I May Be a Nut??!!

OK, so the title of this blog may not come as a surprise revelation to those of you who know me, you may wonder why the use of question marks at all, surely this is a statement of fact, not a thought for contemplation. However, I do have one revelation to share with you that will come as big news to everyone, hold on to your hats..... I think Charles Schulz is my dad!!!
Yep, you read it right kids! I'm sure this may come as a shock to, well everyone! Having made that statement, let me also say, this idea is about as far from scandal as one can get, in fact, I write this blog as an ode to the Peanuts Gang, a fine group of round headed kids that I've loved since I first set eyes on them. I also write this as a tribute to Mr. Schulz, who I discovered really was almost a father figure to me - without knowing it. I only realized this myself a few years back.

Let me set the scene for you as to when I came upon this realization.
While my family and I were on a 10 day road-trip to California, I decide that en route home we simply must stop in Santa Rosa and visit, the Charles Schulz Museum.
In an odd way, it felt like a pilgrimage to me, I know, some people make their way to Mecca, some to the Temple in Jerusalem and others perhaps to Tennessee to check out Graceland. To each his own I say, for me though, I felt it would be wrong not to, at some point stop by the stomping grounds of Mr. Schulz. The museum is an absolutely wonderful place - I felt like I had entered Heaven, but a bit of a strange feeling stayed with me as I wandered the building. The museum houses an amazing collection of all things Peanuts and of course, Schulz, including a re-creation of his working area in his studio, complete with many personal items and the drawing board that he used for most of his career as a Cartoonist. I looked upon of these treasures almost as a walk down memory lane for me. While at the museum, I signed a guest book, you know the kind, write your name, where you're from and your thoughts on the museum. It was at that moment, while sat in a chair, contemplating what to write for a comment that I realized why this cast of characters had been so important to me since I was about 6 years old....eureka!!! Mr. Schulz, through his characters, had help to parent me and guide me through a life that at times, was a lot to bear for a little girl. These characters really did help to shape me into the person that I am today. I realized in that very moment why I've always identified so strongly with many of these personalities. Even to this day, in the 'about me' section of my blog, I describe myself as 1/3 Charlie Brown, 1/3 Snoopy and 1/3 Linus....the only thing I should now add to that is, with a dash of Sally Brown. This original equation is what I wrote in my comments of that guest book and from that moment on, it all made sense.

I knew lots of people who liked the Peanuts Gang, but only few, who seemed to love them in the way that I did. I'd even been asked at times, 'why do you love them so much, they're not even that funny sometimes'. Well on that point I agree, but I didn't keep coming back to them for the non-stop laughs, though there was plenty of humour to be found. I returned again and again, for almost 40 years, because I identified with them, understood their problems, listened to their solutions, felt their heartache, laughed at their madness and mostly, learned to deal with life in many ways, without the involvement of adults.

I am the youngest of 4 kids in my family and the only girl, that dynamic alone had me often figuring out my own stuff. Add to that, I was, within the walls of my home, an extremely quiet child....almost mute in fact, I'm sure my brothers may dispute that one, but ask my mum. I could sit for hours at a time alone, colouring away or heading outside for a few hours of kicking a soccer ball against the side of our house. I was also one of those kids who thought....a lot!! Where I lacked in speech, I made up ten-fold in thinking.
Much of my childhood was marred with the constant sound of arguing, far more than what would be considered normal. Unfortunately, my father wasn't that nice to us most of the time and in combination with that, the youngest of my brothers went through a lot of personal struggles that increased the fighting and tension in the home to an unbearable amount. I'd often head to a tree in our backyard, where I'd climb up to escape the madness.
All of this contributed to how I dealt with life, and one thing I rarely did was to bring additional problems to my parents. Not saying that I didn't have them, just that I dealt with pretty much everything on my own, a fairly heavy burden at times, especially when you start doing this as a little girl. I was in many ways like a small adult....haa, and at five feet tall, I still fit that description!

Enter Charlie Brown and the gang. While many kids just watched the specials and laughed at the crazy antics of Snoopy, I think, in a way without knowing how much, I picked up life lessons with each TV special, and I watched them every time they aired, so these lessons were reinforced over and over again.
I identified with the 3 characters mentioned for the following reasons -


Most of my friends know my Snoopy side best. That would be the funny, passionate...koo-koo crazy girl. Snoopy is a free spirit, who is enjoys his passions to the fullest.
Whether it be his fantasy life as the WWI Flying Ace, (yup, I have my war fantasies too...WWII spy etc) or writing a novel atop of his doghouse (hmm, writing...starting fiddling with that at about 9 years old)or perhaps just 'being' Joe Cool with his shades on.....I apologize to those of you who may have had a beverage in your mouth while reading the cool part and as a result now have a very wet screen from spitting out your coffee or the like, in mockin' my coolness. Snoopy really is my crazy side, he has mad ideas and never second guesses them, just lets them unfold with pure conviction. I relate to this trait, a lot.

Next is my Charlie Brown-ness. Truth be known there is always a part of me that feels like I don't fit in...oooh, but please don't feel sorry for me, I kinda like it that way. I like life under the radar, gives you the perfect position for observing others from. Good ol'Chuck is the eternal optimist though and so am I.
No matter how many times he 'got a rock', or how many footballs were pulled away from him he still believed in the goodness of mankind and would always give people another chance. He has a good heart, but isn't always treated with the same kindness. Although he sometimes wishes people understood him better, he isn't afraid to stand up for what he thinks is right - remember the sweet little tree he chose for the Christmas play...I would've picked the same one! He didn't listen to the advice of others, he went with what his heart told him to do.
I listen to my heart often too...even when my heads strongly disagrees.
Chuck is definitely an underdog, but that never stops him from giving it his all.
I like underdogs, always find the fight they possess far more interesting then those who go through life seemingly easily.

And lastly my boy Linus. The sensible, analytical, intelligent if sometimes, somewhat naive grounding force. He is for me the part of my personality that brings together the Snoopy and the Charlie Brown, makes them meet in the middle and doesn't let either of those sides get too out of control, he is my common sense.
One of my favourite parts of the show/strip was always when Charlie Brown and Linus would have their heart to heart chats on the bridge. They would together try to sort out the meaning of life, or at least the latest thing thrown their way.
Linus would always give Charlie his honest and sincere thoughts on whatever problems Charlie had.

My dash of Sally Brown comes courtesy of my age, I no longer hide my child-like kooky ways, the older you get, the less you give a rats arse about what people think of you. So yes, it's true I have been known to (almost) squeal with delight when I find something I like...say like the Incredible Hulk doll that I recently bought. I spotted him and squealed (yup!)'oh, look he's so cute, look at his crazy smile and messy hair - I must have him!!' Yes, people looked....and no, I didn't care. And yes, he now lives with me. Thank you Sally Brown for your unbridled enthusiasm for the things you enjoy - like all those times you've publicly declared your love for your 'sweet babboo'. I understand that sometimes you just can't hold those feelings in, you must shout it from the rooftops (or squeal it in a store)!

When you think about this group of kids, there is really very little that is kid-like about them. Starting with the fact that there is virtually no adult interference in their lives to sort through the problems that they face, the most we get from the adults is the occasional waa, waa, waa...which leaves us to interpret that advice however we see fit. Charles Schulz, through this group of kids manages to touch on war, religion, loss, coping, self esteem, doubts, fears, joy, bliss, commerce, friendship, teamwork, love and of course, unrequited love and a myriad of other issues. He manages to do this without sugar-coating things to the extent that you'd expect a kids show to do, he explains life's issues in an honest way, that shows you that though things don't always go the way you want them to, there are ways to solve and overcome life's struggles and that joy may be just around the next corner. A very important lesson at any age.

Mr. Schulz, you've been with me for most of my life, guiding me with your lessons and helping me to become a better person, and I'm proud to say, I am a nut!

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Strange Ways

Here's the next collection of photos that I've taken of strangers. Ordinary folks doing, somewhat ordinary things, but for different reasons, they've all captured my attention. A couple sharing a quiet moment together, though I have to admit, as much as I liked them, I also liked the repetition of the logs that led up to them! Then on busy Granville Street, I look up and spot the 'reading man', I loved how he looked up there, somehow he was going to do a little quiet reading on one of the busiest streets in Vancouver. Add to that, all the colours just seemed right....I even wondered if maybe he chose the yellow shirt on purpose to make for an even better vista. Not long after, still on Granville I spot the 'magician' making his way across the street - bit hot for a cape that day, but hey, to each his own. All I could think of when I looked at him was, 'No capes!'....my favourite line from The Incredibles movie. Taxi man wasn't a targeted hit, he was captured, purely by chance. I pulled my camera out of the bag, brought it to eye level and click - I was just testing my settings to see if I needed to adjust anything before wandering around the city taking photos - Mr. Taxi appeared right at that second, I liked the way the photo looked, hence he makes the cut. The man in the wheelchair was such a wonderful pop of colour that I just had to capture him! Onto the boy running past the fountain, for some reason it put me in the mind of the Sesame Street intro from way back in the day, kids playing in a city park...I don't even remember if that was in the intro, but in my mind it just fit! Next we have 2 females sort of playing opposite roles, we have a little girl wielding a sword - no princess lark for her, she's playing a much more grown up role of perhaps a dragon slayer - just my guess, and then we have a Harajuku girl, whose styles are often fairly child-like for their age - as we see with the stuffed animal tucked under her arm. Harajuku girls have been around for a long time, no Gwen Stefani didn't invent them, just made them more known to the general public. I think I first heard of them about thirty years ago while watching a travel show about Tokyo. The last two shots were both taken at Garry Point Park in Steveston. Once again, my favourite outdoor sculpture makes the cut. Wind Waves by Yvonne Domenge is such a stunning piece of artwork, it thrills me on so many levels and I love how inviting it is, making it the perfect resting spot for this group of people. I've just read that it was only to be a temporarily installed at the park until summer 2011!!! I was there on Canada Day, and it was still there - if it goes, I shall miss it terribly! The other photo of two people taking photos was just a reminder how different people see things different ways. I was sitting on a bench while they passed by, I heard one say to the other, 'let's stop a minute, I want to take a photo', 'me too' the other replied....and then they both turned in opposite directions. Both obviously shooting something completely different from the other, I guess it's true, opposites do attract!

Dr. Strangelove

Here we go with the latest installment of stranger photos....as I started to compile the photos that would make the cut for this post, I soon realized that I owed it to the man in the bonnet to give him his own feature. I mean I was lucky enough to be there to capture his entire hamming it up session, and he was good enough to provide me with more than one good photo, so fair dues, this one is for him. Taken a few days ago on a visit to Harrison Hotsprings. We were chillin' on the elevated 'viewing platform', OK it's actually the roof of the washrooms where they've added a few benches and a railing, but saying, 'I'm hanging out on the roof of the washrooms looking for strangers to photograph, makes it sound like I should be wearing a trench coat if you know what I'm sayin'!! Having said that, my fashion heart does feel a little saddened for the trench coats of the world, originally made as a garment for the military, and later associated with cool movie idols and as a standard piece of clothing that every businessman had to have in his wardrobe, it's now become a garment that you almost dread seeing a man start to remove in front of you - chances are, he's either going to flash you or try to sell you a 'Rolex' for 15 bucks!! Or perhaps that's just my experience! I digress, anyways, as I was saying....man in bonnet walks into my sight line, I'm thrilled and left with no choice but to photograph him. Newsflash here - I've always been a little quirky...shocking revelation I know! But really, how can you not love a man who is not only willing to sport a bonnet and carry a parasol, but who is also willing to amuse his wife with a little show at the same time....God knows what they get up to behind closed doors - just sayin'!! I thank you Dr. Strangelove for giving me a good dose of happy medicine that day. Now you can enjoy him too, by reliving his antics through my photographs, and remember, a little silly is always a good thing.
One thing to note....at first I thought it was cute that he wore his wife's hat to amuse her, it was only later when I got home and looked at the photos that I clued in, ummm, his wife already had a hat on, so perhaps this really is his hat!!

Strange Delights

Well it's that time again, time to share another collection of photographs that I've taken of strangers. Yup, my perhaps strange to some, hobby. For me, it's the story outside of the photo that I like to ponder. It's kind of like picking out a book based solely on it's cover then wondering what kind of story the pages might hold.
The beauty of this kind of photography is, we can all make up our own story based on what we see and how we see it. The first batch of photos come courtesy of my jaunt over to Victoria. My first victim/subject was 'the writer' guy on the ferry. This man appealed to me on many levels, first off, he appeared to be lost in his thoughts, something that I can relate to. I'm assuming he's sorting out plot lines for a screen play, or rethinking the last line of poetry he just jotted down or perhaps working out the melody to his next song. OK maybe he's just making sure the seagull on the railing doesn't use him for target practice, or he's trying to come up with the answer for 5 across....7 letter word for 'stalker', so far he has m-e-l-a-n.....hmmm, that's a tough one! I'm going to go with one of my scenarios though. Add to that story the great hat, jacket, bag and a fab beard to boot, what more could you ask for?! The next three shots come from day two in Victoria, when we were just wandering around town. I had to capture the dude putting up posters as it was a nice flashback for me. I remember way back in the day, going around with musician friends of mine and doing the same thing....aaah, the beauty of free advertising. And for those of you wondering, 'where's Waldo?' (or Wally to my UK readers), wonder no longer my friends. I spotted him in Victoria riding his skateboard. How can you not love a man in a striped sweater?? Impossible I say!!
The next grouping of photos were taken this past Saturday. I had a few hours to kill so I decided to take the boys to Garry Point Park for a wander. Of course, I was packing heat, aka my camera, as this has become a favourite spot of mine for photography. One of my favourite pieces of public art is here, 'Wind Waves', by Mexican sculptor, Yvonne Domenge, so it was in it's direction that we first headed. We were lucky enough to find a bride and groom having their photos taken when we arrived, and I'm sure the photos will be spectacular, great contrast with the white dress, black suit and red sculpture. I'm thinking they had better be spectacular, considering they had 3 photographers!! The whole scene was a little comical at times though as I watched from afar, one of the photographer's very animated moves to show the bride how he'd like her to pose. All very amusing to see a man pretending to be donning a gown and doing several twirls and faux swooshes with his gown's voluminous skirt. They were there at least an hour trying to create the perfect shot, sometimes on the ground, all positioned at different angles and distances, it was all very paparazzi! One thing did strike me odd though, you have three obviously, professional photographers all doing their best to get the perfect shot, and yet not one of them thinks to move the sweater that the bride rested on the inside of the sculpture. Sheesh my fashion stylist eye spotted it from a hundred yards away!! It eventually got moved but still, I'm sure that beige cardy is going to show up in more than a few shots - hopefully editing is included in their fee!! As you can see from the shots, the poor groom wasn't always needed, no wonder the guy looked bored. This park is known for it's kite flying and why wouldn't it be, tons of wide open space and the wind coming off the water makes for perfect conditions. In this group of photos you can see how the wind power is used differently by three men. The first man goes for the traditional kite and a pretty cool design too. Next we have the man with his set of wheels, you can tell how strong the winds get, as this man was clocking a pretty good speed, I'm thinking you'd get some pretty big biceps with this as your pastime. Lastly we have the man who is...well, I'm not sure what he was trying to do. It actually seemed like he didn't know either. Ok, so he kept get ready for take-off, but I'm not sure where he thought the wind would take him. It's not like he had wheels attached, or was hooked up to a boat. Was he planning on just trying to take flight? Would flying from the stump to the ground be that exhilarating of a rush?? I did make me wonder...'is this how Da Vinci looked to others when he was working on some of his inventions?' Maybe this guy had bigger plans and I just wasn't able to see it yet. One thing I did notice though....'note to self' - when attempting to take flight from a stump, wear pants that are 6" too long for you. This way, when that harness hikes up your pants, you can avoid looking like you're wearing floods when you do become successful in your attempts and the paparazzi from the wedding party rush over to capture it!
Last grouping is 1,2,3. One lone girl enjoying the beach - I just loved the happy face bucket! Two friends enjoying their fish n' chips on the rock. And lastly three beautiful 'Red Hat Society' ladies sharing good times. This organization was founded in 1998, a year after the founder Sue Ellen Cooper gave her friend a red fedora for her 55th birthday along with a copy of a poem, 'The Warning', by Jenny Joseph. I conclude this blog posting with a copy of that poem.
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

~Jenny Joseph, 1961

Book 'em Danno!!

OK, for those of you who have asked or wondered, no, my book is not completed.
I was going to get my publicist to make this announcement, but then I remembered that I'm not famous, hence, I have no publicist. Having said that, I wouldn't want to be famous, in fact, I'd personally find it rather dreadful! The money that usually goes along with fame, I'd be cool with...all the rest, you can keep. For a gal that really feels rather uncomfortable with more than say umm, 2 people at a time looking at her, well yeah, fame would be an issue. Though a publicist would come in handy for passing on messages for me, like this one, that way I'd at least have one less thing on my to-do list.
When I say my to-do list, it almost automatically implies a single small scrap of paper with a few random jobs jotted down, I'd like that. If I were to actually write down my to-do list, I fear it would more resemble some tightly wound scroll, that once released, would stretch the length of the Trans Canada Hwy! So rather than have that frightening realization, I keep most of my to-do list in my head, and only commit a few selections to paper at a time, almost seems manageable that way. It's actually more like several bits of paper. On my desk right now, I currently have, 1 post-it note, 2 small note pad sheets and 1 old envelope all with things to do written on them, not too bad.
So the delay in the book is partly due to having a long to-do list, and really the rest of the delay is due to living - something which I find is essential in being a writer, breathing, 'it's a good thing'.
Life for me, like most everyone else, is busy. Aside from trying to write my first book, I'm also bringing up 2 lovely wee boys, I do hospital runs a few times every week for my mum, work part-time, try to see friends once in awhile, attempt to learn more about my other passion, photography, continue to add to this blog, run a household somewhat efficiently, and occasionally, I eat and sleep too. Most of the time, somehow, I manage to juggle it all fairly well, all things considered.
Unfortunately, I've lost pretty much most of November and December to either sickness or just the plain ol' busyness of Christmas. My poor youngest son, dealt with a terrible dry nagging cough off and on for about 6 weeks, which meant during most of that time, he'd call out several times each night for me, and usually ended up sleeping with me. So during that time writing had to be put on hold....also during that time, very little sleep was had for either of us. By the time he'd get better for a few days, I'd be so run down from seeing to him, I'd feel rough. Normally I can work through almost any pain, a gift I seem to have inherited from my Welsh warrior mother, but for the last few years, when I get run down, I get an intense sinus headache/earache combo that is pretty close to unbearable, even for me.
These little bouts of pain usually last for about 4 days and then by that time, Owen would be rough again....you get the picture, round and round we went!
This is the biggest reason why I'm so far behind with things. That has been my night pattern for so long and considering night time is when I write, well you can see why no words have been able to escape from my head. Such is life.
So as much as life has been giving me it's fair share of interruptions, I refuse to throw in the towel. I will complete my book, that much I know for sure, but I do need to extend the deadline.
Life continues to throw me a few curve balls, but that's just the way it goes, I will just keep on truckin' until she's done.
So my lovely friends, please stick with me, and think of it as an extension for you too.
For I shall let you hold onto your cash for a little while longer before I have to start doing my best Oliver Twist impression, and beg you to buy my words....hey, I give you all of these words for free, that should count for something, right?
Thank you to all of you who continue to support my writing, it's more appreciated than you'll ever know. Please stay tuned!!
SAM xoxox

You've Got to Believe to Receive

That is the sentiment that I share with my boys, in regards to the age old question, 'Is Santa real?' My oldest son who is nine, has been questioning Santa's existence for a few years now, and though I don't want to really tell him the truth, I don't want to outright lie to him either. He'll ask me, 'do you believe in Santa?' I can honestly reply, 'yes'. I then continue, I believe in what he represents, which is the magic of giving, and the overall warm feeling of the Christmas season. And let's face it, the month of December usually starts out with that euphoric feeling that comes with the holidays. That initial excitement of putting the tree up, seeing the neighbourhoods all aglow with lights, the smell of holiday baking fills the air and the anticipation of planning the perfect gift for the ones you love. Granted as the month goes on, the patience wears a little thin, the Christmas joy you had a couple weeks prior that had you smiling at strangers has now been replaced by giving people your best stink eye as they take the parking spot that you swear you spotted first, the first, and second batch of baking has long been consumed and your version of the perfect gift now is defined by a bulk pack of tube socks for everyone on your list. I mean, everyone wears socks right?
I hang on tight to the faith that once the last thing on our to-do list has been marked off, we'll all return back to that euphoric feeling that kicked off at the beginning of the month. So because of that, yes, I do believe in Santa. This is a big statement from a woman who doesn't even have any recollection of believing in Santa as a girl. I am the youngest of four kids and the only girl, so I'm sure by the time I came along, my brothers were bored with the whole charade of Santa. Before I even really had a chance to think through the issue, my brother who is three years older than me basically said, 'look, there's no Santa – mom and dad give us the stuff.' My brother was always pretty streetwise and I think he just wanted me to be up to speed on the whole thing. Probably didn't want me to embarrass myself, we were a fairly savvy group of kids and nobody needed a little sister who was the equivalent of Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin. I know there was a guy dressed up as Santa at Woodward’s but I was a pretty shy kid so it wasn't like I was going to get anywhere close to him to further inspect the possibility of if he was genuine. I did however, let my Mom go in line to 'represent' me and get me the Santa button and candy cane. Besides, I thought the entire setup was a bit shifty. I was a shy kid, and a suspicious one too.
Despite those early memories of being told, 'forget it kid, it's a sham', I still believe. I believe that, we do become kinder to one another, and we, for a moment at least, really reflect on what's important in our life. That we do stop and wonder how other people will manage and also how we can help those who may struggle more than ourselves. So that is what Santa is to me, hope dressed up in a red suit. I do believe and I do receive, and what I most like to get is the feeling that indeed we can extend that kindness to the rest of the year. The best thing about the gift of kindness is that it fits everyone and it's something we all need. It is also the best gift for the recipient to return, without the hassle of standing in long customer service lines in January! You've got to believe to receive, sort of the same idea as, 'if you build it, they will come'. That is what Santa is to me. Merry Christmas everyone!

Secret Agent Mel – Writer and Santa believer

One of the Boys

Nope, this isn't some big statement where I now announce that I want to become the man that I always felt that I was, but merely an ode to boys, and the role that they've played in my life.
Don't get me wrong, I am a girl, I have all the bits and pieces to prove it, but I've always felt more comfortable around males.
For me it goes back to my childhood, I am the youngest in my family and the only girl, and with 3 older brothers. Let me tell you, that dynamic became the building blocks to who I would become. I mean, no matter what your situation, to some extent you adapt to your environment, must go back to caveman days I'm thinking.
So I learnt very early on, not only how to survive amongst this tribe, but also how their brains worked, or often, didn't work.
In general, guys call it like they see it and for the most part, I love that. There is no time wasted in guessing, 'what do they really think?' If they think you look stupid in something, they'll tell you - and usually without any of that ol' female softening of the blow. I mean I've never been a girly-girl, I was always happiest wearing jeans and a t.shirt, but there were those occasions when my mum would ask/force me to wear a dress. Already feeling completely out of sync with the whole look, I'd make an appearance in the living room, wearing some lame dress, and my brother's reaction would be....'haaaa, Mel's wearing a dress,you look hilarious!'
A fact that frankly, I already knew.
My poor mum, she was so happy to have a girl after having 3 sons, someone she could dress up all pretty, and she gets a girl who was much happier in jeans and climbing trees! Thinking of it, she did collect dolls for awhile when I was a kid - maybe she was compensating for my lack of doll-like qualities?
The thing that I do admire about boy's frankness is how they deal with their other male friends. Only guys can greet each other by saying things like, 'you f**ker, where have you been?' and really mean that as a sentimental statement of 'I've missed you.' Love that!
Men are great at the whole, 'cut to the chase' thing.
So living with, and having the opportunity to observe these creatures up close for years, I've come to understand how to converse with them on a level that often has them forgetting that I actually am a female!

Even my play habits were shaped by having brothers. I hung out mostly with the youngest of my brothers, who was 3 years older than me. My mum always said, it was like having 2 separate families, because of the age difference - my other brothers are 7 and 9 years older than me, so it's not exactly like they were going to hang out with me as a kid. I'm sure most of the time, David, the youngest of my brothers didn't want to hang out with me either.
Personality wise, David and I are about as opposite as 2 people can get - he fears nothing - and I'd fear and analyze almost everything! I had to adapt to him as much as I could though, otherwise I would've been without a playmate. So I climbed trees and roofs!, rode mini bikes, built go-carts, set-up bike ramps so he could pretend that he was Evil Knievel, jumped from stairs(complete with sound effects)in Six Million Dollar Man fashion, assembled model cars and many other boy activities. On occasion, I did stuff with my middle brother as well, most likely when none of his friends were able to hang out. From him I learnt how to play crib and black jack and how to properly shuffle a deck of cards. I remember at one point he was taking Tae Kwan Do and when he came home from class one night, he said to me, 'Mel, stand right there'....then he proceeded to practice kicks, using my head as a height marker - oh, brother/sister bonding, there's nothing quite like it! I also was allowed to play soccer with my brothers, well kinda play....actually, it was more of a 'Mel, you stand in goal while we kick balls at you.' At least they wanted to play with me, right? We played basketball almost daily at times, 21 being the game of choice, quite funny really, considering we're a miniature sized family! This was the only time that any exception was made to the fact that I was a girl - though not much of an exception! I was allowed to take my free throws from the front of the flowerbed as opposed to from the back, where they'd free throw from - big woop! That gave me about a 16" advantage, but no matter where I got a rebound from, that's where I had to shoot from!! Sometimes, it'd hit the rim and rebound 40 feet away!! Too bad for you, you're playing with the boys now! Good lesson to learn really, no exceptions meant that I worked harder.
I mean, you take what you can get. It's not like any of them were going to volunteer to play Barbies with me. It even affected my alone Barbie time, while other girls were dressing their Barbie's in wedding dresses and princess get-ups, my Barbies were in riding gear and behind the wheel of this awesome pick-up truck/horse trailer combo that I had - now that was sweet. No pink Corvette and no lazy Barbie! Even my Barbie was a tomboy! She had a cool ride and did stuff. She wasn't sitting around the pool with Ken and his molded hair, no siree, my Barbie was attached to the washing line with clothes pegs, right beside my brother's G.I. Joe and his real hair/beard as I reeled them back and forth across the entire backyard!

My TV time was filled with Spiderman, Batman, The Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Fantastic Four and other equally cool shows.
The result of all of this boy-ness was that I've always had males as friends, even when I was a little girl. I can remember in elementary school I'd go to my friend Steven's house and we'd sit in his room looking at Mad magazines and then head to the alley to kick a soccer ball back and forth. Being able to get along with boys so well did pose one problem though - I think sometimes they forgot that I was a girl! Sheesh, I had a crush on Steven for years - not that he'd ever clue into that fact, to him, I was just one of the boys.

I actually feel very grateful to have had this insider's view to men. It has always served me well in my relationships, it has made me more understanding and able to view things from both sides. I've been very lucky to have many close friendships with men and they have trusted me with their thoughts and feelings in a way that women often aren't privy to.
Ha, I'm not sure if I give off some kind of dude vibe, but they seem to know that they can open up to me.
I am a girl, make no mistake about it - I'm scared of spiders, I love chocolate, and although I'm still not a girly-girl, I do love clothes - but my fashion choices always lean more towards menswear inspired/fitted cuts. Clothes with a sexy edge I can do, but I can't pull off the super girly look - no bows, or ruffles or pink - no pink!
Not knocking those who love that, I just happen to know it's not for me. If I saw myself in a pink flouncy number even I'd say, 'Mel, you look hilarious!'

So this is my ode to boys. Your influence has greatly contributed to the person that I am today, quirky as heck, goofy as can be, straight forward, and with a very low tolerance for head games and BS. I thank each and everyone of you that have shared your friendship with me, I really do feel in many ways, like one of the boys. Now I need to figure out women - I think that's going to be much tougher for me, but I'm starting to learn. I can tell you this one difference right now, though your male friends may dig it, women are not impressed that men can burp the entire alphabet. A tough lesson for my brother to learn back in the day - I mean, sure if you could burp all the letters with the same burp strength that might be impressive, but if your letters start to weaken mid-alphabet....meh. Not to worry boys, I still think you're f**king great! See, I am one of the boys!!