Puerto Rican Concrete Nail
A concrete nail from a work project I went on in Puerto Rico. We were in a small village called Angeles in the rainforests, up in the mountains. Their church had classrooms on the back, with an old tin roof that didn’t work. We spent a week and a half putting on a standard roof for that area.
Standard roofing meant a six-inch-thick, rebar-reinforced slab of concrete that seamlessly merged with the walls of the same structure. (When you live in hurricane country… you don’t build your house of straw or sticks).
I can remember standing up on the roof, which was probably one of the tallest points in town. You could look out over this village, and the surrounding forest. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
Our first day there we were clearing away the work site to make it ready for the new materials. This little old lady, speaking not a word of English, came around to the front of the church carrying a huge 10 gallon pot. Turned out to be some kind of home-made tropical punch. She wanted to thank us for what we were going to do for the church. She wasn’t a member, but lived behind it.
Have you ever tried pounding a nail like this into concrete?
Casawasco
Casawasco, again.
Probably my third summer. Probably the first time I was obsessed with women. I remember Sharity Bassett and Amy… something. Sharity, in the purple, was the one I was in lust with. Amy, in the red in back.
There was also Tim, the counselor at the bottom of the picture. The girls counselor, Jennie is missing. There’s also Jaime, and Megan, and Nathan Kabalac.
Tim showed up again years later when i was working at the camp. And when I went on a religious retreat in high school, Sharity Bassett — the first girl I ever ‘loved’ — was sitting there, on the other side of the room. And she was absolutely nothing like I had always dreamed she was. Saw her again frequently over the next few years. But I don’t know that I said more than 10 words to her.
Mom’s Bread Recipe
The first time I went down to Texas, about 5 years ago, to my family reunion, it was the first time I had met any of those people. Strange suddenly having your family more than double in size, with just one plane flight.
Before I left, my aunt Ruth handed me this recipe. My mother, who had once taken care of my aunts when they all lived in Robert Lee, had left them that recipe when she returned to New York. More than 25 years earlier.
25 years.
And still, that handwriting is a dead give-away.
Elephant Bracelet
This was Kelly Lee’s bracelet. While we were dating, she took to wearing one of my flannel shirts. (She looked better in it than I did.) She really wanted to take it with her when she went back to school in Boston. A meaningful and intimate memento. “But it’s my favorite!”, I pointed out. Of course, that was her point as well. I knew I would lose the argument. I countered that it was hardly fair to take something and leave me with nothing. Maybe her bracelet, I suggested, which she always wore. She obviously hated the idea, but as she left to go back to school, wearing my shirt, she handed it to me.
After we split up, I think she did once ask about getting it back. Two thoughts:
- I still don’t see my shirt anywhere;
- Frankly, it still has as much meaning to me as it always did. While I had my little bout of anger that lasted a few years, I do look back now and realize there was something very good there.
Block of Wood
I went to Casowasco, a Methodist church summer camp for about 9 years in a row. My second to last year, the director of Senior High Aquatics handed us all these blocks of wood. He told us it didn’t have and special power or meaning. Just that when we saw it, it should remind us that God was out there.
Mountain Dew Cap
Shared this Mountain Dew with Amanda Bishop. That same day, I kissed her. First girl I ever kissed.
Not that I told her that.
Paper Airplane
This came from a Junior Leader Training weekend at Camp Babcock-Hovey, sometime in the late 80’s, or early-90’s. A year or so later, they changed the name to something more meaningful and PC.
When your table finished a session early, we got bored quick. And one point, we were comparing the best ways to make paper airplanes. This one was carried around in my wallet for the next decade.
Yes… we raised our share of hell. But I would trade every motivational speaker and seminar for one Boy Scout leadership program.
Rainbow Friendship Bracelet
For probably a good ten years I wore some friendship bracelet. This one came from Stacey Walker. Probably the most meaningful to me. Wore it ’til it wore out, which explains the masking tape.
Only stopped wearing them because my last one finally snapped, and I couldn’t find a good replacement. Just crap at booths in the mall.
Rec Complex ID 87-88
Lookitthecutelittleredneck!
Rec Center ID
Ice Skating pass to the Geneva Rec Center. Circa 1981. I sometimes think half my winter life was spent going around in circles outside the orange cones. (You could do whatever you wanted inside the orange cones, but first you had to learn not to fall on your ass doing it.)
I remember being there with some friends. We figured out that we could build up speed, and drop to one knee… skidding across the ice. Crazy and fast and fun. When I got home and pulled my pantleg up, my whole knee was purple with bruises. Walked funny for days. But it was damn fun.