I was talking to a friend of mine and some how the conversations turned from musicals to two particular stories in my past that tie together. I had her laughing pretty good so I thought I�d share the stories here. That is if I haven�t already done it and am just rehashing stories already told on this diary. If so then I guess it�s a flashback to a flashback entry for long time readers and something knew for my readers who haven�t read back far enough to see it.

Both of these stories are ones told by my father and mother at times when I got older. Stories that show you I started off a goofy kid and just steadily grew stranger with age.

The first story is told by my father, a story he would bust out for friends when he was in a good mood. This story shows when and where my father realized I would be into horror films and how they would never really freak me out.

I was around three years old. It was just me and my father hanging out in the living room. Him in his regular chair, reading a newspaper, letting me watch what I want on the television. I�m laying on my stomach on the floor, intensely watching the television. My Father gets a bit curious and looks to see what I�m watching. He realizes I have HBO on and Jaws is just starting.

This is what my Dad thought when he saw this.

Uh oh, I shouldn�t let him watch that. Its going to give him nightmares for a week.

The thing is I was so into the movie that he decided to let me watch it for awhile longer. If I started freaking at all, he would change the channel. So he set his newspaper aside and just watched me for a bit. It was at the point early in the movie when that woman is floating the water late at night, calling for the guy to come join her. So the shot keeps switching back and forth from that to the point of view of the shark slowly rising up from the depths of the water underneath her. Just as the shark snags the woman and pulls her under. My father saw me reach out a hand towards the screen. Fingers curled in a claw, scrunching them slowly then I whispered softly, �gotcha.�

Now here is the story that my mom would tell me at times and friends of hers to show what kind of kid I was. This story happened not to long after the Jaws incident with my father.

Around here in Michigan there is a small ice cream parlor chain called House of Flavors. Retro fifties style of ice cream parlor with great ice cream and great food. My mother, a friend of hers, and I was there having lunch together in one of the booths. Back then underneath the booth seats there was a big gap that opened up into the booths on either side of the seats. Creating a great crawl space for any kid to go back and forth to all the connecting booths.

So my mom and her friend are talking away, I�m sitting on the inside seat of the booth. She peaks over at me just as I�m crawling underneath the table. No biggie, I did that all the time as a kid. What she didn�t know is that I had dropped a Match Box car I was playing with under the table. So I crawled down there to find it, only to realize it had rolled to under the table of the booth behind my mom�s seat. In that booth was one solitary, very quiet woman enjoying a leisurely lunch and some quiet time.

I quickly lost interest in my Match Box car when I spotted this ladies legs from underneath the seat. Now from piecing together all that happened, this is what my mother figured out what I did. I spotted the lady�s legs, slowly inched up to them then quickly reached out and grabbed one. As my mom was talking with her friend she heard my voice whisper, �gotcha� then this lady totally freak out behind her. Screamed her head off and leaped out of the booth. My mom came out of her seat and looked underneath the table to see me there on my hands and knees, half way under the seat with this huge grin on my face. My mom busted out laughing so hard that she was crying and fighting to apologize to the freaked out woman who turned a bright shade of red in embarrassment when she realized it was just a little mischievous child playing around.

Well that�s the end of those stories.

As you all have witnessed in this diary, from age three and going on I just grew stranger with life.

It's about time - Wednesday, Jul. 07, 2004
An Honor for Chrome - Friday, Feb. 20, 2004
A great loss - Monday, Oct. 20, 2003
a terrible announcement. - Tuesday, Sept. 09, 2003
Chrome speaks: - Friday, Sept. 05, 2003