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As a little girl growing up in the 1950s, my life was pretty much 1)straightforward. Society and parents were more relaxed and parents needed to be more creative to invent activities for their children.
My mother was such an interesting, complex, and creative person. I don’t think anyone knew her as well as I did. There were many sides to her character. She knew the art of being a lady, setting a formal table, and tending to the many plants and flowers in our yard.
But the 2)tomboy spirit was probably the most interesting. These stories are so numerous they would fill a book all of their own. For this purpose, I chose one to share. I have never heard of anyone else that had this experience especially shared with their mother.
One afternoon I heard her promise my two older brothers that she would take them somewhere after dark. I wasn’t sure what it was but I was not about to 3)miss out on the experience.
My father was not happy with whatever she was planning. He told her she was 4)nuts and it was absurd to even think of such a thing. He was a blue-collar worker and worked very hard but that was the extent of getting dirty. Today, my father probably would be called a 5)metro male. He didn’t like hunting or outdoor activities and was very concerned about his appearance. Well, what did I know? All I knew was that my brothers were all excited about this venture and I was not missing anything.
Before I knew it, my mother was explaining to the boys what they needed to do to get prepared for the plan. I became excited and she told me that I didn’t need to do anything to prepare.
Finally, after waiting the whole afternoon, it was time to leave. I couldn’t stand it any longer and demanded to know where we were going. Mom told me that we were going out to the city 6)dump. Back in the 1950s, we didn’t have garbage companies that came around and picked up our household garbage. We went to the dump once a week, so I didn’t think anything much of what she said. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why we were going at night and why my brothers were so excited.
My brothers, sister, and I got into the car with my mother and started on our way. Once again, they were so thrilled about this great adventure, I did not question. A few minutes later we arrived at our destination. I noticed that my mother7)turned out the car 8)headlights before the entrance of the city dump and drove slowly. I began to question what was about to happen because none of this seemed normal. I was told to be very quiet and the boys and my mother started whispering to each other.
“Mom, what are we doing?” I asked anxiously. She whispered, “When we open the doors, I need you and your sister to quietly climb up on the roof of the car.” Okay, I was about eight years old—was she kidding? Why were we in the city dump with the lights out and climbing on the car roof? The doors opened and in silence my sister and I climbed up on the roof. She then whispered to the boys, “When I turn on the headlights, start shooting.” Beyond frightened, I asked, “Shoot what, Mommy?” She replied, “All the rats that are going to be running around.”
The next thing I knew, the lights came on and hundreds of rats were running everywhere and the boys and my mother were shooting them. I can still hear them shouting, “I got one!” I think my screams from the roof of that car are still floating around in space over fifty years later. I have no memory of anything that happened after that moment for the entire evening. By the time I was ten years old, I was on 9)tranquilizers to sleep. No one could figure out why I was so sensitive. Apparently, they never went on an adventure with my mother and the boys.
A couple of weeks later she decided to take the boys frog-leg hunting. Once again, I didn’t understand what she was talking about. She calmly explained to me that you hit the frogs in the head with a club to 10)knock them out, cut their legs off, and throw the rest of the body away. Then you come home and cook up the legs for dinner because they are considered a 11)delicacy. My father once again expressed his disgust with this 12)escapade but he didn’t stand a chance of changing her mind. I ran to my bedroom panicked because I never wanted anything to do with her adventures with the boys again in my lifetime.
A few days later my mother became ill with
13)pneumonia. My father told her that is what she gets for chasing out through the swamps for frog legs. I walked slowly into my bedroom with a 14)devious smile, thinking, that will teach her.
作为一个在20世纪50年代长大的小女孩，我的生活相当地简单。那个年代的社会和家长更为轻松悠闲，家长需要更多的创意去为孩子们设计一些活动。
我的母亲就是这样一个有趣、难以理解、且充满创意的人。我认为没有人比我更了解母亲。她的性格具有多面性。她深谙成为淑女的秘诀，知道怎样摆设正式宴席的餐桌，也懂得照料庭院里的花花草草。
但最有趣的要数她的假小子精神了。她这方面的故事非常之多，可以自成一书了。为此，我挑选了其中一个故事与大家分享。我从来没有听说过任何人有这样的经历，更别说是与母亲共有的。
一天下午，我听到她答应我的两个哥哥天黑后带他们去某个地方。我不确定他们是去干什么，反正我不想错过这样的机会。
母亲计划的每一件事情，没有一件是令父亲高兴的。他说她是个疯子，光是想到这样的事情就让人觉得荒唐。他是一个蓝领工人，工作很辛苦，但那是就脏的程度而言。如今，父亲很可能会被称为“都市型男”。他不喜欢打猎或户外活动，但他很注重外表。嗯，什么是我知道的呢？我只知道，两个哥哥都因这次探险而兴奋不已，而我也没错过什么。
我还没反应过来，母亲就开始向哥哥们解释要为这个计划做些什么准备。我不禁兴奋起来，她却告诉我什么都不用做。
终于，在等待了整整一个下午后，动身的时候到了。我实在忍不住了，要求他们告诉我究竟是去哪里。妈妈告诉我，我们要去的地方是城里的垃圾场。20世纪50年代的时候，还没有垃圾公司员工上门收集生活垃圾的服务，因此， 我们每周要去一次垃圾场。对于母亲说的话，我没多加思索。我唯一无法弄明白的是为什么我们要在晚上去垃圾场，而且哥哥们还如此兴奋。
两个哥哥、姐姐、我以及母亲上车出发了。他们对于这个伟大的探险再一次表现出十足的兴奋，我没有半点疑问。几分钟后，我们到达了目的地。我注意到母亲在城里的垃圾场入口前面关掉了汽车的前照灯，并减慢了车速。我开始询问接下来会发生什么，因为这一切似乎不太正常。他们让我保持安静，而哥哥和母亲开始交头接耳。
“妈妈，我们在做什么呢？”我焦急地问。她低声说：“当我们打开车门的时候，我要你和姐姐悄悄爬到车顶上去。”好吧，我那时大约八岁，她是在开玩笑吧？为什么我们在城里的垃圾场内关着车灯，还要爬到车顶上去呢？车门打开了，我和姐姐悄悄地爬到了车顶。然后，母亲低声对哥哥们说：“当我把汽车的前照灯打开时，就开始射击。”害怕之余，我问道：“射什么，妈妈？”她回答说：“那些将要四处逃窜的老鼠。”
接下来我所知道的事情是，汽车前照灯亮了，成百上千只老鼠四处乱窜，哥哥们和母亲对着这些老鼠射击。我仍然可以听到他们大喊：“我射中了一只！”我想，事隔五十年后，我在车顶上的尖叫声依然萦绕于耳。那一刻以后，整个晚上发生了什么事情，我完全不记得了。直到十岁，我都一直靠镇定剂来入睡。大家都不明白为什么我会如此敏感。显然，他们从没与我的母亲和哥哥们探过险。
几个星期后，她决定带哥哥们去寻找青蛙腿。我再一次不明白她在说什么。她平静地向我解释起来，用棍子击打青蛙的头部，把青蛙敲晕，切下青蛙的腿，丢掉其余部分。然后你回家把青蛙腿煮来吃，那可是一道美味佳肴。父亲再次表示对这种过分行为的厌恶，但他没能改变母亲的想法。我恐慌地跑回卧室，因为在我有生之年，我再也不想跟她和哥哥们的探险有任何瓜葛了。
几天后，母亲感染了肺炎。父亲告诉她，就是因为她在沼泽里捕获青蛙腿才惹病上身。我狡黠一笑，慢悠悠地走进卧室，心想，这算是给她的一点教训啦。
My mother was such an interesting, complex, and creative person. I don’t think anyone knew her as well as I did. There were many sides to her character. She knew the art of being a lady, setting a formal table, and tending to the many plants and flowers in our yard.
But the 2)tomboy spirit was probably the most interesting. These stories are so numerous they would fill a book all of their own. For this purpose, I chose one to share. I have never heard of anyone else that had this experience especially shared with their mother.
One afternoon I heard her promise my two older brothers that she would take them somewhere after dark. I wasn’t sure what it was but I was not about to 3)miss out on the experience.
My father was not happy with whatever she was planning. He told her she was 4)nuts and it was absurd to even think of such a thing. He was a blue-collar worker and worked very hard but that was the extent of getting dirty. Today, my father probably would be called a 5)metro male. He didn’t like hunting or outdoor activities and was very concerned about his appearance. Well, what did I know? All I knew was that my brothers were all excited about this venture and I was not missing anything.
Before I knew it, my mother was explaining to the boys what they needed to do to get prepared for the plan. I became excited and she told me that I didn’t need to do anything to prepare.
Finally, after waiting the whole afternoon, it was time to leave. I couldn’t stand it any longer and demanded to know where we were going. Mom told me that we were going out to the city 6)dump. Back in the 1950s, we didn’t have garbage companies that came around and picked up our household garbage. We went to the dump once a week, so I didn’t think anything much of what she said. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why we were going at night and why my brothers were so excited.
My brothers, sister, and I got into the car with my mother and started on our way. Once again, they were so thrilled about this great adventure, I did not question. A few minutes later we arrived at our destination. I noticed that my mother7)turned out the car 8)headlights before the entrance of the city dump and drove slowly. I began to question what was about to happen because none of this seemed normal. I was told to be very quiet and the boys and my mother started whispering to each other.
“Mom, what are we doing?” I asked anxiously. She whispered, “When we open the doors, I need you and your sister to quietly climb up on the roof of the car.” Okay, I was about eight years old—was she kidding? Why were we in the city dump with the lights out and climbing on the car roof? The doors opened and in silence my sister and I climbed up on the roof. She then whispered to the boys, “When I turn on the headlights, start shooting.” Beyond frightened, I asked, “Shoot what, Mommy?” She replied, “All the rats that are going to be running around.”
The next thing I knew, the lights came on and hundreds of rats were running everywhere and the boys and my mother were shooting them. I can still hear them shouting, “I got one!” I think my screams from the roof of that car are still floating around in space over fifty years later. I have no memory of anything that happened after that moment for the entire evening. By the time I was ten years old, I was on 9)tranquilizers to sleep. No one could figure out why I was so sensitive. Apparently, they never went on an adventure with my mother and the boys.
A couple of weeks later she decided to take the boys frog-leg hunting. Once again, I didn’t understand what she was talking about. She calmly explained to me that you hit the frogs in the head with a club to 10)knock them out, cut their legs off, and throw the rest of the body away. Then you come home and cook up the legs for dinner because they are considered a 11)delicacy. My father once again expressed his disgust with this 12)escapade but he didn’t stand a chance of changing her mind. I ran to my bedroom panicked because I never wanted anything to do with her adventures with the boys again in my lifetime.
A few days later my mother became ill with
13)pneumonia. My father told her that is what she gets for chasing out through the swamps for frog legs. I walked slowly into my bedroom with a 14)devious smile, thinking, that will teach her.
作为一个在20世纪50年代长大的小女孩，我的生活相当地简单。那个年代的社会和家长更为轻松悠闲，家长需要更多的创意去为孩子们设计一些活动。
我的母亲就是这样一个有趣、难以理解、且充满创意的人。我认为没有人比我更了解母亲。她的性格具有多面性。她深谙成为淑女的秘诀，知道怎样摆设正式宴席的餐桌，也懂得照料庭院里的花花草草。
但最有趣的要数她的假小子精神了。她这方面的故事非常之多，可以自成一书了。为此，我挑选了其中一个故事与大家分享。我从来没有听说过任何人有这样的经历，更别说是与母亲共有的。
一天下午，我听到她答应我的两个哥哥天黑后带他们去某个地方。我不确定他们是去干什么，反正我不想错过这样的机会。
母亲计划的每一件事情，没有一件是令父亲高兴的。他说她是个疯子，光是想到这样的事情就让人觉得荒唐。他是一个蓝领工人，工作很辛苦，但那是就脏的程度而言。如今，父亲很可能会被称为“都市型男”。他不喜欢打猎或户外活动，但他很注重外表。嗯，什么是我知道的呢？我只知道，两个哥哥都因这次探险而兴奋不已，而我也没错过什么。
我还没反应过来，母亲就开始向哥哥们解释要为这个计划做些什么准备。我不禁兴奋起来，她却告诉我什么都不用做。
终于，在等待了整整一个下午后，动身的时候到了。我实在忍不住了，要求他们告诉我究竟是去哪里。妈妈告诉我，我们要去的地方是城里的垃圾场。20世纪50年代的时候，还没有垃圾公司员工上门收集生活垃圾的服务，因此， 我们每周要去一次垃圾场。对于母亲说的话，我没多加思索。我唯一无法弄明白的是为什么我们要在晚上去垃圾场，而且哥哥们还如此兴奋。
两个哥哥、姐姐、我以及母亲上车出发了。他们对于这个伟大的探险再一次表现出十足的兴奋，我没有半点疑问。几分钟后，我们到达了目的地。我注意到母亲在城里的垃圾场入口前面关掉了汽车的前照灯，并减慢了车速。我开始询问接下来会发生什么，因为这一切似乎不太正常。他们让我保持安静，而哥哥和母亲开始交头接耳。
“妈妈，我们在做什么呢？”我焦急地问。她低声说：“当我们打开车门的时候，我要你和姐姐悄悄爬到车顶上去。”好吧，我那时大约八岁，她是在开玩笑吧？为什么我们在城里的垃圾场内关着车灯，还要爬到车顶上去呢？车门打开了，我和姐姐悄悄地爬到了车顶。然后，母亲低声对哥哥们说：“当我把汽车的前照灯打开时，就开始射击。”害怕之余，我问道：“射什么，妈妈？”她回答说：“那些将要四处逃窜的老鼠。”
接下来我所知道的事情是，汽车前照灯亮了，成百上千只老鼠四处乱窜，哥哥们和母亲对着这些老鼠射击。我仍然可以听到他们大喊：“我射中了一只！”我想，事隔五十年后，我在车顶上的尖叫声依然萦绕于耳。那一刻以后，整个晚上发生了什么事情，我完全不记得了。直到十岁，我都一直靠镇定剂来入睡。大家都不明白为什么我会如此敏感。显然，他们从没与我的母亲和哥哥们探过险。
几个星期后，她决定带哥哥们去寻找青蛙腿。我再一次不明白她在说什么。她平静地向我解释起来，用棍子击打青蛙的头部，把青蛙敲晕，切下青蛙的腿，丢掉其余部分。然后你回家把青蛙腿煮来吃，那可是一道美味佳肴。父亲再次表示对这种过分行为的厌恶，但他没能改变母亲的想法。我恐慌地跑回卧室，因为在我有生之年，我再也不想跟她和哥哥们的探险有任何瓜葛了。
几天后，母亲感染了肺炎。父亲告诉她，就是因为她在沼泽里捕获青蛙腿才惹病上身。我狡黠一笑，慢悠悠地走进卧室，心想，这算是给她的一点教训啦。