More Memories

   Christmas was always fun at our house. Mom and dad made sure we had presents even if they had to go to a loan company, We may not have had lots but we got the things we wanted most.
    They went once to a place called Getten Finance it was family owned and they asked them a few questions, their credit wasn't the best. They were buying the house on a Contract for Deed. The Getten's were very trustworthy and gave them the loan, mom was late a few times but they always paid it in full on time. After that if they needed any money they went to Bob Getten. Mom and dad paid for almost everything with cash.
  Mom hated balancing her checkbook so she would make me run into Northwestern Bell and pay the phone bill, downtown. Or the Minneapolis Public Works building for the water, Minneagaso was also downtown and we paid that at the window as well. Oh and I can't forget Northern States Power, needed electricity. Mom didn't keep the house cleaned very well anymore. The kids would take their clothes off and throw them on the floor. Mom was a smoker and half the time she didn't use an ashtray, she would use a pop bottle to put it out and would let the ashes fall on her and the floor.
   It was embarrassing to return the bottles to the store like that. She didn't go buy them so she didn't care. Ann would get them all.
   We had Sunday Night at the Movies, we all had to sit and watch whatever was on. Monday Night at the Movies, again we had to watch with mom, I think back then we thought it was like a punishment, but it was really away to keep us together. After the movie we had to discuss what had happened and if we liked the movie or not. We watched The Wizard of Oz, Helen Keller, Cinderella, I will never forget seeing Leslie Ann Warren she was so beautiful, and Stuart Damon who could ever forget his eyes and his voice. Not me. We watched all the old westerns on Saturday and Sunday. Mom made us watch Shirley Temple movies. The most important night for us was with our dad, we had to watch WWF.
   After the show Barb and I would wrestle and she would try out the moves and I could hardly ever get out of them. It wasn't funny. We would star  out having fun and then it would be hurtful. Barb would get me in a figure 4 lock with our legs and OMG did that hurt. Barb would squeeze harder and harder until I either gave up and said "UNCLE" for her or I would cry because I was tired of saying uncle.
  Some days we just had fun, but it all depended on what kind of mood Barb was in.
  Some times at night when we would go to sleep we would talk and giggle like most kids do.
 " Jeannie shut up!!" my dad would yell.  We had wallpaper on the wall that was peeling and I would try to make images out of it, like elephants and such. Barb would make scary faces at me and would hang over the side of the top bunk and make herself look witchy, I was such a big chicken, I was scared of almost everything.
  " It's not me dad, Barb is talking too" I would defend myself. "One more word out of you and you have to go in the corner. Now shut up." He would say. Barb would lean over her side of the bed, we had bunk beds, and she would make a bunch of spit and let it hang out of her mouth until it dripped on me, and then she would lay back down and laugh." Knock it off Barb that is so gross!!" I would get mad and say. " In the corner Jeannie" dad, would yell.
    I would try to plead my case as I climbed out of bed to stand in the corner. I needed to defend myself and tell what Barbie had done but to no avail. " If you don't stop talking you'll stand there all night." I just silently cried to myself. It didn't matter I was going to stand there until he told me to get out. SO I stood. Then I heard him snore."Dad, you fell asleep can I get out now?" " I said I would tell you.And not until" he said, " But..." " But nothing be QUIET!!" So again I shut up. He snored I woke him up, I stood there sometimes until 2 in the morning when he would realize I was still there. You would think I would have been smart enough to just climb in bed, but oh no ..not me.
   I would watch TV shows like Gidget and the Patty Duke show, My 3 Sons and the Monroe's, Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train. I could just go on and on. Not all in the order, I don't remember the years they came out, just that we watched them as a family. That was our together time, if we weren't at our cousins houses visiting.
   I remember the first boy I admitted liking his name was Steve Benedict, he was so cute. I would give him notes, " I like you do you like me? Circle yes or no" I'm sure he was embarrassed, but I wasn't. Steve's sister would bring the notes back and forth.
   I wanted to try out for the school play of the Wizard of Oz, I didn't want to be Dorothy I wanted to Glenda the good witch, I got the role as yup, the Wicked Witch..ROFL..of the West even. I went home so sad, why the ugly mean old witch, I was determined I was going to quit, there was still plenty of time to find someone else.
   I told my mom and she was so proud of me, " Jeannie don't you know that your teacher picked you for that role because it wasn't an easy one. She knew you could do it. How hard is it for a pretty little girl who is so soft and gentle to play the part of an ugly, mean witch?, I am so proud of you Jeannie, but if you think you can't do it then you should quit, and tell the teacher right away because you don't want to let everyone down." Mom was right, she was most of the time even if I didn't like it. Not that I thought I was pretty or special in any way, I was always reminded that I was just the plain girl. I was so disappointed when the teacher made Wendy, Glenda, but she was pretty, had blond hair and blue eyes, When you looked at you thought Glenda, I didn't care who Dorothy was and really don't even remember to this day. I guess I was what I was, I couldn't change things.
  The play was a hit and melted on cue, right down in to my large black skirt and when the curtains closed I got up and ran out. The water was silver confetti.
   I couldn't wait for the next play, maybe then I could get the part I wanted. I did! The Carpenter and His Wife. Danny Steven was the carpenter and I was his wife. There was a part in the end when he had to kiss me, it was supposed to be on the cheek but he went for the lips, it shocked me because we didn't rehearse it that way. Just as his lips touched mine I heard," That's my sister, Hi Jeannie!!" I looked over and it was Carol waving to me, she was in First Grade. I just smiled and the curtain closed. That was the last play I did. I was starting to not like school anymore. I didn't see Tammy, she was in Kindergarten that year. I had to walk them home all the time.
   Mom had promised me a Barbie that had hair dye, for Christmas if I walked the kids to school and picked them up, she never let us go do anything alone, because of the man in the trench coat last year.  Carol was in Kindergarten. Today we laugh and tell Carol it's why she is so perverted.
    When Barb, Carol and I would walk home sometimes we would go down 29th ave and cut through the yard next to the Grundun's yard, we couldn't go through theirs because the Mr. Grundun was too mean and yelled at us all the time. Barb would mouth off at him and make him chase us.
     This one afternoon , it was about 3:45pm a guy was walking towards us, " Be careful you guys this guy looks a little creepy," Barb said. I was walking next to Barb and we had Carol a couple of steps behind us. "Why do you think he's creepy Barbie?," I asked, " Look he looks like he doesn't have pants on, you can only see his shoes and socks." I then, saw why, it made me scared. " If I say run, run as fast as you can, and keep going until you get to our house." I was ready and as we got closer the man opened his coat and there he was stark naked, I had never seen a man's penis before,   " RUN!!! RUN!!!" Barb yelled. I ran so fast I could feel my heart  beating in my chest, we got  to the alley and Barb turned to see if he was following us," Jeannie where is Carol?", I turned and looked behind me.
     "Barb she was right behind my I swear," I answered. I thought she was. " We need to go back let's go get her!!" We ran back through the yard and there was Carol and the man still standing where we had left them, Carol's mouth was wide open and she was frozen, as was the man. " Grab her!" Barb yelled. I did and pulled her with me, she almost fell a couple of times, but we made it.
     We ran into the house,  Barb and I screaming to our mom, she made us stop and talk one at a time.
     When we got done my mom, 5'5 about 375# walked over to the telephone and called the 3rd precinct, " My name is Mary Ann Terwey, I have 3 daughters  that  just got home from school and said there was a man in a trench coat exposing himself to anyone he comes across, I called to tell you I am grabbing a baseball bat and if I find the Son-of -a Bitch before you do I'll kill him. So you better find him first. 2616 30th ave so,but you won't find me here I'm leaving right now. The girls said he was heading to the school and that's where I am going." She hung up the phone told Barb to watch us until dad got home and tell him what happened. Then she was gone.
     Hours went by, dad decided to go find her, a few minutes later he came back with her. The police had found the guy going into the park and my mom was right there. They took her statement and our  names. The police told her she could be assured he would be locked up because of how they found him, and that she should be proud of us girls. He would get some help.
    My mom, give her a bat and she would take on the biggest of men, she didn't care.