#170 - KP

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Late birthday shout out to #170 !!! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday to # 170!!!!!

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When I was a child growing up, my family "hung out" with primarily two other families.  All of our parents were friends linked because all of the men were childhood friends.  The wives all got along, and all of the kids were about the same age and went to the same school.  To this day we have an annual Christmas party with these two families.  The three primary families have grown to now include spouses and too many children to count.  Not everyone can make it every year but everyone tries, and I know that I always look forward to getting together with everyone.

#170 is the mom of one of the families.  When I was growing up, I remember her as always being fun.  She always had a game for us to play or some sort of activity to try.  Two specific occasions come to mind.

For several years, we had a "fair" at her house.  It was beneath her carport.  We would prepare for the fair by putting together "grab bags," notepads of paper, and other assorted prizes.  We would come up with games kind of like carnival games for each "booth."  Then we would invite all of the people in the neighborhood over to come to our fair.  Now that I think about it, she is probably responsible for me thinking I need to be in charge of all of the events at my kids' school.  Thanks a lot #170.  I remember face painting, making thumb-print drawings, and pulling suckers with the bottoms marked on them for a prize.  Looking back, I'm sure it was a lot of work.  It would have been easier to park us in front of the TV, but would I have remembered that???  Probably not.

The other thing I remember most about #170, is that each year, she was the one to be with at Mardi Gras.  My dad (and the other two dads) rode in the parades and my dad always parked a huge truck right by the post office for all of us to stand in.  (This was back in the day when Lafayette Street was safe and the parade passed by the post office.)  The best thing about #170 is that she would take us across town to (the East side) before the parade got rolling.  We would walk around from float to float and write down the names of everyone she knew and what # float they were on.  That way we were ready.  When we would see the float, up the street, #170 would say, "OK guys, everyone listen... for float # 5, yell Johnny!, Mike! and Dexter!!!!!"  We had no idea who they were, but as the float approached, we would scream as told, "Hey Mike!!!!!!!  Throw us something!!!!!"  We did this for every float and believe me, we always got the best stuff with we Mardi Gras'ed with #170.

Again, as an adult, I look back on a childhood that is full of fun, friends, and fond memories.  I thank #170 for her part in these good times!