ABC Bubblegum

I remember being around 6-7 years old and over at my friend, Scott's, house playing. As we stepped out the door to the garage, I spied a piece of chewed bubblegum on the ground. I picked it up, brushed the dirt off it and plucked it into my mouth. MMMMM. Still had a little bubblegum flavor too.

Almost Busted

I remember when I was 19, I lived in Ft. Worth TX. for a winter. I hitch-hiked to Alabama to spend Christmas with my parents who were visiting my grandparents for the holidays. I then hitch-hiked to Lebanon, MO. to spend New years Eve with an old friend I hadn't seen for a while.I remember being dropped off near a small all-night diner/truck stop in the wee hours of the morning in Little Rock, AR. Just as the waitress brought my food, 2 state patrolmen came in, looked around, then came to my table and asked me to come with them outside. I asked if I could eat my meal first but they said, "now!" I went outside with them and they proceeded to pat me down (for weapons I presumed) then put me in the back of their patrol car. As it came to be, a man fitting my description had just robbed a taxi at gunpoint. They radioed in for more information and learned the gunman was missing several front teeth. When I heard this, I opened my mouth and wiggled my teeth saying, "my teeth don't come out. They're real." When the officers saw that, they let me out of the car and released me. Man, talk about an awkward feeling when I went back in the diner to eat my meal with everyone staring at me. I simply said, "Wrong guy".

The Movies

I remember being around 8 or 9 years old and going downtown to the theater with my brothers and sisters and neighborhood friends to see a movie. Back in those days, 50 cents would by our ticket plus popcorn and pop (or candy). I remember once, on a dare, going to the stage and touching the movie screen while the movie was playing to see what it felt like.

Scared

My son just turned 9. He sometimes relates his apprehensions to going back to his bedroom after dark alone because he's afraid of what he can't see. That reminds me of when I was little. Alone in my bedroom at night, if I thought I saw a shadow in the dark or heard a strange sound, I would freeze. My logic: if I played dead, the boogieman would leave me alone.

Meeting My Wife

I remember the first time I met my wife. July 5, 2004. I had a new laptop and was installing the various applications and programs. After installing Yahoo! Messenger, I dropped into a chat room to check things out. Scanning through the chat room members, I noticed a name, missnicegirl21. I sent her a simple "hi" message and she replied. We made small talk only. She was 21 and from the Philippines. Said she was at an internet cafe and couldn't stay long and asked if we could email each other. I didn't give it much thought since I was more than twice her age but thought, "hey, it's a new friend from half way around the world". We exchanged email addresses and that was pretty much it. About 15 minutes of chat. Little did I know that the few emails we exchanged in the next 4 months would lead to almost daily chats and about a year and a half later, would be my first trip overseas to visit her.