Idiosycratic Life

My memory is a frightening, frightening thing. Most of you know this, and of course, sometimes it is not always accurate, and you catch me. But for the most part, I can tell you the most minute details about my past, as well as many, many of the people who reads this blog's past, too, including things that happened way before I knew them that they told me about.

It's a blessing and a curse, as I remember in excruciating detail the hell that was junior high. Every now and then, though, something triggers a memory, and it's really funny...

Somehow, tonight, Alissa and I started talking about going to Friendly's, and you know what I remembered?!?! Wumpa wumpa wumpa! Anyone else with me? You know, wumpa wumpa wumpa! (Basically, for the uninitiated our there, Friendly's had both a hand blow drier AND a trash can with one of those spinning lids, and if you put the trash can with the lid under the drier, turn on the blower and tap the rotating lid, the air from the drier would spin the lid around, making, well, a "wumpa wumpa wumpa" sound.)

This killed us. It was a ritual. We had a wumpa wumpa wumpa dance and everything. The best part was, if there was a lot of trash, the blower would kick up a paper towel from the can, it would float up, and the rotating lid would slap it back into the trash can. This was endlessly amusing, until Friendly's got tired of the group of us crowding into the bathroom and chanting "WUMPA WUMPA WUMPA" and dancing around, so they took the lid off.

This is what my friends and I did in high school instead of drugs. This kills me now. I can't believe we did that. I can't believe I remember it.

One more- Enders and Becky, I know you are out there from time to time, this is for you :) - My mom sent me a clipping from the Lancaster newspapers today. Jackey "Smackie" Girlach (misspelling intentional, don't want a google search leading anyone here) got married. To Dayve Umholtz, whom I think was a Mountville boy? (Bek? Yes?)

Anyway, I started thinking about Smackie and I remembered the, uh, letter of recommendation her mom wrote to Enders our senior year when Jackey had a huge crush on him, talking about "how you seem like such a nice boy- Smackie [sic] tells us about the naughty things you do in chorus (most making fun of the long term sub for Mr. Muhdrick, Goddess bless her) and how you have a wonderful ear for music, but I suggest you have your eyes examined because you don't seem to be able to see that Smackie (sic) is in love with you" and listed her daughter's good traits, including her "good teeth" or something.

It was nasty to make fun of that then, and it's nasty to do it now, but it's still increcdibly funny to me. Sorry. That makes me a bad person, I know. The announcement said Tina was the maid of honor, and their mom was the matron of honor. Huh.

Ah, there's nothing like small-town gossip to make me air out my claws.