tinhuvielartanis | Memorable Moments 1 (Reply)

Being cradled by my Granny when I was 3 years old as she sang "Sleep Kentucky Babe." It is one of my most comfortable and secure memories.

When I was 4, Cedric the skunk sprayed our house. I remember the adults in the house gagging and throwing open all the doors and windows in the dead of Winter, trying to get the stench out. To this day, I am unphased by skunk spray.

Speaking of "aromas" I'm also unphased by male cat urine. When I was 14, my cat Toque peed on me on the way to the vet's office. He had not yet been neutered, but was old enough to have the male scent. Our car held the scent forever the longest and I just got used to it.

Walking with the Mother Unit in the forest around my house when I was 5 (or maybe 6). She found a garter snake and let me hold it. At that moment, I fell in love with snakes and have been in love with them ever since.

Standing on the front porch at the same house, same age, at night, staring into the forest as a possum stared back at me. All I could see was it's white face looming in the darkness, and those round black eyes sizing me up. I remember thinking how pretty it was...and am still one of the few people in this are who think possums are *cute*.

Wondering at the statue of Chief Pontiac, which looms over the Pontiac car dealership in Asheville, in 1976. I'd never seen such before!

Exploring our soon-to-be-new home in Black Mountain, NC, when I was 7. As I stood on an old mattress, looking out the back window, the fleas that infested the mattress found their dinner for that day: ME! I had hundreds of fleas crawling all over me. I remember running and screaming from the back bedroom and Aunt Tudi and Granny having to literally scrape the fleas off of me. Instead of moving in the next day, we moved in a week later, after the landlord fumigated the house, which was an A-frame chalet. It was weird....the roof touched the ground.

Eating hamburgers with naught but mayonnaise, specially made for me by the chef who worked at my uncle's restaurant in Black Mountain. Again, I was 7. These were the best hamburgers I'd ever had or will ever have.

Lying in my bed praying to god to make the pain of a horrible earache stop when I was 9. It didn't work.

Sitting in the movie theatre having my life irrevocably changed upon seeing Star Wars in 1977. I wasn't quite 10 years of age and I was utterly transformed from a Disney Dweeb to a Sci-Fi Geek in the matter of two hours.

Singing "Victims" by Culture Club in the auditorium at high school and being caught by Andy, who begged me to sing again as he played piano. I didn't do it, and I regret that. I was 16.