My rock.....

I lived in the same building for 12 yrs as a child. My mom wasn't big on moving. I guess I wasn't either. When we finally did move, we moved to the building across the street....a sister building it was called. Twin buildings they were called...they were owned by the same company, looked EXACTLY the same and even the apt was a copy. Basically, we just changed geographical location by 20 degrees. HAHA!

Well, what does this rock have to do with anything? Well, it has been in front of that building forever. The first building, I mean. It was a great rock to sit on. It has a groove along the back side with a plateau. My friends and I used to sit there together and tell our little secrets. One time I sat there wearing a hawaain party dress because I was going to a wedding. And thinking back now....I got my first kiss on that rock.....wearing that Hawaain party dress...LOL!!

I forget the boy's name now...but he was 8 yrs old like me. In my class at school. I had been invited to a wedding and my mom's best friend was going...so was her daughter. Her father had just come home from hawaai, for reasons I never knew.....and he brought his daughter 3 hawaain party dresses. They were so exotic and beautiful. It was like a fancy sundress with spaghetti straps and a loud hawaain print on it. Mom's friend told me to come choose one to wear the party.....and it was so hard.

Finally I picked one and got dressed....I begged my mom to put a flower in my hair on the side.....I felt exotic. So then I told Mom that I'd go downstairs and wait for her and went to sit on my rock. Someone would be coming to pick us up soon. As I was sitting there that boy saw me from across the street. He yelled over to me......

"You shure look purty sittin on dat rock, you know?"

And I answered him back..."Well, I feel purty. Do you really think I do?"

So he crossed the street and got up on the rock with me and talked for a bit. Oh what do kids talk about? I forget, I was too busy being beautiful......that sort of confidence is contagious. So then after a little bit of conversation he leans over and tells me....

"you know what I'm thinking?"

And I says, "no?"

"he says...something this pretty should be kissed."

And he gave me a peck on the cheek.

And funny enough....when I was in Canada last summer, I drove by the old stomping ground and the rock was still there. I took a picture of it. I will tell my children about this rock, about how this rock was my pedestal....about how I sat there and thought about things when I needed to space. It was MY rock. Even if for only a short time.

~~~

Another rock story.

One night just after dark I was sitting on my rock. All us building kids were playing outside. Most of us had this rule that we had to go home when the street lights were on. Because I lived right there in the building, I could usually stay a little longer.

So this one night, I was sitting there and practicing making cat sounds. Now I have to admit...I was really good at doing a meow. I would screw my cheek up and swallow some air there, and do some Donald Duck sound that I managed to make come out like a pretty good meow. Sometimes I even got cats to pay attention. LOL!

Did I ever tell you that I loved cats? Yes, I did. Mom bred Himalayans......I grew up with LOTS of cats!! (and cleaned enough litter boxes to prove it!)

So there I was outside on the rock and up walks this girl, Michelle who I didn't like very much. (she had this really nice french last name that made her seem exotic) She walks over and says....whaddya doin sittin here and making all that noise?? So I tell her that I'm gonna call 50 cats over to me to attack her and was just practicing the right way to make them understand what I want. (wasn't I mean?) She says to me...but they'll get YOU too! And I laughed saying...not while I'm on the rock they won't!!!!

By now the darkness was really setting in. And it was already dark enough where you should stop talking about scary things and bumps and screaming. She sorta laughed and told me....do your best!

So I screwed up my face and put a whole lot of effort on doing my BEST meow.....and I did it! Nice and loud too! It was impressive But MORE IMPRESSIVE was the result.

Out of nowhere, I presumed, or out of somewhere I didn't even want to think about.....came all these cats running towards my rock. TONS of them...maybe even 50! They just kept coming! And you could see their reflective eyes from far away...the ones who looked like they were just watching. Michelle JUMPED on the rock with me and was scared....(so was I) And then I watched this one cat just keep running towards me......full speed and then he jumped up into my arms....Michelle ran away screaming!

I started petting that cat, although I was freaked out......and a little bit later, they all snuck away just as fast as they came. It was a moment that I still have trouble putting logic to. I have a few weird animal stories like this....I really should share them.

I was once walked home surrounded by over 30 seagulls, you know? They WALKED with me...not flying. But that's for another time. Today was about my rock.

There's happiness inside of me looking at that pic....