tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51903112024-02-20T14:37:50.504-06:00Random RedheadMemoirs from a South Side neighborhood '78 to '89.
Life as I knew it in urban St. Louis.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-43413907375088069892011-08-06T19:51:00.000-05:002011-08-06T19:51:28.929-05:00I'm working on formatting all these stories, editing out the junk, cleaning up the spelling errors, etc.
Read while you can, because eventually I'm going to delete it all. Well, everything except the stitches. You guys seem to LOVE looking at those stitches in my foot.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-616469960744902902010-09-22T10:22:00.001-05:002010-09-22T10:24:58.479-05:00*update*Birth son mentioned years ago here found me on facebook. We're friends. Went to visit his family this summer. He came to visit us the summer before. Life continues to be fascinating.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-29907918740835013572007-01-20T06:29:00.001-06:002007-01-20T06:29:33.255-06:00test'She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1138567711366654452006-01-28T14:35:00.000-06:002006-01-29T14:48:31.376-06:00ChallengerMy high school algebra teacher would usually start class with a joke. 20 years ago today, he walked into class looking very grim and said, "Did you hear that the Space Shuttle blew up?"We responded, "No! Tell us about the Space Shuttle blowing up!" We thought it was a joke, but it wasn't. Our teacher brought in a television set and we spent the class watching the news.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1137002878446872762006-01-11T09:25:00.000-06:002006-01-29T13:48:45.070-06:00Rebuilding an Engine, Part OneThere are a few things I learned during my dating years. One of them was never date an alcoholic. And another was never rescue an alcoholic. I did both. This is the "dating" part of the story versus the "rescue" part of the story.One of my boyfriends owned a late 1960's mustang fastback. I'm likely to get lynched for saying this, but I really don't remember what yearShe Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1134144696410337252005-12-09T09:15:00.000-06:002005-12-09T10:11:36.436-06:00Black Market LunchWhen I was in public school, lunch was doled out according to the number of lunch coupons you had. You could buy a week's worth of coupons, or you could buy them daily. Mom thought I brought my lunch every day. I never told her that I usually got my lunch on the black market. Because some of the more enterprising 8th graders would make copies of their lunch coupons and sell She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1133305244609287202005-11-29T16:29:00.000-06:002005-11-29T17:00:44.620-06:00The Dirty Book StoreThe dirty book store sat at the corner of Jefferson and Sidney, right next to Trader Bob's Tattoo shop. Trader Bob's is still there. The book store (thankfully) is not. My sister and I threw a little party when the book store closed. We bought Big Gulps from 7-11 and spent the whole day standing around that corner; claiming it as our own. Because the area around the dirty bookShe Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1127522330816523122005-09-23T19:09:00.000-05:002005-09-23T19:38:50.823-05:00Foot UpdateDr. Pozzi granted me 6 physical therapy sessions. I'm going to ask for more. Bit by bit I'm getting better. But damn, it's frustrating. I have stretching exercises and toe exercises that I to every day. I can walk without my cane now, but I really have to concentrate on walking properly. Twice a week, I see my therapist. First she chants, "Toe DOWN! Toe DOWN!" as I walk to her station.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1125339841008115002005-08-29T13:21:00.000-05:002005-08-29T13:24:01.006-05:00And on a side note...The injury reminded me just how beautiful the world is. I was happy for weeks. Everything made brought a smile to my face. Isn't that strange? I certainly wasn't happy about having stitches in my foot, yet I couldn't not be cheerful about everything else.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1125339667978785882005-08-29T11:00:00.000-05:002005-08-29T13:21:08.013-05:00no commentYou may have noticed a lack of interesting stories from my past recently. It's because I've been living an interesting story right now. Wanna hear? Then read on!About 3 weeks ago, I stepped on a broken mason jar and sliced my foot open. Oddly enough, it was while I was on the phone with my doctor's office. When I looked at my foot, I thought I'd cut it all the way across the arch. I She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1122613274490786832005-07-28T23:45:00.000-05:002005-07-29T00:01:14.493-05:00Dr. Seuss Does DeathDon't pump me full of chemicalsand bury me in the ground.Just toast me 'til I'm ashesand spread me all aroundDon't need a final resting placefor folks to come and mournI'd rather fertilize the Earth;a part of me rebornInto a flower or a tree,or maybe just some grass.Eternity inside a box?I think I'll take a pass.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1121406493913247952005-07-15T00:40:00.000-05:002005-07-15T00:48:13.916-05:00OMG!I forgot Soulard Farmer's Market, the whole Soulard area, Pevely Flea Market (hour drive to buy other people's crap)... Argh! I'm sure I'll think of more...Downtown, including Union Station, the train depot turned shopping mall, get some Hodges Chili if you visit... Look at all the people wearing red for the Cardinals baseball game, I'm sure there will be one during your stay... There's just She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1121405346417162242005-07-14T23:08:00.000-05:002005-07-15T00:29:06.426-05:00For SarsparillaWhen you visit St. Louis, I highly recommend some of our totally free museums. We also have quite a few dirt-cheap museums. Most are less than $10. That's what, 6 Pounds?Don't bother with the Arch, unless you like to look at a city from high up.If you like art, The Art Museum (creative name, eh?)has a fantastic collection. Admission is free, although there is a fee for any special She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1120847505525870002005-07-08T13:31:00.000-05:002005-07-08T13:31:45.530-05:00The Multi-Use RoofSt. Louis is great because it has a multitude of flat roofs. When you combine them with narrow gangways, you get a daring method of transportation. If you can leap 6 feet, you can traverse an entire block without touching the ground.Since most of our flat roofed buildings have a facade; you can hide from the cops, sunt@n t0pl&ss, or bombard your friends. They're also a great She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1120437533259381042005-07-03T19:38:00.000-05:002005-07-03T19:38:53.263-05:00Hey, St. Louis! We're having a little bit of a drought here, and tomorrow is the 4th of July. Which means cheap fireworks will be lighting the sky for the next few nights. If you don't water your lawns; they'll be lighting your grass, too.I know it's a hassle, but you might want to water your roof, too. It's been a long time since St. Louis was so dry... But trust me; debris in your gutters or She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1119334874841086532005-06-21T00:45:00.000-05:002005-06-21T13:31:41.896-05:00More Interesting Stuff About My DadDuring my father's stay in the brig, he wrote long letters to my mom. She wrote medium-length letters in return. With a toddler (my sister) running around the house, it was all she had time for. Some of their communications discussed the naming rights of the baby to be. (me)Mom thought that if I were a boy, I'd be named after my father... But what if I were a She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1117579475958708782005-05-31T16:37:00.000-05:002005-05-31T17:44:35.990-05:00PTSDI was reading a Frontline article about how the military deals with killing, which led me to look up post traumatic stress disorder; and what I found was fascinating.I know I have PTSD. I've known for a long time, but I'm not exactly sure what caused it in the first place. It wasn't the stuff that I don't talk about here because it embarrasses certain family members who choose to believe thatShe Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1116341517070991412005-05-17T09:11:00.000-05:002005-05-17T09:51:57.076-05:00Ruminations. I turned 36 a few days ago, and I must say... I couldn't be happier. Sure, I look in the mirror and see a few laugh lines; and there are some interesting white streaks in my red-orange hair. But in general, I look in the mirror and see myself. I wonder how much of that is genetic, and how much it has to do with attitude?What got me thinking about this was not the 10 year old who She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1114797219344018982005-04-29T12:10:00.000-05:002005-04-29T12:53:39.346-05:00The Fall Of SaigonI would have been not quite six years old at the time. I remember that mom and dad would watch the evening news, and sometimes they'd argue about it. Saigon falling to the North Vietnamese definitely sparked an argument. Mom and dad would go into the dining room to argue, and I'd be left to watch the news alone. At least until mom sent me to play elsewhere. She didn't think a 5 She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1113244822976574302005-04-11T12:34:00.000-05:002005-04-11T13:40:22.980-05:00Music.If you check my profile, you'll see that I'm not a fan of country music. That's because I associate it with the bar across the street. We could hear the jukebox from our front porch; they always turned the music up on the weekends. As the night would wear on and the drinking would get heavier, the music would become more and more maudlin. There were endless versions of some poor slob who's She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1112892630337142322005-04-07T10:26:00.000-05:002005-04-07T11:50:30.340-05:00The Worst Thing I've Ever Done.This month's Blogging For Books subject is ... Cruelty. What a quandary! To tell, or not to tell? If I bare my deepest act of cruelty, I could lose every friend I have. But if I don't take this opportunity... It's the old "tree falling in the woods" thing. You know, if I did something awful, but no one knows... will I still be seen as good? I guess I'll never know She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1107655188479141862005-02-05T19:59:00.000-06:002005-02-07T09:48:36.993-06:00Desegregation
St. Louis began it's desegregation program when I started the 6th grade. The year was 1981. The city quickly created magnet schools to try and get more volunteer students, and to keep the courts from creating a plan of integration. The kids in my neighborhood attended either Notre Dame Catholic School, or the nearest public school. I didn't know anyone who went to Holy Cross She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1107624627929485432005-02-05T11:06:00.000-06:002005-02-05T11:30:27.930-06:00Conflicted
I'm really conflicted about what to write next. What started as a series of amusing stories became therapy for me as I worked through my memories.
-I just realized that I still haven't told about skipping school, the disaster that the St. Louis public shool system was in the 1980's, my neighborhood's reaction to desegregation, racing down the highway at 115 mph, the yuppie rehabbers She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1104870092523951212005-01-04T13:26:00.000-06:002005-01-13T11:41:04.736-06:00Surprise, Surprise
I was surprised to see hits from Ecology Of Absence, I wondered who had been hitting them from here. I was even more surprised when I saw that I hadn't linked them yet. I had meant to from the first time I visited and saw a post about a place I'll never forget. I'll never forget it because I discovered it by accident while driving with my son. We had gone to a skating party atShe Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190311.post-1102960974795526122004-12-13T09:22:00.000-06:002004-12-13T16:21:58.476-06:00Life As We Know It
I'm having an interesting discussion on my other blog about the situation with our returning soldiers, and it flashed me back to my old neighborhood and all the homeless we had there.
A soldier comes home and discovers that he/she no longer fits in society. They tend to believe that only another soldier understands this feeling. That's not so. I've never been in the military.She Dances in Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516981271944741323noreply@blogger.com0