Story Time

Here for your entertainment is a story I wrote as a wee child. It is one of many found in the hot pink notebooks I described in my previous post. To forewarn you, there are many misspelled words and errors. (What do you expect from a second grader?) Hopefully you'll get the gist of the 177 word (I noted that in the margin) story and have a few laughs...

"Me I'm Flying For a Cange For Once"
By Ann M L

Well once upon a time. I stell live. I am going to tell a story about me with wings. Once upon a time I was on a trip to the wishing well. I wished for wings. I flew to Hollywood. But when I got on land my wings disappeard. I had a red leather dress on. And I also noticed I was 25 years old. I got a job too. I got a red Ferrari. My bosses name was Ms Miracle Mart. Her first name is Piggly Wiggly. This is how much mony I got paid 1,00000,750,0000. I lived in a matching. Then I got tired of living in Hollywood, so I moved to Alaska. They thought that I was some kind of giant brid. But we got along fine I was a farmer gril. And I also diged for gold. I got ten dolers for a farmer girl. I got gold for diging for gold. Days had past and I got sick of living in Alask so I moved again. I moved to Indana. I lived in a big hous. I worked as a movie star. They called me Ann Adule. I was fames. I had 400 dogs. 200 black labes and 200 duchshund. Then I moved home with all my dogs. But it was just a dream. The End

Why I had wings, moved to Hollywood, wore a red leather dress, worked for Ms. Piggly Wiggly Miracle Mart, moved to Alaska and farmed as well as mined for gold, became famous in Indiana...I haven't the faintest idea... I do love that my boss was named after the local grocery stores. That's genius right there. My favorite twist is that I became a movie star in Indiana as opposed to in Hollywood. I'm thinking the Ferrari is linked to my Barbie's toy version of the car. The development of my show name, Ann Adule, is no doubt due to Paula Adul and her song "Opposites Attract." And the 400 dogs... Well, that's nothing new. I love dogs.

Included with the story, as with all of my stories, was a picture...


Well, that is story time for today. Don't worry though because there are more to share. Yes, indeed. I'll introduce you to fictional characters like Buddy the Baby Cub, Cowboy Jim, the Funny Turkey, Coockoo the Baby Parrot, Fredy Fish and Pale Whale, and M.C Bunny. Get ready for some literary adventures...

Back Then

I found a couple of old, hot pink, wire bound, and wide ruled notebooks--each with seventy pages measuring 10 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches. You know, just to give you a picture... These notebooks date back to the 1991-1992 school year, when I was in the second grade, and were used to write stories for class assignments. For each story written I received a sticker of some sort to adhere to the back of my notebook. Oh, stickers...

Do you remember the excitement of stickers like I do? I mean, I would do practically anything for a sticker in elementary school. It's a good thing they were distributed by teachers for rewarding good grades and behavior because if it were the other way around... Woo! Who knows what kind of person I'd be today!

Think back though, to your elementary days of past filled with sticker glory... A gold star. The anti-littering sticker that urged us all to "Pitch In!" Those silly, smiley face stickers in bright colors. Valentine heart stickers that said, "CALL ME" and "FOREVER". (Of course now those stickers would say "TEXT ME" and "3 MONTHS".) All of the anti-drug and "Just Say No" stickers. And let's not forget the queen of stickers, Lisa Frank. But the most prized sticker of all...? Oh yeah! The scratch-n-sniff.

Seriously, how much fun was elementary school? Sooo much fun.

We enjoyed recess twice a day until the fourth grade. Because, you know, once you're a fourth grader it's time for the "real world". Lunch was filled with lunch tickets being punched (prior to this digital age), little milk cartons with skinny straws, jokes about sea food and mustard (I'll let you figure those out), and unrecognizable meals. Pencil boxes were cardboard and pencils had crazy eraser tops. Trapper Keepers were the shiznit way before the word "shiznit" was ever uttered. We checked out Where the Sidewalk Ends, The Berenstain Bears, Green Eggs and Ham, and Clifford the Big Red Dog from the library via those cute little cards tucked in pockets in the back of the books. Then we bought our favorite books through book orders and book fairs. (Amazon.com? No, thank you.) As we grew a bit older, we progressed to the "choose your own adventure" books. "To enter the dark cave in the mountain, turn to page 62. To climb the mountain, turn to page 35". Uh-may-zing. Math assignments consisted of adding 2+3 to figure out that all sections of the "color by number" design equaling 5 should be colored blue. "Heads Up 7 Up" was the best game ev-verrr, playing with a giant parachute was considered physical exercise, "show and tell" developed public speaking skills and built confidence, Pizza Hut encouraged reading with their "Book It" program, and folder forts were constructed on the tiny desks to protect against would-be cheaters.

One of my favorite elementary school fashion accessories was my rectangular backpack that was designed to mimic a locker. Forget backpacks on wheels, locker backpacks were and are way cooler. People don't seem to remember those though and it's too bad. Really, it's a shame. However, everyone does remember Hypercolor shirts, Zuba pants, those other pants girls wore with the elastic band that went around the heel, B.U.M. Equipment, inside-out sweatshirts, insulated sweats, and velcro shoes. Sooo classic.

Yeah, elementary school... Stickers for rewards. Two recesses and a lunch break. Whimsical school supplies. Solid reading material. Assignments were fun, games educational. (GeoSafari anyone?) Working out wasn't a chore. Fashion was comical. And we learned how to play the recorder in music class?!

I mean, wow... We had it all figured out back then.

I like it like that...

• I like that when I Google my name the first blurb in the search results is associated with The Joyful Heart Foundation.
  
• I like that toothpaste can double as silver polish.
• I like my handwriting.
• I like that when I empty spam from my email account Gmail proclaims, "Hooray, no spam here!" We need more "hoorays" in our daily lives.
• I like that when I'm with my friends and one asks for chapstick to hydrate her parched lips, it becomes a quick draw race and multiple hands thrust forward to the friend in need clutching a tiny tube of lip balm.
• I like that there is a certain stretch of storefront windows on North Washington Avenue in Minneapolis that flatter me with a long and lean reflection. Seriously, I have legs for days in those windows.
• I like that my local Dunn Bros knows me by my drink of choice: medium Chai Latte.
• I like that when I hear a particular song it reminds me of a fantastically random memory.
• I like that when I let my curls down for the evening, after being pulled up all day, they hold on to their form somewhat. It makes my hair look like its flying in the non-existent wind and it makes me giggle.
• I like that my dogs absolutely love me just the way I am.
  
• I like that my family thinks I am phenomenally talented even when I don't.

Fire Within the Heart

I finally painted again and it felt goooood...

"Fire Within the Heart"

The acrylic painting was donated to a silent auction that my fabulous friend, Shauna, organized. She is competing this October in San Francisco as a Team In Training member in the Nike Women's Full Marathon. Not only is she running 26 miles, she is also raising $3800 to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I think she is fantastic for doing so and therefore it was my great honor to create a painting for the event in order to help her raise funds for a wonderful organization and cause.

An older picture of running phenom Shauna with my straight haired alter-ego, Anastasia.

Click here for more information about Team In Training.

Happiness...

Things and/or people that make me smile and/or laugh... (In no particular order.)

• My quote book
• Amy Sedaris
• Dogs
• Tea
• Blankets
• Philanthropy
  
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Sunsets
• Cooking for people
• My homie Shauna being her hilarious self
• An old, worn and comfy hoodie
• Art
• Baths
• Wanda Sykes
  
• Playing cards with my family
• Long philosophical talks
• The Boundary Waters Canoe Area
• Pretending I can beatbox
• Good wine
• Exploring faith
  
• My homie Beth and her lack of a filter at inappropriate times
• Reading old cards and letters
  
• Toddlers waddling
• Floating in the water
• Oprah Winfrey
• Poetry
• Dreams
• Playing basketball for fun
• Creating and expressing
• Dancing
• My homie Kelsi and her ability to acquire free drinks
  
• Chess
• Warm towels
• Flip flops
• Hugs
• Flight attendant instructions
• Chocolate
• Meeting extraordinary people
• Mariska Hargitay
  
• Traveling
• Mail
• Photos
  
• Autumn leaves raining from trees