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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 03/25/2007 : 13:57:41
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... was to be taken to Disneyland in Anaheim, California when it first opened.
What was your greatest childhood experience?
(Thanks to GrouchyDave in the Sunday chat for the idea of posting this.)
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 03/25/2007 : 14:30:42 [Permalink]
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Apart from getting laid for the first time, I'm a little hard pressed to come up with something. Had a rather undistinguished childhood....
Thinking back farther, I once spent an Easter Holiday with a school friend from Cuba. This was back in the Batista days, when the Mob all but owned the island. It was my first time out of the country and my first meeting with another culture. It was also the first (and only) time I observed Easter Mass in a Catholic church. At least, I assume it was Easter Mass. A very impressive ceremony.
Y'know, I haven't thought about that in a long time.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 00:40:23 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by HalfMooner
... was to be taken to Disneyland in Anaheim, California when it first opened.
What was your greatest childhood experience?
(Thanks to GrouchyDave in the Sunday chat for the idea of posting this.)
I'm spoiled. We lived nearby and went to Disneyland at least once a year. I feel bad I only took my son there twice. Now that he's 17 if he goes again it will be with his friends instead of me. But that would be OK too. It's just that I wouldn't get to go.
I went with my high school friends and no adults a couple times too. one year we all wore our Micky Mouse shirts to school the next day. The idiots running the school called us in the office and asked if we were up to something. They thought we were in the Micky Mouse Gang, I kid you not. Of course it didn't help that we all gave the peace sign at the assembly that day when the pledge of allegiance was said. And my girlfriend had taken acid and someone snitched on her. But she maintained just fine so they had to assume the snitch was wrong.
I had the best high school days. Until I was 16 and a bad/sad thing happened. But this is a fun thread so ... Except I can't tell you half the stuff. I don't want it saved in digital format. Could come back to haunt me. The 60s were just the best time to be in high school. I went to so many great concerts. We had a great group of friends. Half of them played in garage bands.
Going back to the earlier years, my other favorite place was the beach. My Mom took us to Seal Beach. Great place. You'd come home and feel like you were moving in the waves for the rest of the evening.
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 02:56:37 [Permalink]
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I went to Disney World in Florida the first year.
The greatest thing, though, I don't know. I got kicked out of some casino in Las Vegas because I was too young.
Going with my dad to fix TV's was a great thing for some reason. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 03:29:31 [Permalink]
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The first thrilling experience from my childhood that pops into my mind is when my parents brought home our first dog. It was a total surprise. I was 6 years old and hanging out at my grandmother's house with some cousins while my parents were at the County Fair. They came home with a German Shepard puppy named Jasper that they'd bought at the Fair. He had no papers, but certainly looked like a pure bred.
And then, of course, one of the saddest moments from my childhood was when Jasper died 6 years later of lung cancer. But hey, anything that gives you real joy has the potential for the opposite, right?
OK, that one ended as a bummer, lemme give ya one more that doesn't end on a bad note... um... how about being enthralled as I first viewed some beautiful paintings by Frida Kahlo at the age of 11, and then got to visit her house (now the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City) at the age of 17. Both of those were very memorable experiences.
And art can't die on ya. Well, unless a band of angry Protestants comes for another iconoclasm, or...
ok I'll shutup now. :-) |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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| Edited by - marfknox on 03/26/2007 03:30:45 |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 04:34:38 [Permalink]
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| Disney World is great but Cedar Point kicks its royal ass. Im hard pressed to think of any childhood activity which was more thrilling. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 04:44:18 [Permalink]
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I was 11 and went to a one week Christian summer camp with a friend. His father was a youth-pastor, and since we were summer-home neighbours, I got invited. While on the summer camp, I fell madly in love for the first time. The best thing was, she loved me too.
That was an awesome week.
And the parting most bitter-sweet, because we lived 1000km apart.
We kept contact through phone and mail for a year. I still keep the silver heart on-a-chain I gave her, that was returned to me when we formally broke up.
The next greatest thing must have been the 2 week Florida vacation, including trips to the Everglades, Flamingo Gardens, Ocean World, Kennedy Space Center, and Disney World. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Vegeta
Skeptic Friend
United Kingdom
238 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 04:54:41 [Permalink]
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| I'm drawing a massive blank on this one |
What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a pink shirt before?
"I was asked if I would do a similar sketch but focusing on the shortcomings of Islam rather than Christianity. I said, 'No, no I wouldn't. I may be an atheist but I'm not stupid.'" - Steward Lee |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 05:00:03 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Disney World is great but Cedar Point kicks its royal ass. Im hard pressed to think of any childhood activity which was more thrilling.
Cedar Point was good. Now you have to get a second mortgage. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 06:13:42 [Permalink]
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| I hear Cedar Point is now building the worlds largest indoor waterpark to go along with their coaster dominance, its worth a second morgage. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 08:44:56 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
I hear Cedar Point is now building the worlds largest indoor waterpark to go along with their coaster dominance, its worth a second morgage.
The Blue Streak still can't be beat. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 09:01:29 [Permalink]
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Learning to surf was the greatest thing I did as a kid.
All of our trips to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm were great. But I think the best moment for me was when my parents bought me my first surfboard. Even my first guitar, which was a Gibson electric hollow body with a sunburst finish, and would be worth a small fortune, now, if I still had it, didn't have the same impact on me even though it did have a lasting affect on my life. (In the total scheme of things, that first guitar was probably more important. But it wasn't until years later that I understood how central to my life guitars and being a musician would be to me.)
I begged them for a surfboard. My friend Brad was in a Boy Scout troupe that actually took surfing trips. He took me along on one of those and I was hooked. I came home and pleaded with my folks for a board. They were very reluctant because my parents saw surfing as a dangerous sport. In the meantime I eyed my mother's ironing board and imagined, with a fin, what a fine board it would make. (That, of course, was ridiculous, but it looked enough like one to make me dream.) It wasn't until she talked to an orthopedic surgeon about how many surfing related injuries he had seen before she relented.
A fellow on the next block was selling his 9' 10” Dave Sweet surfboard. It was pretty dinged up and had 17 stringers in it (wood strips for strength) making it kind of on the heavy side. Frankly, it was a piece of crap, as surfboards go. But it was a surfboard. And in my eyes it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And for 50 dollars of my parent's money it was mine. I learned to surf on that board. (Much to my parent's chagrin, I broke my nose on my first time out on it. But I persevered. There was no turning back now.) That was the only board they ever bought me. I paid for all the others. And there were many. (About 25 years worth.) And every other board was custom and much much better than that first one. But like all first love affairs, that Dave Sweet was the most special in its way...
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 09:17:31 [Permalink]
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My folks gave me one of those 7-in-1 radio kits. I don't remember much about except I had my own radio show from my dad's shop, and the neighbors could tune me in. Not that they wanted to, but they did let me know they heard me.
I also remember spending hours listening to an ancient short wave receiver. Learning about the running imperialist dog lackeys from Radio Havana Cuba was my favorite.
Anybody remember standing on a bridge watching a train go underneath and feeling as though the bridge itself was moving? |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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| Edited by - Gorgo on 03/26/2007 09:19:06 |
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 09:38:26 [Permalink]
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I honestly never had a great childhood moment... I'm that sad.
But methinks the most memorable were:
a) when I was around 9/10, getting my first dog. She lasted only a week with us, because she had an awful behavior and my mom gave her to a friend - that was certainly one of the worst moments (worse than my first surgery and the subsequent streak of pain and physical therapy, come to think of it). She was the most beautiful Cocker Spaniel, but she had a terrible behavior. Then we got another dog - the mutt who's lying besides me right now. Bringing her home was the best thing we did.
b) publishing my first short stories... but I was already 15 when that happened. Signing autographs in the book fair... receiving my award for getting into the publisher's anthology (it was a contest)... having a book-signing night (sponsored by Texaco and attended only by family and friends, but still)... yeah, heavenly moments.
And. There was another moment. There was this day when I was really upset - suicidal, even - and I went to physical therapy. They do equestrian therapy there. Well, one of the horses was this incredibly gorgeous Arabian. He was very shy around me and I kept trying to have him trust me enough to come to me and let me touch him. He didn't unless he was forced. But that day, I was by the paddock, still feeling miserable, and he walked straight to me, without anyone forcing him, and touched his head to my chest. I cried. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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ejdalise
Skeptic Friend
USA
50 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2007 : 12:30:49 [Permalink]
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For me it's easy . . . coming to the US in June of 1966. I don't have any good memories of the 13 years I lived in Italy, and plenty of the other kind (don't feel bad for me . . . made me what I am, and I would not trade that).
I tell people this, and they look at me as if I am exaggerating, but within of a few months of being in the US, I knew this is where I was supposed to be. I would go so far as to say its where I was meant to be born, but I don't believe in derailed destiny.
Some of the things that made it so:
- written exams. in my teens my stuttering was still unmanageable, and coming here raised my grades from Cs and Ds to As (oral exams in Italy)
- television with multiple channels (OK, only about 6, but still way better than the two in Italy . . . and much more air time)
- sleeping on the foldout sofa. We moved to a small apartment, and I slept on the pullout. The reason this was great? On average I only slept 4-5 hours (something that continues to this day). I went from incredible boredom laying awake in bed to having something to watch until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. As long as I kept the sound low, everything was copacetic.
OK, so not everything was great (kids are the same here as over there, my step father was still a drunk), but there was a promise, an opportunity, of being able to have more. That was also the year I told my mother I was not going to go to church any more - OK, that was not so great on the outside, but on the inside it was the beginning of an independence I would never relinquish.
ejd |
--- Disperser ---
Winning enemies and aggravating friends since 1953 |
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The greatest thing I ever did as a kid...
