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cathexys!!
It's been a while for me before I updated. I went home for Thanksgiving, which was nice. I always find it really cool talking to people in my family about different periods in their life. Like...when you're a kid you only know your parents as parents and it's hard to imagine them having a life beyond that (I remember writing about this once with regards to HP and how this sort of thing made for a good mystery for kids). Anyway, on Thanksgiving FatherMagpie told some stories about when he used to work at Playland. My sister worked there too in high school. I think we were talking about it because a few months ago a kid died there--naturally we all start thinking about the deadlier rides: was it the Dragoncoaster? The Monster Mouse? No, it was...Ye Olde Mill? That's a baby ride! How could you get killed on that? Well, you can if your mom sends you in alone and you climb out of the boat and get caught under something and drown.
Anyway, so here's FatherMagpie talking about his days at Playland, where he used to guess weights. This was just so bizarre to me. I knew he did this, I guess during the summers when he was in college, but it's a whole different thing to hear the word "carny talk" coming out of my Dad's mouth, explaining to me that a "tip" was (a crowd) and what to call when something bad was gong down, things like that. And he's saying how to draw a crowd--err, tip--he would just yell weird thing. I said, "Like what?" not being able to picture him doing this. He said, "Stuff like, "Hey, lookit the ears on that guy!" The guy who ran the thing taught him to deal with wiseguys (if they get on the scale without paying, push 'em off!) and people who asked him how much he was able to steal (in carny lingo--I forget that phrase) out of the cashbox (he was told to just wink). So now I have all these visions of FatherMagpie, 40s/50s Carnival Barker. He also mentioned one time he almost had to run an elevator for Gloria Swanson, but refused because he wasn't allowed to talk or look at her.
Also, took my first Pilates class Saturday and it was pretty good. Did not hurt myself--go me. A lot of this stuff I did with one ballet teacher I had. I felt all superior when the teacher is telling us to imagine we have a cup of hot chocolate on one hip to keep it from moving, because my old teacher used to actually put a glass of water there.
Oh yeah, and I started taking this 'net class on Dark Goddesses that is really fun because I'm a big Pagan Geek. Will hopefully get caught up on flist soon.
cathexys!!It's been a while for me before I updated. I went home for Thanksgiving, which was nice. I always find it really cool talking to people in my family about different periods in their life. Like...when you're a kid you only know your parents as parents and it's hard to imagine them having a life beyond that (I remember writing about this once with regards to HP and how this sort of thing made for a good mystery for kids). Anyway, on Thanksgiving FatherMagpie told some stories about when he used to work at Playland. My sister worked there too in high school. I think we were talking about it because a few months ago a kid died there--naturally we all start thinking about the deadlier rides: was it the Dragoncoaster? The Monster Mouse? No, it was...Ye Olde Mill? That's a baby ride! How could you get killed on that? Well, you can if your mom sends you in alone and you climb out of the boat and get caught under something and drown.
Anyway, so here's FatherMagpie talking about his days at Playland, where he used to guess weights. This was just so bizarre to me. I knew he did this, I guess during the summers when he was in college, but it's a whole different thing to hear the word "carny talk" coming out of my Dad's mouth, explaining to me that a "tip" was (a crowd) and what to call when something bad was gong down, things like that. And he's saying how to draw a crowd--err, tip--he would just yell weird thing. I said, "Like what?" not being able to picture him doing this. He said, "Stuff like, "Hey, lookit the ears on that guy!" The guy who ran the thing taught him to deal with wiseguys (if they get on the scale without paying, push 'em off!) and people who asked him how much he was able to steal (in carny lingo--I forget that phrase) out of the cashbox (he was told to just wink). So now I have all these visions of FatherMagpie, 40s/50s Carnival Barker. He also mentioned one time he almost had to run an elevator for Gloria Swanson, but refused because he wasn't allowed to talk or look at her.
Also, took my first Pilates class Saturday and it was pretty good. Did not hurt myself--go me. A lot of this stuff I did with one ballet teacher I had. I felt all superior when the teacher is telling us to imagine we have a cup of hot chocolate on one hip to keep it from moving, because my old teacher used to actually put a glass of water there.
Oh yeah, and I started taking this 'net class on Dark Goddesses that is really fun because I'm a big Pagan Geek. Will hopefully get caught up on flist soon.
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and thank you so much!! *beams*
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Yes, Dark Goddesses--I just did a couple from Scotland.:-D
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After my mom died in 2000, my dad gave me all the letters he wrote to her when he was out to sea (navy man ;)) that she had saved...btw, I found out where I got my pack-rat-ness from - oi!! - Mom saved EVERYthing!! LOL! But back to the letters. They were so sweet and so romantic, and they talked alot about what my dad wanted to do for all of us when he retired. It's really lovely when you can see your parents as 'people'. *happy sigh*
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I started taking this 'net class on Dark Goddesses that is really fun because I'm a big Pagan Geek.
That's quite an interesting subject – I'm particularly fond of the Gaelic and Greek variations myself. Dark Goddesses occur cross-culturally and never fail to fascinate wherever one finds them. :) "Dark" can be a tricky word to use depending on the deity however: for example, the Ancient Egyptian Sekhmet is often considered a "Dark Goddess" because of her ferocity, but she is solar in nature.
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That's quite an interesting subject – I'm particularly fond of the Gaelic and Greek variations myself. Dark Goddesses occur cross-culturally and never fail to fascinate wherever one finds them. :) "Dark" can be a tricky word to use depending on the deity however: for example, the Ancient Egyptian Sekhmet is often considered a "Dark Goddess" because of her ferocity, but she is solar in nature.
I know we're going to do Sekhmet--the course is definitely getting into all those shifting definitions of "dark."
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It does! We went there several times. My dad scared the **** out of us on one of the roller coasters--probably the baby one, but I still hate them. ;P
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He also mentioned one time he almost had to run an elevator for Gloria Swanson, but refused because he wasn't allowed to talk or look at her.
Go him, I think.
When I was a kid I used to love it when the relatives came to stay. Not only did the number of children double or triple, but the grown ups would all sit around after dinner and reminisce. And I would eavesdrop. :) Half the time I wouldn’t know who they were talking about, or I didn’t understand the references they were making to events long past, but you could still see the emotion, or the humour, or the connections that they had experienced, and it did hint to me that my parents had whole lives, with many roles, they weren’t just my Mum and Dad.
My mother kept diaries for a lot of her life (actually, as I have done too), and the ones she has permitted me to read have also opened a window to my parents as young people. It’s quite an amazing insight to their attitudes and their way of life which are foreign to mine, and yet not.
The Dark Goddess course sounds interesting too. It would be great if you could post about it sometimes.
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That's what I said.
Half the time I wouldn’t know who they were talking about, or I didn’t understand the references they were making to events long past, but you could still see the emotion, or the humour, or the connections that they had experienced, and it did hint to me that my parents had whole lives, with many roles, they weren’t just my Mum and Dad.
Yeah--and the older they get the further back they seem to go with the reminisces.
That diary sounds fabulous. I wish my own journals weren't so boring. I'd be embarassed to let anyone read it. I don't even think they'd get an idea of what our time was like because it would be too much about my head.:-\
The Dark Goddess course sounds interesting too. It would be great if you could post about it sometimes.
I'm really enjoying it. I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in it. I may post about it in future now, though!
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All gone now. The Convention center and marina are sitting pretty much where it used to be. There is one building left from those days. But only one. And the fleet is gone, too. Or at least no longer in sight. No sailors, no Pike.
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