I have a memory

Pin It Isn’t it odd just how often our memories can be triggered by a song, smell, or a taste of something from that time we’d left so many years before?

That’s so often how memories are for me.

I was walking through the halls of my elementary school a few years ago, and from somewhere I caught the scent of something I’d not smelled since my own elementary days. It was the smell of bamboo air freshener.

I was instantly transported back to Freeman Elementary School, in the first grade hallway walking to Mrs. Woodbury’s classroom. A moment later I’d returned to the present. However, the experience was so real, so vivid, and fantastic that for a moment I thought that I’d stepped through a conduit of time and space.

This also happens time to time when I hear a song, or eat something associated with a distant memory. It is this which brings me to my present post.

A dear friend and I were chatting not too long ago, and I mentioned these Hostess donuts my parents used to buy when I was a kid. I’m sure you’ve seen of them…they’re those nasty raspberry powdered kind.

As a kid I loved them.

My friend thought it would be fitting to bring me a box of these sugary delights. I opened the carton and a whiff of powdered sugar filled my senses as I reached in and lifted one from the container.

As I sank my teeth into this powdered delicacy, I was transported to the Columbia River…


The car was loaded with towels, an ice chest with lunch, and our swim gear.

Walking to the cold water over the scorching sand.


Catching minnows in a plastic cup.

Swimming to the floating dock.


Looking into the river depths and seeing shadowed reflections.

Floating on inner tubes and the smell of pine trees.


The asphalt parking lot strewn with pine needles.

Walking the logs and feeling brave, even though I never made it past the first one.

Campfires and the roasting marshmallows and hot dogs.

Riding in the canoe and smelling the sweet odor of the outdoors.


Warm summer breezes, and the sound of the pines rustling songs without words.


A moment later I was back in the present time, in my classroom. My students were at lab and would need to be picked up in a few minutes. I stood, as I did I looked into the box where now only two donuts gazed up at me.


Thanks, good friend, and thanks Hostess for a trip back to innocence.

I have a confession

Pin It I’m a Youtube junkie.

Okay, maybe not in the sense that I watch it for hours each day, but when I do get logged in, I could very easily spend 3-4 hours watching mindless drivel.

I love it, and therefore I have to be careful. I only have so much time and my time is valuable…after all, isn’t yours?

Today though, I left school early because I was feeling ill this morning. I made it to 10:00 and then had a sub come in for the rest of the day. My second sick day in 8 years—the first was for a kidney infection about 5 years ago. Only one sick day previous to this one in eight years? I felt that going home was justified.

I came home, put on some flannels, and promptly fell into bed. Around 1:00 I got up, still feeling a bit sickly, but better nonetheless. I decided to check my email—which I did. However, as soon as that was completed, it seemed that Youtube was calling my name. I probably shouldn’t have listened to its incessant call, yet I did.

I looked for a few videos on respect I could use in my classroom at a later date, and suddenly remembered a show I loved when I was younger. I hadn’t thought about this show in years. My fingers sought along the keyboard for the right strokes in the search engine bar. As I hit enter, I was inundated with about a hundred video clips, so I began to watch.

As the images filled my eyes, and the audio my ears I felt myself cringe several times—it was…how do I say it?

Awful.

What ever made me watch this show with its horrible acting and terrible costumes? While some of the kids could sing, a few of the songs they performed (such as “Neverending Story” and “Living on a Prayer”) made me cringe, and I could imagine what Simon Cowell would say to the performance.



It came as clear as the LCD screen before me, the reason that I’d watched this show in the first place…

Renee Sands.

Yep, Renee. I was absolutely in love with this girl, and I’m pretty sure that she was in love with me too, only she probably didn’t realize it at the time.

I found out that she later went on with her singing career with the group, “Wild Orchid” while Stacy Ferguson went on to become “Fergiliciious,” and Martika took on a short career with her hit song, “Toy Soldiers.”

Have you been able to guess what show it is yet? Well, if you guessed that it was Kids Incorporated, you got it.

So, with fond memories of both Renee and Martika, I sat and watched segments this show for about an hour. I did sift through several performances finding a few which were far less painful to watch.

Here’s to memories.

Looks like we made it…