The Beginning

1971

I wasn't kidding when I wrote: "It was a minus twenty-something bone-chilling February morning when Bonnie Leick, purple-skinned with swollen eyes and a rather grumpy look, made her presence known two weeks early, with one wailing screech."

The age of exploration

1971

The swollen eyes, purple face, and overall grumpy demeanor eventually disappeared. Now was my time to explore th enew world around me.

One of my early forays:

The toilet had been leaking for a long time. Mushrooms even started to grow up between the cracks of the linoleum tiles. That’s when my mom had had enough and made my dad fix it. After all, you couldn’t have a toddler crawling behind a toilet, hitting her head, and munching on poisonous mushrooms.

So...I exaggerated a bit, but there was one mushroom that came up and it was tiny. Speaking of memories, yes, I have some very early memories and this is one of them. I still remember the sting of hitting my head (resulting in the the red mark between my eyes).  

Life on the farm

1972

I'm the kid in red, bottle in hand (probably filled with Tang), with one shoe missing. That's my dad and in the light blue jacket, my sister, Janice. I grew up on a dairy farm and the calves were always my favorite with their cute noses and soft, fluffy fur.

Too small for school

1973

My older sister had just left for her first day of Kindergarten. I was convinced that I was going with her and to prove it, I stood on my tippy toes so I could be a big girl like her.

I extended those toes so high for so long. But she left. Hopped on the bus. Leaving me behind. My mom tried to ease my sadness with Kitty Kat, my favorite stuffed toy, as I cried on the old car seat on the porch.

Thankfully my mom had been prepared and made the rest of the day a wonderful one filled with games, extra specials treats, and lots of snuggle time.

Decorating the Tree

1974

My sister, Janice, decorating me as a Christmas tree...

Christmas play costumes

1979

My mom was in charge of making the animal costumes for a Christmas play one year. I'm the lamb, Janice is the cow, and Dan is the donkey. Her work was impeccable. I loved those costumes and was grinning from ear to ear as I walked down the aisle to join the menagerie of creatures in the play.

elephants!!!

1981

This is one of the my favorite memories. My family visited Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin where elephant rides were offered for a nominal fee. There was room for about four children on the elephant’s back. My brother Dan was one of those kids but when it was my turn, they let me take the reign. I still remember the feel of its shoulder blades gently tossing me back and forth as it meandered around the circle. Its hair prickled my legs and its wrinkled skin was much softer than I had imagined.

The only thing I regretted from that day was that I didn’t beg my parents to steal that beautiful creature and take it home to live with us.

101 uses for fake fur

1982

It was days before Halloween 1984, and ZZ top’s, “Sharp Dressed Man” was blaring from my Panasonic boom box. Singing along as I crafted yet another unusable masterpiece, this time with fake fur, inspiration hit: I was to become ZZ Top for this year’s Halloween!!!!

Pictured: The ZZ Top band member on the left is your’s truly, Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. in the middle is my cousin Pat, and ZZ Top band member on the right is my best friend and cousin, Donna.