I kind of liked the idea of having a child-sized mannequin. It would be like having a giant doll. I could dress the it, in my own clothes and even talk to it.  Even better than my imaginary friend, Merrilee Carolee! 

Later 
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By the time I was a teen, I thought the idea of having a mannequin was funny. I read that a women's clothing store was going out of business and I called to see if they were selling any of their mannequins. What crazy fun, to have a mannequin for posing and pranking!

I had been frightened of it as a child, but at 18, I was delighted to give it a home. I put it on a pedestal and borrowed a uniform, that my brother had purchased from an army surplus store. We had fun posing him in front of the window. 

​​All My Characters
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Over the years I've inherited some unusual friends.  

My Chinese Warrior and Sicilian Knight like to dress up for holidays. 
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Here I am with the owner, who is about the only person in the world who might enjoy the idea of mannequin posing, more than me. The mannequins were a little out of my budget,  but she sold me this lovely arm for about 15 dollars.

Then What?
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​I brought the arm home and had about 5 minutes of fun.

But what the heck was I really supposed to do with this pale arm?

Holidays
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​This past year, I've let the arm help me with some holiday decorating.

  Mardi Gras and Halloween are pretty silly holidays, so I was able to get away with some kooky arm decoration.

Christmas and July 4th?
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​The arm seemed a little sassy for Christmas. 

It seemed a tad unpatriotic for the 4th of July.

Valentine's Day and Easter?
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​I'm thinking about handing over this arm to a new owner.  It's spring now and time to stop storing so much junk.  

I think I'll give myself a half check on the Bucket List and retire the arm!

Oh Wait!
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​I totally forgot about the Styrofoam wig stand in my closet! My friend Margit helped me paint the 3-dollar head, to create this lovely face! 

 I once bought a china pitcher and bowl and put it in my room on a wash stand, so I could wash my face at night.  I begged my parents to let me remove the electric sockets in my room and bring in a kerosene lamp.  They said no to that. 

We ended up exploring the Amish country near Arcola,  Illinois.  I drove and Mom sat poised with the camera in her lap. We both ooed and ahhed over each buggy and Amish clothes line.  We drove through town where clusters of bonneted children played beside a sheltered parking lot, filled with buggies. 

Finally
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​After years of observing and wondering, I got to have an actual conversation...with Amish children. 

 I have too much respect to intrude, but there was a sign saying Fresh Baked Goods!  It was like seeing a giant welcome mat! 
​

My husband and I carefully chose a basket and a couple potholders. We picked out some raspberry jelly and the young sisters smiled shyly.  Then Don took our goodies to the car and the girls seemed to relax a little more. 

Chatting with the young Amish sisters may not be as good as living with the Amish, but I think I'll give myself a check anyway!  I'm all about checking off lists and this may be as close as I get! ​
​

We took her inside the barn and I'm pretty sure there was a 3 legged stool involved.  First Freeman demonstrated and made it look easy. ​

As kids we spent many an hour tightrope  walking down the tracks, hunting for discarded rail spikes and other treasures.  Sometimes we left a penny on the track to be squashed...even an Italian lire once.  

​No Luck
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My brother and I never had an opportunity that day.

I have to thank Cliff and Rhona for egging me on, in my fun. Mostly I have to thank Don, who has never really rolled his eyes at my antics, for 32 years! 

​Learning From My Adventures
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​Although I had a silly good time in that train car, I have pondered the inside of that boxcar over these last few days. Hearing the echo and smelling the rust, brought so many images to mind. 

But I think it's an amazing act that I got up on the thing at all at the age of 55.  Probably more amazing than that, is the fact I could hang upside down and not throw up.  (my biggest fear)

What is also truly amazing is that my biceps were still tender, more than a week after taking the one hour introductory trapeze class! 

​"I was born in a circus."

I actually uttered those words at age 6, when a friend applauded my jungle gym stunt.  I so wanted to believe it.  It seemed more of a wish than a lie.

I wasn't just remarking that I'd survived my jump from a plane...but I had lived despite the 8 previous attempts which were halted by storms,    wind, no-show instructors or other obstacles.  It seemed clear, I was being given a message that I should not be attempting this silly endeavor, but I ignored it.  
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Smiling Before Jump

My friend Mark snapped this smiling picture of me before I headed to the plane.
I was smiling with relief that I was finally getting this over with!  Mark had jumped earlier in the day after we re-trained for 2 hours along with a crowd of postponed "first jumpers" who were all  quiet and grumpy like me... from the stress of waiting.

I was in luck. I came upon a number of elephants being hosed down in preparation for the evening show.  Nearby was a curly haired man named Pat Anthony, who appeared to be in charge. He seemed good humored and likable, although he claimed he got into animal training because he preferred animals to people. When I told him my dream was to ride an elephant. He pondered a moment, and then replied "Well...the circus will head to Poplar Bluff  tomorrow.  Come on out and we'll see what we can do."

Mom in 1978

This photo has nothing to do with my elephant adventure, but it shows Mom in 1978. It shows what a good sport she was... with my silly brother. As it turns out, my mom was the only friend willing to make the 3 hour drive to Poplar Bluff the next day. Mom always loved an adventure!

I turned to face Pat who was walking towards me with a grin.  I could hear Sluggish Man under his breath, "I can't wait to hear this. She better chew him out."  I firmly told Pat I had come to ride.  "Of course you can." he answered, as he moved towards a weathered trailer. He knocked on the door and we waited. Eventually, a scowling man with jet black hair and tattooed arms answered. He mumbled about being woken from a nap.  It took some convincing, but Joe finally agreed to get me up on an elephant.   

​Photographer Mom
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​I rushed to get Mom from the car. She snapped photos as I giddily approached the giant beast. I grinned to watch the elephant bend her front legs, so that her head dropped lower to the ground.  Joe instructed me to step on the bent leg and reach for the strap.  I swung my right leg up and over to straddle the neck. In my younger years I'd done a lot of bareback riding on horses, but this just felt comical.  The thickness of this dear animal's neck! The feel of those lively ears, flapping at my legs!  And then the awkward lift, as the body moved to stand upright again! Oh how I wanted to throw my head back and howl with joy... but Joe's irritated expression kept me slightly under control.

I remember how the timing was off, with everything from music to stunts. Even the audience seemed disinterested. Before long, it rained and the circus was called off, before the elephants or the canon. But my mother and I huddled under an umbrella and watched as they "struck" the show.  We saw "Miss Lydia" of the rope act. There she was, suddenly part of the crew, wearing her stretch shorts and no wig.  ​

My Circus Kids
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​Years later my own kids had made their own circus and elephant memories. They rode Flora, a beautiful young African elephant. She was the star of St. Louis based, "Circus Flora". A few years later, they took classes from some of the performers... members of the famous Flying Wallendas family! 

But over the years most of us have learned a lot about the treatment of circus animals. I'm glad to know that abuse is no longer accepted in training. I'm especially glad to know that although Flora was never abused, she now lives in an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. 
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Later... a Different Kind of Encounter

My kids are grown and married now. All of our elephant riding days are over.

In 2017, our family traveled to Thailand and had a very different Elephant Encounter. My daughter-in-law arranged for us to visit a sanctuary where we were invited to feed and bathe elephants. 

Mom would have so enjoyed this adventure!
​

... until the mall manager suddenly arrived in his leisure suit, expecting a  ride.  I watched the balloon lift above me and drove home with twice the
determination. ​

I returned the second day for the same  routine.   Mike and his crew were growing amused by my overdone enthusiasm. But that evening after helping in the parking lot, two other "VIP" men arrived for their complimentary rides. Mike shrugged at my disappointed face. I  continued helping the crew untangle some ropes.  ​

​As we lifted above the heads of the small crowd, Mike suddenly put his foot on the lip of the basket and hoisted himself onto the edge. "Whoo Hoo!" he hollered as he playfully reached for a dangling string above.  I think he was just pretending to slip as he placed his feet on the tilting basket, then twisted and jerked into a falling pose. He laughed as he climbed back into safety. I was relieved to have an excuse to shriek and release a little of the exuberance bottled inside. With Mike back in the basket, the balloon lifted higher and caught a flow of wind, moving it over a nearby meadow.

​I really don't know how long we floated. I do remember the chase truck  following us below on country roads.

I remember the silence when the burner was turned off and we drifted above fields and then the sound of the wind against the balloon, and then  Mike's voice, bragging... about how he was the only balloonist to ever survive hitting power lines.  

​Best Pilot?

I'm not sure I picked the best pilot for my very first ballooning experience. I only pondered that worry for a moment. Suddenly it was time to land and Mike showed a bit of concern.  "We're going fast."  He announced firmly.  "We can land this like a baby, if we all get on the opposite side and duck!"  My nerves made me laugh with that suggestion. There was nowhere for any of us to move. ​

Suddenly we scrambled to the floor and the basket hit with a jerk and it felt like a million bodies on top of me, as we bounced and tumbled along the ground. Instead of panic, I felt a giddy wave of giggles and I tried to suppress them. The basket suddenly stopped and I couldn't move under the weight. Mike yelled, "Put out the pilot!" The flame was burning near the oat field, where we had landed and Mike was suddenly out stomping as I crawled free. I could see a huge path of ruined oats, where the basket had been dragging. ​I climbed out and yanked an oat souvenir from the field. (saved in a book)

The truck arrived and the heavy basket was heaved into the truck bed. Moments later, I was sitting in the back, grinning as the truck bumped down the dusty road. I was thrilled with every strong swerve, that gave me an excuse to grab (and hug) the wicker basket once more.

Back at the Mall
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​I couldn't stop thanking Mike and the crew. Mike finally told me to be quiet. He claimed (with a grin) that the only reason he told me to get in was that he thought I was going to cry. And I probably would have.  

Earlier that day I had experienced my first actual HOT AIR BALLOON sighting!  The image of that magical balloon and basket floating over my backyard completely undid me.  If I had been 16 in 2012, I would have been on the internet googling hot air balloons. 

When some peers wished for romantic things or set proper goals, my head spun with craziness. I wanted to do things, try things, own things... And these things weren't exactly simple things to do, try and have. Below is the most complete list that I found in that silly Barbie Diary.

​#1 - to take a ride in a balloon
#2 - to ride on an elephant
#3 - to live with an Amish family
#4 - to own a mannequin
$5 - to parachute
#6 - to lose 20 pounds ( my teen angst showing!)
#7 - to own a monkey
#8 - to go on an African safari
#9 - to star in a movie
#10 - to be in a trapeze act
#11 - to milk a cow
#12 - to ride a unicycle
#13 - to hop a train
​#14 - to join the Peace Corps

​                
How Many Checks?

​I can only give about 5 full checks to this list. Ballooning, elephant riding  and cow milking were achieved with bold coaxing, which is hard for a shy girl. 

Unicycling and parachuting required some saved money and lots of practice and nerve.  

Blog Posts

So in the following posts, I'll use some inspiration from my old diaries and a few faded photos. I'll blog about my bizarre mix of achievements. Some thrilling and some just plain odd accomplishments. I've added about 5 more partially checked goals. I'm not a teenager anymore, but I had some fun with some lame half attempts, in recent years!

Who knows? Maybe it's not too late for that safari. And I've heard there are people older than me, in the Peace Corps!  We'll see! 
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