What's your most vivid childhood memory?

I arrived on September 28, 1957 tipping the scales at 9 pounds, 8 ounces!  When my parents brought me home and introduced me to Julie, my 13-month old sister, Julie bent over to presumably kiss me on the cheek, but bit me on the nose instead!

Our mother swore that neither Julie nor I grew hair until we were three.  She said she had to tape bows to our little bald heads so that people would know we were girls.  When mine finally did grow in my head was covered with thick tight curls.  My family used to say to me, ‘There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good she was very, very good. But when she was bad she was horrid!' And that's how it all began ...

I liked school, but had to work at it - my worst subject was math, my favorite subjects were spelling, reading and science.  Fifth grade was by far my favorite school year.  I adored my teacher, Mrs. Kline - she gifted me with the book ‘Swiss Family Robinson'. During this time I was deciding between becoming a magician or a mad scientist - I was fascinated with both.

My sister Julie and I grew up with a great love for animals.  Our family was very fond of camping, which we did on a regular basis.  Our dad took us panning for gold and to Eagle's Peak to look for bats (not baseball, but the flying type).  To my knowledge we were the only kids who took rattlesnake rattles and tarantellas to school for show and tell.

When we lived in Del Dios we played outside until we were exhausted - going places that were absolutely forbidden.  These included the witch's house.  She had a large black cauldron and bridge in her front yard.  And of course there was riding a horse named Trixie without permission.

One time while fishing in Idyllwild Julie cast her line and the hook got caught in my ear.  My father removed it with a pair of needle-nose pliers.  Needless to day, that resulted in a tetanus shot for me.

It was rare that Julie did something wrong on purpose.  As such, I decided it was high time that she got in trouble for something, so I engraved her initials into the dining room table - thinking my parents would think that she had done it - after all it was her initials.  My plan backfired and I was in more trouble than ever!

My mother was a great one for the holidays - mailing cards, baking, and decorating well in advance of its arrival because she just couldn't wait.  One of my favorite holidays was the year our parents surprised us with bicycles for Christmas.  Then again, there was the year we got white go-go boots, sunglasses, and three-tiered bell bottoms!

In addition to being the only family I knew who had a fallout shelter in their back yard, some of my other odd remembrances include:
- Julie shellacking my teeth
- Having my stomach pumped because I ate a box of Exlax
- Drag racing out on Jesmond Dene
- Being part of a quartette called the Pastel Lollipops
- Smoking cigarette butts I found in the gutter
- Julie and I getting shot at in Elfin Forest
- And then of course, there was running away from home ...