Memory: Summer Vacation

I may as well speak about the memories of the summer vacation. I was starting to write up stuff about this year’s vacation but then a flood of memories came back and I thought I should document them for my grandkids who are reading this one day.

They were long days in the car. I remember my sister and I not getting along too well sometimes and also remember suggesting (or at least having thoughts of) installing a cardboard wall between the two of us in the backseat! I remember sleeping a lot because I would get motion sickness a lot. Ugh, the Gravol! I remember that’s what knocked me out usually…that icky yellow pasty stuff you had to swallow so it killed off motion sickness.

Most vacations consisted of heading to Toronto for awhile to visit Aunt Dinah and Uncle Richard and also heading to Gaspe to visit Aunt Lana and Uncle Tony. I must admit that I never really cared for Gaspe when I was a kid but now I have learned to appreciate it. Perhaps it is because when you are a kid, you pretty well are stuck in a place and can only have so much leverage as to what you can do. This involved hanging out with my cousin Rocky who I didn’t see eye to eye with while growing up. 😉 I guess we were from two different worlds. We are fine nowadays but you know how kids are when they don’t get along. I also remember going across the street to swim a lot in some lady’s pool. There was also a convenience store down the road that we must have gone to quite a bit for the odd things (like candy). I remember Pal-o-Mine chocolate bars which we couldn’t get in Ontario but was a staple Quebec item.

I have random scattered memories of Gaspe – Aunt Lana doing the laundry in some machine that came out in the kitchen, lobster dinners, my birthdays usually being held there (as it was the time of the year), playing Nintendo in the later years and people wondering why I loved the video games so much instead of going outdoors, a bat flying around in the house one time, the Snorkels wallpaper in Jason’s bedroom, going over to Charles’ place across the street and seeing his Coleco-Vision video game system before I even knew what video games were, the hyenas (scratch that…they were coyotes. After hearing a phone message from my Dad laughing at the fact that I had written hyenas, I realized that I racking my brain this afternoon searching for the word…I thought hyenas was the wrong word but then thought it must have been it…clearly I was wrong!) crying down from the mountains and one time attacking the dog from what I remember, going to visit Aunt Eunice and Uncle Hally – I feel that when you are a kid you don’t really appreciate these meetings with older people because everyone just talks about older stuff but now I appreciate the memories of visiting these people. I always remember Uncle Hally sitting in his recliner and Maureen and I hanging out in the sun porch reading something (Archie comics perhaps?). I also remember visiting Great GrandDad’s place and thinking it was the oldest house in the world. I never understood why someone would want to live in something like that. I also have this vague memory of Maureen going up to see Great-Grandad and he was in his underwear putting his pants on. At least I think that’s what happened? Someone can refresh my memory on that one.

Toronto was always a marvel for me as I loved the city. I remember going to the Bridlewood Mall with Nanny (or Mom?) a lot. I also remember when I got older Dad would bring me to Toys R Us or some comic shops. Visiting Aunt Dinah was always a treat (it still is!) as she always offered me something to eat. I remember not really hanging out with my cousins as they were older than me. It’s funny when you get older that there is a bridge which is gapped. Now I see Rick at least once a year at Winterlude and I have a newfound friendship with Troy which has grown over the years of playing guitar and more recently, realizing that we are into a lot of the same things in life.

I also remember going to Burlington to visit my other Nanny and I always remember her bringing us to a movie. From what I can recall, it was always a Disney flick of sorts. I also remember her old apartment which had this hardwood floor which came apart in little pieces near the balcony and I would spend time taking this section apart and putting it back together. I can only imagine if someone was doing that at my house right now!

Clearly this post isn’t meant for everyone but it’s more of a documentation of my memories of a time and place long gone but still very vivid in my mind. When I lose my memory in years to come, at least I’ll have this as a documentation.

iplaying: Tarantula – The Smashing Pumpkins (Zeitgeist)