), Dave came out to Ann Arbor and I was craving the salad.  I told him I wanted to go to Chilis for dinner, but he whined and whined and said he hated Chilis because he got food poisoning there like 10 years ago.  I  finally convinced him that we had to go to Chilis and I ordered the salad.  When the waiter brought it to the table, Dave's eyes got as big as saucers and he said, "What is that?!?!?" I let him try it and he was like, "Oh my God, it's like...an explosion of taste in your mouth!"  Ever since that fateful night, Dave has been in love with Chilis, and now we go there at least once every 2 weeks.  And during the weeks Dave doesn't go with me, I go with C$ and get margaritas:)
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:School Days
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1992
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Every single 1st day of school for the year or semester, my mom would sing the "School Days" song to me to wake me out of bed.
|
|"School Days, School Days, good and golden rule days. Reading and writing and arithmatic, all to a tune of a hickory stick."
|
|Although annoying when I got into College. It always marked something new and exciting. It was cute too.
|
|The first days of elementary and middle school were probably the most fun. I was always excited to see all my friends again. What do you remember about your first days of school?
|
|Things were always tough, you would have to learn all new lock codes for your locker and you would dread the teachers you got stuck with who had a reputation for everyone disliking.
|
|I have a feeling that I might sing school days to my children because tradition is a good thing.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|georgia said:
|"Aww! You should sing that to your children!
|My mum used to sing to me on Fridays when I got home from school. I'm not sure if it was a song, but she used to sing "Thank God it's Friday!" which always marked the start of the weekend for me so I loved it. I think Ill sing that to my kids one day..."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Depressed Drunken Programmer
|
|Place:Compuware
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 2004
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time at Compuware, the guy across from my cube would come in every day stinking like vodka. He would spike his coffee and other things and many times I would hear him snore.
|
|One time in particular a friend looked underneath the panel to me and tried to whisper and point at his cube. The dude was out cold.
|
|She explained how he comes in drunk every day, but I never realized it until she said it that the lingering smell was booze.
|
|They fired him later probably because someone said something.
|
|He was so weird. The funny part about it that he was a "Professional Services" guy. So very professional indeed.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:No Santa
|
|Place:Steve Rs Old House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 1988
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Yes you heard that right children. Now if you are young enough to be on this website and you still believe in Santa, then too bad. Just do a google search. The internet is terrible at how it will give you the true answer about how there is no Santa.
|
|But anyways, that will not stop me from posting the time that I learned there was no santa.
|
|It was you Steve ! You somehow tainted me, just as I am tainting a believer reading this memory. Now people can post memories about how I created a memory for them about how they learned that Santa isnt real.
|
|This is pretty much the first memory I have of you. Around the same time we used to go to 313 for games with Uncle Ted.
|
|Post your recollection of the time you told Dan and I that there wasnt any santa. And if people comment about how this memory shouldnt be up here, I will just make it explicit. Glad to have you on the site posting memories Steve.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"PS.... my mom will never forget that you told me there wasnt santa."
|
|newsie682 said:
|"You still seem disturbed by this...lol"
|
|JohnnySideburns said:
|"I never said anything!  LOL!!!!"
|
|JohnnySideburns said:
|"Who says there is no Santa??!!!!  I do not remember saying that Dave!  Slander!!!!!!!!  Look at the picture, you cannot prove that kid is me sitting there!!! Just look!  He doesn't have any tattoos....Tiny little runt!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I am not disturbed by him telling us that there was no santa.
|
|Steve dont deny it... we cried that day and told our moms.
|
|She will never forgive you.  Lol..  I was only 5 years old."
|
|julieblood said:
|"Speaking of Santa, you were the one who ruined the whole thing for me in 3rd grade! I lied to you and said I saw Santa. I guess I wouldn't quit bragging (not me!) and you told me that I was a liar and there isn't such a thing as Santa. I am traumatized!!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah Julie.  I think I know why you kicked me in the balls  now.  I ruined your whole life!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Falling in a Lake Fishing
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1988
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was young my brother and father would do a lot of fishing.
|
|But at the early days I used to not have a fishing rod.  So I might have shared a snoopy one with my brother or something.  But on this particular day, I had to use a make shift stick with a piece of fishing line as my rod.
|
|But the problem with this ghetto rod, was that I could only get it a few feet into the water.
|
|Me being the ambitious one who wants to catch a bluegill or two.  Tries to cast it out as far as I can.  But soon, I lose my ground and fall right into a part of the lake.  It wasnt a dock or anything, just really shallow water.
|
|There is also a shack I need to post a memory about in those same woods that I remember.  But I was nice and muddy that day. I am sure my dad and brother Dan laughed.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My First Big Trip
|
|Location:Phoenix, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1994
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So when I was in 7th grade, my parents were gracious enough to take a huge family trip out west to visit my Uncle Mike, Sheila and my cousins Drew and Sean . 
|
|I am still so gracious of them for taking us, because I had such an amazing experience.  Even though in all of the photos I have no smiles in them.
|
|I guess I dont remember or have time to post every little thing, so I will just post the major things that happened.
|
|On the flight over there, my parents got a cheap "Milk run" that stopped over about 3 times.  This was disasterous to my mom and mys stomach and we both ended up barfing together on the last leg.
|
|I barfed out some ranch doritos, so it was absolutely disgusting as you can imagine.
|
|The main reason why we got so sick was not the milk run, but the maneuvers that the airplane did.  It pretty much did a complete inversion and turn around before landing.
|
|I remember seeing some old lady next to me being disgusted.
|
|We chilled for a while once we got there, but then planned a few day, day trip out to the grand canyon and through Sedona.
|
|We went to Sedona which was a great little town with lots of tourist trap stores.  It was there that I got addicted to buying Katchinas.  For those of you who dont know what they are, they are little Indian dolls about 12 inches high.  I just liked how they were decorated and I also like the colors and feathers on them.
|
|On the way to the grand canyon, we stopped at a hotel.  At this hotel, all my cousins and my brother found these bones lying around and Mike and Sheila allowed us to soak them in the bathtub of the hotel.  But come to find out there were insects and dirt and a bunch stuff in them and it ruined the bathtub.
|
|When we arrived at the grand canyon, it was a very neat thing to see.  It was so vast.  I loved being there for hours overlooking it.  I really wanted to travel down to some trails, but its very dangerous if you dont come prepared with rations.
|
|Some other things that we did while we were there for two weeks was had a little scavaging hunt for eggs for Easter.
|
|We also went on a lot of walks and had ice cream out by this park.
|
|One night we went to Drews play at his school. 
|
|And another night we played video games at a mall.
|
|We did a lot of shopping too.  And Phoenix and Arizona was one of the most amazing places I had ever seen.
|
|We ad so much fun for those two weeks or so we were there.
|
|I probably have some of the facts wrong here, but I dont have time to think through every little thing that happened on that trip.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|golfnmike1959 said:
|"Dave,
|We had a great time and you guys and had a great experience I know you were very young and don't remember but the memeories will last a life time. Little do you know, we chased scorpions in the back yard of Mike's house and could have made a BIG! mistake only we did not catch one (luckily). You guys will always remember this shit. Thats why I did it.
|Love Dad."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dan getting a ticket
|
|Place:KMart
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jun 1996
|
|Memory Category:A Police Officer
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time there was a lot of construction near the corner of Cass Lake Road and M-59. 
|
|There was a KMart on the corner and my brother decides to take the Ghetto Mini Van and cut through the back. There were also 3 other cars that did the same thing to dodge the traffic.
|
|But only my brother got hit because he was last. He also was speeding so he kind of deserved the ticket for evading traffic or something like that.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Skiing, Snowmobiling and Shooting Guns!
|
|Location:McBain, 
|
|Date Remembered:Dec 2006
|
|Memory Category:Bad Weather
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|So one weekend I decided to go up to matt W.'s sisters boyfriends cousins cabin up in McBain MI.  I took friday off of work because I planned on Skiing with matt at some sweet mountain up north in Michigan. 
|
|The drive was fine and I called him when I was at some random party store.  He came to get me about 10 minutes later and boy am I glad that he did get me because this cabin was wayy back in the woods.
|
|Okay so back to the rest of this memory.
|
|Once Matt picked me up I followed him to this amazing property out in the middle of nowhere.  This place had all of the ammenities that you could possibly want in an up north cabin!  There were tons of guns, a bunch of 4 wheelers and snow mobiles, about 20 bunk beds, lots of room, TV, a nice kitchen and everything.
|
|Matt and I soon left for our skiing and snowboarding adventure.  We brought along the portable podcast if we felt random and felt like talking to lots of people, but that never felt right at the lodge or on the slopes. 
|
|It was very cold throughout the day and wind was almost unbearable at times.  We skiied for maybe an hour and then grabbed lunch and warmed up.  After that it began to warm up more and we hit the second mountain side at Caberfae.  This was the best and we had the most fun here because we found many unique slopes in the woods.  One was at the top of a hill and we had to go down some steep slopes dodging trees to get to the chair lift.
|
|At one point matt brought his apple pie out on the lift and wanted to eat it, but the damn thing smashed all over the place in his pocket and there was apple pie all over his checkbook and everything.  We wiped it on the chair to be assholes because we were laughing so hard at how gross it looked.
|
|Eventually Matt and I went back in to warm up.  And of course, he was hungry again for these salty salty fries!  They were so damn tasty.  Matt bought two glass drinks and pulled them out of his pocket when he got downstairs.  As he pulled them out like he was slinging guns, one came crashing to the ground shattering all over the place.  Matt being the nice guy that he is, cleaned it up with the mop that the people that worked gave him.
|
|The rest of the adventure was a lot of fun too.  Check out the video of us skiing and snowboarding.  Matt of course hurt himself doing a douche bag jump of which had no merit or skill.
|
|When we got back to the cabin, we relaxed and I assisted everyone (being Johnny on the spot as someone put it) in cooking dinner.  Matt was downstairs passed out.  We couldnt even get him out of bed the rest of the night.  But we all just drank and played cards and had fun while he slept.
|
|The next day we chilled until about 2:30 until people finally decided to get on the snowmobiles.  This was the first time I had ever ridden one.  And with a few problems with the idoling of my engine and the fact that it stalled many times.  It still was interesting.
|
|Eventually we relaxed and warmed up and then went out again, but this time we brought a gun to shoot at popcans.  This was also the first time that I ever shot a gun.  I totally forgot to cover my ears when the first round came out and my ears were ringing.  I shot probably an entire clip out and hit the can many times.  It was very interesting to shoot a gun and it prompted me to think about whether I would ever want a gun in my house.  I am still unsure about how I feel about that. 
|
|After that, I pretty much left the house to drive home back to see Susan and her family to have a wonderful dinner.  I barely made it on time because of highly dangerous winds and jerks riding on my ass.  But what else is new in Michigan in the winter?  Thats pretty much life for the locals.  Is jerks that dont know how to be courteous in the snow.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"guns and alcohol
|
|you might be a redneck if..."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
wrath said:
|"the place is like a hotel, period. remember that redneck dude that came in? there is a super hill billy dude that stopped in. he and his wife watch over the place when no one is around. anyways the use of this guys vocabulary, honestly made me feel stupid.. haha yeeeeee haaaaa! dave and i were chilling in the living room pretty much passed out and all you hear is the honky tonkin of this randy guy..
|
|the snowboarding had its awesome moments. right from the beginning i thought it would suck just because of how windy and cold it was! there was a lot of nice fresh snow but the wind just blew it all off the hill leaving the hard base to slip and slide your way down. although there were special spots throughout the hill that you had to find that still had its snow intact, in fact some of the areas were a product of built up snow blown over from the wind. Dave and i stuck to the middle of the hill near the tree section and found most of our enjoyment from weaving through trees, finding paths where no one had gone just to get a feel of the fresh powder and taking numerous breaks to go inside and warm up. not to mention the almost-nap we took on opposite sides of the picnic table.. we both agreed how nice it was to lay down on your back, close your eyes and just listen to the ambiance
|
|
|
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Magnum XL 200
|
|Place:Cedar Point
|
|Location:Sandusky, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1991
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When the Magnum ride was created in the 90's it was pretty much the highest roller coaster in the world.  Boasting a 200 foot drop of pure adrenaline.
|
|My family has always loved cedar point and we always enjoyed going once every summer to try out the latest rides such as Thunder Canyon, The Mean Streak and much more that they built in the 90's.
|
|But the first year that the magnum came out there was at least a 3 hour line or more and my mom and I debated whether we should go on it or not.
|
|We finally did and sat together.  I was in about 3rd grade at the time and on the way up I cried pretty much the whole way up because of how slow the chain was moving the cart.  It just made things ten times worse with the anticipation of what was to come.  My mom cried a little too cause she was scared.
|
|Funny stuff! 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cross Country Camp
|
|Location:East Tawas, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2002
|
|Memory Category:Sports
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|In my 2nd season of division one Cross Country running at Oakland University, coach Paul Rice took us to a camp for a hard week of training.
|
|Here are some of the things I remember from that week of pain:
|We had a talent contest where everyone had to display a talentI decided that I wanted to use my DJing skills and played a famous piano concerto behind a piano as I goofed off like I was playing it for realI cant remember everyones skills, but we started indoors and ended up taking it outside where people got up on this stage. Billy any help here?When we first got there we did a long run into the woods and overlooking this bluff was one of the most beautiful swamps/lakes I have ever seen in my life. I was in awe.We did a cool workout where we all raced as a team kind of like the great lakes relaySome people went skinny dipping I think. Not sureI was DJ Willuz all week, cause I brought my portable MP3 player and some computer speakers that I returned at Meijers later.Kevin D. and I had lots of talks about how the team was always dicks to him. He and I always confided in each other because other people werent always the nicest people to both of us. Especially to him.On the last day we did a hill workout running up and down the sand dunes. It was soo difficult and challenging. And in the end people jumped into the lake. (Some people jumped in completely naked too)
|Next to band camp, this was the most fun I had in a camp in such a long time. I got into ultimate shape and it was the best thing for that season because I ran a 27:50 8K!
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Sounds like a fun time at the talent contest and the training. That stinks that there were  jerks on the team. My track team had some really competitive awful people but luckily most were nice. So did you go to Oakland for school?"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
zoomzoom said:
|"I didn't go to camp this year.  I was injured for the second season in a row and was comtemplating quiting the team altogether.  This was my 4th year of college.  I was injured the entire acedemic year and didn't race for that entire year."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Billy Sleeping in the Bathroom
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2002
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time Bill and I just were getting drunk at my old house in Waterford and he decides he wanted to "sleep/drunk walk" into the bathroom and just pass out on the floor in there.
|
|Only to find my dad getting ready in the morning. I felt embarrassed for him, but he is the funny dude that walsed in there.
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
zoomzoom said:
|"I only vaugely remember this, but I'll trust you.  It sounds like something that I would do.  I probably drank too much liquor and felt like I was going to puke, so I went to the bathroom to puke and fell asleep.  Ahhhh those were the days.  No job, just going to school, running, and parting."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:My First Marathon
|
|Location:Detroit, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2006
|
|Memory Category:A Running Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|For my new years resolution in 2006, I told myself that I would run a marathon. But telling yourself is one thing and doing is another. But I trained and trained some decent miles all throughout the spring and summer, but my uncle Kirt was the true inspiration for me seriously considering it.
|
|He is a newer runner than I but he has the passion for running that I have missed. I havent had great passion since I quit college cross country my junior year.
|
|Anyway, he kept up with me and my training and we both signed up for the Detroit Marathon.
|
|On the night before the race I had to go to a wedding and I didnt get much sleep. When we arrived in downtown detroit at 4:30 AM, we both took had a BM but were extremely nervous for our first marathon. I had something happened in the toilet that really pissed me off. I pretty much sprayed on myself and my shorts because it was so dark if you know what I mean. It sucked and pissed me off... literally. But those things can happen sometimes. It didnt get me down.
|
|Eventually things got really crazy at the starting line and I was surprised I saw Kirt after we separated. But we started off and enjoyed the first 10 miles together. 
|
|Once we got close to the tunnel going back into the USA, I put on my music and left Kirt. I was flying at like 8 minute pace or less and made it through the first half of the marathon at an even 2 hours. Still feeling good until mile 18, we approached the worst wind I have ever encountered while running (this was on Belle Isle). My knee completely cramped up at this point and I had to walk a whole lot from mile 18 through 22.
|
|At about mile 22, I was looking back because I had a feeling Kirt would be coming around about this time and I spotted him. 
|
|We truly helped each other out through the last 5 miles and I would have walked all the way in if it wasnt for him. We were in sooo much pain at this point it was almost unbearable. He was even running on a broken shin or something. I would beg him to let me walk, but he kept on saying NO. Eventually I got past those pains and was a ways ahead for a bit. But eventually met back up to finally finish in 4 hours and 30 minutes. 
|
|It was so much fun and such an interesting experience. Everyone was sooo supportive of the "first timers". I will most likely stick to half marathons because they require less sacrifice in terms of training. But you have to do one marathon to truly call yourself a runner.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"I just cant believe either of us finished.  Me an out of shape dude, whose longest run was 18 miles.  And Kirt, a 50 something running newbie!"
|
|lellel said:
|"I love the video - from my own camera, nonetheless.  I love the pictures of my little Chloe.  I was very proud of you guys that day."
|
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Wow, Dave that sounds killer!!! My brother just ran his first marathon this year too. He said it the most painful thing ever! I am so impressed with you guys! A marathon is on my "things to do before I die" list, but I have to admit this one scares me! Great job."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Au Sable With Nick
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1992
|
|Memory Category:The Outdoors
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was a kid, I went on a fun outting with Nick and his dad.  I was so close to this guy and his family that they invited me out to every event they practically attended.
|
|I really dont remember much about the canoe trip, but the onyl thing that stands out is the fact that it was very cold outside and I just wore a sweater and shorts.
|
|I remember the river was more chilled out, but I might be wrong.
|
|We stopped a few times for breaks.
|
|Mostly Nick and I probably just were ourselves goofing off and being complete idiots!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"That looks so fun! I felt bad you were cold in your shorts though. I love the pictures, they made your story come to life!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Trampoline Mayhem
|
|Place:Nicks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1994
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
| Nick A. and I were pretty much trampoline addicts.  We worked and did lawn work for some neighbors across the street and they had the coolest yard for kids growing up.  (A full court basketball court and a trampoline.)
|
| I need to post a full memory of all the yard work we used to do there, but this is all about the crazy games we used to play on the trampoline.
|
| Nick always came up with the most crative games to play on the trampoline.  He probably remembers more than I do.
|
|But I always enjoyed our acrobatics more than the games.
|
|We were very good at back flips, front flips, jump on your knees then flip, jump on your knees then flip back (this was the most difficult).
|
|We could time our jumps so that we could steal each others jumps and the result would pop the other person up very high.
|
|Many times, this type of action would result in catastrophic ball crunching landings on the bars at the end!!
|
|The most we could have at a time was 3, but I recall we had 4 people on at one time playing games.
|
|When it rained, we rarely went on it, but it left such a distinct and gross smell.  Sometimes the trampoline would be gross with leaves and buds from the tree above it.
|
|I cant think really of the objectives of any of the games (Nick HELP!), but we would play a quiet version of Marco Polo that was very scary cause you could fall off.
|
|What were some of the other things we used to do on the trampoline?
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"That is soooo funny! My 2 brothers, sister, and I were all trampoline addicts too! I once had 11 teenagers including myself jumping all at once. You are right about it getting gross when it rains."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hanging at the Bachelor Pad
|
|Place:Dads Apartment
|
|Location:Farmington Hills, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1995
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When my parents divorced, Dan and I used to go to my dad's apartment.  
|
|At times, my dad had a room mate, Scott Mitchell and he was a lot of fun.  Dan and I got a long with him really well.  And he had really long hair and a beard as well.
|
|Here are some random things I remember form staying over there every other weekend for about a year or so:
|We used to play Dragon Warrior 5 with my Dad and would play the poker mini game to try to get some kind of sword. (We didnt care about the game at all, we just really liked playing poker)There was the ghetto couch that Scott slept on.We used to do dishes a lot.  My Dad always made us put the dishes away as well as clean the dishes after he provided us with food for dinner.One time, we went to the pool and had a lot of fun in an indoor heated pool.  Something funny happened here, but I dont recall.Dan and I used to go rollerblading in the apartment complex and go for walks and one time we caught our parents making out with each other. (They got back together weeks later.)In the winter, we saw people cross country skiing across his back yard.My dad even tanned with this tanning light to impress any potential chicks he could date.We always used to have a lot of fun playing fooseball there.Scott came up with the name, "Giz" no for my dads cat who he took from our house after he left because Gizmowas neutered.Gizmo loved that place.Even though it was confusing times on us two, Dad and us had a lot of fun goofing off and learning a lot from my dad.  Dad or Dan please feel free to post your version of the story.
|
|Love,
|Dave 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Wow, that's good you got some bonding time with your dad! I am glad you parents got back together. They are a great couple! That is hilarious you guys caught them making out!"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
golfnmike1959 said:
|"Scott wound up being one of my best friends I ever had. He was going through a divorce shortly after mine was final. I helped him out letting him stay with me until he got on his feet again. A divorce is one one of the worst experiences you will ever endure and he was a mess. I told him he would bounce back and he did in a very short time. Scott did not have a car and so I told him to go out and buy what you want for once. The next day he returned to the apartment with a $11,000 mint condition restored 1965 Chevy Chevelle convertible. You do things like that when you go crazy. He has that car still today. A funny thing about the name of our apartment complex...the name was Independence green on an 18 hole golf course....Huh."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Coughing Coffee
|
|Place:Burt School
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1992
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Noels recent memory about being in Elementary School and stuffing things in his mouth, reminded me about a time that we were learning about the 5 types of tastes and learning about which sections of the tongue taste certain flavors. To test this, we had an assortment of items like sour juice, bitter coffee, sweet sugar and much more.
|
|Everything was fine until the students placed coffee beans on my mouth and I practically choked. I spit them out immediately and blew so hard that the coffee beans went all over the place.
|
|It was a complete mess.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"oh that is sooooo funny!!!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Julie do you remember this memory of tasting all these things in Mr. McGuires class?"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Mr. McGuires 5th grade class."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
julieblood said:
|"Gosh, I honestly can't remember this! I vaguely remember doing something with the whole taste thing..what grade was that? Any specific teacher? "
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ultimate Ear Infection
|
|Place:Genesys Regional Medical Center
|
|Location:Grand Blanc, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2004
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|After coming back from Grand Bend I might have initally gotten this Ear Infection from playing football in the great lakes where there could be germs or something.  Or the Ear infection could have come from the bug that flew into my eye.  So those are my theories.
|
|Regardless, once I came back I had the WORST ear rake in my entire life.  I laid in bed suffering until the pain was unbearable and my mom took me to the hospital.
|
|The doctor prescribed a strong pain killer for me, but nothing helped.  On the drive to get our medication my pain was greater than any I have ever experienced in my entire life.  I felt like my head was going to crack open.  My head had soo much pressure it was unbeleivable.  
|
|Eventually I randomly asked my mom for a piece of gum.  And this happened to be the best random idea ever!  Because we just didnt think that that would help releive the pressure.  But it did!  And I will recommend to anyone if you have pressure in your ear, then chew gum.
|
|Seconds after chewing it, my mom heard a scretching noise!  It was like a high pitched hissing noise.  I thought that I was the only one who could hear it, but I couldnt believe that my mom could hear my ear blowing off some steam.  It was so strange.
|
|I also was shocked that the doctor didnt recommend this.
|
|After that I was relieved.  But because of that pressure that built up, I received some permenant scars on my eardrum.
|
|What a crazy thing that randomly happened to me.  Remember.... chew gum if this happens to you.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"whoa, that was crazy Dave! I can't believe your mom heard the sound too! I can't imagine the pain. I'll have to remember the gum chewing to relieve pressure. Our kids have had ear infections."
|
|lellel said:
|"I can pop my ears on command.  It's true - on our next podcast we should hold the mic up to my ear and I will pop to jingle bells!  Comes in handy when driving through the mountains or going on a plane ride."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Fuzzy Bunny
|
|Place:Clarion Hotel
|
|Location:Springfield, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2005
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|At my cousin Robin's wedding, my family was having a fun drinking party in my Aunt Barb's suite killing time the night before her wedding.
|
|I was talking to Ben and Steve at dinner explaining a fun game to them that I had played in college with my cross country game.
|
|For those who havent played it, its called "Fuzzy Bunny". The object of the game is to stuff as much food as you can into your mouth. Something like crackers or cookies will work fine.
|
|On this particular night, uncle Paul had his video camera, so you guys can enjoy the funny videos of me getting my butt whipped by my cousin Steve who has THE ABSOLUTE LARGEST MOUTH ON THE PLANET.
|
|Enjoy.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"aww steven, i am glad that was a good time for you.
|
|maybe we should have a rematch someday."
|
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Oh that is hilarious!You guys are so much FUN! I wish we would have known you guys were all together that night and Jeff and I would have come and crashed the party, hehe. I am pretty good at fuzzy bunny!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Yeah Michelle.  Anytime!
|
|I will totally kick your butt in fuzzy bunny!"
|
|lellel said:
|"Unfortunately I was not there but I am glad that it was captured on video so I can enjoy it."
|
|lellel said:
|"Yeah, I would have thought for sure that Dave had the biggest mouth!"
|
|talorp85gt said:
|"I remember that night . In fact I have the "bunny" on tape somewhere"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Check out the videos Paul..  They are uploaded."
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
stack said:
|"It was the first time I have ever heard of any game like this one. It seemed very simple, but I never expected to beat Dave and my brother.
|Since they were both older I expected them to have larger mouths then me. Surprisingly I won.
|That was one of the funnest nights I had ever had with the family."
|
|demonicpixiesix said:
|"It was the first time I have ever heard of any game like this one. It seemed very simple, but I never expected to beat Dave and my brother.
|Since they were both older I expected them to have larger mouths then me. Surprisingly I won.
|That was one of the funnest nights I had ever had with the family."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Mr. Spry's Surprise 50th
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2000
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My high school band teacher Mr. Spry turned 50 when I was a senior. Well maybe it was 60 because he retired that year. 
|
|Anyway it was a nice round number, so Mr. Braue got all of the band together in the parking lot of Meijers and we all marched down some random streets to get to Mr. Spry's home.
|
|He didnt have a clue there was going to be a surprise, but his wife got a bunch of food and beverages for everyone to drink after our band came rolling down the streets playing happy birthday. The whole neighborhood was partying with us and we shocked a lot of people.
|
|It was such a fun and unique experience to do such a thing. When you think about it. That type of experience is once and a lifetime! So cool and soo much fun. I miss marching band!
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"I didn't know you were in the marching band! I think it takes such talent to walk and play an instrument at the same time. What an awesome thing to do for your teacher. I bet he was really touched.
|What did you play in the band?"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Disecting A Cat
|
|Place:Waterford Mott HS
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1998
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time in our AP Biology class, our teacher Mr. Mandley had us discect a cat.
|
|I am sure this is nothing new to most high schoolers and I guess this is a common memory among people going through school.
|
|But I guess I will just explain some of the things I remember just for my own documentation of what went on.
|
|We all gathered in groups of 4. My group was Millicent , Jessika , and I cant even remember the 4th person that was in our group now. I think it was another guy. He was kind of in one of those other clicks if I can remember right. He even used to play this Neo Geo handheld a bit in class.
|
|Anyway, we got our corpse of a cat and we named him Quequog. (After the character in moby dick). Our cat wasnt just any old cat. This fucker had the most obscure and large organs as well as skin that is as tough as a pigskin football.
|
|We first had to skin the fur off of it and that I can recall took an entire class period.
|
|The rest is just slicing and dicing many parts of the cat. There was just lots of grey matter and muscles and bones that we cut out of the cat. 
|
|The smell in that room was of formaldahyde and you could smell it all throughout the school.
|
|We had some fun and it did actually teach us a lot about what we had been learning about. That anatomy class was a near college level coursework and I learned so much in that class, it just blew my mind. I will never throw away my notes. I loved Mr. Mandley's explanations of the great mysteries of life.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"What an experience! Ick, we didn't disect cats in highschool but fetal pigs. So we really had the pig skin to cut through, haha! I know what you mean about formaldahyde going all over the school."
|
|newsie682 said:
|"That was one of my favorite high school classes"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Michelle:
|
|Yea the skin was really gross to work with.  Even the fur when we had to skin it.
|
|Susan:
|
|You would have an asthma attack had you been in this room.  There was soooo much dander.
|
|But I did love anatomy and physiology the most."
|
|JulieBlood said:
|"I know this is kind of sick and wrong, but dissecting that cat was one of my most favorite memories throughout highschool. Christina P. and I took many many pictures that I'll have to dig up and post. We even were allowed to keep our cat's skin. We vowed to share it forever. I was the one who cut the tongue out and I got to break the jaw open...yes, I volunteered for that!! Sick and Wrong. Mr. Mandley will forever be my most cherished teacher!"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
JulieBlood said:
|"It was 10th grade when I took Bio 2 with Mr. Mandley. It was by far the best class I have ever taken in my life! I loooove anatomy and physiology more than life itself!! I have never had a teacher who could make science come to life like Mr. Mandley did. Dissection was the coolest activity. I remember some chick or dude in class could barely do it and had to keep going outside to get fresh air. I remember it was Christina and me, Chris Bradley and some other person too..can't remember who it was. I just remember CP and I were the most excited ones in the group. That was one class I never ever wanted to miss. I dedicated myself fully to that one class! Then AP Bio came along and it was just a little too much for me so I dropped it after one semester...dummy me b/c I recieved an A for the semester. I think I had senioritis at the moment. I would love to retake that class again. The smells, the textures, the learning!!! How fun!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Dating a Married Woman?!?!
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 2001
|
|Memory Category:Interesting Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|When I was a freshman in College I met a girl at media play (a entertainment store that was later bought out by Best Buy). 
|
|
|
|I purchased a dorky movie (Final Fantasy: The Spirits within) and had a
|great conversation about video games and final fantasy with this red
|headed girl.
|
|
|
|She was cute and for sure fun because she likes dorky video games and all.
|
|
|
|I got her phone number and we had like one conversation for an hour or so.
|
|
|
|But soon I heard from people (not sure who exactly) that she was a
|married woman. She was ONLY 18 years old too. In fact, she was
|married to my friend Ryan Morency. Obviously they later divorced. 
|
|
|
|But I just was shocked that a married woman was pursuing me and I was
|pursuing her as well. We went out once and played pool I think. I
|recall just never calling her again after I learned of this thing.
|
|
|
|Ryan, if you ever read this, I apologize and never knew she was your
|wife. I think it was close to the end of your marriage, but still. I
|never knew she was married to ya. Good luck with everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|wrath said:
|"LMAO"
|
|sweet mom100 said:
|"You're a good guy, luckily you found out her character. That was wrong of her to put you in that position. One of Jeff's friends, who was married, came onto me while I was babysitting his kids. Jacob was just a baby. Hey, you just sparked a memory for me! Anyway I was totally mad he would do that to his wife, friend, and me."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hollocost Museum Spitting
|
|Location:Washington, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 1995
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time on our 8th grade trip to Washington DC, we took our whole group to the Hollocost museum.
|
|But we werent there but 10 minutes when Jason Cooley spit off of this balcony thing.
|
|Someone caught him and then they kicked out our entire school.
|
|People can ruin things for everyone by doing something stupid.  Why would anyone punish a group of people when it is one persons fault for doing something stupid?
|
|This type of thing happens all the time in society.  Someone can commit a crime and lawmakers will screw everyone else over because one person did something.
|
|People can be stupid sometimes, but Jason was a cool guy regardless.  I didnt really want to go to that muesum anyways at the time.  I was too young to think about what happened 50 years ago.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|newsie682 said:
|"Someone must have seriously misspelled "Holocaust" for this to show up in a Google search...lol!"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"OMG.... well you cant blame me.  
|
|Just look at my business card.
|
|Hey.... I have dont a pretty good job on spelling on the website though.
|
|When I was translating it to Japanese, it was like a spell check because the parser could totally not recognize certain words."
|
|julieblood said:
|"Same trip..same kid. Jason Cooley ran and jumped off the edge right into the water! He got into a lot of trouble for that one and ended up on my bus after that. He actually lives in my neighborhood now with his girlfriend."
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"Julie... please tell Jason about my site next time you see him.
|
|We have memories about going into his dads closet and looking at his gun.  As well as memories about me fighting him on the playground in 5th grade.
|
|I badly want to hear from him.
|
|Thanks girl!  You rule.  I will post a washington DC with all my photos sometime soon."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Breaking Ryan McLendons arm
|
|Place:Mott Football Field
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 1999
|
|Memory Category:Accident
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time a bunch of band people played some full contact football together.
|
|We had done this in the past at Burt Elementary School Playground with Tim and Jeff Sandzick and some other sweet bandos.
|
|Anyway, on this particular occasion we had some new players.  One person, Ryan McLendon played nearly a whole game with us.  But at one point he was sprinting full speed with the ball.  He and I also had been very competitive sprinters and ran many races in the 200 and 100 meter our freshmen year and so I wasnt about to let him blow me out and get a touch down.
|
|So I grabbed his shirt and spun him around a little too hard.  Spun him around so hard that I lifted him off the ground and let go.
|
|It all happened in an instant, but he was hurt badly.  He landed on his elbow and was in serious pain.  We called an ambulence and didnt get in too much trouble for jumping over the fence to all play football.  I guess they thought it was too much effort to get everyone in trouble.
|
|The cops and ambulence didnt really focus on interogating me at all or anything.
|
|I still feel really bad about it, but boys play ruff, and skinny people should not play full contact football.
|
|But Ryan, definitely hated me after that.  Rani (my girlfriend) was there with us and Ryan thought I did that just because he was her Ex BF.  People dont think like that when playing a game.  I was competitive with him but I would never intentionally hurt someone physically.
|
|The other sad thing about that day and the consequences of it was the fact that he had a bone chipped in addition to his injuries and he had to get surgery on his arm.
|
|Ryan will forever have a scar on his arm because of something that I did and could have prevented had I tackled him differently.  Its pretty crazy stuff!
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:20 Year Old Lime Juice
|
|Place:Grandma Renne's House
|
|Location:Naples, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1986
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This one time I was hanging out with my family on vacation at my grandma Renne's house and my dad wanted to cook dinner.
|
|He was rummaging around in the fridge trying to find ingredients and he came across a 15 or 20 year old lime juice in my grandma's fridge.
|
|We cracked up so bad at this.  Grandma still deny's just how old it really was.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|jmjnerocks said:
|"Oh Dave that is funny! I guess cleaning out the fridge ins't you grandma's thing haha!"
|
|Auntsandy said:
|"I BET THAT JUICE WAS MORE LIKE 40 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!!!"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Pickled Pigs Feet
|
|Place:Patzs House
|
|Location:Clarkston, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1998
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Before there was fear factor on TV and before reality TV was even around. You have our family.
|
|In 1998, our family started a new gift giving tradition that some people call "White Elephant". Its basically a pool of gifts and each person draws a number. The first person chooses a gift and is stuck with it, but the next person may steal their gift or pick another. The last person is in the best position.
|
|Most of the gifts this year were pretty decent. Barb, (Christmas Boss) just by chance got a couple of really crappy gifts and joke gifts. One of which was some S.P.A.M and some pickled pigs feet.
|
|Well after that I think my brother and my Uncle Dennis talked about how he would eat them for money.
|
|This soon turned into all of the Brat Patrol (Me, Noel , Kevin , and Dan ) wanting a bunch of money to eat the pickled pigs feet.
|
|I am sure some people really eat these things, but they stink like formaldahyde and vinegar or something like that.
|
|And the rest of the story is just history. After this incident, we always call this game the "gag" "gift" game. Enjoy the video if you are into that kind of fear factor type stuff. 
|
|P.S. I better get at least 3 recollections from Dan Kevin and Noel 
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|sweet mom100 said:
|"Wow, ick! That does give Fear Factor a run for their money haha! I love how everyone even paid you guys to do this, it's hilarious!!!"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
lellel said:
|"It was absolutely disgusting!  The texture was gross and the taste was overwhelming.  The worst part was that when I bit into it there was this cartilage in the shape of a spiral.  That was the last straw and I had to spit it out.  I have to give credit to Dan and Kevin for finishing it because it was no easy task.  I remember that the following year at Mike Taylor's house there was another challenge to eat dried squid.  I think that it involved Ben, Steven, Drew and Sean."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Spitting off The Sky Ride
|
|Place:Cedar Point
|
|Location:Sandusky, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jul 1993
|
|Memory Category:Fearful Event
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One time I went to Cedar point with my brothers friend Trevor Pretty and some other friends of mine.  We all were riding in the Sky Ride chilling when suddenly someone had the great idea to spit off of it.
|
|Well come to find out we hit a guy.  I think we knew it at the time and we were laughing up a storm.
|
|Once we arrived, those laughs turned to scared faces when the guy immediately comes storming at us.
|
|My mom had no clue about it, for she was in the car ahead of us.
|
|We were stupid and didnt think that our cars had numbers on them too.
|
|Luckily nothing super bad happened other than some scolding.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Day Trip To See THE DAVID
|
|Location:Florence, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A day trip for THE DAVID!!!!!
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-28 |
|    
|    
|    Florence,  
|    Italy
|
|    
|
|    Today I woke up and was lacking motivation. That's why you guys got that 
|    final reflection thing. Once I was done listening to that song, I was 
|    perusing through my Eurail time table and I noticed something very 
|    interesting. I saw that the train to Florence was only 2 hours. Once I read 
|    that, I was set... I was going to see the statue of David.
|    
|    
|    The reason I was so psyched just to see one statue was because of a guy I 
|    met in Corfu. This guy was great, he and his friends would constantly refer 
|    to me as THE DAVID. They would kind of praise me a little and it was kind of 
|    flattering in a way. They did this probably because I wore the statue of 
|    David boxers and also because I wore a halo I made with my toga and also 
|    because I guess I look like him. Anyway, one night he told me all about it 
|    and how he stared at a mans ass for 30 minutes. I was so psyched.... not 
|    about the ass.... but he was like it doesn't matter when you see it, but in 
|    your lifetime when you see it you must email me to tell me all about it.
|    
|    
|    
|    So I was off on a train heading for Florence, I wrote that final 
|    reflection and composed my lack of motivation. Plus it was nice to get a 
|    final trip in with my rail pass before it expires. I arrived in and I 
|    totally didn't need help with my bearings... every road I went down I 
|    navigated with ease (probably because I had bought a nice map of florence 
|    before I left). It was raining pretty hard and there were some huge puddles 
|    on the way. I had lunch at this really storage coffee shop which had one 
|    sandwich to choose from.
|    
|    When I got to the museum, I went immediately to him.... and the trip was 
|    totally worth it. The statue is some 40 feet tall and is one of the greatest 
|    sculptures I have ever seen. I cant describe him too much, but he is 
|    definitely the most beautiful man on the planet.
|    
|    I did some shopping and bought Susan something. I thought it would match 
|    with this other thing I bought her... but I failed in remember in color 
|    combinations. This is probably teasing her on her gifts, but its all in good 
|    fun. Shopping was interesting though.
|    
|    I then jumped on the first train I found... this was a bad mistake. The 
|    train I jumped on was an IC (inter city train) and it made stops at every 
|    small train station on the way to Rome. I thought I would make a meeting for 
|    dinner with some friends but my train took about 4 or 5 hours. I got back to 
|    the hostel finally and did something very bad. I broke down and had 
|    McDonalds. I was so hungry and it just called my name. The fries were 
|    excellent!!! I got back to the hostel and chit chatted with some Ozzies and 
|    then went to bed. It was a day trip that was entirely well worth it.  
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The longest day trip ever! Athens to Rome in One Day!
|
|Location:Athens, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The longest day trip ever! Athens 
|    to Rome in One Day!
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-27 |
|    
|    
|    Athens,  
|    Greece
|
|    
|
|    This entry spans three full days because my day actually lasted that long.
|    
|    
|    This morning I checked out late and luckily gave the worker a good excuse 
|    so I was not charged another day. Most of my day was spent shopping (I 
|    bought Matt a tiny little birthday present), laying on the beach, reading 
|    and eating lunch on the beach. Once that was all over, I hopped on a bus on 
|    the way to Athens.
|    
|    I met a few people on the bus, but socializing didn't help. The bus was 11 
|    hours from hell. I was so uncomfortable and I couldn't sleep very well 
|    because these Grecians were so loud talking until very late. There was no 
|    bathroom on the bus and you had to wait until like 3 AM to some restaurant 
|    stop. Luckily I had a little sleep, but that was just because I had a window 
|    seat.
|    
|    Once we arrived into Athens at 5:30 in the morning, I immediately 
|    followed this Aussie couple who had booked a place to stay. We hopped onto a 
|    local bus and after about 10 stops, everyone left the bus. We assumed it was 
|    the last stop, but second guessed it and hopped back on. Next thing you 
|    know, we ended up back at the main bus station. We figured things out after 
|    that, but it still sucked really bad.
|    
|    We found our accommodation and I paid for one night. As I got into the 
|    room I noticed how bad it smelled and how dirty it was. It was the worst 
|    hostel yet. I needed sleep really bad so I passed out until like 10.
|    
|    I woke up and had a little toast downstairs. It was then that I had a 
|    thought to try y to do Athens in 5 hours and catch the next train out of 
|    Athens. I chose to do this because I realized that two days just wouldn't be 
|    enough in Rome. And also the main thing I wanted to check off my things to 
|    see was the Parthenon. While I was having toast I spoke with a really nice 
|    girl and she ended up giving me a free invalidated pass to the Parthenon (A 
|    12 Euro Value). I immediately walked there and saw the ruins. They were 
|    pretty amazing and I especially am excited at the people rebuilding the 
|    entire city!! Sure everything looks like it does on TV and in pictures, but 
|    there is something about it that is unique to your perspective when you have 
|    seen something with your own eyes. It is r eally captivating.
|    
|    After that I wandered around the hill and saw Socrates prison where he 
|    was held. I ate lunch and also did some shopping. I ended up buying an 
|    entire chess set (a luxury I have now that my trip is ending) and also 2 
|    statues of Aphrodite and a Greek stone frame for my picture of me with the 
|    Parthenon.  
|    
|    After this I felt I saw enough and I headed for the train station to 
|    catch the next train out of Athens.
|    
|    Once I got there I got some bad news, the train was totally booked. I 
|    waited for it anyway, for a chance to ask the conductor if I could sit in 
|    between compartments or something. While waiting I bumped into two 
|    non-skanky girls I had met from Texas at the Pink Palace. They were in the 
|    same situation as me, but when crunch time came, the conductor would only 
|    let one person on. Since I was separate from them and had less baggage, I 
|    was let on this very uncomfortable and crappy 4 compartment train. This was 
|    the most pathetic size train I have been on yet, it probably only held 50 
|    people. But gladly I was on it so that I could make the connection to the 21 
|    hour ferry to the mainland of Italy.
|    
|    On the train I spoke politics with some Greek guys I could barely 
|    understand, and I mostly just nodded and smiled.  
|    
|    I got to the ferry and met a girl from Sweden. We hung out and sat next 
|    to each other on the ferry, but she seemed really preoccupied with planning 
|    her trip. I mostly slept anyways. In the morning we made it to Bari just in 
|    time to catch the earliest train to Roma.
|    
|    On the train, I met the next people I would travel with I met Lucy and 
|    Byron (a married couple from BC Vancuver). They were really warm to me and 
|    we really hit it off with conversation. The reason that they were a little 
|    warmer and welcoming was because they haven't interacted with travelers much 
|    because they have spent the last 2 months in the middle eastern part of 
|    Northern Africa. Mainly Egypt and Libya. Once we got off the train, we found 
|    accommodation in the M and J hostel in Roma.  
|    
|    We settled in and then hit up the town after getting a much needed 
|    shower. We wandered toward the Roman forum and ate some expensive pizza on 
|    the way as a snack to hold us over. The roman forum wasn't too impressive 
|    because it was so scattered and not well preserved. Plus I don't know much 
|    about the history of these rocks and pillars (that's why I am taking a walking 
|    tour to help). We also stopped at this massive tomb of the unknown soldier 
|    building and walked up. As we walked up I got my first glimpse of the 
|    coliseum. In the movie I took, I sounded sarcastic, like I wasn't excited, 
|    but I really was excited to see it. We walked toward it and I got a picture 
|    of me with the roller coaster excited pose in front of the coliseum. It was 
|    pretty cool walking around it and I acted as the guide while reading my 
|    information on it to them.  
|    
|    After the coliseum, we walked to the fountain de trevi. This was really 
|    breathtaking and was so cool to look at. We got some good photos here as 
|    well.
|    
|    Our dinner included the best pizza I have had in a long time, with 
|    Vegetable soup and cheap 3 dollar wine.
|    
|    We found our hostel and called it a night after that. I just cant believe 
|    that I am in my last city I will visit in my travels! I will be home in a 
|    little. See you guys.
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The booze cruise, Naked Cliff Diving and Matt's B-Day
|
|Location:Corfu, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:Traveling
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The booze cruise, Naked Cliff 
|    Diving and Matt's B-Day
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-25 |
|    
|    
|    Corfu,  
|    Greece
|
|    
|
|    This afternoon I bought my ticket for the booze cruise. This is an event 
|    where you venture out all over the island on a fishing boat seeing and doing 
|    cool stuff while having a few beers. Originally I was reluctant because I 
|    thought I might get sick on a small boat, but I brought along my pressure 
|    point bands that I bought for the ferry over just in case. I wore them all 
|    day, but I don't think I really needed them because the tide was chilled.
|    
|    
|    Once we were on the boat, the first destination was the cliffs that we 
|    had the opportunity to jump off of. The dirty captain explained how if any 
|    clothes come off that you get a free beer. Originally I thought I would do 
|    it , but then I was second guessing. It wasn't until I climbed up a 
|    semi-dangerous height of 35 feet up steep coral that I decided that this 
|    would the public's first time seeing me naked. Once it was my turn, I pulled 
|    off my trunks and jumped off. I know it is disgracing my body, but come 
|    on... in Europe it is such a natural thing to be naked and its not a big 
|    deal. Regardless of whether someone said we should jump off naked, I would 
|    of did it. It was a moment in time, where I can do something crazy. It was a 
|    once and a lifetime opportunity to do something crazy and I just let go. But 
|    I didn't let go of everything. I covered the family jewels so that they 
|    didn't 
|    smack the water. Everything worked out fine though.
|    
|    Things were pretty chill on the way to the secluded beach, but I can see 
|    why they don't let people drink before climbing and jumping because it was 
|    pretty dangerous. I was super careful. Anyway I ate my lunch on this rocky 
|    beach, took a walk and met some new people. The meeting of new people is 
|    never ending, its so fun to be sociable. I had the option to do a little 
|    snorkeling, but the water was so crystal clear that I saw enough of it. The 
|    beach was a really nice stop.
|    
|    By now the ship ride was great, but after this things changed a little 
|    for the worst. After heading to what is known as the bat cave, things got a 
|    little more gross. Gross as in, girls gone wild gross. I cant even describe 
|    to you all of the details, but other people were drinking out of special 
|    bongs, licking whip cream and doing stupid stuff. I had no part in this and 
|    I just watched as people made asses of themselves. It was gross.
|    
|    After the gross spring break stuff, we went to this really cool bat cave 
|    and swam in a cave until it was absolutely pitch black. It kind of freaked 
|    me out at how you couldn't see anything. Once we got back to the boat my 
|    friend Lucas climbed up super high on this stalagmite that shouldn't of been 
|    climbed on and he jumped off. Oh and I forgot to tell you, he and April both 
|    jumped off completely nude together as well. Anyways I was super scared for 
|    him, but he jumped safely down.  
|    
|    After the bat cave I was ready to get off, because some sick shit 
|    happened next. This slut was the most disgusting person I have ever met. She 
|    went down on the boat and was doing stuff to the dirty captain and some 
|    other guy that worked there. The whole boat was absolutely disgusted and 
|    everyone was ready to just get off. She was at least a good topic of 
|    conversation for the rest of our stay because later on she gave a completely 
|    different guy a blowjob and then had a threesome with two different ozzies. 
|    All hearsay, but I couldn't believe how gross this herpes girl was. I guess I 
|    experienced what these college kiddies do when they go to Mexico for spring 
|    break. Its really degrading and sick. I would leave out details like this 
|    normally, but since I have been telling you guys every detail of my trip.... 
|    I cant just leave out this funny beer whore doing all this stuff. Some 
|    people are disgusting.
|    
|    Once we got back, we slept and then went to dinner. It took a while for 
|    everyone to start partying for Matts birthday, but once about 10 o'clock hit, 
|    we were all having a great time. I ordered up the DJ to announce at midnight 
|    his 23 b-day and I also had all these women spank his ass at midnight. I 
|    even took a movie of it for his remembrance.
|    
|    I ended up going to bed early and he continue to party it up. I woke up 
|    with Matt being totally plastered from 'Combing out'. When he passed out, 
|    he must of forgot to go to the bathroom because next thing I saw was him 
|    standing up in front of his bed, pissing on the floor. I have heard of 
|    people who are too far gone, that do this, so it is kind of common. I really 
|    didn't mind and I just cracked up. The reason I didn't mind was because none 
|    of our stuff was there in the corner he was going in.
|    
|    All in all this had to be one of the strangest and messed up days in all 
|    of my travels. Oh well, at least I just witness the strange things and 
|    weren't actually a part of them.  
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Cant think of a title for this day... MORE SUN
|
|Location:Corfu, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Cant think of a title for this 
|    day... MORE SUN
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-24 |
|    
|    
|    Corfu,  
|    Greece
|
|    
|
|    Basically today I spent the whole day at my favorite spot... the beach. But 
|    that's not such a bad thing is it? Yet another 5 hours passed by lying down 
|    basking in the sun. It was terrible how exhausted I got from just lying down 
|    all day. But today we brought down books, cards, and music to entertain us. 
|    I also took a nice long cat nap, but still the sun is treating me right by 
|    giving me the perfect brown tan, no burn whatsoever.
|    
|    
|    That was all of my day, aside from doing a little shopping, eating with 
|    the girls and ordering the best damn Coke I have had in all of Europe. (The 
|    cokes taste like crap usually).
|    
|    Once 8:30 came, (I woke up from another nap) and then it was time for the 
|    free dinner included with the Pink Palace. The meals here are totally 
|    succulent and filling. They have the best salads ever and you stuff yourself 
|    silly here. I met two new good friends April and Lucas. They just got out of 
|    high school and Lucas sold his car to come out here and travel. They are 
|    both extremely intelligent and totally outgoing. On top of that, they play 
|    billiards seriously, so a lot of our first conversations were about pool.
|    
|    We ended up playing pool and my game was totally on, so they were having 
|    a hard time taking me down. But then this cocky Armenian dude came up 
|    thinking he is God at pool, but I ended up slaughtering him. The guy had no 
|    skill, just a good straight shot that he slammed the cue on every shot to 
|    try to intimidate me. The great thing about me playing, was that I felt that 
|    great feeling of accomplishment and fun that I miss so bad. So for sure, 
|    when I get back I am going to start playing pool on a regular basis. After 
|    having great conversation on topics such as sex and politics with the 
|    Colorado couple, I basically went to bed. Sorry for the boring entry, sun 
|    bathing consumed my day. But I know you are jealous.
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"I agree that the Coke tastes bad in Europe.  I had some of it in Spain - yuck!  I guess we are just used to Coke bottled in Auburn Hills, Michigan."
|
|newsie682 said:
|"Since when is the beach your favorite place? lol"
|
|TheMemoryCrawler said:
|"The beach is always my favorite place so long as I dont have to be on the computer working, or if my car is about to get ticketed."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Sun, sun, fun and more sun
|
|Location:Corfu, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Sun, sun, fun and more sun                     2004-10-23 |         Corfu,     Greece      
|
|We arrived off of the ferry only to be escorted by bus to the'backpackers paradise' known as the Pink Palace. This place is the hotspot, especially in the summer where it seats over 900 beds. The wholething is painted pink (obviously). Driving there was quite scarybecause of the crazy bus driver, but we made it safe. I really enjoyedthe view because I saw a tree I have never seen in my life. I havenever seen a Cypress tree before and they were really cool looking.When we arrived.... it was pink everywhere and we were immediatelyserved a hefty breakfast and also we told about all the perks to this'all inclusive feeling hostel.' We had the ability to take a trip toAthens, to ride ATVs, to go on a booze cruise, to go kayaking and muchmore. Not to mention the godly scenery here on the island, all of ushostellers were surely in for a pleasant surprise here.       
|
|   Once we showered up it was straight to the beach. We lied here tanning    and relaxing for about 2 hours. We also jumped in the Ionian sea with no    worries about our stuff getting stolen because of its seclusion.      
|
|   I encountered the cutest family of wild cats and it was the most amazing    thing watching them interact. I learned that male fathers don't provide, but    fight for food. I watched a little cute kitten dig a hole and take a dump    and bury it. That was interesting. Also some of the Pink Palace workers fed    them, but were also very mean to them. The hit them and even brushed one of    them off into the ocean. It was cruel. As that was happening, I watched one    of the hostel workers eat an entire fish head right out of the ocean. The    thing was still alive and it was pretty gross. But I guess that's how things    are here.      
|
|   We lied on the beaches for a total of over 5 hours. We also did some    shopping at a store and realized just how inexpensive Greece is. It is total    dirt cheap. I thought Prague was inexpensive.      
|
|   After this, we relaxed for the sun drained a lot of our energy and we got    barely any sleep on the ferry. We picked up our Pink Togas, for tonight was    the weekly toga party. I learned how to tie up a toga and I wore an    interesting pair of boxers I picked up in my travels. I bought some boxers    that have the bottom portion of Michelangelo's David on them. So if my toga    showed through to my body, it would be a funny joke that someone would see    the statue of David's junk and not my junk (I ended up showing my closest    friends a peek and they just cracked up). I also accessorized by creating a    Greek halo made of an olive tree. This was a great thing to wear and I    looked totally Greek. After Matt and I took pictures of me posing as David    we headed down for an extravagant meal and the Toga party at our huge bar.    We ate dinner and even met some asshole Canadians at our table. I don't even    know there names, but they were totally pulling out really bad historical    facts about America and also being very rude to me because I was an    American. I couldn't believe what arrogant things they said to me, and    neither could the rest of the Canadian filled table. They apologized for him    being a jerk to me and we basically made fun of them in conversation a few    times because they were jerks.      
|
|   The night was pretty crazy.... a ton of dancing. I did a little. And a    lot of drinking with the dollar shots and 1.50 drinks. I had never been to a    toga party and there is always room for a first.    
|
|     Later that night, we all gathered around in a circle and they put on a    show for us. A lot of Greek music and also plate smashing and dancing. At    one point, the owner George picked up a flaming table with his mouth as    others smashed plates and he walked around a ring of fire. It was definitely    really cool to see. Finally we all sat on our knees and they smashed plates    on everyone's heads. Don't worry, these are just cheap plastered plates so    they barely hurt.   
|
|   Matt ended up leaving before me and he left the door closed and locked. I    knocked a bunch and heard a girl saying "Wrong room". I assumed he was    cheating on his girlfriend so I persisted and kept yelling "Paris... you    know your girlfriend that's meeting up with you." Because I told him I    wouldn't let anything bad happen to him to be unfaithful to his girlfriend. I    kept on knocking and to my surprise he opened the door with no one in it. It    must of been the girl next door who said something. Well, its all in a good    days effort to try to stop infidelity. Maybe it was my first hand experience    with someone cheating on me, but he told me about how their relationship was    and I didn't want any more pain going around in the world. But Matt is one of    the few good ones, and I misjudged him. In the morning, he couldn't remember    that he opened the door. It was kind of funny, but for sure this was a    memorable first day in Greece.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:A long 'stinking' travel day
|
|Location:Bari, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A long 'stinking' travel day
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-22 | The Eastern Coast,
|    
|    
|    Italy
|
|    
|
|    I am putting one entry for the 21st and 22nd.
|    
|    
|    Most of our morning was consumed by packing up and checking out of the 
|    hotel. We found a new hotel in Venice and also stopped by at the internet 
|    cafe, doing research on Greece and also catching up on emails.
|    
|    We finally figured out the exact schedule for Greece because we have been 
|    throwing around dates and ferry locations for a while. We figured the best 
|    bet was to go to Corfu instead of Athens first. We spent some time in lines 
|    at the train station getting the best deal and booking stuff. We also had 30 
|    hours of travel ahead of us so we invested some cash on food.  
|    
|    But for the most part, the last day in Venice consisted of a lot of 
|    shopping. We really just wandered. We mostly went down this famous shopping 
|    district. It was quite uneventful, but fun and Matt and I joked around a lot 
|    as usual.
|    
|    The next day we woke up butt early to catch our train to Bari where we 
|    would catch the ferry. On the train we played a lot of crazy eights and I 
|    really am starting to like that game. We also slept a bunch and joked around 
|    more.
|    
|    Okay so since there is mostly boring stuff I will tell you guys about one 
|    of our goofy and gross incidences. I ended up letting one rip and Matt said 
|    You better check your pants and he also commented on the gargling sound it 
|    made. I know .... its nasty. But I don't eat very healthy these days. lol. So 
|    I said... let me reenact it as I took a swig of tea in an attempt to 
|    gargle. But I absolutely couldn't do it because of the built up laughter. He 
|    busted out laughing and I immediately couldn't hold the liquid in my mouth 
|    and some of it sprayed out. Next thing you knew, we were laughing so hard 
|    because I was essentially drooling on the ground in pain of laughter; 
|    laughing so hard tears came out. There was no way I could swallow, so it 
|    just drooled on the floor in the compartment. I guess boys will be boys and 
|    that will never change, eh? (Yes I have been hanging around too many 
|    Canadians, but Michiganders do something similar.... we (I) say huh)
|    
|    But anyways we made it to Bari and I ate the crappiest pizza at the train 
|    station. It was disgusting. No wonder my body lets em rip, it gets rid of 
|    the bad food I guess. We walked 2 kilometers with our packs and it was one 
|    of the longer walks, but Bari was pleasantly surprising. It was pretty nice. 
|    We booked our ferry to Greece for 6 Euros (Eurail accepted) and the ship 
|    was more like a cruise ship. It was so high class. Cheap eats, a pool, nice 
|    seats and a lot more. We met some new Canadian friends Meika and Kate. They 
|    say eh a lot. They basically are following us to the pink palace now that 
|    we gave them a ton of info. Once we arrived at 6 AM (A 7 hour difference 
|    from MI) We walked to the connection to the local ferry to Corfu. I slept a 
|    lot on this 2 hour ferry and once we arrived on Corfu we had an escort to 
|    what would be the greatest hostel I have stayed in thus far, the pink 
|    palace. I will continue my story of my first day having fun in the sun in my 
|    next update. Take care guys. One more week. :-( It will suck to join the 
|    rat race of corporate America. Two thumbs down for that.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Wine Thief
|
|Location:Venice, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The Wine Thief                          2004-10-20 |            Venice,      Italy        Not a whole lot went on today... mostly traveling. In the morning we found a     bakery and we blew all of our Francs on breakfast and lunch. We did this so     we didn't have to exchange any money. After the long walk back to the train     station, we got on our train and went through numerous connections at     various cities to get to Milan. Once we got to the city of fashion, there     was nothing fashionable about the experience we encountered next. First our     train was late coming in and our connection to another train was minutes     away. But it was difficult to maneuver from the hundreds of people in this     cluster-fuck (sorry it fit well) of a train station. Once we barely got on     (and Matts knee was hurting again from the 30 pound pack running) the train     ride was even worse. This train was wayyyy overbooked (which can happen) and     it was impossible to maneuver. I even got to the point where I got stuck in     between with some dude who wouldn't budge. We mostly sat in between seating     compartments where it wasn't so much of a zoo. It wasn't too bad though and     was comfortable. At least it wasn't muggy and stinky like the compartments.     The Italian trains aren't the best in Europe. Matt was telling me some horror     stories that he heard about the trains. Oh well, once we arrived in Venice,     we were approached by a guy trying to get us into his hotel. We said we were     looking for a hostel and he gave us a price of 45 for his star hotel. It is     nice to be back in a hotel, but toward the end of the night we considered     changing back to the youth hostel because there are so much more people to     meet there. 	
|
|        Matt had to patch up his pants with my sewing kit and my torn up hostel     sheet, so I just relaxed. Once he was done, we just (you can guess it)     wandered the city.     	
|
|    Now Venice is just like you imagine and even more canals than you might     think. I kept on telling him it is a romantic city, but it didn't feel like     it. I mostly made fun of him about it.     	
|
|    The atmosphere at night is very calm and dead. There isn't much going on here     and even the alleys we wouldn't walk around alone because they look creepy.     We had dinner and walked to the southern end of town. I picked up a bottle     of Italian wine and drank a little.     	
|
|    After a while we encounter a street brawl We kept our distance, for we     didn't     know just how crazy it would get. Once it was over, we saw the guy in the     fight ahead of us as we walked. Around a corner, this fucking piece of shit     of a person (sorry Susan) had the audacity to speak some gibberish to me.     The loser was totally trashed and looked so evil. I ignored him. When he     persisted I turned away and finally turned around to confront him. I was     really nervous and a little scared, for I didn't know what he wanted. Once I     turned around, I put two and two together and assumed he wanted just my     alcohol in my hand. I just didn't want him to hit me or anything cause then     the crazy Renne eyes will bust out and bad stuff could happen. The guy had     just gotten into a fight and I know how people act when their fighting     adrenaline is pumping... they do just about anything to get what they want.     Anyway I gave him the 10 Euro wine and got away without conflict. Not a     whole lot went on today... mostly traveling. In the morning we found a     bakery and we blew all of our Francs on breakfast and lunch. We did this so     we didn't have to exchange any money. After the long walk back to the train     station, we got on our train and went through numerous connections at     various cities to get to Milan. Once we got to the city of fashion, there     was nothing fashionable about the experience we encountered next. First our     train was late coming in and our connection to another train was minutes     away. But it was difficult to maneuver from the hundreds of people in this     cluster-fuck (sorry it fit well) of a train station. Once we barely got on     (and Matts knee was hurting again from the 30 pound pack running) the train     ride was even worse. This train was wayyyy overbooked (which can happen) and     it was impossible to maneuver. I even got to the point where I got stuck in     between with some dude who wouldn't budge. We mostly sat in between seating     compartments where it wasn't so much of a zoo. It wasn't too bad though and     was comfortable. At least it wasn't muggy and stinky like the compartments.     The Italian trains aren't the best in Europe. Matt was telling me some horror     stories that he heard about the trains. Oh well, once we arrived in Venice,     we were approached by a guy trying to get us into his hotel. We said we were     looking for a hostel and he gave us a price of 45 for his star hotel. It is     nice to be back in a hotel, but toward the end of the night we considered     changing back to the youth hostel because there are so much more people to     meet there.     	
|
|    Matt had to patch up his pants with my sewing kit and my torn up hostel     sheet, so I just relaxed. Once he was done, we just (you can guess it)     wandered the city. 	
|
|        Now Venice is just like you imagine and even more canals than you might     think. I kept on telling him it is a romantic city, but it didn't feel like     it. I mostly made fun of him about it.     	
|
|    The atmosphere at night is very calm and dead. There isn't much going on here     and even the alleys we wouldn't walk around alone because they look creepy.     We had dinner and walked to the southern end of town. I picked up a bottle     of Italian wine and drank a little.     	
|
|    After a while we encounter a street brawl We kept our distance, for we     didn't     know just how crazy it would get. Once it was over, we saw the guy in the     fight ahead of us as we walked. Around a corner, this fucking piece of shit     of a person (sorry Susan) had the audacity to speak some gibberish to me.     The loser was totally trashed and looked so evil. I ignored him. When he     persisted I turned away and finally turned around to confront him. I was     really nervous and a little scared, for I didn't know what he wanted.    	
|
|    I never thought I would encounter a wine thief, but I am glad to come out     unscathed. Matt and I would of taken out both our Swiss army 3 inch blades     (he bought one too) should our lives of been endangered. He would of had my     back should shit hit the fan. But this is all about the full European     experience, you get the good the bag and the ugly. Speaking of shit hitting     the fan and the ugly parts of Europe.... he stepped in a big pile of dog     do-do on the way home. He had the bad idea of cleaning it in the shower...     it smelled. I also commented on how the shower floor had poop sparkles on it     and he cracked up. It looks like I am not taking a shower in the morning.     Good luck to those who have our shower. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Adventure Sports in the Pouring Rain
|
|Location:Interlaken, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Adventure Sports in the Pouring 
|    Rain
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-19 |
|    
|    
|    Grindelwald,
|    
|    
|    Switzerland
|
|    
|
|    We woke up and I immediately went to the bank, the post and shopping. I 
|    bought a Swiss army knife. The thing is freaking bad ass (notice the Renne 
|    engraving). It has everything a hard working man needs. Even a lighter which 
|    is really powerful. When asked for what I want engraved, I wasn't selfish by 
|    putting my first name. I put Renne so that my children can use it to burn 
|    their hands and scare their mom with them and their first knife. 
|    
|    After that we went to the bike shop to start our adventure sport we 
|    chose. This was probably the most bang for our buck and was the best decision 
|    because the weather was pure crap today. It took about 30 minutes to get tee 
|    bikes but it was worth it because the bikes were great mountain bikes that 
|    would work great for riding down the alps in the rain. We rode to the train 
|    station and then received info on how much it will cost us to ride up one 
|    way with bikes. but it was too expensive to get where we originally wanted 
|    to go, so we decided to go to Grindelwald for 7 francs, plus another 7 for 
|    our bikes. The reason the higher locations are so expensive is because the 
|    only method of getting there is by cable car. Once we both got our tickets, 
|    Matt realized that he didn't have his rail pass on him and he had to haul ass 
|    to the hostel to get it. He had about 10 minutes to get it and get back to 
|    the train station. I thought for sure he would miss it and we would have to 
|    wait another hour. But sure enough he got there and we rode our bikes 
|    basically straight onto the train. He got there in the nick of time, but he 
|    felt sick, his knee was sore and he had a headache. He felt better once we 
|    got there and had food.
|    
|    Matt is awesome though. its scary how similar he thinks to me. he and I 
|    have dedicated the next two weeks together and we also get along so well so 
|    it works out great. The conversation never covers the same information 
|    twice, he has great stories, and plus he laughs at all the stupid stuff I 
|    say. I really feel comfortable around him and he already knows me very well. 
|    I am totally on the same oat as him, in life and everything else. I am so 
|    glad I met up with him.
|    
|    So we made it to grindelwald and walked around a bunch. We stopped in to 
|    get lunch (trying to find soup) and come to find out all this restaurant had 
|    was a grumpy and rude cook (who yelled you must order now, kitchens 
|    closing) and also they had crappy bread soup. I even considered leaving 
|    once he yelled that at us.
|    
|    but once we ate and left, we were off to the downhill roads. It was a 17 
|    KM ride and we even had no map to get back. but its pretty easy to navigate 
|    around the huge natural barriers. It was definitely a rush, but we were 
|    absolutely drenched (including my bag and jeans). I also had no gloves, but 
|    because I prepared for that I wore. (Yeah I know I am a total retard, but it 
|    was my last day in the cold and I didn't feel like buying and lugging around 
|    a new pair of gloves) It was hilarious though.
|    
|    The scenery was fantastic here, but I will keep the memory with me and 
|    not share it because it was too wet to take pics and also because we were 
|    going 25 miles an hour downhill and that is dangerous. Sorry. ;-)
|    
|    We made it back and even had to ride on a freeway to get back. People 
|    honked at us, but the thing was that it was safer there than on the 
|    little curvy road with cars blazing by you.  
|    
|    Once we got back and settled in, we went to the laundry mat even though we 
|    had done laundry the night before. yeah it sucked, but I didn't want to have 
|    muddy, wet and stinky clothes for when I come back. We were tired after this 
|    and mostly just relaxed the rest of the night (there also isn't really 
|    anything to do at night here).
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:More Alps... but they aren't getting old anytime soon
|
|Location:Interlaken, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|More Alps... but they aren't getting 
|    old anytime soon
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-18 | Interlaken,
|    
|    
|    Switzerland
|
|    
|
|    Matt and I decided to head out to Interlaken this morning. The scenic route 
|    was pretty amazing and I took a ton of short video clips. It was so amazing 
|    to see the color of the water, it was a dark teal and was totally unlike 
|    anything I have ever seen. The buildings are so small and unique in 
|    Switzerland. Basically everything is a small town and you cant even count 
|    the number of wooden houses in any given town. SEE YOUR POSTCARDS if you are 
|    one of those select individuals who gets regular postcards.
|    
|    
|    Once we arrived in Interlaken, we felt lost and pissed because we 
|    couldn't find one single street on the map. Come to find out there are two 
|    train stations here in this small town and our bearings were all messed up. 
|    Our packs were definitely weighing more for we had to walk nearly a mile 
|    with them on. The one good thing is that we were walking around lost with 
|    this immaculate view around us. This helped get our minds off our broken and 
|    sore backs.
|    
|    We just picked out a hostel and went with it. It was called the Happy Inn 
|    Lodge. it was more of a bar than a hostel and the person who greeted us was 
|    more like a bartender than a receptionist. We were ready to get our packs 
|    off and since the price was average (20 Euros) we were cool with it.
|    
|    We showered and then wandered the city (seems to be what I do in every 
|    new city) for a while. While walking through tourist shops it was easy to 
|    see just how proud Swiss people are of their knives.
|    
|    We noticed some with some of the most peculiar gadgets such as lighters, 
|    lights, altitude meters and even radios. After having lunch, we basically 
|    talked a lot about skydiving, but over time we ruled it out because it would 
|    totally change our budget for the rest of our trip for the worse. If Matt's 
|    mom would of given him some money toward it, we might have opted to try it. 
|    I also thought about bungee jumping at about 125 francs, but eventually 
|    ruled that out once we talked to a Swiss guy at our hostel and he suggested 
|    mountain biking down the alps. We got lost of info on this and decided it 
|    was cool to try. Now the reason we wanted to do all these crazy things was 
|    because Interlaken is the place to be for adventure sports and when you are 
|    here you have to try one.
|    
|    For the rest of the night, we just had dinner, went to an internet cafe 
|    and also played some pool. After that I had a beer with him and another guy 
|    in our hostel. Its a hard life being in Switzerland and traveling around an 
|    entire continent.
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Ahh the Alps.... I cant complain
|
|Location:Lucerne, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Ahh the Alps.... I cant complain
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-17 | Lucern,
|    
|    
|    Switzerland
|
|    
|
|    After the super long train ride from Prague to Switzerland I finally arrived 
|    in Zurich. I had 9 minutes to get to my connection train and as I rushed 
|    over there, I made a phone call to this girl who I talked to the night 
|    before about possibly staying at her place. Since I didn't get a hold of her, 
|    I decided to just rush to the connection and hang out in Lucern. I barely 
|    made it. 
|    
|    Once I arrived in Lucern, some backpackers had the same backpack as me 
|    and I said, hey nice pack as I walked past them. They probably thought I 
|    said 
|    hey nice rack or something. But come to find out they were staying in the 
|    same hostel as me. So we bumped into each other and walked around the city.
|    
|    Now let me tell you.... Lucern is really amazing and I am glad to not 
|    spend time in the big industrial city of Zurich. Everything here is so 
|    pristine and calm. The weather is not cold at all here. The view can mostly 
|    be explained if you take a look at the photos.
|    
|    Me and the girls decided to go on a fiery ride. We got there and there 
|    was about 5 minutes before it left, so I decided to get some food. I asked 
|    for a hot dog and the lady slapped on a burger. I was starving and I ended 
|    up missing the boat. Oh well, it rained a ton and the view was ruined 
|    basically so I was glad I missed it. Instead I roamed around this fun 
|    carnival and bought some candy. It was really neat to see.  
|    
|    I also spent a lot of time on the internet because I was waiting to check 
|    in and take a shower. But once I got back, the most amazing thing happened. 
|    I bumped into this guy I was hanging out with in Munich. 4 days later we 
|    bumped into each other in the same hostel in this town in BFE Switzerland. 
|    Matt is from Toronto. We couldn't believe that we were checking in at the 
|    same time, so we got the same room together. Him and I are on this trip for 
|    the same reason.... we will be stuck with work the rest of our lives, so why 
|    not do this now? We wandered the city and also had some pasta and pizza for 
|    dinner. We saw the beautiful hill that most of the residential houses 
|    overlook the city at night and it was definitely nice to see. He and I 
|    talked about going to Interlaken together to Sky diving and we devoted to 
|    spend some time traveling together. But by then end of the night we worked 
|    out that we might travel for even longer... GOING TO GREECE. For his 23 
|    b-day he wants to go there and I think I will just breeze through Italy and 
|    hang out in Greece with him. I can see both Athens and Rome now. Plus hang 
|    out in an exotic beach, it should be nice, but a lot of traveling. And it 
|    doesn't seem possible seeming that I have a flight that leaves in 12 day, but 
|    I will be in Rome for 3 days.... which is plenty. Anyway, we ended up going 
|    to bed relatively early. See you guys later.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Living Good; Like King Wenceslas
|
|Location:Prague, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Living Good; Like King Wenceslas                          2004-10-15 |            Prague,      Czech Republic        
|
|    I arrived at the train station and at the currency exchange (for Czech     Kronas) the guy at the counter was trying to sell me into this shady hostel     he had in his flat. Instead of that I went out in the city and relied on my     powers of randomness (thanks Susan for making me realize that) to find me     accommodation. I basically went into relative direction of where my guidebook     said there was hostels.         
|
|    I stopped at a few hostels that were overpriced and gross looking and     this is where I made the decision to go high class.....YES.... a hotel.     After getting no sleep the other night because of naked hostel sex, I     decided I want my own room.        
|
|    I found a room for 65 Euros and it RULED. I settled in, took a nice     shower, cleaned my underwear in the sink and watched some crappy Czech TV. I     also mapped out my next destination.... Switzerland. Once I was done     organizing things I began to wander the city.        
|
|    The first thing I noticed about the streets of Prague (besides the     beautiful architecture and cobblestone roads) was that the drivers are crazy.     For example, people driving straight don't have the right away, they must     yield to side street traffic. Basically I almost saw some crazy accidents.        
|
|    I ended up wandering across the amazing Vlatva river and into this Mala     Strana district. I had lunch at a really nice steak house for dirt cheap.     You eat like a king here.... King Wenceslas that is (the city saint and the     dude that has a Christmas song written in his name).        
|
|    After my meal I headed north toward the castle through this mountain with     vast forestation engulfing it. The fall colors surely were showing through,     it was really nice and it reminded me of good ol MI. There weren't many     people walking around but it was raining mind you.        
|
|    Along the way I bumped into some guys in the army with machine guns     (kind of strange). I also bumped into a girl talking to them. She looked lost     and I guess somehow I did to and we got to talking (gosh I am so sociable it     makes me sick). Sarah is such a cool person and we got along great. I     basically tagged along with her for a little, until we realized it would be     nice to hang out the rest of the day and be shopping and eating buddies.        
|
|    Mostly on the left bank we wandered around and hot a decent view of the     castle. We had absolutely great conversation the whole time. Once we got to     Charles bridge the shopping began. She liked how I could hold her stuff and     make recommendations (what woman doesn't like to be assisted shopping... you     can make any girl happy if you can shop with her).        
|
|    Charles bridge was absolutely amazing. Each end had towers to them. There     were tons of tourists (a pedestrian walkway) and there were some decent     street sellers and performers. After that we walked to the old town square     and saw the astronomical clock. But before that I spotted something even     more astronomical, I found the coolest wine glasses ever. Well I have to     update the rest later.... I am in Stugart Germany about to catch a     connection to Zurich Switzerland.        
|
|    Okay I am back...so.... the wine glasses. Sarah and I talked a lot about     them and basically raved about them all day (mostly because I was thinking     things through about purchasing them)        
|
|    We were also on a mission to try the hot wine that is typical in Czech     bars. We finally found a place (after trying this buffet) and it was most     excellent. It was kind of like sweet tea with a kick. It definitely warmed     our cold tummies. Next we went to another cool bar and ate a ton of peanuts     and had two beers. We were entertained by some more good conversation and a     very hard working bar tender.        
|
|    After that I ended up purchasing 2 red and 3 blue wine glasses. These     were so expensive (nearly 25 bucks a piece), but are like a piece of art you     can drink out of. I would never spend that kind of money when at home, but I     was in love with them (philia love that is). The funny thing too was that     Sarah was as well. I wonder if she ever did buy them... let me know Sarah!        
|
|    Her and I have the same tastes in nice stuff. But so far, this night was     the most expensive on the trip. It was because we went to a really nice     restaurant and had heaps of food and a bottle of wine. The funny thing about     dinner was that I was still raving about the glasses and I made her give the     glasses their first test run.        
|
|    So we used our own wine glasses in this ancient looking restaurant we ate     at. See my affinity for the glasses in this picture on St. Charles bridge.    
|
|    All in all it was a random traveler friendship, but it was good. She made     my first day wonderful and I made her last one as well. I finished the night     by packing up my new babies (I mean wine glasses) and having a great     expensive conversation with Susan. The way I padded my babies was by cutting     up my hostel sheet that I rarely used. Now I can travel worry free with out     them breaking. The great ending of my day was not hearing fake orgasms run     rampant through my room.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The full German Experience (in a day)
|
|Location:Munich, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The full German Experience (in a     day)                          2004-10-13 |            Munich,      Germany        Today was absolutely great. But it did start out a little scary. Once I got     into town, it was very difficult to find accommodation. I thought it would     be a piece of cake because Oktoberfest is over with. (Yeah I know...I missed     it.. but read on) Anyway after a lot of wandering to find a place and a lot     of phone calls I finally found some really cheap accommodation.                I dropped my bag off and left because my room wouldn't be ready until 2     PM. I hadn't had a shower yet but didn't feel entirely gross. I still just     mapped out some sights to see while having breakfast and was off.        Today it was free for me to get around by the train because I have a rail     pass. The funny thing is, is that there is no security for tickets to ride     the trains. Anyone can hop on, but if you got caught I am sure there would     be a hefty fine.          My first stop was a huge church and also some gardens and the main     square. These were nice, yet I am to the point where I am a little sick of     architecture and even big cities for that matter. I got to this main square     and I saw a ton of obvious tourists lined up in front of city hall.     Obviously something was going to happen and I noticed a people figures in     the clock. As I thought, they moved in a circle. It was so dumb and I cant     believe people lined up to see it. Now since I am cynical with some gay     touristy things like this, I took a movie and then commented and made fun of     the dumb people who were fascinated by it.        For lunch, I was a bad boy. I had my first taste of American food in a     month. I had subway. I refused to order a 15 cm sandwich and I was totally     American saying... I want a 6 inch! After that I took train to the north     side of town to the Olympic Stadium. This was absolutely amazing. The     architecture here was wild. Imagine the ocean and the curves of the waves     and that is basically what the roofs of all the facilities looked like.     Definitely these were updated... I couldn't imagine them creating that in     1972. I paid a Euro to see the Track, just so I can make quotes from the     commentary of the 1972 5000 meter run with my hero Steve Prefontaine. The     movie turned out great and I talked about how... "here is where he got     passed by Gamudi and took 4th place" as I scanned the track. Also there was     this guy power washing the concrete with the most powerful power washer I have     ever seen. It was so freaking loud. I took a video of that as well, cause I     found it interesting.        Somehow while sifting through all the information on Munich. I saw a     keyword in bold in one of the books. It said "Concentration Camp" and that     immediately got my attention. I was totally down for it next and I took a     long train out to this camp outside the city. Since I am really not spending     a whole lot of time in Germany, this is a learning experience that you     shouldn't miss while you are here. I took the bus there and the first sad     thing I saw was some German guy goofing off. Right as I was entering the     facility some arrogant guy takes a picture of his friend doing the Nazi hand     gesture. I just shook my head at him. It wasn't that funny. I had gotten     there right in time, cause I didn't want to miss this documentary on the camp     in English. Once I got in the theater room, there was a German version     playing and it made me think about how younger generations here wish not to     forget and also wish to learn. But I cant imagine how shameful they have to     feel even that their country did all those crimes to humanity and the world,     its crazy. If the US had did such a thing I would be so ashamed.        This film was quite disturbing. I didn't think there was that much live     footage of the concentration camps. The room was very quiet and you didn't     hear a peep. But I guess I don't need to describe anymore than that. There     was a few people crying afterward. Next I went to the opposite part of camp     and saw what the living conditions were in the barracks. I did feel alright     to take photos, because I don't want to forget. It was sad and after I left     that building I did get a lot of tears in my eyes, but I didn't bust out. It     was just painful to know what went on where I was standing. Next I saw the     gas rooms (which were never used in this place) and also the cremation     facility. The cremation room was the most thought provoking because in just     one of them 11000 people were cremated. I just thought how so much is     insignificant compared to the sick things that happened in this war. It was     unreal. After that I spent a lot of time in the museum. This was a free     museum and camp to visit and I read the exhibits until the museum closed.     Other museums that I visit, the content doesn't really matter a whole lot     (paintings and whatnot), but here it was such a good experience for me to     read as much as I could.        I got back to the main train station after the camp and I randomly met a     really cool local. This girl goes up to me and just starts talking in     German. She was inquiring about something. Christiane lives up in the     Northern part of Germany and right after we met we were joking around and     having good conversation. She told me how she missed her train that she     booked and how she has 30 minutes to spare. So we decided to have coffee     together. I have nothing better to do, and I like talking to locals more     than anyone else out here, so I was definitely down for it. She gladly paid     which was nice and we talked about when she went to the US and some other     stuff. It was so nice.        Once I got back to my hostel at about 6, I immediately met about 3 new     people. Laura, Tyler and Quiana and I were cracking jokes a bunch and it was     great fun. This guy Tyler and I showered and got something to eat before     meeting back up with them to have drinks. Tyler is only 18 and I couldn't     believe he is surviving out here. He is very homesick and he wanted to take     a semester before he gets into debt before college. He was a good guy, but I     still couldn't believe it.          Once we all met up, the party just grew even more. More and more     hostellers joined up and we left for the Hopfra House. This bar just blew my     mind. Why do you need Oktoberfest when you have this! It was just like a     mini Oktoberfest. Liter beers of high quality stuff, big long tables and     traditional German music. We all had a wonderful time and I ended up     drinking about 2 and a half. Once we left, I got a little freaked out     because some guy was grabbing my bag. He worked there (but didn't look like     it) and he thought I had taken one of the huge glasses. I got pissed at     first, cause I thought he was a thief. But then I realized and opened my     bag. After that we went to another bar for a little and then called it a     night. Well, we tried calling it a night, but some horny drunk people     started having sex. It sucked and it is gross how blatantly public these     people do their duties in. My friend Laura and I just tried to have     conversation in order to distract from the noises... we were thinking about     leaving but we were hoping for these gross people to get done. UNREAL. Oh     well people are strange.          
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Sweden and Denmark
|
|Location:Malmo, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Sweden and Denmark
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-12 |
|    
|    
|    Copenhagen,  
|    Denmark
|
|    
|
|
|    Some of the new Mexican travelers staying in my room made me some damn good 
|    eggs and sausage this morning, afterward I did the dishes.
|    
|    
|    I commented on how big Paco's bag was and I took a picture of it. He 
|    weighed it in at about 47 pounds. It was absolutely huge and he is only gone 
|    for 2 months just like me. I was so glad I didn't pack that much.
|    
|    Palle brought in a new customer from the station. She settled in and 
|    Palle was mentioning that she was really needing someone to show her around 
|    the city. I have already seen two days of Copenhagen and I planned on 
|    visiting Sweden today. But Alessandra (from Brazil) tagged along to my trip 
|    to Sweden. We went to a city called Malmo. There was a lot of shopping to 
|    do there and once we go there I ended up having one of the best meals I have 
|    had the whole vacation (Salmon). We did a lot of shopping (of course) and I 
|    found two perfect gifts for one of my friends. It was very cold today and I 
|    am glad to be heading south to Munich. Sweden was very much like Denmark. 
|    Lots of blondes and cold weather. Maybe you need to go farther north to 
|    experience the difference I guess. The one thing I wished I could of seen 
|    while up here was the northern lights. But I guess I should take another 
|    trip to Alaska to see that wonder of the world. Really once we got back into 
|    town I had an hour to spare so we shopped around a book store. I ended up 
|    buying some reading material on the train and I have liked the book thus far. 
|    It is called the BIG questions. The book is like a great introduction on 
|    philosophy and the many different kinds of opinions there are on important 
|    things involved with life. On the night train I met another guy from 
|    Austria. We had good small talk with him and some girls from Somalia who ate 
|    an abnormal amount of food and gave me a bunch too. I commented on the food 
|    shortages in the 90's and how that has obviously changed since then. 
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Chilled Day in Coopenhagen
|
|Location:Coopenhagen, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|My first semi-uneventful day in a     while                          2004-10-11 |            Copenhagen,      Denmark    
|
|    Last night there was some stuff that happened that I didn't write about that     happened after the fact.            The first thing that happened was a great political discussion that I had     while I talked on AIM with Susan. Palle, the flat owner, he actually was     very passionate with political and world issues (which he should be) and I     enjoyed our conversation a lot. He had a lot of good points about the war,     Muslims, religion, terrorism and much more. here are some of the highlights     on his points.    
|
|    -women should be the first to be pissed about oppression in the Middle     East    -In war you make mistakes, nothing is perfect and there were quite a few     mistakes made with the context of the war.    -Since there are no democracies in all of the middle east, Iraq could     possibly set an example    -Should we wait for them to nuke us and do more killing    -Many people have died under hardcore Muslims, yet the conservative     Muslims sit in silence (and that says a lot).      
|
|    All in all it was a very great conversation and it was good to hears a     new opinion on some of these issues.    
|
|    After that I went to bed, but was awoken at 6 am by a sound of splashing!     Yep, my pot head room mate must of toked down too much dope and he puked on     the floor a little and in the garbage can. He also got a little on the     sleeve of my only sweatshirt and I told him to scrub it down and get it     clean. he was cool and all, but these Americans were just here to smoke     weed. The first thing they asked Palle when they came in was where to get     weed. What losers. Anyway, I am not going to do a load of laundry just     because of that. Its gross, but I can live with it... I am a dude.    
|
|    When I woke back up at 10, I went walking with Katrina and Jem (my ozzy     friend couple) We walked to a coffee shop and had some expensive coffee, got     lost in some botanical gardens, wandered the town hall and took some photos     of us with the famous touristy statue of the little mermaid. That took up     most of the afternoon after which I parted with them because I wanted to take     a day trip to see this Viking museum I heard about in Rothkilde. The train     took 30 minutes and I ended up having a good conversation with A Danish Girl     and her husband. I even spoke some Danish too them. I love their     language.... it is so unique. Yet people in Scandinavia speak perfect     English.      
|
|    I walked for about 40 minutes once I arrived in the new city to find the     place. But, when I got there the museum was quite disappointing. I was     expecting to find Viking outfits, weapons and artifacts, but all I found was     crap. No, really all this museum had that was worthwhile was some replicas     of the Viking ships which were hand built. Oh well, I wasted about 45 Crowns     on it. But the city was a nice trip, so it was worth it.      
|
|    Once I got back to Copenhagen I got totally lost. It was all because I     ended up stopping by some book store. But the thing that scared me the most     was that I didn't have the address of the obscure apartment in the city. This     was the first time I actually felt very lost. It was cold outside and my     stuff was there so I was paranoid that if I never found it I would be     screwed. Luckily this map I had saved me and I didn't even get lost for that     long. My mom (and her fear of getting lost) would so break down and cry if     she was put in that situation. Oh well... all in a good experience.        
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Interesting Ways of Life
|
|Location:Coopenhagen, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Interesting Ways of Life
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-10 |
|    
|    
|    Copenhagen,  
|    Denmark
|
|    
|
|
|
|    The train ride was a little long and we were delayed for 2 hours because a 
|    train far up ahead actually hit a car! In the train I met a guy from Germany 
|    who was going up to Denmark for a week. I learned of his job and his family. 
|    We talked a lot about music and I told him we could do a trade over the mail 
|    someday. The first thing I said to him was a German line asking if he spoke 
|    English. It was cool. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Another guy I met was from Alaska, but the dude was a punk skater traveling 
|    in Europe. He had bad B.O. and I swear the guy masturbated in his bed with 
|    four other people in the couchette. I was disgusted. People are really 
|    messed up. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Once I arrived in Copenhagen I hadn't yet booked accommodation (as usual). I 
|    met a guy renting out his flat as a hostel. He had room for 6 people in his 
|    flat. He was real nice and me and some other backpackers surrounded him 
|    asking him questions about his "hostel". We ended up checking it out and it 
|    was clean and good location for 20 Euros (150 Danish crowns). I like the 
|    smaller amount of people. You really get to know them. Once we all showered 
|    up it was off to wander the city. The weather was a bit chilly but it felt 
|    nice. It is amazing up here cause the sky is so blue without pollution. As 
|    we walked to his place, I was asking him a few things about Denmark. For those 
|    of you who don't know, Denmark is a left wing country with about 50 percent 
|    of money going to taxes. But they really have a lot of great things. Free 
|    health insurance, free college, free community bikes, and they really take 
|    care of the poor, old and young. They are a country for the people, not big 
|    business. It really makes sense to me. One amazing thing that I learned 
|    today was how their government set up an experimental city for hippies and 
|    bums (its known as Christiana). They give them an area to let them create 
|    their own laws, where they can do what they want and they have a place to 
|    stay. We walked down there (its very safe and kind of touristy) and we 
|    looked at all the weed paraphernalia and little things that they were selling 
|    at their market. All in all the city is beautiful. Lots of green 
|    architecture. Look at the pics and you might see a few. The people here are 
|    great and I am probably going to travel with some new ozzy friends, Jem and 
|    Katrina. They are married. We walked around to a park and a ton of other 
|    stuff. Most stuff was closed today, but we all enjoyed ourselves and covered 
|    a lot of ground. There was a lot of interesting street performers including 
|    a guy making music with crystal wine glasses, a group of Indians making 
|    really good music and a bunch more. I am updating the photos again, cause I 
|    know you guys appreciate them. Hopefully my server doesn't crash. Anyway, I 
|    will be here for a few more days. Take care guys.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:A boring Saturday
|
|Location:Cologne, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A boring Saturday
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-09 |
|    
|    
|    Cologne,  
|    Germany
|
|
|
|    
|
|    I didn't do a whole lot today. I woke up and spoke with a Canadian girl that 
|    was in my hostel. She is traveling the world solo for over a year! I have 
|    met many people that are doing this and it is pretty cool. I was surprised 
|    that she had enough money saved to do it. She has been all throughout Asia 
|    and Europe. I did mistake her for an American because of her accent. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I slept in probably because I am getting a little sick. I am just getting a 
|    little cold. But I took my vitamins (Barb) and some of the cold medicine to 
|    help fight it early. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I am bound to get a little sniffle here on my trip because I am coming in 
|    contact with so many germs, I am not sleeping a ton, I am eating all the 
|    local food and much more. Oh well, I will be fine. I am insured so if it 
|    gets bad I will go to the doctor. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    I mostly hung around the hostel chit chatting because I was seeing if I 
|    could get another night here. The hostel was booked which didn't matter 
|    (Cologne is kind of boring beside
|    
|    
|    the Dom.) I really enjoy how close it is to me. The Balisque fascinates 
|    me. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Today I got this idea in my head to go to Denmark. I really want to see how 
|    a left wing community lives. In Denmark, people pay a lot of taxes, but it 
|    is a country where it focuses on people rather than big business like the 
|    US. It might be a little cold there, but not too bad. I might even venture 
|    into Sweden since it is so close. After this I am planning on going to 
|    Berlin for 2 nights, Prague and then Austria or Switzerland and finally 
|    Italy. Copenhagen should be very interesting though. I am really excited to 
|    see Scandinavia and some of Eastern Europe, because it is totally different 
|    than in some of the typical European cities. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Today I walked up the Dom tower for 1 Euro and got to see a pretty decent 
|    view. There were so many people walking up it (over 500 stairs), that it 
|    kind of was difficult going up. I really didn't get as tired as some of the 
|    out of shape tourists breathing heavy. The one thing that was gross about it 
|    was that there was a lot of defacing all the way up and on top of the tower. 
|    People are dumb sometimes. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Tonight the only available couchette was smoking, so it should be 
|    interesting. But I thought that maybe all these people wont really smoke in 
|    bed much and if they do in my room I will ask them if they can smoke 
|    outside. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Today I finished the autobiography of William Wallace, which was good. I 
|    left the book at the hostel. I have been giving books away and or leaving 
|    them, to help save weight. A lot of people just get rid of books in the 
|    hostels. Its kind of a trading system.... pretty cool. Talk to you goys when 
|    I am in Denmark!
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Trucking Along
|
|Location:Amsterdam, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Trucking along
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-08 |
|    
|    
|    Cologne,  
|    Germany
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Today I woke up at 8:30 and wasn't even tired. I said goodbye to Maika and 
|    had breakfast. But today I had to check out so spent my whole morning 
|    organizing my stuff, showering, doing laundry and checking the internet. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    I did a little last minute souvenir shopping and also had the idea to go to 
|    Cologne Germany next to see the Bascilla (huge cathedral) that I have been 
|    curious about. Really nothing interesting became of the morning and I wound 
|    myself in the train station jumping on a train to cologne at 1 PM. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    On the train I met some Scottish people and talked with this girl Nieve a 
|    bunch. We talked a lot about Scotland because I had so much fun there. It 
|    was a really great conversation (as usual... everyone is interesting here). 
|    I arrived in Cologne and had one of the nicest welcomes ever! I walked out 
|    of the train station and viola! The grandest cathedral yet, listening to a 
|    trio including a violinist, an accordionist and some classical base guitar 
|    thing playing some most recognizable classic tunes. I just sat down for a 
|    minute and basked in the beauty of this. I did this while mapping out where 
|    a possible hostel is. Once they finished I left and two minutes later my 
|    stuff was in the bed. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I went to the common room and met a new guy Dan. Dan is from Dallas and he 
|    is here taking a semester off school living it up just like me. We talked 
|    for a really long time. Then we grabbed food and ate in front of the Dom 
|    Cathedral. We wandered after that and spoke mostly about how we are feeling 
|    right now in this trip. We both are finally realizing how much we have our 
|    trip under control, how we are so lucky to be out here, that this is a once 
|    and a lifetime opportunity, how right here and right now this is the only 
|    time we can ever take a trip like this, and other great topics of 
|    conversation. Basically this conversation motivated both of us to basically 
|    adopt and reaffirm a carpe diem attitude for this trip. Live life like it is 
|    the last day of your life. And here in Europe it seems so easy to live it up 
|    to the fullest (yet a cold is coming in my body so I will continue to take 
|    it easy). I am so glad I didn't come home early I would of regretted it my 
|    whole life. I will come back broke of cash but full of experience. So I will 
|    just keep truckin along. Imp not even exhausted yet!! HA... I know you are 
|    jealous!
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Off to Amsterdam!
|
|Location:Amsterdam, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Off to Amsterdam.... :-D
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-06 |
|    
|    
|    Amsterdam,  
|    Netherlands
|
|
|
|    
|
|    When I woke up.... it was pure hell. I drank wayyyy too much whisky and beer 
|    with my Korean friends. I woke up late, I had a train to catch and I 
|    couldn't 
|    eat (a very bad sign). I know what happens when I cant down food. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Sluggishly I rotated from lying down in the bed and trying to get all my 
|    shit together. I ate about two pieces of cereal. Gladly I didn't have a huge 
|    headache. When I was getting my stuff ready though, I had that typical 
|    watering of the mouth sensation. Ut oh! :-D But I did my deed in a garbage 
|    bag, but it was just water. It pisses me off because the body didn't get rid 
|    of any alcohol in my stomach. And as soon as I was done, I was feeling 
|    great! 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I hurried to get my stuff ready, for my train left in about 30 minutes and I 
|    had a long tube ride to get there. Well as you suspected I missed my train 
|    by about a minute on my watch. And come to find out my watch was ahead of 
|    the train stations clock so I missed my train by 4 minutes. Immediately I 
|    told Bart in Belgium and we ended up canceling out meeting. Mom and Dad 
|    called when I was in line and it was nice. Yet she always says "Nothin new 
|    here", obviously because its boring in the states. I think she just likes to 
|    know I am not dead in a ditch like any mother would. She just likes hearing 
|    my voice, but we can never speak for long because I worry about a 1000 
|    dollar cell phone bill at home. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Once I was up at the register I made a split second decision to skip Belgium 
|    and go to the Netherlands. Belguim wasn't my idea of the greatest time in the 
|    world. Especially since my buddy couldn't show me around. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    An hour later I was off! The train ride wasn't too interesting. I met a woman 
|    from Africa who spoke terrible English. I ended up assisting her in getting 
|    to the right station and also helping her with all her bags off the train. 
|    As I was speaking to her, some other lady overheard and complimented me 
|    saying "you (the African) are so lucky to be sitting next to that young man. 
|    He is so helpful". When I arrived in Amsterdam I decided to walk to find my 
|    hostel. I got a little lost and that's when the next semi-scary thing 
|    happened. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    I was walking along with my map and I hear a voice "excuse me are you lost?" 
|    in a very nice manner. I looked at the guy and he looked like a quiasi-bum. 
|    Once I briefly assessed what his intentions were I reluctantly responded. 
|    "Umm,... I am looking for this hostel" He responded by telling me he would 
|    take me there. That put me off, but he stated that he is very hungry and 
|    that if I can help him out for food that would be great. I was not liking he 
|    situation, but it seemed like he had good intentions. Yet I was a little 
|    scared of the prospect of him pulling a knife. Just in case I had to defend 
|    myself I opened up my leatherman should something go down. But really I 
|    could beat the crap out of the old man. I didn't trust anything, yet we had 
|    small talk about his life and where I was from and I relaxed a little. Sure 
|    enough he sent me to a great hostel and I gave him three euros. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Yes mom, I shouldn't talk to strangers and maybe I could of ignored him and I 
|    know this story might make you worry, but I had everything under control and 
|    I can see in peoples eyes what kind of person they are. Besides if I just 
|    said get away from me, you can piss off someone to provoke anger. And as 
|    Yoda says "Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering". 
|
|   
|
| 
|
|    Anyway I hadn't eaten anything all day so I settled in the hostel and ordered 
|    a whole pizza. I brought the pizza back into the hostel and randomly went up 
|    to my next travel friend. 
|
|   
|
| 
|
|    We talked for a while and agreed that we would rent bikes and ride like all 
|    the locals do (with the thousands of bikes riding in Amsterdam). After that 
|    Maika (from Germany) and I parted ways.
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Our hostel is in the Red Light district (which is huge) and since it was 
|    only like 9 PM I decided to see the famous strip. It was like 2 minutes from 
|    the hostel and everyone just walks around there at night . The whole thing 
|    is red lights in the windows with whores, live peep shows and porno shops. 
|    If you take pictures I hear that the bouncers will come after you very 
|    pissed (sorry Michelle no freaky whore pics). I was just amazed when I saw a 
|    pathetic man walking out of the whore house. I thought about how he is so 
|    lame to pay to get diseases.... its disgusting. Sex is only when you love 
|    someone, nothing else. The one thing I hated about walking around there was 
|    the fact that the bums weren't passive. They just walked right up to you in 
|    your face being disgusting human beings. Oh well, all-in-all it was 
|    interesting and you cant go to Amsterdam without seeing it! heh heh.
|
|
|
|Biking it like the locals
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-10-07 |
|    
|    
|    Amsterdam,  
|    Netherlands
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I woke up and had my continental breakfast with Maika. We got directions and 
|    even paid for the bike rentals at the hostel. We first walked to the street 
|    market near the bike place and did some haggling. I bought Lisa something!! 
|    I love having a new sister to buy gifts for. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    We rented the bikes and headed toward our next destination the Vondeel Park. 
|    On the way we made our first stop at the town square where there was a 
|    shopping mall. We locked up our bikes and roamed (even did some Dutch cheese 
|    sampling). 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Next we just wandered around getting lost and we ended up in a department 
|    store (I didn't think I would shop much in Amsterdam, but its all about who 
|    you are with) This store rocked. I tried on those flood pants (I cant 
|    remember the name of them) that women wear and are gaining popularity in 
|    Europe. I took a photo. But I bought a 2 dollar shirt while I was there. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Next we picked up sandwiches and got to the park where we ate lunch. It was 
|    nice, but afterward I saw that a bum was eating a small part of the crust I 
|    left in the sandwich box. It really hit me, how I should help him so I gave 
|    him about a 1/2 a box of chips. It made me feel good, cause he looked 
|    hungry. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Next we hit up a few museums. We parted cause she wanted to go to a 
|    different museum and I wanted to go to the Van Gough museum. So I ended up 
|    paying 12.50 to get in. And I would say it was almost worth the entire 
|    amount. The one painting that impacted me the most was this paintings of 
|    some Romans in the background and on the far right hand corner there were 
|    shadows of three crosses. That picture it put in my mind was so crazy 
|    because of the shadow. Anyway after that we went to another flea market 
|    where I bought my mom something. We were there for quite some time. We also 
|    stopped by a store so that Maika could find an outfit. I picked out the 
|    entire outfit for her and she loved it. ;0) 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    We headed back and turned in the bikes after that. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    We went wandering to find food and ended up in a Chinese restaurant. It was 
|    good food and great conversation. Maika even eats faster than I do. Once we 
|    got back (I showed her the strip because she wanted to see it) she went to 
|    bed. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I decided to wander around seeing if there was an internet cafe. While 
|    walking down the street a guy behind me was kicking his half filled bottle 
|    of water around playing soccer. It ended up by me so I participated. I was 
|    goofing off with them and ended up saying to the girl. Maak ich u its fragen? 
|    Praat en engles? She thought my Dutch was perfect and they asked me to join 
|    them to play pool (my favorite) we had a good time. They were a really nice 
|    couple and the guy was from Italy. I thought them how to play cut throat and 
|    we ended up closing the place down probably about 1 AM (which included 
|    helping take a box to the dumpster!! but they gave me free beer) It was so 
|    great because I was having a good conversation to a Dutch guy about Jazz and 
|    also because the bartender was really cool to me. He helped me get back to 
|    my street and then asked me if I wanted to come have another beer. I 
|    accepted and somehow his Mom and Dad and Grandma were at this bar too. 
|    WEIRD. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Next we went bar hoping from this Dance Club where he knew everyone and I 
|    got in for free and this other regular bar. We hopped back and forth all 
|    night. The next time I found out the time it was 4:30 in the morning and I 
|    said goodbye. I gave Susan a drunk email and then called it a night. Lets 
|    hope the next morning doesn't turn out like the morning a few days ago. I 
|    think it was the cheap shots of whisky that did it last time.
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:A rainy Musee Day
|
|Location:Paris, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A rainy Musee Day                          2004-10-05 |            Paris,      France    
|
|    Today I used up     my 'all day' museum pass. First I stopped by the train     station to pick up a ticket to Belgium. My friend I met     online through this travel site wanted to meet up for a day.     I got my tickets and then mapped out all of the museums that     sounded interesting.     
|
|    The first museum that I went     into was the Musee D'Orsay. This one was pretty nice and I     got the idea in my head to take photos of famous paintings     WITH ME IN THE PHOTO! I took a photo of Van Gough's self     portrait. I saw some of Monet's landscapes. And although they     are quite nice with his use of color or whatever... he didn't     really appeal to me.    
|
|     The next museum was the Rodin     museum. I didn't even do any research, I just knew it was     popular. I really liked Rodin's sculptures, yet they were     kind of like classy porn. Some of these museum buffs were     probably like "oh.... I like his use of detail" when in fact     their old fart asses are getting all hot and bothered.     
|
|        When I went up stairs I saw a miniature of "the     thinker" and was like "what crap... I don't think he did     that... he just made a copy" When I went outside though I     was pleasantly surprised when I saw the real thing! I have     this hilarious photo of me thinking with him. heh heh.     
|
|        Koreans are amazing people. So efficient (I mean     everyday... no slacking....waking up at the same time...being     respectful even though Dave is on the internet not knowing     that others want on... and a ton more things) I went to bed     with the room spinning.... being this drunk with my new     friends actually changed my trip.... stay tuned for the     exciting conclusion.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Versailles, Notre Dame and Korea??
|
|Location:Paris, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Versailles, Notre Dame and Korea??                          2004-10-04 |            Paris,      France   
|
|     Today I woke up and went to my Korean breakfast. This place is starting to     grow on me a little. I thought that while in France I would be wining and     dining at some nice cafes. But here I am learning about Korean food and     customs. 
|
|        I woke up and went down to eat my breakfast. We have chopsticks and usually     a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup. In the middle of the table is 4 dishes     with spiced seaweed of some kind, some beans and a some other stuff (maybe     some fish). This morning I was feeling rather adventurous and I was feeling     comfortable with not disrespecting what they cooked me so I grabbed the milk     and sugar and poured it on my rice (Taylor ). Immediately I got a     reaction from a girl shocked that I did that. It was hilarious. I was     explaining that that was how my family eats it. It was a great conversation     piece because we were all giggling about it. They were even giggling about me     shaving later. Afterward I went on the computer and somehow met another girl     whose American name was Gina.     
|
|    We got to talking and she spoke very good English (most people only know a     few words). I found that she wanted to see the Notre Dame. So we decided to     go together.    
|
|     We got there and found that it was free to walk to. We took a couple of     photos (already on the net) and went inside. I enjoyed being in there, but I     had to pee so bad that I kind of rushed it. Peeing in Paris can be quite the     task. Most businesses expect you to pay for something in order to use their     toilets. Most don't even have a toilet. Also there are 40 cent facilities in     very select places. So it really sucks. When I was in London on my first day     I paid to pee, just for fun to say I have done it. But I didn't know it was     all over Europe! 
|
|        Anyway, Gina had the suggestion to find a McDonalds. After it took me 5     times to ask her what word she said I finally figured it out. We were on the     street and she just randomly walks up to these people and speaks Korean.     They directed us to a McDonalds and I felt a hundred times better. Next we     went up close to the Arc De Triumph. (see the 'dave is cool' in Korean     video) That was cool. 
|
|        From there you can walk down the very busy street all the way to where she     had to meet up with friends at the Louvre. I stopped for food at a place     called Quick and had some crappy fast food. At the end of the meal some girl     bum came up to me with her fingers at her mouth. I guess she wanted food,     but all I had was 3 fries. On the way to drop her off with her friends I     decided I wanted to go to Versailles.     
|
|    I left her and then headed to the train station only to find that my daily     metro pass had been lost. That totally sucked and I bought a few singles to     replace it. I took the train to Versailles even though I didn't have a ticket     (cause the train ticket window isn't open on Mondays). Its okay my rail pass     covers it and it wasn't illegal, but I should of gotten a ticket. I got to     Versailles and went straight to the Chateau. Unfortunately the building was     closed on Mondays, but it was for the better because I paid 3 Euros to get     in to see the backyard/park. This thing was so amazing! It was like in Monte     Cristo the movie. So grand and well kept up. Each tree was trimmed to     perfection (some of which looked like a wall). There was about a hundred     Grecian looking statues and about 10 different fountains. At the end of the     backyard was a long man made river and lake that made the one in DC look     pathetic. Please check out the pictures (but not all of them have me in the     picture.. sorry Susan). Next I went to the middle of that river thing and     layed down in the grass relaxing. The weather was damn near perfect. After     that I left for the hostel. The rest of the night I was on the computer     mostly talking with Susan and catching up on some emails and my photos. I     needed to relax anyways and I have a feeling I have seen what I need to in     Paris. See you guys later.                                  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Wandering in Paris
|
|Location:Paris, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Wandering the city                          2004-10-02 |            Paris,      France        
|
|    Today I got into town at about 7:30 AM and these really friendly French     people in my crammed couchette helped me get situated. Once I hit the end of     the station a guy walked up to me and asked if I had a place to stay. He     showed me pictures of the hostel his sister ran (which was basically a huge     house). I got the directions and headed there to check it out, for I would     rather just get the pack off and stay at least one night.         
|
|    I got in there and once I found it I saw that there were Eastern characters     describing the location on the map and come to find out they set this up     for Korean people visiting France.         
|
|    I got in and I hadn't had dinner the  night and they were having     breakfast so the owner insisted I join in. It was very good and it     definitely hit the spot.     
|
|        The good thing about this hostel was that there was free internet so I     caught up on things. While I was typing away I talked with the guy who     promoted this thing to me for about an hour. We talked of China and the     eastern countries, religion and a ton more. It was really nice and another     one of those conversations I wont forget. I jumped in the shower and then     hit up the city.     
|
|        I followed a recommended 5 hour walk starting in Moulin Rouge, but I ended     up getting distracted and ended up on Montemarte Hill where the Sacre Ceur     is. I saw the a great view overlooking the whole city and got my first     glimpse of the Eiffel tower. I ended up wandering the city and ending up at     the Eiffel tower for a long time. I guess the pictures will describe most of     my wandering.     
|
|    The Eiffel tower was what I have been anticipating seeing the most. I wasn't     really disappointed I just wished I had been there with more people. I     still got the photos I wanted though. Really there isn't much more to say     about my wandering except the fact that the city constantly keeps me     interested and I totally love it. The people are so nice. I haven't had one     incident where the people were rude. In fact one of the first interactions     with a person was when one came up to me with out my asking and helped     direct me the right way. There is so much to see in this town. You'll also     notice that I already have links up to the Paris photos. It is easy for me     to update the links now, so please enjoy them.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Last Day In Barcelona
|
|Location:Barcelona, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A boring last day and also my     thoughts                          2004-09-30 |            Barcelona,      Spain        On Thursday John and I were on a venture out to find an STA travel store in     Barcelona. The reason that John and I set out to find an STA travel was so     that I could make major changes in my trip schedule.     
|
|    Here is what I wrote when all of these things were going through my head one     night.    
|
|    I am thinking of going home early by a few weeks. Reason being... I would     think I would be entirely exhausted if I traveled very quickly from city to     city. It might of possibly been a mistake buying a 30 day consecutive rail     pass. It forces me to try to get the most value out of it. It also cost me     700 bucks. Now that I am in the Mediterranean I kind of realize that I would     rather chill than be in a hurry.
|
|        Fully utilizing rail pass cruising around Europe would be better if I had     someone to interact with while on the boring trains.    
|
|    I actually am doing quite well right now traveling by myself. I just enjoy     relaxing and getting to know a culture a lot more with time rather than     breezing through.     
|
|    I guess I didn't realize that it is best to take your time. I would be doing     myself a great dis-service by breezing through France, Belguim, Amsterdam     and Germany. After a while, I have a feeling that cities will be looking the     same museums will get more boring, the train rides will get longer and I     will feel more and more reluctant to interact with the locals because of my     ignorance of their language, cities and way of life.     
|
|    Even in Spain (where I should feel most comfortable) I have a hard time     breaking out and interacting.     
|
|    Another thing about canceling the northern part of my trip is that most of     the destinations are big cities. One huge thing that I have learned on this     trip is my new found extreme love of nature. Maybe it was Scotland or the     Pyrenees that did it to me, but I would rather look at the beauty of nature     rather than get run over by some car speeding by.     
|
|    So by eliminating a lot of Europe, I can focus on something that I     anticipate being forced to rush through (The alps and Italy).
|
|        I think I could handle those and it will save me probably 2000 dollars in     the end. 
|
|        The only thing I will be sad about is missing the Eiffel Tower. I wanted that     Kodak moment to come true.... but it will always be there.    
|
|    So that is my decision, I am going to do this and I will make it a surprise     on Susan. I will do it so long as I can work things out with STA travel. 
|
|        OK... back to the story. Now that you have read what crazy things were     going through my head, you might get the impression that I am homesick and     lonely. But it is the total opposite. Surprisingly I haven't felt a drop of     either of those. I really just wanted to chill out in the warmth of the     Southern Countries and relax before I have to join the rat race of corporate     America. 
|
|        The things I miss most are the two girls in my life... my mom and Susan.     These girls worry about me the most out of anyone.     
|
|    Anyways after talking with Rachel, Katrine and John (my rape preventing     friends). I have figured out a healthy medium.        -Use the pass        -Don't change my flight        -Continue to chill out (Thus not getting the full value of my rail pass....     I am such a business man with my cost benefit analysis on everything)
|
|        Anyway back to my last full day in Barcelona. John and I ended up having a     not so good day. We seemed to walk around way too much. We saw one of     Gaudi's buildings and also walked far to confirm the time and place of Johns     bus ride to the airport.     
|
|    After that we had the dumbest idea, we decided to walk up Mt. Monjuic to see     the Olympic stadium and to also get a great view of the city overlooking the     Ocean. It totally sucked because the stadium sucked ass, the view sucked ass     and the walk sucked ass because we were tired and also come to find out the     buses don't run on weekdays.     	
|
|    Our night ended much better because we hung out with Rachel and Katrine     again. We had dinner and then ITALIAN ICE CREAM!!!!!!! We ate this while     sitting (listening to jazz) on the steps where Chris Columbus proclaimed he     found the new world. No kidding. History is cool sometimes.  
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:The Spanish Trails and Spanish Crimes
|
|Location:Barcelona, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|The Spanish Trails and Spanish 
|    Crimes
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-29 | Ancient Spanish Town,
|    
|    
|    Spain
|
|    
|
|    John and I had heard of this great day trip with this cute little company 
|    called Spanish Trails. Last night we booked and put down payment on a 45 E 
|    trip out to an ancient Spanish City. We got to the place before it opened so 
|    I drank my coffee and had my breakfast at the Placa de Cataluna. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    While I was eating, we both saw a guy selling stolen stereos to some of the 
|    locals. John and I laughed and also talked about how we have both had first 
|    hand experience with getting our stereos stolen. He said "If only there was 
|    a cop I would say something" And as we were walking there turned up a cop. I 
|    was quite far away enough to simply point him out so I did it. I just had a 
|    conversation with the cops. It is not like I am looking for trouble with the 
|    seller, but it felt like payback for the 2 times I have had my car stereo 
|    stolen. Come to find out, they wont do anything unless I wrote a report. I 
|    was like "Fuck that" and I left. It just comes to show how lenient crimes 
|    are here. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    We met up with the 3 other great new friends I made on the Spanish Trails 
|    Expedition and we drove about an hour and a half into the Pyreneese 
|    mountains. We had wonderful and fun conversations on the way. I have had so 
|    many eye opening and interesting conversations on my travels (I cant even 
|    explain them all, but it is great). 
|
|    
|
|    We got to this town and had some Spanish donuts and got water. We then 
|    walked through one of the most well preserved towns I have ever seen. All of 
|    the buildings in this town were from the 1500's and above. It was so 
|    freaking cool. We walked up to the top and back down and then saw one of the 
|    most amazing festivals I have seen so far. There was a huge Spanish brass 
|    band playing along with a group of people dancing in a circle. I was so 
|    excited and the band sounded great. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    After that (I took some good movies of the festival) we hiked for about 30 
|    minutes to our lunch spot. This cliff where we ate lunch was by far 
|    competing with the best view I have seen so far in my travels. 1000 meters 
|    above the Pyrenees eating lunch and talking about American politics and 
|    Bush it was so great! 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Overall the trip was a huge success. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Once we got back (I had some Siesta in the car -- sleep) we went out to have 
|    Paella (traditional Spanish rice) that Susan told me to try. The food was 
|    absolutely fantastic.
|
|    
|
|
|
|    After that it was still early and John and I met up with some French girls 
|    we were talking with in the hostel earlier. We all decided to go out and 
|    drink. But as we were walking around we all agreed to just grab some Sangria 
|    (Spanish Wine that cost us 1.75!!!) and camp out and drink it on the beach. 
|    We all were having great drunken conversation in front of the Mediterranean 
|    for about an hour and a half. Then some crazy shit went down. To the right 
|    about 15 meters we saw a fight occurring in the sand. I figured it was a 
|    gang brawl, but in actuality it was an attempt on Rape. Me and my friend 
|    Rachel from Colorado immediately grabbed empty Sangria bottles to use as a 
|    weapon. We wouldn't just let someone get raped in front of our own eyes. And 
|    next... the most amazing thing happened. A bright shining light and cops 
|    running after these fucking sick bastards. The cops beat the shit out of 
|    these guys for a minute and hand cuffed them. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    In reflection, it was the craziest thing I have seen in a while. There are 
|    some crimes that happen in Spain but nothing bad will happen to me. I have a 
|    great head on my shoulders... you guys know that. I only travel and venture 
|    out when I am with people. I don't travel at night alone too often or for too 
|    long. Please don't worry about me. I mean come on.... I am from Detroit. I 
|    cant hold my own. But I also have to sustain morality and what is right in 
|    situations that happen around me. I am down to helping people out at all 
|    times. Take care everyone.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Backpacker in the Beach
|
|Location:Sitges, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Backpacker in the Beach
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-28 | Barcelona and Sitges,
|    
|    
|    Spain
|
|    
|
|    Yesterday John and I did a bunch of research on some great beaches and great 
|    day trips to do in Barcelona. We left at about noon to a city called Sitges 
|    (about 30 minutes by train). 
|
|
|
|
|
|    
|
|    It took us a while to figure out the metro station and to figure out where 
|    the national rail goes outbound. Once we found it, it cost us 2 Euros to get 
|    there. 
|
|
|
|
|
|    
|
|    It was great to get out of the city and see a nice clean town. The town had 
|    a lot of white buildings with a lot of vibrant color. We walked to this nice 
|    looking church and went about 800 meters up the beach before we started to 
|    look for food. This was the first topless beach I have ever been and it 
|    looks so natural to do that (although in Barcelona there is a new law that 
|    it is legal to walk the streets entirely nude--that is weird). 
|
|
|
|
|
|    
|
|    We had lunch and I wasn't surprised when it took forever to get our bill. 
|    People in Spain really take their time when eating. After that we headed to 
|    the beach and I purchased a beach chair for a few Euros. John and I took 
|    turns watching our stuff and swimming in the very hot Mediterranean. I had not 
|    been in the Ocean in a while and this was definitely a kind of paradise. We 
|    stayed on the beach and I got a very nice tan as well. I bet back home it is 
|    totally freezing so hopefully this is rubbing it in a little. 
|
|
|
|
|
|    
|
|    We left at like 5 PM and got back and relaxed for a little. I ended up doing 
|    some shopping later and I bought Clingan something. But the bastard is not 
|    checking this so he wont know until I send him it. John and I raved about 
|    this beach to everyone and we ended up going to bed relatively early because 
|    we planned something else early for the next day. 
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Biking In Barcelona
|
|Location:Barcelona, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Biking Barcelona
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-27 |
|    
|    
|    Barcelona,  
|    Spain
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Somehow I managed to sleep a whole 12 hours in the hostel. I think I have 
|    been needing it. My legs were still soar from walking up the glen that 
|    overlooks Edinburgh. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Anyways the day before, me and my buddies had decided to do this bike around 
|    Barcelona. It cost 22 Euros but it is for like 4 and a half hours. We got to 
|    see many sights at a perfect pace. We saw a lot of Gaudis sights. We saw the 
|    place were Christopher Columbus landed and told everyone of the new world. 
|    We saw a park and also the copy of the Arc de Triumph in Paris. The 
|    Parisians 
|    were pissed about that. After that we sat down at the beach for 45 minutes 
|    drinking Cerbezas and hanging out. It was a blast. There was a ton we saw 
|    and mainly the pictures will tell the story. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    After that it was like 6 and we got back to the hostel. I wasn't really 
|    hungry and John went out for food. I just relaxed and did my own thing. Me 
|    an John met up again, but we ended up going to bed kind of early after 
|    talking for a while. Traveling gets exhausting!! See you guys later.
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Hanging out in Spain
|
|Location:Barcelona, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Hanging out in Spain?
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-26 |
|    
|    
|    Barcelona,  
|    Spain
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Well I just submitted a story and then I tried to look at a picture as well 
|    and it refreshed the page, I will try to repeat all of what I said. Stupid 
|    computers!!
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Anyways the flight into Barcelona went off without a hitch. I spent 16 
|    pounds on a train ticket to the airport. But come to find out they shut down 
|    the trains, so I overpaid about 10 pounds and had to take the bus. The plane 
|    ride was great through. I picked up a Barcelona map at the airport.
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Once I got there I bought a bus ride into the city again because Ryan air 
|    has to fly into smaller airports. When I was putting my backpack on the bus 
|    the stupid ticket flew out of my mouth a good ways and luckily I recovered 
|    it. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    On the bus I met two great guys that I have been hanging out with ever 
|    since. John and I have dedicated many days of traveling together and we seem 
|    to be enjoying each others company. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    We got into the city and there was this huge festival called Merc? There 
|    wasn't anything particularly unbelievable about the festival (except the 
|    fireworks). Just envision a Spanish festival that you don't really 
|    understand. All the life in the city was very cool. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    About 4 people followed my lead because I had the best map you could 
|    possibly buy. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I got to the hostel which John had booked and luckily I got the last bed!! I 
|    love doing everything at the seat of my pants. Sometime it will come back to 
|    haunt me, but that will be an experience. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Mostly we just wandered about the pissy city. Yes... unfortunately the smell 
|    of urine lurks some of the pedestrian ways. It lingers mostly because people 
|    in Spain drink a lot and there aren't a lot of public facilities, also it 
|    doesn't rain a lot and there aren't many drains. Oh well.
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Other things that I have been careful about around here are pickpickets and 
|    the water. But those don't discourage me. This town rocks! 
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:A Long Walk
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|A Long Walk
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-24 |
|    
|    
|    Edinburgh,
|    
|    
|    United 
|    Kingdom
|
|
|
|    
|
|    When I woke up I immediately went to a free walking tour of the city. We 
|    went up and down the royal mile which is the heart of the city. Our guide 
|    spoke of how the city was built and also mentioned how people would throw 
|    their waste into the street even if there is someone standing there! The 
|    city used to be extremely unsanitary and the black plague hit the worst 
|    here. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    He also showed us some of the buildings that are 200 years older than the 
|    US. Some of which they used to torture people accused of witch craft. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Another interesting place was the door where they used to nail someone's ear 
|    to if the seller sold an incorrect amount of sugar or something to someone. 
|    They might get like 8 hours nailed to the door. People could piss on them or 
|    throw rotten vegetables. Some who were impatient would rip part of their ear 
|    off which would be bad because people would trust them because they didn't 
|    finish their sentence. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Once we were done with the tour we went to lunch. I ate haggis! This was so 
|    good. You might barf if you hear what is in it, but do a google search if 
|    you are interested. Basically it is weird and unused parts, but it tasted so 
|    damn good.
|
|
|
|    
|
|    The strangest thing happened next. I bumped into my good friends from 
|    Australia Al and Brooke. They just had gotten off the bus and I randomly 
|    bumped into the on the street. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Next I went to Edinburgh castle. This castle was magnificent, looking over 
|    the entire city. The one disappointment was that they didn't preserve the 
|    original integrity. The thing was just one big huge museum. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Next I climbed a huge glen overlooking the whole city. I made a good 
|    sandwich and enjoyed the view until sunset. How romantic... :-) The wind was 
|    getting cold so I left. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Later in the evening I went on another walking tour. I wanted to go to this 
|    because you got to see the underground city. It was disappointing though 
|    because I knew half of the stuff she said. Oh well... Edinburgh was fun!
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Thin Roads and Big Glens
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Thin Roads and Big Glens                          2004-09-23 | Glassgow and Edinburgh,            United     Kingdom    
|
|    Today we woke up and I was super tired from staying up all night. We drove     most of the day but we stopped by a hairy coo farm (got another good pic). At     least they didn't smell this time. Driving today we went down these one lane     roads that we barely fit in. I talked a lot about Denmark with my new friend     Rosalina for a little. I learned some crazy things about how their     government works. Their whole country is as left as they come and they pay     like 60 percent taxes. 
|
|        We went to the Wallace memorial as well today, that was alright. I wish I     had gotten to see his sword, but that would have cost like 6 pounds. Another     thing we did was see one of the most beautiful views in all of Scotland. It     was at Rob Roy's grave up this huge glen. The view was just as good as on     Skye. It was so relaxing.    
|
|    When we got to Glassgow I said goodbye to all of my new friends and now I am     here in Edinburgh. Tonight I walked all over the city (yes .... without a     map mom) and now I am going to bed. 
|
|        Oh yea... screw going across into France and paying tons of money. I have a     cheap 40 pound flight into BARCELONA!!!!!! This is going to be awesome.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Off to Oban
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Off to Oban                2004-09-22 |Oban,  United Kingdom    This morning I waited for the 12 o'clock bus and ate breakfast somewhere other than the hostel. I also prepare a little surprise some of you will know about later. 
|
|    We stopped by Eilean Donan Castke. This was a very amazing castle but I was disappointed it wasn't as old as it looks. The tour was boring.        After that I tried to make a sandwich while swerving in and out of the highland roads. I made a turkey sandwich with pita bread. but the worst thing about it was that I put this English mustard on it. Now, this just ruined my lunch. We also saw the castle that the final scene was shot in Monty Pythons Holy grail.      When I got into Oban I saw a to do list of things to do. I saw see STALKER CASTLE!! I was really excited. But come to find out it takes too long to get to. Sorry Kirt.
|
|        In Oban a ton of people from the macB tour went karaoking. I did two songs and my neck is a little soar from all the crazy rock dancing I do when I am up there. There was hardly any locals there and we took over the whole bar. We got some good pics as well. An Ozzy buddy won a bottle of wine and we drank it all night.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Greatest Island in The World
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Worlds greatest Island                          2004-09-21 | Isle of Skye,            United     Kingdom        
|
|    Last night I was reluctant of paying 18 pounds (36 bucks) for a day tour of     Skye (because of the weather). This would of been a huge mistake if I would     not have paid.         
|
| Our bus driver (Lou) was the best bus driver ever! So freaking     hilarious. Our first stop was these hairy coos Scotland is so famous for.     They smelled very grotesque but the view was magnificent. Then the most     amazing thing happened. I could see a rain front come down a glen and then a     full rainbow burst itself the width of the front. It was coming straight for     us across the glen, then a second came on top of it. Once it hit us it was     pure hail! It stopped a minute later and was the ABSOLUTE most beautiful     thing I have ever seen (except Susan). All of what I saw today almost cant     be described in words it was so beautiful. It was like in a movie and all of     the scenery was from a fantasy world. Surely this is the most lush and     fertile island on the whole planet. Sheep everywhere. Glens and lochs that     make lake Michigan look like a pissy swamp. And who could forget the Atlantic     washing up on this place.    
|
|        We next went to the capitol of Skye, Portree. This town had a magnificent     view and I went to the market for some food. I also bought a Scotland bottle     opener as a souvenir. This tool was added to my little keychain toolkit     which includes a light, compass, a new bottle opener, can opener and my     leatherman. I use this tool frequently.         
|
|    We next went to this beautiful waterfall which people used to swim naked in     in order to gain eternal youth. This is because the island is a fiery island     and it is very magical. I dipped my face in it like the bus driver said.     Before that the weather started to get bad so we all held hands (I know it     sounds gay but this is a fiery island) and we did a fiery dance while we     sang to them. They really liked this and immediately the rain stopped and     the sun came out.        
|
|    Did I mention the scenery here blows me away.        
|
|    After that (I cant wait for you to see the photos) we went to another     waterfall with a ravine into the Atlantic. This was cool. On the way to     that, me and my friend Alistair were encouraged by the bus driver to moon     the Haggis tour group bus (competition). This was so funny and I saw the     faces of the people on the bus.... it was excellent.        
|
|    The highlight of the day had to be climbing the Quirang. This was absolutely     the most beautiful view I have ever see in my life. You guys have to see the     video. I mean, these mountains have been here for 150 million years. We took     group photos and even showed our arses with the bus drivers ass too!     
|
|        We next went to this castle that was given to the MacGregor clan from the     king because they won a race (which I later found out wasn't true). In the     race (so the tale goes) the king said "the first hand to touch the sand     wins". The clans were rowing and rowing and MacGragor thought about what the     king had said. So he cut off his hand and threw it ashore. We saw this     castle that was supposedly given to him and also the dungeon which he later     put his cousin in and starved him to death for trying to kill him (true).        
|
|        Next we went to the pub and I tough an Ozzy "WAR" with cards.     
|
|    Finally we went to the fiery castle which was surrounded by the most magical     land on the island. There were these great candy corn shaped glens with     naturally circular grass. I also got some amazing photos here as well (of     course). After that it was 8 PM and we had traveled this mysterious land for     over 10 hours! We drifted home with a beautiful sunset to our backs. This     day couldn't of turned out any better. 
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Good Scottish Weather
|
|Location:Inverness, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Good Scottish Weather
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-20 |
|    
|    
|    Inverness,
|    
|    
|    United 
|    Kingdom
|
|
|
|    
|
|    Today's weather was pure shit. The drive from Inverness wasn't very good at 
|    all. The driver had really bad jokes and just rambled. Luckily we only had 
|    him until noon with our jump on jump off tour of Scotland. On the way we 
|    stopped by a very beautiful waterfall. I thought it was funny how we were on 
|    this bridge at near capacity, so I got off. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    Once we got to Kyle, the bus driver dropped us off in the worst rain and wind I 
|    have ever been in. My friend Gal was walking about and he freaked out a kid 
|    taking his driving test. The kid slammed on the brakes, which so happened to 
|    cause him to fail the test. Gal later found that out when he rode the same 
|    bus across the bridge to the Isle of Skye. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    The bus driver dropped us off in the city across the way because the bridge 
|    is privately owned and it costs a bus 50 pounds to cross it!! It is 
|    ridiculous. Anyway, the whole day I relaxed in the hostel and spoke with 
|    people from all over the world. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I worked on improving my Spanish with some girls from Spain and also learned 
|    about my friends Brook and Alistair (Aussies) who are traveling around the 
|    world for a year together. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    That night was my first time making dinner. I bought this egg fried rice 
|    (instant) and some pasta w/sauce in a bag. It was total shit and from now on 
|    I will work harder on my meals. 
|
|
|
|    
|
|    After that, I drank three beers with a really great guy from Germany. 
|    Wolfgang was the coolest guy and we kind of got drunk together. Wolfgang was 
|    the coolest guy and we spoke a lot about all kinds of important issues the 
|    world is facing and will face in the future. After that we went to a bar and 
|    I gave Susan a drunken call. 
|
|    
|
|
|
|    I will update the next days journal soon which was the most amazing day I 
|    have spent so far on my trip. Cheers!
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Relaxing Sunday In Inverness
|
|Location:Inverness, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Relaxing Sunday in Inverness                          2004-09-19 |            Inverness,            United     Kingdom    It was a boring day
|
|    Come to find out they booked me for an extra day here and I didn't know  it     and they also didn't have a bed for me to come to tonight in the Isle of     Skye.
|
|          All I did was hang out on the Ness Islands with some new friends from, yet     again, Israel. We had great conversation and also stopped by some flower      display. We went to the Great glen which overlooks Inverness. It was a little     disappointing, but oh well the view was decent. 	
|
|         The real thing I wanted to update you guys on was I have uploaded some     pictures. The url is         here. Now I cant make a nice navigation so you have to edit the last     three digits to a valid number. 001 through 142. With the exception of 98,     99 100 and 143 which are videos and need to be typed in 098.avi . Anyway see     you guys later.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Romping Around The Highlands
|
|Place:The Highlands
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Romping Around in the Highlands                          2004-09-18 |            Inverness,            United     Kingdom    
|
|    Today was the most amazing day of my entire trip thus far. 
|
|        Last night when I arrived in Edinburgh, I got grabbed some fish and chips,     talked to Dan and Mom back at home, settled in and then booked the     macbackpackers tour right in the nick of time.
|
|        We left this morning and I was pretty tired, but Bill (the coolest guide     ever) was really enthusiastic and fun. 
|
|        We went from Edinburgh to our first destination in Potlochry, but before     that we saw an amazing abbey along with this beautiful river. We saw the     Edradour distillery which is the smallest and most primitive scotch     distillery. We took a tour which would make Kirt proud.     
|
|    But while driving through the highlands we stopped to drink scotch while     entering into the borders from lower Scotland to the highlands. Standing     here drinking a single malt listening to Scotlands national anthem and     enjoying the view I realized how much I love hearing about the differences     in our cultures. I have heard Americas story all too often and I learned so     much more about Scotland's history today. It is not just William Wallace. It     was almost life changing in itself.    
|
|    We also stopped by a beautiful river where he told a story of Highland     Warriors defeating the British naked in this ravine. We even saw a famous     battlefield where the Scotsmen suffered a severe blow.     
|
|    Now the funniest part of my day was when we got to the Loch Ness. When we     were approaching he was telling the well known prophecy. Then he talked     about how he wants everyone to swim with the Loch Ness. He really tried hard     telling jokes about how when we tell our grandchildren about this day. Well     when we got there it was absolutely freezing and two people ran in. I was     reluctant, but then this guy from Spain wanted to, so I went with him. We     got some great pictures of us in the Loch Ness and the sun setting.     
|
|    That was definitely very funny and only 4 people did it out of the 22 that     were with us.    
|
|    Today I met a ton of new friends and I got to know them well.    
|
|    We are in Inverness right now and I had a great Scottish dinner and afterward     we went to another pub and drank local beers talking to local people while     listening to Bagpipes and historical tunes. This place is amazing. Tomorrow     we leave for the isle of Skye which is supposed to be like a heaven compared     to the highlands. Love you all. Thanks for the emails.           
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Last Day in London
|
|Place:All over London
|
|Location:London, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|
|2004-09-17 |
|
|
|Edinburgh,  
|United Kingdom
|
|
|
|I woke up and I said goodbye to my Israeli friends; gave them a postcard. The 
|fire alarm woke me up today. I made it to the front desk just in time to get my 
|10 P deposit back.Today I saw the amazing British museum. It had everything 
|from all over the world and I especially liked the Parthenon Sculptures.  
|After that (I spent about two hours) I went into a tourist shop with cheesy 
|gifts. I bought a pair of boxers that I will remember London the most. They say 
|"Mind the Gap". That's what the subway says every time you leave to make sure 
|everyone (even the dumb American tourists) gets off safe. 
|
|
|
|After that I went back to the hostel and picked up my backpack and went on the 
|internet. I tried loading all my pics and putting them on the internet but the 
|connection seemed to refuse the pics. I was pissed. I lost two pounds.  
|After that I went to the train and had a nice long conversation with two very 
|nice English people. This really helped with my overall impression of the Britts.
|
|
|So I am here in the Hostel and on AIM right now. I booked a 5 to 6 day 
|adventure across Scotland. I will be traveling all across the country (even the 
|isle of Skye) with Macbackpackers.com. It is going to be a blast. Even though it 
|interferes with the planned Super Smash Bros Melee tournament.... I am not here 
|to play video games. Take care everyone. Thanks for the emails. I am having a 
|great time.
|
|
|  
|    
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Day 4 In England
|
|Place:All over London
|
|Location:London, 
|
|Date Remembered:Sep 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Day 4
|    
|    
|      
|    
|
|  
|
|
|
|  
|    2004-09-16 | London,
|    
|    
|    United States
|
|    
|
|    So, this morning I checked out of my first hostel and I went directly to the 
|    train station at Kings Crossing and picked up a ticket for tomorrow to 
|    Edinburgh!! 
|
|
|    
|    
|    My plan is to arrive and in the morning start this 3 day back packing 
|    tour in the highlands. This will certainly be a huge change of pace.  
|    I really didn't do a whole lot today...I did have the most amazing fish 
|    and chips. I spent a lot of time visiting the national museum. Almost 
|    everyday I am in these museums and I get very tired from the sleeping 
|    pattern change I am in. So yesterday and the day before I took naps on the 
|    nice leather couches. A lot of people do it, so you don't have to worry. I 
|    was safe. 
|
|    
|
|    I was feeling a bit lonely too this day. I think it was because I was out 
|    on the city with no accommodation and no one to hang out with. I still need 
|    to get my feet wet with these kinds of feelings. But almost like someone 
|    sent for me I met someone in the museum from NYC and I started to feel much 
|    better. 
|
|    
|
|    Come to find out they will be in France traveling for a month when I am!
|
|    
|
|    Luckily I did find accommodation and obviously everything worked out and I 
|    didn't have to sleep on a bench.
|
|    
|
|    Toward the end of the night I was walking up and down the river Thames 
|    seeing the beauty of London at night. The tower of London was amazing at 
|    night. 
|
|    
|
|    Finally I went to the pub and had a great conversation with two new friends 
|    from Israel. They were probably the coolest people I have met so far in my 
|    travels. This morning I gave them some postcards from Michigan.
|
|
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Mom Scratching My Back
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 1987
|
|Memory Category:Childhood Memory
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I remember when I was a kid, my mom would give me great back scratchings.  I also would scratch her back too.  It was so cute.
|
|She also loved me to brush her hair.
|
|She probably wishes that we were both little girls so we could all put make up on each other or something.
|
|The other day I got my first professional massage and it just reminded me of this.
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Pregnant Alcoholic
|
|Location:Rochester Hills, 
|
|Date Remembered:May 
|
|Memory Category:This made me angry
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I was once partying with some college Cross Country friends on night.  This freshman girl who got pregnant by another freshman on our Cross Country team was about 6 to 8 months pregnant and she felt the need to drink.
|
|I was sooooo freaking pissed when I saw her with a drink and I felt morally inclined to say something to her.
|
|I pretty much yanked out her drink and told her no.  But she just bitched me out.
|
|I hope the kid is not retarded because of it.
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Way to go yanking the drink from her.  This story blows my mind."
|
|stack said:
|""Does Wayne Brady gotta choke a bitch?"
|"
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Eurotrip Reflections
|
|Location:Rome, 
|
|Date Remembered:Oct 2004
|
|Memory Category:EuroTrip 2004
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|This entry was written in the airport before my flight left for London. I thought I might share it along with my final reflections of my trip
|
|So I am here at the airport waiting for my adventure to begin. But unlike in the movies, where actions don't have a direct affect on you, in my life, this trip has affected me and the characters around me.
|
|It is the most emotional thing to see the ones you love sad. They are sad of the unknown. Mostly thinking something bad is going to happen. My mom felt so much pain when she let me go off on my trip. She never tells me of any pain she is in, but I saw it in her eyes when I said my final goodbye. My throat and eyes hold back the emotions because I hate to see my mom sad. Every time I see her sad my body just folds in pain.
|
|I hold things back because for one... I don't want to bust out crying in an airport and also because this trip will probably change my life and I will become a greater man because of it.
|
|Those who I love are scared of what could happen to me. But I feel the worst that can happen is some bad blisters, some smelly pits and a culturally diverse and international mind will be developed. What is wrong with that?
|
|Susan might be scared that she will lose the only man who ever really cared for her and took care of her. She thinks that she will lose her best friend to some Swedish slut or something. But like my mom (and other overprotective Americans), she is just preparing for the worst; emotionally, physically and anything else.
|
|The real reason I am taking this opportunity to (as my mom would put it) "soil my wild oats" is to disobey against how the system states you must live your life. I hate the fact that Americans get less vacation time than any other country. Someone for certain would get fired and have a hard time getting a job when he comes back if they did this. It is total bullshit. I work to live life; not live life to work. I want to live in a country where it is especially encouraged to adopt other cultures and to be lenient to students and young people. You have to really seek out opportunities to travel and I wish there was a more obvious push for younger people to go out and be adventurous, rather than just to get a degree and pay bills. Really my points here aren't very great, but what this journal has already helped me with is that I am now feeling better about my adventure. I think just writing these few lines has validated what I am trying to do, so I am feeling better. But yeah, I am feeling better about my mom being upset. I am sure I will get a call when I am in London (so long as my service provider picks up). Now I am going to listen to music.... that for sure will get me pumped!
|
|Here are my final reflections on my trip.
|
|This morning I stood in my empty room and I was really lacking good motivation to take down Rome, so I decided to put on the theme song of my trip. Its a folk song from my favorite Scottish folk band, the Peat bog Fairies. It previously would pump me up on trains going from place to place, but today it gave me an entirely different feeling. I felt really sad feeling as I looked out the window. Flashes of all the memories of when I heard this song whisked through my brain. A little bit of tears racked up in my eyes for I know that I am leaving my adventure in a few days.
|
|I am sad that I cant experience more fulfillment. This trip has fulfilled so many different desires, fears, thoughts and sights. These are things that don't normally get fulfilled in everyday working life. It is as though a powerful force causes you not to be able to live your life independently. You must really try hard to seek it. Rather if you get sucked in to society, you must live most of your life as a zombie through a cubicle. If there is one pinnacle thing that is wrong in this world, that would be it. Society, family, corporations and politicians basically run your life, whether you realize it or not. What I realize is that the groups collective thoughts, desires, ideologies, norms, laws and religions are not in the best interest of your personal happiness. Mostly these are influenced by very powerful people who have some major bias or vested interest in their decision to change your life.
|
|Some of these things cant be helped because we live in an organized society and there needs some infrastructure. But what I have realized out here is that many places in the world are exactly like the US.... only more improved because they look at our mistakes and modify their ways. I loved how so many communities and countries are more united than the US. (The only time the US was united was after 9/11 with their flags... but it doesn't seem to be that way anymore). Other countries are united in their morals, ways of thinking and they take care of each other a lot better than we do. I mean come on... we are the most powerful country in the world and we cant even adopt a public health care system..... it is so disturbing. We cant have public health care and great and efficient public transportation systems because of the damn corporations that ruined it with their greed. I want my country to take care of the people more than a big company. I guess thats why I am a liberal and thats why the American dream has changed for the worse. The people in other countries are more worldly and who would of thought..... they actually HAVE CULTURE!. They are more involved with current events rather than the secluded US. And when something in the world happens, and the US is passionate in assisting, most of the media brainwashes the opinion they want you to have. It is so messed up. I don't hate America, but there needs to be major changes in order for me to love living there. Thats why I really want dual citizenship somewhere else.
|
|Okay well I will stop with my ramping about the world, because it would take so much more lines than I have time for. Just know that because of this trip I feel a lot more political and I want to be more involved with things that can hinder a possible better, more independent life I can lead. A life where I make the rules, not the media, government, family or a corporation. Because their interests aren't never usually in the best interest of everyone.
|
|Many college students go to Europe to "find out who they really are". Sure a little bit of that went on with this trip, but I know who I am. Really, the best thing that this trip did was open my eyes. It opened my eyes to the good and bad of society, religion, history and people. The world is not a scary place like the news portrays. There are so many places in the world that people have told me about that are absolutely safe and wonderful.
|
|These are the people that really changed my life. All the friends and interactions with people on this trip brought a new unique perspective, whether we traveled for a day, hour or week. They kept me company and vice-versa as we explored as much as we could. I cant thank all the people I met enough.
|
|Each person I met shed some light into this dark abyss called life. Most people are afraid of what is in this dark hole because it is made of fear, new insights, new places, experiences and most importantly change. It is so very risky to go out and explore the abyss, for you might get lost, die or not enjoy what it has to offer. But I guess I am the type to just dive in naked, with no worries and accept change and new experiences because it enriches my life in so many ways. But I did need help to light my torch, and I thank all the people that inspired me to learn how to start a fire and I really thank those who gave me the stones to do it. Sparking that wick, they inspired me to a more fulfilling experience.
|
|I learned so much while I was out here, more than any two months of my life. But I also had a total blast! I went through 12 countries, 7 capitol cities, three time zones, hundreds of cities and hostels and took over 1000 pictures and movies to document my adventure. From climbing the highlands to the Pyrenees mountains, from swimming with Nessie to swimming in the Mediterranean, from the grandest churches to the red light district, from the Parthenon to the coliseum, from Gaelic to German, from the Barcelona Olympic stadium to Steve Prefontaine in 74, from the eifel tower to the tower of London, from the crappy viking museum to the magnificent Louvre, from dancing with fairies to dancing in togas, and from The Thinker to The Statue of David I saw all extremes while I was here. From sure I made the most of each day and conquered as much of Europe as I could. I covered countless miles from the far north, south, east and west of this continent. I cant even say that about my own country. There isn't one thing I regret about this trip. There also wasn't one thing bad that happened to me while I was here. I wasted my money on the insurance (caused by fear). Nothing bad happened probably because I do have a good head on my shoulders and because I think ahead (i.e. giving the drunk a bottle of wine rather than confronting him).
|
|I am the only young once with very limited obligations and I took as much advantage as I could. It wasn't an easy thing to pack up and go out here, but once I was over here traveling was very simple and easy. It really allowed me to clear my mind and take the longest break in my whole life, possibly the only time I can take this much off for the rest of my life. But when I come back, things will be relatively the same back home, but hopefully will look different to me. I am excited to be back, to start an entirely new journey that I hope will include the magnitude of life experiences I learned out here in Europe. Thanks for listening and supporting me while I was away on this adventure everyone!
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|lellel said:
|"Cool, Dave.  I never realized that the trip was such a life-changing (or affirming) event for you.  I think travel can definately do that for a person.  It makes you look inward.  After all, I became a Christian shortly after my last international trip.  Were you writing this because of our podcast tonight?
|
|Also, if we're going to have public health care, it better be at least as good as my health care :) LOL."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Bar Nights
|
|Place:Keego Bars
|
|Location:Keego Harbor, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 2003
|
|Memory Category:Fun Thing That Happened
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|I met my friend jana710 at a bar in Keego Harbor MI. She and a bunch of other South African friends were hanging out and I offered to take a photo of them all.
|
|Jana and I were immediate pals. We played pool together and had great conversation. I had never met anyone from South Africa at this point. And I liked when they talked in Afrikaans.
|
|jana710 loves her bars in Keego, so much that they even kicked her out once they found that she had a fake ID.
|
|Her and I have a random friendship because we always would seem to bump into each other at random bars like J.D.'s Key Club and other places in Waterford.
|
|One time we were down watching the fireworks in Detroit. There was approximately one million people there and Jana and I bumped into each other. We call each other every once and a while too to keep in touch.
|
|She is such a sweet girl and such a fun party animal. I hope she posts some random memories from her Childhood in South Africa!  
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:White Rappers Flowing
|
|Place:Kevins APT in Rochester
|
|Location:Rochester, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 2002
|
|Memory Category:Funny Story
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|One winter night when Kevin lived above a business in a sweet apartment in downtown rochester.  He and a bunch of C-Town gangstas had me, Kev and Robin (my cousin) come over for a "flowing session".
|
|For those of you who dont know what flowing is, just see the 8 mile movie about eminem.
|
|So we all were at a bar that night hanging out and playing pool.  The snow was coming down lightly and then we all went upstairs to their apartment.
|
| Kevin had this buddy who was a white boy, but absolutely amazing at rapping.  He even had rap CDs and stuff.  And this guy could spit out rhymes like you wouldnt believe.
|
|We had beats in the background and we all rapped and flowed against each other to see who could come up with the best knock down.
|
|I could get about 2 sentences to rhyme, sometimes it was hilarious, sometimes I was stumped....
|
|It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I loved rapping with that one guy.  He was so good.  We all just liked listening to his crazy lyrics.
|
| Robin  rapped a bunch too and did pretty well.  She even has a bit of a southern accent and she  totally reamed the guys with her flow.  What a fun time we all had.  It was a world of fun.
|
|
|
|
|============================COMMENTS====================================
|Stack said:
|"WESTSIDE!!!!!"
|
|THE OLD  FART said:
|"David you have a better memory than I do of that night.  I remember doing that but it was under the haze of all to many beers. It's great to come and read about that night it brightened my dull day at work. Robyn"
|
|

============================RECOLLECTIONS===============================
Stack said:
|"That night was amazingly amazing. My buddy Danny is a great rapper. Anyone can check his work at my myspace, his music comes on when you open my page. His rapper name is Esttilo and his brother is the one who saved Noel from getting his candy stolen the last time he went trick or treating.
|
|  I remember Dave had a few pretty good flows that night. I recall being pretty impressed with his performance since he had never done that before. Our cousin Robin stole the show though. There was a couple times she went head to head with Estillo and held her own.
|
|  The apartment we were in wasn't mine though. It was my buddies Eric and Tim's place. I had a lot of great memorys there, this one being one of my favorites. I'd like to be get some feedback on what everyone's rapper name would be. Mine would be Big Stack."
|
|========================================================================



=========================MEMORY INFO=====================================
|Memory Name:Shades
|
|Place:Hendricks House
|
|Location:Waterford, 
|
|Date Remembered:Jan 1995
|
|Memory Category:Weird/Random Thing
|
|============================STORY=======================================
|Speaking of random memories (lellel)... heres one...
|
|Back at the hendricks house, my brother Dan and I used to have these blue metal shades on our window.
|
|These were of super poor quality and I distinctively remember the shattering noise you would make when you would close them.
|
|As well as the noise made when the wind would hit them. Many times we would be goofing off and would run into them, thus bending the crap out of them. They probably lasted me a good 10 years or so. Just looking through old photos helped me remember them.
|
|On my window sill I used to keep variou