The Terrible Catsafterme

Brad's Musings and Meanderings

random acts of quoting

"I brought you some hard-boiled eggs and some nuts" - Stan Laurel, "County Hospital"

Eighth Grade Ends

February 28th, 2008

eighth11.jpgOn May 20, 1986, as I stood there dressed to the nines in my white sportjacket and yellow slacks in preparation of attending the Ankeney Junior High School Banquet of Excellence, my Mom remarked to me that at that very moment, she was noticing how much weight I had lost. My transformation was complete. I had blossomed from the awkward fat kid into a gangly teenager. That evening I accepted my award certificate for achieving one of the top ten scores in the school on the Language Art Olympiad – an event of which I have no recollection. Eighth grade was about to come to an end and I was heading into the Summer with a new lease on life. Read the rest of this entry »

Third Grade Begins

February 27th, 2008

thirdx.jpgAfter our return from the Hollywood ’80 convention, I was forced to return to my suburban Ohio lifestyle. I spent out the rest of the lazy days of Summer watching TV and playing outside, being babysat by Kelly Nye on the days that Mom worked. To fill my hours, I began compliling a list of all of the performers from the Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang films – as listed in the books Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang: The Life and Times of The Little Rascals. I would write each name down and then put the corresponding number of each film that they appeared in. It was a very early and rudimentary version of the Internet Move Database. Read the rest of this entry »

mich5.jpgAlthough I had been whisked away from the comfortable surroundings of home for a brief weekend getaway at Woodland Altars during the Spring of 1972, my first big vacation didn’t come until mid-Summer later that year. My parents and I traveled along with Bill and Dottie and their kids to a tiny cottage owned by Dottie’s parents located on Manistique Lake in Curtis, Michigan. From July 29 – August 4, we spent the week boating, fishing, picnicking, and from what I understand…freezing. Read the rest of this entry »

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CHRISTMAS 6 – 1976

February 24th, 2008

x6u.jpgMost likely because this was our first Christmas with Denise, my parents decided to take over the duties of hosting Christmas Eve. For the previous six years of my parents’ marriage and the first five years of my life, it had been held at Carl and Arline’s house, but now the torch was passed on to us. From here on in, as long as my parents were together, Christmas Eve would be at our place. Surprisingly Dad did not take any home movies of Denise’s first Christmas. Read the rest of this entry »