MEMORIES FROM CHILDHOOD

When Mom wanted me to do something
quickly, she would say, “Quick like a bunny!”

One of the reasons Gramps
liked seeing my brother and me was probably because
it was a good excuse to have a root beer float.

When I heard the phrase “first of all,”
I would think of a soccer ball.

Dad letting me as a three-year-old
sit in the middle seat of the pick-up
and shift gears.

When I first heard my grandmother swear,
she said, in as loud a voice as she could muster,
“Oh, son of a bitch!” And I thought,
“She must really be mad.” And I think that’s the
only time I’ve ever heard her talk like that.

When the song sang, “Every time you go away,”
I thought the next line was,
“…you take a piece of meat with you.”

I couldn’t understand
why Granny called us “whistle-britches”,
or why she called pancakes “hotcakes”,
or a grilled-cheese a “toasted-cheese” sandwich.

(21 February 2007)