It's such a gorgeous day, today. Stinks to be stuck in an office on a day as beautiful as this. It's in the 70's, dry, the sun is shining brightly and there isn't a sign of a cloud anywhere. It feels a little like a fresh, spring day with a dash of autumn in it. Something about how the air smells and feels on a day like this always gets me thinking about when I was younger. It makes me wish I was a kid again. I miss being a kid. You had hardly any responsibilities or worries. A hug from Dad would make everything better. Dad�s hugs still hold that power, I just don�t live close enough to get them as frequently as I need them. The summer�s seemed endless. We had two tree forts, a pool and a good size yard. In winter my brother would build killer sled/tube paths from the back of the house, around the side, down the front, across the driveway and into the road. If we got enough momentum we could get through one of the neighbors back yards and down their hill into the brook, but typically we came to a stop in our side yard soon after jumping over the driveway. We lived on a dead end road and the woman who lived at the top would start blasting her horn as she left her driveway so we�d all run for cover until she passed by. She drove like a bat out of hell. Whenever we went for walks we had a turn around spot so we wouldn�t get near her house. As a kid she seemed like one of those crazy old ladies that liked to scare kids, which, oddly enough, has become my life�s goal. More on that some other time.

The house I grew up in had a ton of wild raspberry and blackberry bushes around the perimeter of our property. We would spend hours picking and eating them. They were so juicy and flavorful. We also had this funky greenery we used to call bamboo (to this day I still have no idea what it really is) that was between our house and the woman next door. We called her �Haggy�. Nice, I know. We�d hide in the "bamboo" and �spy� on her. I�m sure she knew we were there half the time. I�ll never forget the time my brother and some of his friends made a bomb with a milk jug. Actually this one may have been the time they used a plastic garbage bag. At any rate, that whole experience still makes me laugh so hard I cry. We can laugh now because none of us got killed! If my parents knew half the stuff that went on those rare occasions they went away for a weekend, they�d have never, ever left us alone. I was about 9 at the time, so my sister would have been 14 and my brother would have been 17. Anyway, my sister and I were inside because, well, we didn�t want to die. My sister kept screaming at my brother, �Mom and Dad are gonna find out and they�re gonna KILL you!� We saw my brother�s friends take off toward our driveway as our brother lit the fuse and then ran faster than I�ve ever seen him run before in my life. It went off and our entire house shook � stuff was falling off the shelves, pictures fell off the walls. It was classic. Haggy then came bursting out of her house screaming, �What the hell is going on?!� 5 minutes later the police were cruising up and down our normally quiet little road. My brother, not wanting to get in trouble, decided he was going to treat us all to a movie, so into the truck we got and took off. My parents didn�t find out about this particular episode until about 10 years ago. My mother said something to the effect of, �No wonder Haggy hated us so much!�

Our neighbors across the road, who were much more laid back and treated us like their own grandkids, used to have a big party every time their family came from Canada to visit in the summer. The husband played in a jazz band so the whole band would come down for the day and play. Most of their family and much of our neighborhood would be there. I never wanted those parties to end. They were so much fun. When it would get late my parents would make me go home and go to bed, but I�d be so wired I�d just lie in bed, smelling the pipe smoke and listening to live jazz.

When I got into my teens I practically lived at my aunt & uncle�s house during the summer. It was a sanctuary of sorts for me. I could freely watch television and listen to the radio there. My aunt, I think, inspired the rebel in me. I remember Men At Work were to play in Saratoga NY on my 15th birthday. My parents said I absolutely could NOT go (Men At Work were like God to me, hence my parents saying NO). When I told my aunt she said, �Well, I like Men At Work so if I take you to celebrate our birthdays (hers was 8/27), they can�t say no!� The show ultimately ended up being canceled. We all went out to dinner instead. My aunt rocked. I miss her so much. It�s funny, now that I�m older, my relationships with my sister�s kids are forming to be the type of relationship I had with my aunt, and that is just the coolest thing in the world.

In high school I hung out with a very small core group of friends; a few I�d known since we were maybe 3 or 4 years old. Nothing extraordinary happened in my life during those years. Probably because both my brother and sister were out of the house by the time I got into hs. I had my first serious crush on a guy a year ahead of me. SFS � anyone out there remember that? heheheh How about RFR? Or KFR? C, I know you remember those last two. It�s funny, back in the mid-late 90�s I happened upon a good hs buddy of my main crush in an AOL chat room. He told me that the crush was married. He then said, �I�m sorry, I hope you�re not upset.� lol Over a hs crush getting married? Ummm, no. But thanks for being concerned! Anyway, he and I actually talked more online than we ever did in high school and he told me he was sorry he never took the time to know me when we were in school. How cool was that? It surprised me coming from him. I always thought him to be quite aloof in hs.

I hope everyone is enjoying their day today. I have 2.25 hours to freedom from the office and plan to soak in the rest of this beautiful day outside.