Deonn-Age 8

Like most young girls in the earliy eighties, I was a big fan of the musical "Annie" I had the record album and the collectable locket. I had seen the movie at the theatre and was excited to see it on our state-of-the art Buick sized video player.

I went to the video store across from my mom's office but "Annie" had been rented out already. Perhaps the clerk had never seen it and therefore wasn't aware that "Annie Hall" was not an appropriate substitution for an eight year old. I became a Woody Allen fan at the ripe old age of eight. I figured a lot of the humor probably went over my head. I recently watched Annie Hall again and was surprised at how much I had actually grasped in the second grade. I was a strange kid. and I don't care what people say to the contrary, strange kids grow up to be strange adults.

Second grade was also the year that Jonah Rapp's mother brought in some sugar free zucchini muffins for his birthday. He proudly announced that they were made from scratch. I didn't know what this "scratch" was but I didn't like it. For years I thought scratch was a baking ingredient like Bisquick or Jiffy mix. Whenever anyone would offer me anything baked from scratch I would politely decline.

Hmm, I don't remember much else from second grade other than my teacher Miss Denny had really cool hair that flipped up at the ends and I accidentally knocked Jason Nordwall into the pumpkin cut-out that was around the classroom door and I got sent to the end of the line. It was the first time I had ever been in trouble at school...but not the last.