Chinese Fire Drill (Louise)

(Told by Louise; typed by Jeanne)

In Duluth, we were stopped at a light and we all yelled, "Chinese Fire Drill!" The doors flew open. We got out, ran around the car, dad yelling at us to get back in the car. We were laughing like hyenas. We got back in, the light changed, and we drove off. It was hilarious. Mom and the kids were all laughing, but dad was pi**ed and afraid we'd get in trouble. He didn't understand. (This was when Ann lived in Duluth; either late 70s or early 80s.)

(Added by Jeanne:)

Part of the fun of being with mom was that unpredictability. She could be very law-abiding and correct . . . or completely lawless and crazy!

(Louise:)

She loved to get her money's worth. At the movie theater, she would plot out the end and start times of movies. She would pay for the first one, then casually walk into the second one for free. She was a juvenile delinquent at heart. I think she even got Sister Josette to sneak into a movie!

Comments

Another Song Memory (Jeanne)

It's weird for me to think that my perception of childhood was that we weren't very musical . . . and yet I keep having memories of songs from my childhood! Yesterday the song "It's Me, Oh Lord" came to mind and I started singing it. What a blast from the 70s! I know we sang it as part of the worship music at St. Joan of Arc Church, but I also wish I could have a conversation with my parents about the words. It definitely stems from Matthew 7:3-5 about taking the log from your own eye before trying to remove the splinter from someone else's. (Actually, I say "definitely" because that's my own perspective. Perhaps I'm way off!) Anyhow, I can absolutely say that I need prayer. Every day, every hour of the day. We sang this song a lot - mostly at church, but at other times, too. It's a good reminder that I am in need of prayer. I need God's grace, love, and mercy. I wonder what my parents thought about this song. Here's a link ...

Made Up Words That Make Me Smile (Jeanne)

I'm not sure what brought this to mind recently, but "Ishkabibble" is a word my mom used to use. My sisters and my brother and I heard this when something was yukky or gross. I'm not sure about the spelling because it's just one of those words our mom would say! I'm posting a random pic of her because blog posts are more fun with images. She didn't like having her picture taken, but this is from a Christmas dinner at her house. She was getting out the "good silverware." Louise definitely took up her habit of making her own words to fit different meanings. Whatever brought "ishkabibble" to mind recently made me smile. Thinking about my mom does that for me.

Music! (Jeanne)

I've often said that I didn't grow up with much singing . . . but that's not entirely true. Recently, I started singing Alouette ( Canadian version ). It got me thinking about why that song was in my brain and what triggered me to start singing it out of the blue. I remembered back to when we were singing it in French class (8th grade?) and I was very familiar with the tune. I had not known, however, that it was about plucking a bird's feathers! And further, the verses have us plucking feathers from the different body parts INCLUDING THE BEAK! If you're curious but don't speak French, here are the lyrics in English. It was fun to learn about this song my dad had sung to me. Besides Alouette , we grew up singing Frère Jacques . I guess my dad was more into singing (and playing piano) than my mom was. I wish I had recorded him singing when I had the opportunity. I could probably add more to this entry (and perhaps I will later), but I need to work on more pr...

Eileen and Larry Somers

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