Memory Lane, Trip 2

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's little trip down memory lane. Hope you got some giggles. Today I have the second half of the fun. I'm just sorry in advance. Please love me.

We'll start with this one:

I lived in the country - and I was a nerd. So the majority of my activities centered around creativity. SOMETIMES I dragged my friends in with me. Such was the case with this stapled, hand created newsletter, written AND illustrated by yours truly and my dear friend Amber. {Who is still my dear friend.} {Or she was before today. Now it's questionable.}

I should pause to say that Amber is a talented artist. Like seriously talented. At the age of ten, when we made this treasure, she could probably draw something in an hour that would bring in hundreds of dollars. She's that good. CLEARLY when I said it was written and illustrated by the two of us, I did not let her illustrate ONE THING. And that was a grave error on my part.

From the top:

* This is issue one. NEITHER of us recall an issue two ever rolling off the presses.

* BEET??? We named our newsletter BEET and hoped it would be cool? WHO LIKES BEETS???

* The illustrations, not to be blamed on Amber, include a pool, a tent {at a campsite with a tree smaller than the tent}, an unintelligible ball or planet, I'm not sure which, beer and drugs {DISCLAIMER: we were both taking DARE classes at this time, so drugs and alcohol were near the surface of our minds and we were passionate against them DESPITE the failure to draw a circle around them and a big line through it}, and a canoe. WHY a canoe? I have no idea.

* Y'all have a safe, safe summer??? Did we accidentally move south? I have no idea.

* We also co-wrote a poem called JUST SAY NO, which went as follows: Picky, picky, don't drink whisky! Poke, poke, don't smoke! Ill, Ill, don't take a pill! Deer, deer, don't drink beer! Wacko, wacko, don't chew tobacco! Mane, mane, don't shoot cocaine! Pack, pack don't take crack! Ruff, ruff, don't chew snuf! Pine, pine, don't drink too much wine!, Mandy, Mandy don't drink Brandy! Lie, Lie, don't drink rye! Nope, nope, don't drink dope! Bed, Bed, you'll go out of your head!

* We did not know how to spell whiskey or snuff, apparently. We thought you drank dope, and apparently wine was okay as long as you didn't drink TOO MUCH. {????}

* THIS is why my college professor said poetry was not my first gift. Clearly it's not ANY kind of gift. Rift, Rift, not a gift.

* We are an embarrassment to our own selves.

Moving on. With a red face, I might add. Another school project here. From the top:

* Reflector on the front: safety first!

* Of COURSE there is a snack bag between the seat and the handlebars. Of COURSE!!

* Shout out to the Cabbage Patch.

* I have never packed a suitcase that small IN MY LIFE.

* "Goodi" sack. {Code for more food.}

* That's a dog? Is it part fish? Is it a reptile? WHAT IS THAT??

* Meal. Of course. From Burger King. Of course.

* And yes, even as a child, I felt it important to strap a window air conditioner to the back of a bike.

* I have actual tears in my eyes from this sad representation that still pretty accurately describes my life. {Swap the Cabbage Patch out for Ryan, but do NOT touch the food.}

In 1990, I went to church camp, and my brother-in-law was the camp director. {And a very good one, at that!} The theme that year was "Celebration" and each day of camp represented a major holiday. We celebrated them all just as you would on the actual day.

In typical Bekah fashion, I was on the journalism committee for camp, and I wrote the headliner for that day's paper. I recapped our celebration of Easter, and lookie there who won a contest?

Yep. We were at church camp together in 1990. He was going into 6th grade and I was going into 7th. And he won the candy hunt. OBVIOUSLY that was noteworthy to me. Today it would be noteworthy because HE won. That day it was noteworthy because it involved candy. I was probably mad I didn't win.

Since we started this adventure with my Dad as a pirate, it seems only fitting to end it with the day I met Abraham Lincoln.