From The Past: January 8, 2009
This quote struck a chord with me:
“… a life without books is a thirsty life, and one without poetry is … it’s like a life without pictures …” Said by – Miss Elizabeth Eastlake, a character in the novel Duma Key Written by: Stephen King
I love books and the way they make me feel. When I am reading something I enjoy, it absorbs me. This is the sign of a good book. I have not finished Duma Key, but I can tell you, so far, it is fantastic. Kevin recommended I read it and I am so glad he did.
When people hear the name Stephen King, their minds immediately jump to horror and gore. This is an unfair stereotype. I can name many of his books which are simply psychological thrillers. If you have never read a King book, you are missing out on a great author.
The characters in this book go on to discuss the best of all their days. This made me ask myself; what are or were the best of all my days? On the surface, it seems to be a simple question, however when I dig deep, it’s a little more complicated.
If I could pick a little from each year of my life beginning in the third grade, I could put together the best of all my days and make it last a long time. In reality, I would probably skip a few years, but not many.
If I had a week to fill of the best of all my days, that week would be filled with school parties, family, friends, slumber parties, my children and husband, my cat and Pug.
It would include playing Hide-and-Seek with my family after dark at one of the local schools and almost peeing my pants because I was trying so hard not to laugh, playing with my Barbie’s, singing Michael Jackson’s song Human Nature (along with many others) into a tape recorder with my best friend and then laughing when we replayed it back, hanging out with my best friend, playing Ms. Pac Man, reading, spending the night with a close friend, watching my best friend dance in front of the TV along with Janet Jackson videos, eating lunch at Belmont Junior High School … that must seem like an odd one. Have I ever told you about lunch at Belmont?
Lunch at Belmont was something I looked forward to each day. It was a time to relax, talk with your friends, and tell stories. I remember laughing so hard, I had orange juice come out my nose! You know you’re laughing hard when something comes out your nose. The food was good too. The group at my table began buying the “teacher’s salads” instead of the regular lunches on trays. These salads were huge and had everything including ham and lots of cheese. This is where I acquired a taste for Thousand Island dressing which is my favorite to this day. They also had these cookies – we referred to them as “poop ball cookies” – lovely, I know, but they were firm balls of chocolate and oatmeal and they were delicious. Everyone loved them. I have tried to make my own, but they are never as firm as they were at Belmont. I must be missing some key ingredient! Anyhow, in my opinion, Belmont was the bomb.
Unfortunately, Belmont only lasted two short years; seventh and eighth grades. It’s odd, but I remember more from those two years than any other. It was a time of growing and learning about the world. It was around 1984, the time for Prince and Purple Rain. That was when MTV actually aired videos – imagine that! We wore leg warmers, big earrings, fluffy sweaters with shoulder pads, black tights, and Jelly shoes. Swatch watches were cool as were Eastland shoes, Panama Jack, Camp Beverly Hills and Vuarnet t-shirts.
In my week filled with best days, I would also include swimming and dinner at Wesley Woods Camp on some Sunday evenings, hearing the story of The Lady in the Lake, making crafts, laying by one of the fireplaces at home and getting roasted on one side and then having to flip over, there are so many things I could include in my best days.
Life was good then. It is good now.