Random memories from childhood

• Visiting the pond up the street and exploring the natural pond creatures, like frogs and tadpoles. The pond doesn't exist anymore - it's a residential street now. We had so much biodiversity growing up.
• Starting a grass fire accidentally while playing hookey from elementary school with a girl. This happened right across the street from the school I was playing hookey from (Mountainview). It was a dumb-ass thing to do. She was impressed though.
• Rocking out with the Drovers. Yes, those Drovers. They lived next door. Their favourite material? Queen.
• Walking the tracks to the beach at Pointe Calumet (8km). I must have been a trend-setter because that spur line is a paved biking / walking path now.
• Cooling off alone on Ile Turcotte, accessible only by a train bridge. It was one of my favourite places to escape to, my fortress of solitude.
• Hanging out at Olympia Park with 3 girls one summer (whom I did not know previously - they went to another school) who shall remain anonymous.
• A chance re-acquaintance with two of those girls (sisters) at a dinner party set up by my dad years later.
• Habs games at the Forum with my uncle Bob and my dad. I liked going with my dad because it was always to see the Red Wings (his favourite team) and they always lost at the Forum when we went. I like going with my uncle because he had status at the Forum. He was a member of the private club and we would eat dinner there in a private restaurant before each game.
• Walking through the quiet woods at the north end of town by myself.
• Playing pinball at Jed's. Getting ice cream at Jed's.
• The perfect fries at Mario's Pool Hall. The jukebox too. We wore those records out! Foreigner - Double Vision.
• My first solo journey into downtown Montreal on the train. That was exhilarating.
• Black and white TV. For reals.
• Piss-ant. Heidi and Bob know what I mean. And only them.
• Going to Dad's work and almost mixing up the stack of computer punch cards.
• Being cajoled into eating raw oysters by Claude T's dad. They were awful.
• Bagels with high school teacher Mr. Gaspar.
• Handing out bingo cards at the Legion. My dad called the games.
• Snow so deep that the snow banks on the sides of the road were taller than an adult.
• Slamming my finger in the door of Uncle Bob's convertible.
• Operating the lights for dance night (Fridays) at the town community centre while David C DJ'ed.
• Street hockey games on 23rd avenue. It was always the English kids versus the French kids. Everyone pretended to be a Montreal Canadiens player.
• Drive-in restaurants.
• Having a wood stove in the sun parlour. Handy when the power went out. And for keeping warm in the sun parlour in winter.
• Hearing the church bells. You don't know how much you miss a sound until you hear it again.
• Dropping the overhead projector on my toe at school.
• Eating Indian bread (there must have been an Indian on the packaging) with a friend at 5. At the time, it was like eating cake, even though it was just plain fresh bread with nothing on it.
• Accidentally setting off the fire alarm at high school. It truly was an accident.
• Playing truth or dare in the cemetery at the top of 22nd avenue.
• The fantastic view of the river from the bar-lounge of Legion 185.
• My dad saying 'try this', me eating it only to find out it was pickled pork tongue. I liked it.
• Going for a flight from Cartierville in a small plane and not liking it very much. I might have been 7 or 8.
• Enjoying these amazing apples from the garage at a friend's house. I've never been able to identify them ever again. They had bright, deep red skins and very white flesh and an incredible sweet taste. Wish I knew what they were.
• Having a Montreal Star newspaper depot at our house.
• Getting in trouble for burning candles on the front steps of our house while parents were out. I bet you're seeing a common thread here. No, I am not a pyromaniac. Technically.
• The constant power failures.
• Watching the Army search our neighbourhood during the FLQ crisis. They came to our house!
• Enjoying dad's wonderful portable Grundig Prima-Boy Luxus multi-band radio.
• Watching the snowmobile races in the farmer's field behind our house. That field is now (you guessed it) a residential neighbourhood.
• Working in the library at school. I spent a lot of time in the library.
• Target practise with pellet guns in Norm's basement.
• Organizing Dad's stuff in his workshop. He could never find anything afterward. [giggle]
• Meeting Toe Blake and not even realizing who he was. My dad went to school with him.
• Watching Star Wars at the Drive-In theatre in St Eustache. My parents didn't like the movie. Star Wars blew my mind. I was 16.
• Snow storms so bad that the only way around for hours or sometimes days was by snowmobile. Kids with snowmobiles made a tidy sum getting groceries for people that were snowed in.
• Refusing to eat ketchup on eggs as a kid. [shudder] I still find it gross.
• Self-paced learning in grade 6 that ruined class-paced learning for me from then on.