Halloween Memories

Part I
Trick or Treat. But I probably said something like “Trickrtreat” and my brother, Steven and I may added “smell my feet; give me something nice to eat.” I am not sure our older brother, John dared us or if he bragged that was what he was going to say. If anyone of us did, I would not be surprised if the neighbor who answered the door rolled their eyes. I don’t remember going to many houses, so I usually came home with small loot. Living out in the country, we drove to the other farmers’ houses for our trick or treating. I never remember going into Paul or even Rupert or the big city of Burley, Idaho.
And I don’t remember my mom buying us store bought costumes, (hey, farming is risky business) so I had to use my imagination or my mom’s. I am sure she came with my first few costumes, but later I had to come up with my own. I may have dressed up as a hippie once since it was the sixties when I did most of trick or treating. Once, probably 4th or 5th grade, I dressed up as a bride. I don’t remember if I wore a white dress or not, but I used a fancy lacy double layered white half-slip as the veil. (Now, my niece, Tracina, knows why her toddler wore undies on her head once. Bella got the idea from me.). I vaguely remember some smart aleck male classmate making a comment about wearing a slip on your head. At the time I was mortified by the comment, but now I have to laugh. Hopefully, my young nieces have more class than I did. But at least I was creative and thought outside the box. Do I regret not ever having a store bought costume? No. I doubt I would have much, if any memories of my childhood Halloween adventures.

Part II
It wasn’t until after attending Ricks College and moving back to Salt Lake that I started to get in the spirit of Halloween again. I probably walked down to 4th South and 9th East to Safeway’s and bought a bag of candy. I probably had to buy a second bag because I ate the first bag before Halloween night. There were a few knocks on the door, which was a surprise because I lived in a 20 plus unit apartment building and went to a singles student ward at the Institute of Religion. The neighbors along 6th South did not know me. Even when I moved to the Avenues, I would get one or two groups of trick or treaters. After I finished at Utah, I moved south and lived at the Cherry Hill Apartments, a four building complex. Since I would take my adopted nephews trick or treating, I would leave a small or medium sized basket outside my door. When I came back, the empty basket would be waiting for me. I don’t how many trick or treaters came to my door or if it was just the neighbor children at the end of my building. When my brothers and I lived at Woodside, some neighbor children would always managed to knock on the door. One year Jay left the porch light off and no one came. I gave him grief. Since moving to our condo, no one, not even ward members with children, knock on the door. Most people now Trunk or Treat in the ward parking lot or take their little ones to neighbors who live in single unit housing. Apartments and condo complexes have the reputation of being occupied with strangers. I quit buying multiple bags of candy (except for maybe the office). Last year, Jay walked to FreshMarket and bought a bag of Tootsie Pops and Rolls. No one came, but we enjoyed the leftovers.

Part III
In my last semester at Utah, I began the tradition of taking my adopted nephews, the Pugh Brothers, trick or treating in their neighborhood. My first time included Steven, Kevin and two year old Darren. Steven took me on a whirlwind tour of the neighborhood. I swear he took us down one street twice, those neighbors looked mighty familiar. In fact one of them said something about seeing us before. Needless to say, I was worn out when we got back to the house. I was convinced Steven tried to break a world record. Kevin was able to keep with Steven, but I was challenged. I was carrying Darren, a heavy toddler. While Darren was silent most of the night, Kevin knew to say “Trick or Treat” when a neighbor presented a bowl of candy. But Darren wasn’t clueless when he got home. He had a look of pure delight while enjoying the fruits (candy) of his first loot. Steven probably stashed his loot in his room after enjoying a good share of his loot. Kevin probably did the same. I can’t remember if this was the only year that Steven went trick or treating with me. Mark joined Kevin and Darren after a year or two. And Jared and Crystal were probably 15 months old when they went Trick or Treating their first times. Not sure if either made it to the Jensen’s or not. I think Val was disappointed that she did not get to see Baby Batboy or the small scarecrow girl. Both only lasted 2 or 3 houses before they wanted their mom. Val would always give me a treat when I brought the Pugh children around. After awhile it was just Crystal and her best friend forever, Whitney that would go with me. When I moved to the condo, Crystal was providing her own Halloween entertainment. She like her brothers outgrew me. (When Johnny Jensen, the Pugh neighbor saw Whitney and Crystal in the above costumes, he kept telling them that he was going to eat them. By the end of the the everning I was calling them Chicken Soup and Rabbit Stew.) But I still have fond memories of trick or treating with the Pugh children. One year, Darren was sick, so I took a plastic sack and got him some treats. When we got home, David came home with another bag of candy for Darren. Between the two of us, Darren hit the mother lode. One year, Mark and Jared, (and maybe Darren) went to Fashion Place Mall after we went thru the neighborhood. I wasn’t too impressed with the penny candy we got and the long lines, so that tradition ended. We may have tried a different mall next year or tried it at an earlier time. As the years went by, there was less children trick or treating in the Pugh’s and my neighborhoods. Most likely, the neighborhoods were growing up and maybe it’s the annual Trunk and Treat that gets more popular as times goes by.

Partners in Crime

I wrote this at the end of August. My friend, Jared had just returned from his mission and I was at his home after his homecoming. When Jared's brother, Mark stuck his camera into thier sister's, Crystal's room, I was reminded of my younger brother and sister, Jay and Laura, who were partners in crime growing up. So here is what I wrote over a month ago.

In my book, Partners in Crime are siblings and the youngest two of a family. They are proclaim innocence to outside world, but older family members know not to completely trust them, because they are usually up to something together.
The first Partners in Crime I knew were my younger siblings, Jay and Laura. Growing up on a farm, we had to provide our own entertainment and this was before computer, internet and digital were words. During the evening Sacrament Meeting, both would make a fuss to earn a trip to the local drive-in next door. Eventually Mom caught on and made them sit tight in the foyer. I remember banging on the wall outside my bedroom during an early Saturday morning. Those two did NOT allow me to sleep in. Once, Jay and Laura kidnapped the camera and took pictures. My mother was not happy when the pictures were developed and she found pictures of the barnyard and Postal, the cat walking the fence of a corral. Jay and Laura got caught on camera snitching punch from the kitchen during our grandparents 50th anniversary celebration, which was at the church in Manassa, Colorado. While Jay finished high school and served his mission in Mississippi, Laura attended BYU. She went summers and graduated just before Jay started there in the fall of 1987. It probably helped that Laura moved with her husband to Connecticut right after her marriage. I think the State of Utah was relieved.

I have known Crystal and Jared since their births. Growing up, the two youngest Pughs had a typical sibling relationship. They got each other in trouble, but were also there for each other, even though they are four years apart. Jared would give Crystal rabbit ears in some pictures and Crystal made Jared wish he had a little brother instead of a little sister. It wasn’t until Jared’s homecoming that realized these two might be partners in crime when Mark put his smart phone just inside Crystal’s door. Jared was lying on Crystal’s bed getting a pedicure. Made me wonder what those two did to each other again.

Why I Blog

When I started this blog, I thought it was to share stories of growing up. I realize as I continue blogging that maybe it isn't so much memories I share, but sometimes every day life. The OJ story wasn't a memory, but an incident that made me laugh. Some of the posts I've shared lately have made me wonder why I decided to blog. I am single, never married or had children. Sometimes I get the impression that those who have children and/or are married may think I have no life. Maybe I am blogging so those who may think that a person in my situation does have a life. I don't just work; I am apart of family. I am adopted by a family in Midvale. Not sure if Jared and his siblings think of me as an aunt or just an adopted family member. And I must admit the title of my blog can be seen as blog for singles, which it isn't. I'm not promoting a singleness or searching for my soul mate on my blog. I'm just sharing my stories, whether it from a memory of days gone by or some current event. Well, I guess I am doing as I planned in the start - sharing my stories from life on a single road; a road that I share with others who have touched or are touching my life.

His Greatest Race

During the 1990’s, Jay usually ran the St. George Marathon the first weekend in October. At first it was just Jay and I, but soon John joined us in our trips south. Even Mom flew down a time or two on Skywest. The last few years we spend Friday at Mom’s cousins, Bill and Jan Boice.
October 2001 wasn’t any different than the years before. We drove down, ate at either a Wendy’s or a McDonald’s on the way and first stop once we got to St. George was to stop at the Dixie Center and pick up Jay’s race packet. While we were there, we would check out the other booths, especially those with samples. Then we ate spaghetti dinner at the Dixie Center before heading to the Boices for the night.
Since it was right after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there was a booth for runners to sign up to run in behalf of those perished in the attacks. Most runners didn’t know one personally, so they ran for whoever was available. Dave Rasmussen, a co-worker from General Ledger, ran in behalf of some guy he never knew. Since Jay had met Eugene, Tracie's good friend, he asked for his name. Eugene was available and Jay was able to pin Eugene Whelan’s name to his bib.
Jay as usual, got up and met the bus at the park where the finish line was. When I dropped him off, it was quiet and dark, just the runners waiting for the next bus to take them to the starting line. At the usual time, the rest of us drove to the park and waited and waited. We began to worried because Jay’s time were usually under 4 hours. Jay had been complaining about his knees a bit and had not trained as he had in the past, so we checked the injured list. No Jay. Finally at 4 plus hours, Jay crossed the finish line. His knees were bothering him quite a bit, so he stopped for a break with the intention of dropping out of the race. But then after a short rest, he decided to continue. I don’t know if it was Eugene, the newest angel we knew of at the time, persuaded Jay to finish the race or if the rest gave Jay a second wind. Jay also mention that he had never quit a race before, so despite the pain, he gained courage and preserved. It was his worst time, but his greatest race. Jay had every reason to quit, but he endured to the end.