Friday, January 25, 2013

Here we go again! Finish the Sentence Friday!

Kids always do just the right thing
at just the right moment!

"Well I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."

Bob Dylan wrote those words over half a century ago.  Funny thing was, you didn't need to inhale certain garden variety herbs to understand what they meant.  Many of us did anyway!

This is "Finish the Sentence Friday" again.  Something tells me, this thing has caught on.


"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Friends of all nations.  I present to you, for your consideration, four hostesses of this marvelous event!  These are all devoted individuals that know no boundaries when it comes to asking others to divulge the idiocies of their past, and secretly huddle in serene fits of pleasure giggles when reading how much some people will, indeed, divulge.  Will you please put your hands together and after a warm round of applause, please squeeze that mouse to visit them one and all!"


Your hostesses are:

Stephanie's  Mommy for Real
Dawn's  Dawn's Disaster

Okay, so I'm old school.  They claim to be hosts, but the correct word I was raised with was hostess.  I'm pretty sure none have had operations to become hostesses, so calling them hosts would insinuate that they were once of another gender, or wish to be.  Okay, now I'm confused!


And Janine's singing, "Like Always!"

So, what does all of this have to do with Bob Dylan's song?  No, I didn't forget about that.  I just decided to tell you what was going on before really getting into the story line.  Patience! Patience!

Anyway, this week's sentence, or part of a sentence (Since it has no ending, it's really not a complete sentence, yet.  That's why it's called "Finish the Sentence Friday.")  is:


"When I was younger, I tried ..... "

So, without further ado, I believe it's now time to finish the sentence with a story of some type.  "Isn't that right, Janine?"


I can hear her hissing now, "Scooch!"   



When I was younger, I tried out a very corrupt philosophy.  I was nine years old, an avid reader, and had an imagination that combined logic with insanity to create theories not yet proven wrong to one so young.  


Some call it stupidity, or, 
a reason to keep your eyes on what your kids are doing at all times!

We had lived in the country with my grandparents farm as my backyard.  There were very few kids within a mile to play with, so I spent much of my time alone, reading, and imagining possibilities.  I knew about gravity (having fallen out of trees a time or two), so I knew the basics of what goes up must come down.

However, I also had much time to reason things out.  I knew that leg bones were straight, like boards were.  If you dropped a board from the hayloft on its end, it would simply bounce.  If it landed on it's side, it could break.  So, logic told me that anything straight could withstand much more impact if it landed correctly.

Somehow, I started believing that even if one dropped out of an airplane, they'd only be injured if they didn't land standing up!  I know, somewhat flawed.  But, to a nine year old, it made sense!


I see another theory about
to be proven!
I soon learned that we were going to have next door neighbors!  A gentleman that had worked with my grandfather had purchased a couple of acres of land right next to us and was building a house.  For weeks, I watched this future home rise high.  It wasn't going to be a single level home, but a split level, with the second floor facing our house.

Finally, one day, after the carpenters had left, I wandered over to the house.  I climbed up to the second floor and peered out at my house, amazed to be so high.  That was when I noticed the ladder going up to the uncompleted roof.  

Yep, I did it!  I climbed right up that ladder and stood atop the second floor.  The ground seemed so far away.  Yet, I knew it was the right time to test out my theory!

Kate's going, "OMG, Rich you were a dumbass even as a kid!"

Leaning out over the edge, precariously balancing back and forth, I was trying to gain the courage I needed to make that final leap.  I knew the house was built on a downward slope, so the ground was even further away than the foundation of the house.  Still, I needed to see if my thoughts made sense!

I leaned forward and jumped!

For a moment, I was soaring downward.  It's amazing how quickly Mother Earth will end that!

I landed feet first, but my forward motion immediately sent me rolling down the slope.  Over and over I tumbled, finally stopping at least twenty feet from the original landing zone.  

That's when the pain was first noticed.

My ankles were on fire, my knees were exploding, and my back was still trying to pop itself back into its normal position.  I wanted to cry out (and just cry, too), but I knew my mom would hear me and probably beat the hell out of my tail for pulling such a stunt.


Slowly, I got up, found no broken bones, and shook off the pain.


Regardless of popular opinion, this is NOT
proper landing position!
I had proven my theory!  I wasn't as stupid as the adults thought I was!  You could survive a fall from great heights if you landed on your feet!  

When we're young, we love to prove that we know more than adults, so we go to extremes to do so.  We take the chances that adults won't take because of their "educated" fears.  Oh, adults will come into the room and face closet monsters, but it's the kids who are the ones that attempt to prove you can do anything if you put your mind to it!  So, in a way, they're mentally older than those that allow fear to control them!  


"I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now!"



Now, where's that airplane?



37 comments:

  1. This post should have one of those "don't try this at home" disclaimers. As a mom of a young boy my eyes nearly stretched out of their sockets with walking over to the construction. I knew what was coming. Whew! Glad you were alright! Visiting from FTSF

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    1. Kenya - It's a pleasure to meet you. Okay, just for you ... "Kids, this was performed by an untrained kid that's lucky to still be alive, so please, do try this at home ... wait till your neighbors are gone and then jump off of their house!" lol I do have to say that boys will be boys either because of their own curiosity or a possible dare. It's a "guy" thing, I think! : ) Thanks so much for stopping in and commenting!

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  2. Richard, seriously you are a scooch!!! But I mean that only in the best possible way, lol!! Seriously the mom in me was having a heart attack just reading and after the night I had last night with Emma cutting her chin open I am so not in the mood for anymore injuries and mishaps. But alas there were no injuries and you actually proved something, but here comes the mom in me, "Don't do it again!!", lol :) Great post as always and thank you for linking up. I hope the new job is treating you well!!

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    1. Janine - I knew you'd love that one! lol It was simply too good to pass up! Sorry about Emma. Hopefully it will heal up nicely so she doesn't have to tell people it's a shaving scar! : ) Damn it, mom! You know I'm planning on bungee jumping in the near future. I guess I'll tell you I won't do it and then break your heart, just like any good son would do! lol I've been bored to death at work, but hopefully things will change soon. We'll see! Many thanks!

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  3. Haha! This is great! I was the same way as a child, always climbing trees and hiding in high places. We had a birch tree that we could climb to the top of, and our mom could never find us up there. I mean, we were only 3 stories up from the ground, hiding in the leaves. My first experience with gravity was not falling, though. It was when I ran down a very steep hill at The Devil's Soupbowl (Yankee Springs, maybe) and smacked hand-first into a tree. Yup, with both hands in front of me to protect me. I still knocked myself out and sprained two wrists...lol.

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    1. Jennifer - You sound like my kind of person! Shame on you for hiding from your mom! I used to do the same thing! lol Really though, the Flash is known to travel so fast he can vibrate through trees and such. Next time you try it, try running even faster! lol (I'm joking ... really!) : ) Many thanks!

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  4. You are one lucky dude! I'll admit I did the same thing once...jumped off my neighbor's roof, but it wasn't from the second floor, it was sort of a roof off the 1st floor, but still pretty high. I had the burning ankles too, and no broken bones. My favorite part of this post was putting in those "cameos" from Janine and Kate -- hilarious! Glad to see your new job has not affected your wonderful sense of humor!

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    1. Emily - Once a person experiences those burning ankles, they never forget them! lol I knew there was a little of the "demon" in you. : ) Glad you liked the cameos. I could just see both of them doing those things as they read it. Thanks for stopping in!

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  5. haha...childhood brings in fearlessness and adventures.

    This was such a funny one, as we look back as adults :)



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    1. Ruchira - Hello, my friend! Really good of you to stop by. Yes, we have no fears of injuries when we're young (only of vampires, wolfmen and our parents' belts, lol). I can remember this one as if it were yesterday. Something about the ground rushing up at you at Mach Ten speed cements itself to your memories. : ) Many thanks!

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  6. Had to laugh - partly because it was funny (in hindsight - I'm really not a sadist) and partly because it goes perfectly with my post! This was my first time joining the #FTSF, and I commented about almost this scenario in my post about trying to fly like Mary Poppins. :)

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    1. Chris - Good to meet you! That's okay, I'll accept the fact you're a sadist. I need to know who my friends are! lol I'll do my best to check out your post. My time is really limited, so if a day goes by without a comment from me, don't think it won't happen. Besides, how can I pass up a sadistic Mary Poppins? Welcome to FTSF! Many thanks!

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    2. By the way, I never fell out of a tree, but I was famous for getting stuck in one particular tree in our yard. Whenever I went to come down, I couldn't figure out where I had stepped to get up and was afraid I would fall - it was a HUGE pine tree. My Dad got so mad about it one day, he came home and chainsawed all the lower branches off. What did I do?? Drag the balance beam he had made me over to the tree to start from there. :)

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  7. I don't suppose you tried that again now, did you? You know, from an airplane? ahaha.
    I bet you were hell on wheels, but a lot of fun. :D So glad you lived to survive to tell the tale. ;)

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    1. Cyndi - Actually, I had written another paragraph about when I had to jump off of a building's roof while being shot at during the mid 70's, and how I knew I'd survive because I already had done it once, but I thought I'd save that story for another time and deleted it. : ) I did sky dive 9 times ... four with a static line and five free falling. I broke my ankle the last time landing in a field filled with gopher holes, and never got back into it. But, no, never without a chute, that's for sure! lol Sometime, I'll have to write about my life with farm animals, and how my grandparents just shook their heads, time and time again. lol Good to see you! Many thanks!

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  8. Coming by from FTSF and realizing you and my youngest would be best friends were you like the same age and stuff.. umm yeah. He is my daredevil and would have been right with you on the roof ready to jump.

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    1. Angelwithatwist - I have to apologize for not knowing your name! I looked but had no luck finding it. Anyway, I'm afraid your son is probably much smarter than I. We'd have probably been on the roof with me saying, "You go ahead and I'll take notes on what happens!" lol And ... like Forest Gump, "I'd have done it!" Really appreciate you stopping by! Many thanks!

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  9. "...and that, children is why we have a period of time referred to as 'the 60's' "

    I imagine therefore I am, (makes sense to me, but then again I also grew up in the 60's).

    Bottom line verification of the soundness of the philosophy we'r both here writing about it...lol

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    1. Clark - Ah, the 60's! When innocence left us and reality changed the world. The first decade of television lying to us about the Warren Commission's findings! lol
      It was the first day of the rest of our lives, day after day. We had nothing to lose but our virginity, and couldn't wait for that! Peace, love, dove and where in the hell was all the free love????? lol
      I'm with you, my friend! Here we be, just you and me, writing free, for all to see! Damn, we might as well be living on a commune! Many thanks!

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  10. This really is a great life lesson. As an adult, we are often controlled by our fears. Ironically, I have found this even more true the older and older I get. I blame it on having 3 kids. I told my husband they took a little piece of my adrenaline with them each and every time!

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    1. Stacy - You know, when I first started reading your blog, I thought you somewhat ... do I dare say it ... of an airhead. Please don't take offense, as I enjoyed reading it, but that was my first impression. But, some of the comments you've made definitely ends all thoughts of that being true! You're really a "thinker". Do you realize that you're the first to really understand the lesson I was attempting to get across! Fear is the great inhibitor. It controls us if we let it. And, the only way we keep from letting it win is to face it and overcome it. We may not always do it intelligently, but we still aren't afraid to stand up and do it! That's what life is all about! If we sit in our little comfort zone forever, we tend to become watchers instead of doers. I can't live that way. I have to constantly tax my abilities. You're a doer. That's why I commented in your FB post a week or so ago and said what I did. Keep writing, my friend! You have much to say and much to do ... I see it happening on the very near horizon. Many thanks!

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  11. My kid is never reading your blog. I, however, and psyched to have found you via FTSF! And seriously, it's amazing you didn't break something. My brother broke an ankle jumping from our roof to what he thought was an extra big pile of snow. It was a very large rock.

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    1. Kristi - I've been told that I may not be the best role model for the Parent's Guide to Raising Children, that's for sure! lol Still, my oldest daughter looks at me and just shakes her head at times. She lived through many of the things I tried, and I think she's just happy I made it through all the crap I've pulled! : ) I'm glad you enjoyed the post! I once jumped off the top of a wall (yes, another story) into a snowdrift that was taller than I, thinking similarly to your brother! I quickly found out that it's very hard to walk through snow deeper than you are tall! I got out (obviously), and never tried that one again! You live by learning! lol Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Dana - I won't tell you about jumping off of a bridge into a river without having checked to see how deep it was first. Neither will I tell you about being treed all night by a pack of wild dogs after having entered the state park through the forest to avoid having to pay an entrance fee! lol And there was that time..... oops, almost let it slip! Kids will do what they're gonna do. All you can do in return is get them medical treatment and love them (until they're well and then give them a spanking they'll never forget!) lol Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!

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  13. Lizza - So good to meet you here! You were, you just failed to develop them! We were told we were playing make believe so often we actually started believing it! It's good to know it's never too late though! Really good of you to stop in! Many thanks!

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  14. Well, first of all, Kate would *never* call you a dumbass! I might, but... Second of all, it's true that we "know no boundaries when asking you to reveal your idiocies..." or however you so eloquently phrased it. ;) Third, I had to laugh right away at "Some of us did anyway..." HA! And last, loved your story, I would *never* have done that myself, and thanks for linking up with us again! Hope to see you next week, too, your perspective is always refreshing! :)

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    1. Stephanie - It's nice to know how you feel about me! lol Obviously, you were one of those that did ... and I thought you to be such a nice girl! : ) You know this blog is all about sarcasm ... what can I say. I gotta live up to the expectations! I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  15. Hi Rich, enjoyed your post very much! I admit I never tried to fly or jump from heights, my (future) mathematical brain seems to have told me that gravity would be the superior force and also a nasty force, not working in my favor!
    But I did roller skate down steep sreets with cross traffic at the bottom (risking being crushed by a crossing car), because I was "invincible" on skates. And I also swam way out into deep waters (both ocean and lake), because I would never get a cramp, I was too good a swimmer for that!
    So yes! These were good memories! I think nothing happens to a lot of children because it's not really their time to die! There is no other explanation! See you around, and please post some more!

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    1. Joan - So very good of you to stop in! I have found my brain to get more and more mathematical as I get older. Shame it didn't start sooner! I didn't live in an area conducive to roller skating (grass yards and gravel roads do make it difficult), but I can totally relate to the swimming part. I once told myself I could easily swim across Monroe Reservoir near Bloomington, Indiana. This was a good mile and a half swim, but I made it ... only to find swampy land and all types of creatures you don't want to deal with barefoot. So, I said, "I'll just swim back across!" My arms turned to rubber about halfway back, so I rolled on my back and just kicked. When I finally hit the shore, I didn't have enough energy left to crawl on the beach for about 30 minutes. Kids do the strangest things, simply because they don't think that they can't! Many thanks!

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  16. After reading your story, Rich - I am convinced. All kids are installed with something in their brains telling them to 'try the impossible'. It must be! When I was around 4 or 5, we stayed in a house on a hill. There were two lots of steps going up to the house. One day, I took my tricycle outside the kitchen door. I was going to do the impossible and cycle down the stairs. But, I was going one step further. I was going to do it backwards! I don't really remember the rest, but apparently there was a lot of blood. Luckily, it wasn't serious - I was lucky. And so were you! Great post! :)

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    1. Melanie - There are times I wonder about you, my friend! lol Some of the things you pull sound so much like something I'd have done! : ) I'm seriously happy you survived. I'd have lost many a smile you've provided me if you hadn't. lol Many thanks!

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  17. Great story Rich! Makes me nervous for when my little one starts to create his own theories and feels the need to prove or disprove!

    Thanks for stopping by Seriously Kate!

    Kate @ http://seriouslykateblog.blogspot.com

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    1. Kate - Good to see you! One never knows what a youngster may be thinking, either through justification or theory. My mother just knew to help me get the cuts cleaned out as I was always getting banged up somehow. lol Many thanks!

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  18. I love that you were like a little scientist trying to prove your hypothesis through experimentation! It also confirms my belief that, most times, kids survive their experiments, so we should let them explore and learn for themselves. As a mom, though, it's so hard to let go!!

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    1. Rachel - Really good of you to drop by. Kids need to stretch their realities and investigate their imagination. Sometimes, they just need a little supervision. lol I think my mother pretty much trusted I wouldn't do anything stupid. Little did she know! : ) I was always a little more restrictive with my kids, simply because I remembered the things I'd done! lol Many thanks!

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  19. I could have sworn I left you a comment.

    Well, that explains a LOT. ;) So glad you lived through your childhood. lol

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    1. Terrye - Good to see you! Sometimes I wonder if I ever grew up! Maybe one day, I'll reach puberty and be able to grow sideburns! lol Many Thanks!

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