70s or Bust

I have been thinking about using this space to record memories, maybe someday my children will run across it and find me hidden away in these bits and pieces of nonsense that I record intermittently in my cyber brain pad. Things like the things I remember most from childhood and perhaps thanks to the people who raised me for giving me the various qualities that make me alive. My. Favorite early memories are riding the horses with my parents. We had two horses, my mothers named copperbell and my fathers named KIngfish. King fish was a huge black horse. Stallion in my young mind. The earliest pictures of me on the horse are when I was about 1 and while I do not remember that excact day I do remember many others. The pasture where they were kept was located at the foot of South mountain in Phoenix. We irrigated it monthly and I just loved playing in the knee deep water, Which as I think of it now must have been chock full of horseshit, but that never registered with my child's mind. The irrigation came out of a cement mount at the back of the field and I used this as a small slide. The cool water running down my summer tanned thighs.

Other days we would ride the horses up the mountain. I would be mounted in front of my father, my favorite place to ride and I remember an intense feeling of comfort, warm snuggling into my fathers white t-shirt. There was a small store built of stone at the foot of the mountain where we would stop during every trip for refreshments. You remember Astro Pops Those sharp pointy long lollipop with the spiral colors and the wax base. If you sucked on them just right you could stretch the end and create curled designs with the pointy tip. Writing about it now reminds me of how sharp those things were. We weren't allowed to run with sissors but we always ran with those things in our mouth. I don't remember much of the actual rides other than the store and the ongoing presence of cactus and scrub brush. The desert is pretty in its way but it is rough everywhere, I prefer soft forests filled with moss nowadays. My parents had friends that lived up in the mountains I believe the lady's name was Barbara. They had this triangular leather chair that I always got to sit on inside their mountain home. The seat had Indian designs and it always made me feel important. Like I was sharing some ancient secret with the mountain. I believe this house is where I received my first true scare but I can't remember the exact location. The man who lived there took me into the back room of the house and gave me a penny. The lights were dim and off the top of dresser he took a small black box. He told me to put the penny on the square when I did what he asked this skeletal hand came creeping out and snatched the penny away I jumped and screamed and it stayed with me for years even after I discovered it was just a harmless Halloween toy.

In addition to the horses I was surrounded my other animals when I was young, My first dog was Choo Choo and then the was Gigi my grandmothers dog that lived fro most of my young life. Their were the rabbits who kept breeding and eating their young. This was one of those hush hush things with the adults in the house but even at 2 or 3 I was stupid when something was there one day and they are all gone the next you know something happened no matter what your parents try to dish out to keep from upsetting you. In addition we had cats, chickens and of course horny toads and lizards.
But I must admit the crowning moment of my childhood was getting a pony for my 5th birthday. A beautiful Shetland named butterfly all brown and tan and entirely mine. I rode her in parades and up the mountain. My Nino also gave me a pair of handmade silver spurs to where on my cowboy boots. I still have the spurs but I lost the horse in the divorce.

While I would have preferred to keep both the horse and my father I have to thank them both but especially my father for my love of the outdoors and my love and fearlessness of most animals.


On another note: While searching for my childhood TV Favorites I ran across Dee T's 70s Page. Filled with music from all your 70s favorite TV Shows, commercials and more. The reason I was there was for HR Pufnstuf. One of my childhood faves. Go listen to a few she has a remarkable collection. Brings back some nice times when the world was a much simpler place.


Hands are going have to quit typing now