Because I have a late October birthday, my parties as a kid involved a Halloween theme. Black and orange balloons (sometimes mixed with other colors) hung above a tablecloth of black cats, ghosts and witches. The centerpiece was chocolate cake with chocolate or white icing. Sometime after my seventh birthday, I realized how much I hated …
Best Babysitter Ever, Conclusion
Devastated "Mary Beth has a boyfriend now and can't babysit tonight," Momma said. “Her sister is coming instead.” I stared in shock. For two years, Mary Beth was our exclusive babysitter. How could she not come? The sister seemed friendly enough, but something was different. The bond wasn’t there. Perhaps it’s because she didn’t want to …
Headless Horseman Night
With the fuzzy, blue blanket in my arms, I stepped onto the lighted, back porch and into a barrage of swarming June bugs. Several brown bugs lost their spiky legs that hot summer night in Phoenix as I raced to the swing set, ripping them from the blanket. Barry stopped playing tug of war with …
Best Babysitter Ever Part III
Scary Story Barry and I enjoyed our time with Mary Beth so much, we wanted Mom and Dad to go to the drive-in movie every weekend. Shouts of joy accompanied jumping up and down when Momma said, “Mary Beth is coming tonight.” After she put baby Stephen to bed, she returned to the living room. “What …
Best Babysitter Ever Part II
Learning to Swim I don’t know where Mary Beth lived, but for several weeks Barry and I rode our bicycles a few blocks, crossed a busy main street, and arrived at her house for swim lessons. I remember a large house and nice backyard with a built-in pool. Momma explained that Mary Beth was on …
The Best Babysitter Ever: Part I
My First Friend During the Phoenix, Arizona years, 1967 to 1969, Mary Beth came to play with me and my brothers Barry and baby Stephen. She was our first real babysitter but more like a big sister, and I miss her to this day. Upon our first meeting, she sat on the floor with me. I was looking at my …
Gritty Sandwiches
Before almost dying in the desert, my family almost died in a dry riverbed. 1968 Our gray Volkswagen wouldn't move. Dad and my brother, Barry, tried to dig sand away from the tires while I sat in the backseat. Mom held my baby brother, Stephen in the front seat. A hot breeze blew through the windows, …
Lost in the Desert
1968 Dad's quest to find the infamous Lost Dutchman’s mine in the Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, sent us rambling up and down rut-filled roads that were not on the map. On one occasion, Barry and I accompanied him in our gray,1960s Volkswagen Beetle without our mom and baby brother Stephen, and I have no …
Conquering the Picket Fence: Determination
Some have accused me of being stubborn. But I say, determined. As long as I can remember, accomplishing my goal took precedence over punishment, eating, sleeping, or spending time with people. The reason is a mystery but the memories are clear. Phoenix, Arizona 1968 Barry stood on the narrow rail of our brown picket fence that …
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Climbing the Mimosa Tree: Determination and Safety
Garland Texas 1966 If I could, I would climb a tree to the highest branch, sway in the breeze, and peer over the world in safety from it. A mimosa tree grew between our house and the neighbors on Gardenia Street and my brother Barry sat in it. Staring through shady limbs of fern like …
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Phyllis A. Still 