So I did and I've been a pretty strong swimmer ever since. Thanks Dad.
Of course Pineview took on a whole new meaning in High School, and that was of a meat market sort of place. A place where guys a lot older than me or any of my friends would invite us onto their boats for some partying on the water. Even at that young and naive age we knew those guys were losers, yet there was something fascinating about their too-tan bodies and shiny fast boats. For the most part we stayed ashore and flirted with the cute passer-bys, but on occasion we did climb aboard a boat or two rocking out to "2 Live Crew" or "MC Hammer" all while zipping around at incredible speeds.
My best friend has been Stephanie since 6th or 7th grade, when she was nice enough to take me in. I'll have to post some pictures from that era later (seeing as I now own a scanner and all). Steph and I made a nice little package where you got the best of both worlds...the blond and the brunette. We knew how hot we were trotting around in our Body Glove swimwear.
One time when we were sluffing school; which just became a given our senior year...we went up to the dam for a day of fun.. This guy named Tim showed up and my friends (Steph, Emily and Jen I believe) and I were all laying out. I was face down while Steph was sitting up. Tim walked up to us and before I could turn around and say hello she blurted out that I was asleep and not to be disturbed. What? I knew she didn't like him and thought he was a big dork, but come on! In fact Tim was just a little dork...he was the same height as me and he might as well have been an albino for all his whiteness. He had a sweet whitish blond mullet and he was a little rocker dude, always wearing Metallica or Def Leppard T-shirts. I liked him because he was a nice little goof-ball of a friend, and I believed in being nice to one and all. Not mean old Steph though...Man that girl got us in a lot of trouble with that mouth of hers! She would tell people off and tell them where to go all the time, even innocent old ladies for heaven's sake! Steph will tell you that her favorite memory of Tim is of that day when he was pleading with her to wake me up so he could talk to me and then walking over to the water's shore bending down to take some water in his cupped hands to run through his hair; which then stood on end like a porcupine. I only stayed "asleep" so that I wouldn't make a liar out of my friend. Unfortunately when he turned around to walk down to the shore I snuck a peek at him as he ran that water through his hair transforming himself to the spiky aforementioned creature. All Steph could do was laugh hysterically after he left and I couldn't help but join in since I had experienced the spectacle myself. I had planned to be very stern with her, reminding her that she should practice being nicer to dorks, but I only encouraged her to laugh heartily as I reprimanded her through tears of laughter.
Pineview will always hold a special place in my heart with memories of : almost drowning, learning to swim, bonfires on the beach (until the cops came and made us put them out), making out with boys at night on the beach, prairie dogs eating our food, hours of fun with my family where my mom would bring up fresh fruit and milanesas ( a delicious flattened meat patty made in Argentina whre my mom spent a few years of her life), water skiing with friends (and strangers), jet skiing, oiling up (forget sunscreen!) cute guys, swimming out to the buoys with my mom and dad where we would just tread water and talk for long whiles, and now watching my kids playing with their Aunt Vivi in the muddy clay. Good times, good times.
Grandma and Chookie. You can see my dad's head bobbing up in the background, he was probably heading to the nearest buoy.
My little NoniGirl.
Chookie indulging herself at Pineview's luxurious mud spa.
Last but not least...little dude enjoying nature's mud miracle.So, do YOU have a dam experience? Share it in comments...we'd love to hear it.
6 comments:
OH man , do I have a ''Dam'' experience!! In fact I have several ''Dam experiences!! One I recall fondly is spending weekends with my kids and their dad years ago when wind surfing was the "new crave", Flori, Bungy, and Nella would be up in their dad's surf board going for little rides . Other times you joining the family and my kids just loved you, and still do!!
Pine View ''Dam'' holds a special place for me also, happy memories as well as bittersweet. After the divorce I could not go near the place, but some time later it was a place where I would go and try to find sense of it all. I laughed there as well as cried, yet this place remains beautiful to me.
In later years I have gone there with new friends and it has given me a new joy , new memories have been created and now I can look back without any pain. Camping there under the moon and stars, canooing, midnight swimming .
Oh if the trees and mountain could talk.......what great stories would they tell!!!!
HA! That was a cool post. Who could have grown up where we did and had no dam memories. I hope you guys would say something all clever when you were little like it was so funny that went something like, "I went to the dam to get some dam water . . ." and on and on. And I have happy memories of my dad taking some of us kids there in the evening with a no name brand of chips and punch and of course he'd always have us gather all the beer cans strewn about to make a lovely beer castle out of them.
But, I loved the story of you sleeping and how you could NOT be disturbed in your beach beauty rest and I loved you learning to swim the tough love way. Also, thank you for reminding me of the sweet tan 50 year old men who would rome the beach asking young innocent girls like me and my dam friend Liz to join them on their boats. Ohh that is awesome.
lots of good memories from the dam. most of my more recent memories are bittersweet, like vivis. i need to come to the dam with you and my kids so that i can forget going there with ray on winter nights and walking out on the ice. i do have so many from my youth, though, that were so happy and fun--for a while mark and doll were living in our house and she was babysitting some kids. we would go up, i swear, almost every morning and i'd help watch ashley eat sand and stuff. i loved it when kathy and amy would take us up because they'd always bring good treats. but for some reason that pain-evoking memories outweigh the good still and i don't really like to go there. i better change that somehow. my kids don't even know that place that was so important to me growing up!
Oh my word-those kids are so dirty and cute! When did Charlie get those long legs? They are all going to be so much bigger when I see them, and they are probably all taller than me by now too-huh? Can't wait to see you guys!
O how fun...If only i were there with you...I do love a good family day at the dam. Those were some sweeet stories! I wish so bad i was chilling with you back then...good times
Awesome blast from the past post! How fun you still live so close to the dam & can begin those memories again w/ your kids. I lol picturing you & your friend sporting the Body Glove brand. It was a part of my summer wardrobe as well. BTW, Thanks for the great swim lessons tip. The kids are doing great, learning a ton, & extremely tired at the end!
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