The Terrible Catsafterme

…into an autograph! Because she was pretty and because I often watched Wheel of Fortune while growing up, I sent off an autograph request to the lovely Vanna White on September 12, 1997. I remember this show from the days not long after my age was adding on a second digit – in the days when contestants would take their winnings and ‘go shopping’, buying such an odd assortment of prizes as a vaccum cleaner, a painting of a smoking dog, a trip for two to Merry Old England, and a bag of licorice. Everything was way overpriced, the licorice probably costing about $25. Read the rest of this entry »

The only thing I remember about early 1977 was that it was cold. Actually I don’t even remember that. But considering that this particular year began in January, it’s a pretty safe bet. In truth, I’m sure I have many memories stored away from the first part of the year, it’s just that I certainly can’t truthfully assign any of them to this period because I have no idea when they actually occurred. All I know for absolute certainty is that I learned to tie my shoes in January… and on an unrelated note, my Mom set the pup tent that I got for Christmas up in my room and there it stayed for a good while. This was where my friend Andrea and I first began playing doctor and it went on from there…

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Until just moments ago, I was all excitedly prepared to tell you how my first Presidential grave was not who I always thought it was (Nixon), but actually George Washington during a visit to Mount Vernon when I was just one year old. My Dad thought that I had also probably seen Woodrow Wilson’s grave in the National Cathedral during the visit. It was all plausible considering I had gone along on the trip and there were slides of both Mt. Vernon and the Cathedral in the set that my Dad took. But then Mom dropped the bomb on me: I never actually made it into Washington D.C. in 1973. I didn’t actually get there until 1998. Read the rest of this entry »