LJ Idol 5, Week 12: "My Favorite Story"
When I was a child growing up on Long Island, my aunt and uncle (my father's older brother and his sister-in-law) used to have a wonderful house up in the town of Pound Ridge, NY. It was well over an hour's drive from our house to their place, and while I wasn't all that fond of the drive -- especially with an older brother who continually pestered me -- I loved going up to visit.
Their house was like a mansion, at least to my four-year-old eyes. The driveway, if you could call it that, must've been a mile long, or at least it seemed that way. Maybe it was an access road; I'm not really sure at this point, since it has been well over 30 years since I've been there. Either way, it wasn't your average house. It was HUGE, and it was nestled on four or five acres of land, some of it cleared and some of it wooded. The house had a huge fireplace, a stately spiral staircase, a wonderful crystal chandelier, and their beautiful black lab, Ezra.
There was a pool -- a lovely, in-ground lazy summer's day pool. There was even a pool house, where my aunt and uncle and their two sons -- both a decade older than me -- frequently went to relax and watch golf or baseball or tennis, have a cool drink, and get out of the sun for a bit.
I remember that one particular summer, my father and my brother and myself made the drive up to Pound Ridge. At some point in the afternoon we were down at the pool along with my aunt and uncle, my grandmother, my great aunt, and my two cousins. Maybe we were all there for the Fourth of July, or maybe it was just a random weekend gathering.
At any rate, I was a pudgy four-year-old and was wearing an adorable purple bikini. I was in the shallow end of the pool -- which was probably chest deep, seeing as I've always been rather short -- when I felt something tickling me.
I turned around quickly, thinking that maybe my brother had snuck up on me, but he wasn't anywhere nearby.
I felt the tickling again, but couldn't tell what it was.
Stoically, I climbed out of the pool and went over to my father, who was sitting under an umbrella drinking a cold iced tea. If anyone could fix the problem, it would be him. Maybe there was a tag in my suit that was doing the tickling, or possibly a stray hair, since at that time my hair was halfway down to my waist.
He looked down the back of my bathing suit, and didn't see anything.
Then he looked in the front of my bikini top, and near the band he found what was making me squirm, and pulled it out.
It was a Woolly Bear Caterpillar! (Don't click the link if you're squeamish about bugs!)
I'd been fine until dad pulled that thing out of my swimsuit, but let me tell you something - when somebody pulls a HUGE WOOLLY CATERPILLAR out of any garment you've been wearing next to your skin, you WILL scream like a little girl.
Okay sure, I WAS a little girl, but really that's not my point. My point is that there had been a LIVE YUCKY BUG in my swimsuit.
I think that was the last time I ever wore a two-piece bathing suit, for what it's worth.
Blech.
But honestly, thirty-five years later, it's still one of my favorite stories.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This entry has been written for week 12 of therealljidol. Please pool your votes and vote for me when the polls open on Friday! If you do, I won't bug you with too many posts this weekend asking for your vote. If anyone wants to see a picture of me in my last known bikini, I've posted it here. As always, thank you for your support.
Their house was like a mansion, at least to my four-year-old eyes. The driveway, if you could call it that, must've been a mile long, or at least it seemed that way. Maybe it was an access road; I'm not really sure at this point, since it has been well over 30 years since I've been there. Either way, it wasn't your average house. It was HUGE, and it was nestled on four or five acres of land, some of it cleared and some of it wooded. The house had a huge fireplace, a stately spiral staircase, a wonderful crystal chandelier, and their beautiful black lab, Ezra.
There was a pool -- a lovely, in-ground lazy summer's day pool. There was even a pool house, where my aunt and uncle and their two sons -- both a decade older than me -- frequently went to relax and watch golf or baseball or tennis, have a cool drink, and get out of the sun for a bit.
I remember that one particular summer, my father and my brother and myself made the drive up to Pound Ridge. At some point in the afternoon we were down at the pool along with my aunt and uncle, my grandmother, my great aunt, and my two cousins. Maybe we were all there for the Fourth of July, or maybe it was just a random weekend gathering.
At any rate, I was a pudgy four-year-old and was wearing an adorable purple bikini. I was in the shallow end of the pool -- which was probably chest deep, seeing as I've always been rather short -- when I felt something tickling me.
I turned around quickly, thinking that maybe my brother had snuck up on me, but he wasn't anywhere nearby.
I felt the tickling again, but couldn't tell what it was.
Stoically, I climbed out of the pool and went over to my father, who was sitting under an umbrella drinking a cold iced tea. If anyone could fix the problem, it would be him. Maybe there was a tag in my suit that was doing the tickling, or possibly a stray hair, since at that time my hair was halfway down to my waist.
He looked down the back of my bathing suit, and didn't see anything.
Then he looked in the front of my bikini top, and near the band he found what was making me squirm, and pulled it out.
It was a Woolly Bear Caterpillar! (Don't click the link if you're squeamish about bugs!)
I'd been fine until dad pulled that thing out of my swimsuit, but let me tell you something - when somebody pulls a HUGE WOOLLY CATERPILLAR out of any garment you've been wearing next to your skin, you WILL scream like a little girl.
Okay sure, I WAS a little girl, but really that's not my point. My point is that there had been a LIVE YUCKY BUG in my swimsuit.
I think that was the last time I ever wore a two-piece bathing suit, for what it's worth.
Blech.
But honestly, thirty-five years later, it's still one of my favorite stories.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This entry has been written for week 12 of therealljidol. Please pool your votes and vote for me when the polls open on Friday! If you do, I won't bug you with too many posts this weekend asking for your vote. If anyone wants to see a picture of me in my last known bikini, I've posted it here. As always, thank you for your support.