Wordless Wednesday's Weakness

My First Love

Do you remember your first love?  It was a rush, a heady feeling.  It was a feeling like no other.  It was a feeling that you cannot even describe. It was a time in your life where you got the clammy hands and the nervous feelings. Your tummy was rumbling and your nerves were on high alert.  Remember how being adored you felt and you would smile all day long. I loved that feeling and that made you feel reckless. It is exhilarating and makes you giddy at the same time.

I remember the first time it hit me that I was in love.  I was standing in front of a candy aisle in a store,  I was feeling my heart palpitate, the beating was ringing loudly in my ears, my hands were clammy.  I knew it was love at first sight.  To see such an assortment of chocolate was mesmerizing and right there,  I knew I found my soul mate.  It was Chocolate!

I loved looking at the thinly shiny wrapping and knowing what was in store for me.  I picked up the chocolate bar and just holding it was making my hand tingle with excitement, and then I smiled and sighed at the same time.  The smell of the chocolate permeated the air and reached my responsive nose.  My mouth began to water and I began to drool at what that first bite would taste like.  The first time was exquisite and at that moment, I knew I was hooked. Milky Way, Snickers, Kit Kat, and Hershey Kisses were just a few of my favorites.  The kisses were so small that I could slip one in my mouth and get that rush I needed.  I was addicted and in love. 

When I was a kid, my mom would surprise me with Fanny May Candies and at Easter, the chocolate rabbit was a highlight and so luscious.  Since Fannie May is not the same as I remember, I have a new haunting ground and that is See’s Candies and it is Scrumptious. 

When I walk in to Sees Candies the first time it was an epiphany and the most delicious feeling came over me. I do not know if it is was just the viewing of all the chocolate that heightened my anticipation, or just standing there and smelling all the sweetness around me. It is that rich heavenly smell of deliciousness. I think I began to blush and get goosebumps at maybe being caught in the act of peeking into the glass at the avalanche of all that chocolate waiting for me. There are so many delectable goodies to choose from the mild butter creams to the soft caramels, that melt in your mouth, and another favorite are the milk bordeaux to pecan buds that make the pixies looking for work. I love the nuts with drizzled chocolate oozing from the center.  The smooth fudge that makes your senses come alive make me delirious.  There are lemon filled and coconut filled chocolates too, just to name a few. 

My fantasy would be to have one night in a candy shop with all that chocolate, my true love. I know it sounds erotic, but what a way to go….

No Sense of Direction

Do you know anyone who has no sense of direction? Well that’s me! I think I was born with this defect. This is like having a birthmark, but nobody sees it because it is in my brain, where all the directions live. All the directions are there and I know where I want to go, but just cannot get there.  It is as if I was being trapped in a room with no door, but the room has many windows. I can see out and can see where I want to go, I just cannot get there. It is like not being able to leave your house because you have agoraphobia. When I get lost, I think I am driving in the right way and in reality; I am driving the wrong way. The tough thing is that I do not always know I am lost, until I am really lost and that is when the panic sets in. The easiest way to get there is to turn around and begin again, which can take awhile, depending on how lost I was to begin with.

I believe that in the left cavity of the brain is where all the directions lie. I have that down pat. For me, it is my whole sense of direction that is off.  I need to have a GPS surgically installed in my brain and then I will never get lost. You might laugh, but I could never use that excuse ever again, “Sorry I got lost.”

 I became aware of this problem on the first day of school in the first grade. The Nun asked all the children which way we lived: North or South. I had no clue as to what that meant or what she was saying. It was as if she was speaking a different language. I did not want to say anything because all the other kids seemed to know which way they lived. I figured that most kids were exiting north, so I followed like blind sheep to the northern exit. After we had all exited, going north, I was a ½ block from school. Nothing seemed familiar to me. Then, the Nun came chasing after me to say I did not live north of the school, but south of the school. Well, I just shook it off and thought no biggie. It was first day of school, so I did not think any more of it. I just thought it was a fluke. No, it was not a fluke. This sense of going nowhere has followed me like a bad dream.

As the years went by, I navigated along. I faked it a lot and by blind luck, I happened to get where I was supposed to be going. I can usually tell where I am going if there is a landmark on the corner of the street, such as a Jewel, or gas station, or those cute boutiques. God forbid they tear those buildings down, I could get seriously lost.

I was in California, driving along the coast (and if any of you have driven that drive up the Pacific, well you know with the coastline, and how big the Pacific Ocean is). I ended up driving to San Francisco when I was trying to drive to Los Angeles.

I now know why men do not ask for directions. It is not a macho thing as I previously thought. They have a fear of asking directions. The funny thing is that when I ask for directions from a man in the gas station, they tell me to go North for 2 miles and then go East. That is where my dilemma begins. When I hear people talk about directions by name, I think they are speaking in tongues and it makes no sense to me.

I sense now how people who have amnesia feel. When I get lost, I have no idea where I am or where I am going or at that point who I am anymore. It is mind blowing to say the least.

Isn’t it funny for people like me, who cannot find their way out of a paper bag that I do not get lost in a store or mall? It is just when I am in the car driving. Maybe this is all related and it is something psychological. Maybe it is me not wanting to go to those places to begin with. What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday ~ Poppies Poppies....

Wordless Wednesday ~ Summer Blues

Happy 4th

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!

This weekend is where we celebrate our country’s Independence. The traditions for the day are usually parades, fireworks, and of course food! I love July 4th because it is a no pressure holiday. No need to prepare for it unless you are the one making the traditional potato salad, macaroni salad and those seven layer salads. Let's not forget watermelon is a July 4th favorite and strawberry shortcake is a must. Of course, it would not be July 4th unless you have corn on the cob, which is one of my favorites. You have to admit that without much effort it is a very relaxing day of enjoying it with family and friends. You just eat, relax, and then enjoy the fireworks and it is just an all around fun day.

The evening would not be complete without a star spangled fireworks show. I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to fireworks. As I am getting older, I don’t like the loud explosions, but I love the oohs and aahs when you look up at the sky and it is filled with a riot of colors. It takes my breath away. As a kid, where I grew up, my neighborhood would be filled with the sounds of fire crackers, bottle rockets, cherry bombs, and m-80’s that were so loud they shook and rattled the windows of my house. I use to love sparklers and we would swirl them around and make a windmill of new colors.  I use to be fascinated by those things they called snakes. They were these little capsules, you would put them on the sidewalk and light a match to them, and they would fizzle and smoke into these long black strips that looked like snakes. I thought those were so cool.  

The most amazing firework show I have ever seen was the one that was held at Grant Park on Chicago's lakefront. It was a few years back that I had witnessed this incredible display of red, white and blue, and all I can say is it was magnificent. I had read somewhere where it cost the city of Chicago over $100,000 and it was worth every cent. I do have to say that once you have viewed this firework show it does ruin it for all other shows. They just do not compare. It was mind blowing and then when the music began playing the 1812 overture it was spectacular.  It left me speechless and as that day ended with the fireworks show it made me think of what Francis Scott Key must have felt when he wrote the star spaniel banner.