nostalgia

Jul 30 2011

100 Word Essays

“Hey, stop swackin’ me, braids!”
— The kid tries to gets her pigtails to behave

On a recent visit to my mom’s place, she presented me with an old paper I’d written way back in 1972 when I was all of nine years old. Looking at it now, it doesn’t seem terribly legible. However, it did bring back a few memories.

I remember that at this particular time we had a regular (probably weekly) in-class assignment of writing a 100 word essay on a variety of subject matter. Of course, being a kid I tried to race through writing the essay, making a competition out of how fast I could crank it out.

I cracked a smile upon seeing the “(130 words)” notation I’d written on the paper. That was my 9 year-old self letting the teacher know I’d gone above and beyond the essay’s 100 word requirement. I also noticed that the essay gets much more disjointed once the magical 100 word milestone is met. Yep, that’s the 9 year old me trying to finish the essay so I can hit recess.

Some things never change. (165 words)

paper_1972

By mike • by Mike, Time Capsule • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Jun 25 2010

Autobiography of a Seven Year Old

Autobiography

A while back my mom presented me with some old paperwork she’d found around her place. Included were a handful of essays I’d written back in elementary school. I was amazed she still had them after all these years. Anyway, I thought it’d be a good idea to scan and post some of them here on the blog. I’m sure Lucy will get a kick out of them one of these days.

This first post is from 1971 when I was just shy of my eighth birthday. If I remember correctly, I think we had to start off some mornings in class with a short essay, probably around fifty words. I remember racing through them; there was probably an ongoing competition between the kids regarding who could finish their essay the fastest.

Reading this stuff brought back some good memories of sharing a room with my brother, chickens and a rooster as pets, an obsession with baseball, and the simple things that can make a kid’s life such a joy. Quick note: when looking at the above picture, seeing the title retraced in ink, it reminded me of my little sister Patty. She’d practice writing by tracing the letters of my old school papers. That was something I’d completely forgotten until now.

PDF IconView “Autobiography of a Seven Year Old” (3.6 MB – PDF)

 

By mike • by Mike, Time Capsule • 2 • Tags: , , ,

Nov 21 2009

A Willy Wonka Moment

Lucy and I meandered over to Los Gatos to visit a cat store last week. (Funny, that…cats…los gatos…)

Down the street from the cat store, we noticed a curious store that sparkled and shone. It was a candy shop, so of course we went in!

Lucy stood in the entryway, a bit overwhelmed, stunned, amazed, and unable to move. It was a bit of a sensory overload…shelves and shelves of candy, music and movies playing, sparkling tin ceiling tiles, lights, umbrellas, old signs, toys and games, lots and lots of things to look at.

It was a very Willy Wonka kind of place…they even had the movie playing on the back wall.

I found some nostalgic favorites, like the little dots on paper that you peel off, and a curly-whirly for Lucy’s daddy, which is the closest thing left to his childhood favorite Marathon bar.

Powell’s Sweet Shoppe it’s called. Oops, I forgot to get a Wonka bar! Guess we will have to come back…

By jill • by Jill, Geeky, Misc • 1 • Tags: , , , ,