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(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

Senior year in high school, just a few required classes to graduate, time to pick a few electives to fill the time. A new choice this year, Art class was being offered for the first time, to be held in one of the old Home Ec rooms.

The class quickly filled with seniors and we soon found out that it was different from any class we had taken before. The teacher was young Kathy Curtacci, fresh out of college, full of great ideas and plans.

I remember one of our first assignments was to go out into the parking lot (we actually got to leave the classroom – another first!) to attempt a pencil drawing of a motorcycle parked there. Most of us didn’t have a clue about drawing or art, and I am sure those drawings reflected that inexperience.

Drawing was just the tip of the iceberg, just getting our feet wet. Over the course of the year, we painted, carved linoleum blocks for printing (which Ms. Curtacci used to make her own Christmas cards to send out that year), made pottery creations which we glazed and fired in a kiln, made paper mache.

My favorite was by far – tie dye!

You have to keep in mind, this was 1971, the hippie movement was still lingering on. She told us see if our fathers would let us have an OLD t-shirt for this project. She showed us how to apply the rubber bands to make patterns, use different colors of dye.

We were so proud of those shirts!

I have used tie dye again and again over the years – at a Girl Scout event we set up the dye for the different levels – blue for the daisies, orange for the brownies, green for the juniors. When grandson Kyle became a football player, Melissa and I had purple (team colors) tie dyed t-shirts to wear to the game, and just recently at a birthday party next door, 13-year-olds got to tie dye their own shirts to take home. One of the girls was overhead saying – did your mother used to be a hippie?

During the course of our senior year, young Ms. Curtacci and Coach Thompson fell in love and were later married. She went on to become Dr. Thompson, local artist and teacher. She still teaches art classes at the local Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association.

I saw her a couple of years ago at Arts in the Park, I told her that I was in her first class at West Fannin High – and she said, “I remember you – you married Kay’s brother and were going camping on your honeymoon to Colorado!”

As far as answering the question about a teacher having a great influence on you, maybe I should have picked Mr. Hellerstedt who taught us algebra, or the countless teachers who tried to make us appreciate literature and science, but the only one that stands out in my mind is Kathy Curtacci, Art Teacher!

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

Ever since I first read Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde when I was maybe about 12, mysteries have been my favorite read. I don’t remember reading Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, but who can forget Mr. Hyde!

As an adult, I ventured into horror, reading Stephen King. I liked it for a while, but the gore factor started to overcome the story and seemed overwhelmingly unnecessary. I also read Patricia Cornwell for a while about medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, until I had enough of postmortum.

I have read most of Sue Grafton’s alphabet mysteries so far, featuring PI Kinsey Millhone, and Janet Evanovich’s series about PI Stephanie Plum are very entertaining.

Lee Child’s series about Jack Reacher, ex-military cop is always good and keeps my attention. I read quite a few of John Grisham’s lawyer books, my favorite is The Partner. Laurie King is the author of an entertaining series of books featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, set in the early 1900s.

When I am not in the mood for mystery or horror or investigation:

Nicholas Sparks puts out a great love story, Gene Brewer’s K-Pax series was fun, and Jennifer Chiaverini’s Elm Creek Quilt series are a good light read.

Other favorites – Nicholas Evans, Mitch Albom, Stuart Woods, John Dunning, Nancy Pickard, Jan Karon, Michael Crichton, Bill Bryson, Scott Turow, Robert James Waller.

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

When our kids were growing up, we lived in Florida a couple of different times, having moved there for jobs.

While living there we would go to the beach every Sunday.

Sunday mornings were spent loading up the car with the necessities for a day at the beach:

Towels, chairs, suntan lotion, books to read, camera, flip flops, Sunday newspaper, snorkel, flippers, mask, PBJ sandwiches, pretzels, cold drinks, cooler.

The day was spent soaking up the sun, napping to the sound of the waves, watching the boats go by, the planes with their ads, kites flying overhead.  After a day at the beach we would be covered in sand and salt and pina-colada-smelling suntan lotion, then we would load the car up once again and head back home.

On the way home we would always stop by and get a pizza to go, take it home and watch that new cartoon show on Sunday nights – the Simpsons.

Florida was a nice place to visit, but we never really called it home, and always just acted like tourists or at least short-timers, as we knew our home in the mountains was waiting on us whenever dad would finish up the job he was on.

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

Girl Scouts
camping out in tents, singing Kumbaya around the campfire, On My Honor…

4-H camp
Bunk house, lake swimming, arts and crafts, hello muddah, hello faddah

first kiss
was it playing spin the bottle?

first dance
possibly shoeless on the gym floor

first date
who can remember these things?

driving a car
look out world – another female driver

high school prom
playing dress-up – fancy dress, beauty shop, makeup, high heels

first flowers
12 red roses on my 18th!

away to college
freedom from parents, but don’t forget the dorm curfew

first concert
nitty gritty dirt band – Mr. Bojangles

falling in love
forever and ever

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

I was the youngest, the baby of the family, the only girl, so – well duh I liked it just fine! It is true, everything you hear about the baby…

It was actually like being an only child most of the time, as my brothers were both much older.  And being like an only child is OK too!

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

High school football games

Push ‘em back, push ‘em back

Basketball games

2 bits 4 bits 6 bits a dollar…

Sock hops after the games

No shoes on the gym floor

The local Canteen

Live band, wanna dance?

Listening to records with friends

Crimson and clover over and over

Bad hair days

Sleeping on curlers with taped bangs

Drive-in movies

Popcorn and bingo

High School Prom

Playing dress up

Me and my BFF Wilma

Picking up guys on the side of the road

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

was I really there?
did it really happen?
why don’t I remember?

so the story goes…
we were in Europe for 2 years
the tender age of 5
kindergarten on the army base
school pictures to prove it

the memories I have
look suspiciously
like the flickering images
from the home movies we took
with the vintage clicking sound
in the background
made by the projector…

smile at the camera!
was that really me?
that little blonde girl
standing at the
leaning tower of Pisa
or in the endless
fields of tulips in Holland
with the windmills
in the background

was I really at the
Octoberfest in Germany
or camping in the Alps?
did I really see all those
cathedrals and castles?

was I really there?
did it really happen?
why don’t I remember?

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

I was in the 4th grade, we were living in Army housing in LA (lower Alabama).
The elementary school was located in one of the housing areas. We would walk (single file in a line of course) down the sidewalk to the nearby playground for recess.

Once a week we would walk to the swimming pool and swim during recess. It was on the way back to the school from one of these walks that a lady ran out of her house and told the teacher about the assassination of President Kennedy.

When we got back to the classroom, all the teachers were in the halls talking about it, and in our class I remember some of the boys saying that since we now have no president, the Russians would be taking over the world. Boys!

(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)

Be frisky!

Pounce on possibilities

Enjoy the night life

Always land on your feet

Stretch often

Delight in the simple joy of a long nap

Create your own purr-fect day!