Monday, July 16, 2007

Memories, All Alone in the Moonlight...

Now, as you might recall, this Desert Island is a pretty incredible place. You've been allowed to bring your favorite books, music, food, etc. All the comforts of home. But, we haven't talked about your loved ones yet.

Well, we're not going to now, either.

Memories. Many of us are blessed to have had it relatively smooth sailing most of our lives. Yes, we all have times we wish we could erase or do over, but mostly, many of us have scars that are not too deep. Thankfully.

What five memories are you happy to take to the island with you? Let's say you can replay these same five memories over and over again to help pass the time. What are they?

Extra points for extra detail. Remember, I started this blog for stimulating conversation.

Enjoy.

2 comments:

karmadog said...

Okay, I finally got somethin'.

This was hard, because, like most folks, I probably have thousands of fond memories worth re-living. No way could I narrow it to five.

But, you know, my wedding day, births of my 2 kids, I suppose those would be tops. Same as everybody (Well, actually, labor sucks, so I could probably just live with the fresh-from-the-oven photos of our kids).

I've had lots of musical experiences I'd like to re-visit. I couldn't pick one, but in honor of our blogcircle, I'd probably pick the time I played Rhapsody in Blue with the WHS band at our final concert. Erin was there. So were Jeremy Karman, Drew K'nop, Beth Sullivan, Kiffie, Jen Anderburger, and a bunch of other wierdos.

But I actually have a winner for my-all-time-favorite-memory. Here 'tis:

On my wife's 30th birthday, Collin (who was 2) and I fixed up our playroom with balloons and streamers and a cake and candles, all while Mommy was at work.

We watched out the window and waited for her to pull into the driveway. then we quick ran into the playroom, closed the door, and hid behind the table. She came in the front door, calling "Hellooo? Anybody home?" Finally, she figured out we were in the playroom and opened the door. Collin jumped out and we yelled, "Surprise!"

The cool part was the look on Mommy's face when she saw the balloons and stuff. She was actually genuinely surprised! This is a big deal when you realize that I've only managed to actually surprise her with birthday/Xmas presents about 4 or 5 times. She always figures it out. But that one time we really got her! And then we had a little party, just the 3 of us. It was fun.

TWORIVERSWALRUS said...

Good comments. I too have been thinking about this for a long time. I've recently had cause to revisit some special moments from the past. I'll share a few of them now.

Easter Sunday, 1987. So many good memories from that day. Meff was up visiting his grandparents. I went out to Easter brunch with my family, at the Holiday Inn in Manitowoc. I think it was called something else then. Anyway, Meff and I had arranged for him to call me at an exact certain time. I set my watch to the clock on the Two Rivers cablevision channel. Sure enough, he called the pay phone at the Holiday Inn right on time - I taped it with my microcassette recorder. "Well, Meff should be calling right about.. RING!"

Later that day, Meff and I got together. We somehow missed the Brewers game, despite the fact that they had started the season 11-0. We turned it on as it was going into the bottom of the 9th inning. Texas - 4, Milwaukee - 1. It looked bleak. Meff kept repeating, "It's over." I was in denial. I assured him it was NOT over.

A few minutes later, Rob Deer came up and hit a three-run homer to tie it. A few minutes after that, Dale Sveum hit a two-run homer to win it. Meff and I were delirious! It's one of the most talked-about games in Brewer history.

There's much more. But all in all, that was a great day.

Memory #2 - April 5, 1998. I'd met my future wife online eight days earlier. But that night we were meeting for the first time. She came to my apartment building. I buzzed her in. She walked up to the second floor. I opened my door and peeked out. She gave me the biggest smile, then hugged me. I kid you not, as we were embracing, I thought to myself, "I could love her." Not long after, I did.

Memory #3 - June 3, 2005. We were in Las Vegas, celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. Unbeknownst to my wife, I had secretly arranged for a renewal of our vows. I managed to get my parents, her parents, her brother, and a few friends from both Wisconsin and Texas to all be there. It was held in a park. I found a way to get her there, and took her hand and walked over to the area. Once we were close, everyone turned around and yelled "SURPRISE!"

She was shocked! She was also touched that so many people would come so far from home just to be with us at that moment. I will never forget the look on her face, and the joy she experienced. It just may be my best memory ever.