Pages

25 April 2014

The Book of Me (11)

Such a good excuse I have for my particularly laggardly period in March: almost a month exploring awesome China till my head was overflowing with new sights and thoughts. So it is with some readjustment I am asking myself, why does most of this current crop of (Book of Me) responses seem shame-based? Hmmmm

Parents (Prompt 28)
This did not resonate, sorry. No nicknames, not immigrants, although Winnipeg-born Dad migrated to Port Arthur, Ontario, in a business venture in the 1920s and stayed thereafter. 
Port Arthur and sister city Fort William were long known collectively as The Lakehead for its pride of place on Lake Superior. After intermittent attempts to amalgamate the two cities, in 1970 the citizens voted to go through with it, and call it Thunder Bay, by a narrow margin over The Lakehead. I was not living there then. Some of us miss the old "Lakehead" name.

What's in Your Pocket/Bag/Holdall? (Prompt 29)
Are you serious? I've seen the purse/bag contents that some of you have virtually dumped in response to this prompt! Trust moi, I'm no stranger to the compulsive junk we love habit but my personal goal is being hands-free when out and about the city. Chronically inflamed muscles in my neck and shoulders react swiftly if I carry heavy stuff! Debit card, a bit of cash, and keys go into my pockets.

Such self-protective good intentions do not apply while I'm travelling. How do I end up lugging a satchel full of nostrums for every conceivable predicament that might arise (none ever do); to my deepest mortification, the Shanghai Museum security staff made me up-end the entire works onto an inspection tray in full view of an instantly-formed throng of interested strangers. Wild horses wouldn't drag a photo of that painful display out of me, even if I had one.

Your First Day of School (Prompt 30) 
Do I remember?! Oh geez, here we go with the most humiliating episode ever. Absolutely no-one wants to hear this. Miss Jacobs' grade one classroom at St James Public School, Port Arthur. It's pretty simple. The first rule we learned was raise your hand for permission to go to the toilet. I did so; permission was not granted. The pee soon trickled through my clothing onto the seat of my desk and of course pooled on the floor. I think it was my first day at school but does the day really matter when all I remember about grade one is Miss Jacobs' evil face forever burned into my brain and she has a lot to answer for my damaged psyche.
 You're welcome.

2 comments:

my Heritage Happens said...

Oh, Brenda! How awful that must have been in first grade! And to think the teacher was angry! Something like this you never will forget! Reminds me of the time in grammar school when we all went to an assembly in the multipurpose room. The assembly was just getting ready to start, and I threw up! I won't ever forget that either.

BDM said...

Somehow we pick up the pieces (not literally!)of our tender egos and move on, eh?!