Zooland

When I was young my mother did much of our clothing shopping at a tiny chain store called Richman Gordman. The store was only located in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas and had very few locations. But one of those locations was about a mile away from my parents. And like a Kohl's or a Gordman's (the current iteration of Richman Gordman), the store carried a variety of everything. There was clothes and shoes and housewares. But it was even better than Kohl or Gordman's because, Richman Gordman had Zooland.

We kids loved to go shopping because of four fiberglass animals that were set up in one of the back corners of the store. There was a big blue and red elephant that was a slide, a green hippo that was a tunnel, a yellow kangaroo that had both a balance beam and a climbing area, and an orange camel that was a fort. My favorite was always the elephant. In between his front feet was a set of stairs that spiraled up to his head. And the slide was his trunk. I loved going down the slide but I really loved the red twisting stairs inside. The play area was a dream play area. These four animals seemed huge and magical (at least to my tiny self). I can still remember the feeling of the painted fiberglass of the elephant's trunk. To say that I loved this playland was an understatement.

Of course as I got older, I got embarrassed by the play area and stopped going there to play. And then I got too big to climb on them. I think I was 13 or 14 when the store near us closed, but I'd stopped playing in Zooland a long time before. In my youth I didn't even think of where the animals would be shipped to. I know now that many of them went to private buyers. Just recently I started to get nostalgic for some of the things of my childhood and I went looking for pictures of the animals. But I found even more than that. I found out that Omaha Children's Museum not only managed to find some of them, but have refurbished them as playground equipment in the museum. They have all four animals and a whole new generation of children are playing on them. I think I need to take a road trip. If you're in Omaha and stumble into the Children's Museum to find a woman weeping next to a blue and red elephant, don't be alarmed. It's just me, reliving my childhood.

Not in Nottingham

Perhaps it says something about me that one my favorite songs from any Disney movie is the rather downbeat, almost depressing, Not in Nottingham from Robin Hood. When I was growing up we watched Robin Hood a lot. It was one of my favorite movies and Robin Hood, that fox, was one of my first crushes. And Roger Miller's sad, hauntingly beautiful version of Not in Nottingham was the one song I would sing from the movie. 

There are certain songs that just hit you the right way and stick with you through life. Almost thirty years after hearing that song for the first time, I'm still looking for a copy I can call my own. Disney has only once, to my knowledge, released the song in a physical form. It was part of the record soundtrack. Sadly, that record is one of the few that I can't find in my parent's house. We have the cover, but not the record. It's not on iTunes or Spotify or Pandora or LastFM. I'm not surprised that Disney would prefer to focus on the more upbeat songs from its movies but there is just something wonderful about that song. 

I'm clearly not the only one who loves the song. When I go looking for it, I find all sorts of covers of the song. Los Lobos did a version. Benjamin Baker did a version. I just found a version by Mumford and Sons. If you google Not in Nottingham, you'll find hundreds of covers with a couple versions of the original mixed in. But nothing that I can put on my iPod to hum along to later. So I'll keep looking. And hopefully find that old record. I'll wear out the needle listening to that song but it will be worth it. "Every town, has its ups and downs..." 

For those of you who've never seen Robin Hood or heard the song, check out the original here. And the Mumford and Sons version isn't too bad. 

Emilie

For those of you who don't know I'm one of five children. The oldest and youngest are boys and the middle three are girls. I'm the middle child and the middle girl. I'm blessed to have wonderful siblings who I adore. We all get along well when we get together, even if we didn't always when growing up. My childhood was wonderful because of them. But it would be really hard to tell the story of my life without my little sister. Emilie, this is for you.

My little sister's birthday is tomorrow and I've been thinking about her all week. I was two years old when my little sister was born. Almost from the beginning Em and I shared a room. From before I can remember to turning 16 I shared a space with my sister. Of course we used to fight like cats and dogs. Sharing a room may be one of the worst things for siblings. Em and I, although most of the time we got along wonderfully, fought bitterly about the room. I'll admit that I was messy, and probably annoying to live with. We'd divide the room down the middle frequently but she always got the bathroom and the door, so I was at a disadvantage. I remember how excited I was to move to my own room at 16.

Sisters Exploring the World Together

Fast forward...um...many years and I can't think of another person (outside of Jeff) that I'd rather spend time with. I adore my sister. She's one of the most positive and energizing people I've ever spent time with. She is curious, intelligent, kind, peaceful, and wonderful. She has been my constant champion in all my endeavors and I can't thank her enough for that. She teaches me something every time we get together and she inspires me. Every time I see her I wish we had more time to spend. She's often busy but we still get together. She works two jobs and is going to school. I couldn't be prouder of her. She's not just a wonderful little sister but she's a lovely person.

My lovely sisters (me, Emilie, and Alissa)

Tonight I went through all my old photos to see if I can find pictures of the two of us. We were often dressed alike and treated like twins. My parents referred to us as "the girls". They bought us matching toys and clothes. I found pictures of that. But the big thing I noticed was the smile that my sister flashes in all of her pictures. And the smile that gave me. I'm lucky to have a little sister like her. I'm lucky to get to spend time with her. And even though we didn't always get along, I'm lucky that I got to grow up right next to her. I love you little sis!

Isn't that smile wonderful?

Blast From the Past

I'm fascinated by how memories work. While standing in the shower this morning I had a sudden burst of memory about a guide to a book series that I never read. Well I read the guide, just not the series. I'm sure my mother thought they were too adult for me or something. It was a series of books following a royal family in a fantasy world. I remember spending hours with the guide, looking at the characters and reading up about them. Considering I had never read their stories I wonder why this particular book and the characters fascinated me so much. But it had, and I knew that I had to find the book again.

I spent my shower trying to figure out anything about the guide that I could remember. I didn't remember which series it referenced or what the title of the guide was. I could only remember that the authors last name started with Z. Promising beginning huh? I ran through the list of Z last names I know. My first thought was Zindel but I knew that wasn't right. Then Zelinsky came to mind. But it certainly wasn't Paul Zelinsky, one of my favorite children's book illustrators. Then the name Roger popped into my head. And I instantly knew it was right. I knew that was the first name of the author. Zelazny quickly followed. Seriously, how do I know these things without conciously knowing them?

A brief internet search found me not only the series, but the guide. Roger Zelazy is best known for his Chronicles of Amber series. He mixes mythical characters into his fantasy novels to create a superhuman royal family whose exploits the books follow. The Wikipedia page tells me that there were 10 original Amber stories. Again I haven't read a single one, although I have The Guns of Avalon on my shelf to be read for some odd reason. The guide I was thinking of was The Visual Guide to the Castle Amber. At least I think. I can't for the life of me remember the title. But I know the cover above, and I would know the pages in an instant. Each character had an illustration and a biography. I remember reading about the brothers and sisters and seeing the images. It's a book that I pored over. And now I have to find it. I must own this guide. Even if I never read any of the books that inspired it, I know I have to own the guide, something I read and loved 25 years ago. I just have no idea why it popped into my head this morning. Memories are funny things.

It Gets Better

If I could remove a couple years of my life they would have to be the years I spent in middle school. I had a really tough time in middle school. High school was okay but middle school were flat-out the worst years of my life. I was teased and bullied nonstop for almost three years. The bullying even escalated to physical attacks and demoralizing gestures. It was a horrible time for me. I vowed when I left for high school that I would never consider a day as bad unless it was middle-school bad. And so far I haven't had a day that was worse. It keeps my bad days in perspective.

Now I'll freely admit, I was a weird kid. I still am. And I'll tell you that I'm stronger in many ways because of those years. When I got to high school and was called names, I didn't even bat an eye. Names didn't hurt anymore. I found happiness with who I was: nerdy, odd, quiet, and bookish. I was the kid in the corner reading a book and telling tarot cards. I was the kid who slipped away during lunch to write. I never really fit in but at least I didn't have bad days. And I don't think my childhood was all that unusual. I'm sure most of us can tell stories of being teased and bullied.

This is all to say that I completely love the new video series that has been sweeping the internet called "It Gets Better". The project is geared towards LGBT high school and middle school students to show them that life gets better after those challenging years. I know that at the time for me, things seems like the end of the world. These videos are designed to help combat the high incidences of young suicide. It is to remind kids that after all the horrors of high school and middle school, life actually gets better. You may still get teased, but you simply won't care as much. For many LGBT kids, the future may not seem so clear when they are in high school and kids are calling them names. This is a wonderful reminder that they can have some amazing lives if they just hold on.

The series is targeted towards LGBT teens but I think that the message is even more far reaching. I wish someone had told me when I was being bullied for being different, that it would get better. That after middle school I wouldn't care about being teased. That once I reached college, different would be okay. And that I would gradually find people who would not only accept me for who I was but appreciate those differences. I know that there is an incredibly high incidence of LGBT teens who commit suicide. Anything that can be done to prevent that is amazing in my book. And after watches these videos I truly think they should be required viewing in middle and high school.

Videos are recorded by people like President Obama, Suze Orman, Tim Gunn, Dan Savage, and many others. In fact there are currently over 1000 videos posted on the It Gets Better project website. Videos are from celebrities, LGBT speakers, community leaders, and just everyday people who wanted to share their experiences. Each tells a story of struggle and survival. Of power from powerlessness. And each is inspiring. I wish I had had something like this when I was growing up. I wish I could go back and tell the 11 year old me the same thing. It gets better. And it really does.

A Taste of Childhood

When I was young my mother would make the most wonderful sugar cookies from a children's cookbook that we owned. I remember these being a special treat and raved about them to everyone who I would talk about cookies with. So about a year or two ago, when I happened to find the cookbook in a second hand bookstore, I knew I had to buy it. And I knew that I had to make the cookies again. Just to see.

Well it took me a year or so to get around to it but today was the day. I stopped by the store this evening and picked up all the ingredients I needed. At home I was reminded of my mother as I started mixing the Crisco and the sugar together. Somehow that act makes me think of my mother baking. Then adding the rest of the ingredients. Rather than two dozen or so teaspoon sized cookies, I went with a baker dozen of tablespoon sized ones. After twenty minutes or so they came out and I waited impatiently for them to cool. Jeff didn't care for his terribly, but I thought they had the same melt in your mouth sweetness to them that I remember. What I didn't remember was that they were so crisp. After a couple more (just to make sure they were good) I realized why I didn't remember the crispiness. We never really let her bake them. We were always too busy eating the dough to get that far. Ah live and learn. It will make wonderful cookie dough.

The cookies were just a sweet end to a perfect day. It was just beautiful outside: warm, sunny, with a bit of a breeze. Jeff and I headed out to breakfast and then ran some errands around town. After that we headed home to clean up the porch and put up the screen on the front door. I'm so excited to be able to have the door open and have a breeze blow through. We wasted a day watching the birds, reading, and juggling out on the front porch. One odd thing was that we had a number of turkey vultures circling in the area. We normally see them near the creek but today they got really low near our complex, below the roof lines even. We think they were looking for our kitty who had wisely decided to go in a bit before. Sadly by the time I grabbed the camera to take some video they had moved on. A quiet day, a peaceful day, and I would dare say a perfect day.

And Knowing is Half the Battle

Okay, I'm going to sound old and crotchety for a moment but....leave my childhood alone!!!! I grumbled a little when Care Bears returned to the stores. I outright laughed when I saw Strawberry Shortcake toys. I even cast aspersions on the Transformer movie with its new merchandise (Hello Bumblebee is a Beetle). But this has now gone too far. They are making a live action film of G.I. Joe. Why can't you leave my childhood in peace????

I've always been a big believer in new stories and new ideas so this premise is pretty repulsive to me on that level. Why can't movie makers come up with their own ideas rather then raid old 80s cartoons? But beyond that, why must every cartoon or toy I ever loved be recycled into some variation of itself and sold to today's kids. I know what will happen. This movie will come out amid a flurry of merchandising. All the kids toys will be huge, hulking, muscle bound figures, completely unlike the more lifelike and honestly more fun figures that I collected as a child. Oh fear not, my parent's basement still holds Snakeyes and Duke figures. With their little attachable guns and backpacks. (Strange that I loved this show, even as a pacifist all the way back then).

To add insult to injury I have found that Brendan Fraser will be in the film. Now I love Brendan. I think he can have amazing depth as an actor (See School Ties or Gods and Monsters) But everything he does lately becomes something of a joke. He is brilliant at campy material. And it looks like G.I. Joe will be a cross between the Mummy and X-Men (both fun movies in their own right). I'm just not sure I'm going to be willing to sit through it with another of my favorite childhood memories.

I'm dreading the fact that eventually I will find out that they are making some odd Smurfs movie or be walking through the toy store to find Thundercats figures (of course this time the Twins will look like they've been doing steroids for years). And again I know I sound old and a little cranky but why can't they leave my favorite shows alone. Transformers was great fun as a cartoon. We had all the original METAL characters. I grew up with those characters. And now a new generation has claimed them as their own. Perhaps the one good thing out of this new movie is that they will release all the old cartoons on DVD. Then I can relive bits of my childhood.