Short Stories: The Most Memorable Times Of Your Life

The ClubHouse: The Game II - Mysterious Puzzler: Discussions/Challenges: Short Stories: The Most Memorable Times Of Your Life

Guruchaz

Monday, January 29, 2001 - 11:58 pm Click here to edit this post

Have you ever thought back and remembered particular times in your life that just makes you smile and swell up inside when you think about them? You know the ones. Those special times that stand out among everything else?

The memories are so vivid that you can envision specific details like a song on the radio, a conversation, a place, an event, or just simply being with friends.

This thread is dedicated to the short stories of your life that continue to stir happy memories and positive emotions.

Guruchaz

Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 12:33 am Click here to edit this post

One of the most memorable times of my life was when I was 7 years old during the summer of 1980. It was a time when water slides were just becoming the "in" thing. I'll never forget the time my grandparents came to visit and my grandfather took my best friend and I to a new water slide that opened up in Ft. Worth. It was the first one in the area. In fact, we didn't know what it was but it sounded fun and we were excited!

It was so noticeable from the highway and we spotted it right away. I remember the two waterslides were on the left and intertwined each other and go carts were on the right. Of course, we were too small at the time to ride the go carts. I remember the music of the time like it was yesterday. Even today, when I hear the songs of Van Halen's first album, Led Zepplin, The Knack, REO Speedwagon, ELO and so many more bands that have long disappeared, I can remember hearing the same music coming out of the speakers as we plunged headfirst, twisting and turning into the water below. That always draws a smile. It was the most fun we ever had at the time and we would talk about it for weeks on end!

The best part was that my grandfather would continue to surprise us with trips to the small waterpark over the next year or two. I remember he would always insist on taking me and a friend and we even got to ride the go carts a few times which was a very special treat.

What really makes me smile, when I think back about it, was the enjoyment and excitement in his face as he watched us.

Those were the days.

Azriel

Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 07:37 am Click here to edit this post

In October of 1980, I was in the delivery room, in a Houston hospital, having my first baby. I was scared to death and I had been given an epidural and was having a hard time pushing because I couldn't feel anything below my waist.

The doctor and nurses were encouraging me to push, when all of the sudden an intern ran in the door shouting, TOUCHDOWN! A cheer went up in the delivery room. The Houston Oilers, were in the playoffs that year and we were all into the 'Luv Ya Blue' mania. The doctor apologized and told me he had asked the intern to listen to the radio and keep him up on the game. All I could do was laugh and we had update reports through the rest of the delivery.

My most memorable time is finding out we won that game, while I was holding the most precious little miracle I'd had ever seen, in my arms for the first time. :)

Ocean_Islands

Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 06:16 pm Click here to edit this post

I am 25 years old and hiking down into the Waipi'o valley in Hawai'i.

It is a rain forest. It is a black sand beach. The beach has dangerous frightening waves... hiking down the one lane road, at a 28% grade, the road is not paved.

At the bottom: a mosquito filled jungle, large puddle-filled ruts to hop over, huge dark clouds roil overhead, the sound of the waves crashing on my ears, the ghosts of people long dead.

On the black sand, deep blue water wants to pull me away ... to Maui ... and no one is in sight.

Later, hiking back up the 28% grade, ascending into the mists and clouds to get back to the car, rain begins to fall.

A tropical downpour. I am drenched completely through but still warm.

At home, it is 19 degrees.

I laugh out loud.

Juju2bigdog

Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 06:24 pm Click here to edit this post

Waipi'o Valley is one of those wonderful, maybe haunted, magical places on this earth. Went there in 4WD Nov. 1999. Ah yes, definitely laugh out loud. It is still pretty unspoiled.

Guruchaz

Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 09:06 am Click here to edit this post

Awesome OI!

Juju, do you have any happy memories you would like to add to this thread? I'm sure a lot more people aside from myself would be interested in hearing more about you.

Juju2bigdog

Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 09:46 am Click here to edit this post

Thanks for thinking of me, Gu. Yes, I have had lots and lots of memorable moments. I have had and continue to have a pretty happy and fortunate life, which is why I probably will not be posting in the life's crucibles thread. Don't want to jinx my luck. Got to get off computer now. I'll see what I come up with to share later in the day.

Elitist

Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 09:57 am Click here to edit this post

In 1995, when my wife and I were still alone, we flew out to San Francisco in April to see friends, then drove down the coast to LA, with a final leg to Phoenix to see other friends.

We stopped in Las Vegas for the night, then early the next morning hit the road on our way to the Grand Canyon. As we made our way through the desert, we started noticing dark clouds ahead, and when we reached them, much to our amazement it was snowing. Of course being from Houston we had to get out and play in the snow a little bit before we continued on our journey.

It was getting towards dark when we final reached the canyon. It was still snowing as we pulled up to one of the stations/souvenier shops along the rim. We entered into the music of Indian flutes playing over the sound system. We went to the full length windows overlooking the canyon and were mesmerized by the snow falling into the canyon, only to melt before it hit the bottom. We stood there for an hour enjoying the peace that the music, the snow, and the awe-inspiring view instilled.

Guruchaz

Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 02:26 pm Click here to edit this post

<poof> <exit's from the topic teleport>

I've been to Las Vegas twice and had a blast both times since I was mainly with friends during the whole time. During the second trip, I didn't do much gambling as we all were there to celebrate the wedding of one of my friends. The wedding was to be held in Utah so we arrived a few days before.

Some of the hotels that are there now, like the one's Juju was describing in another thread, were still being built during this trip. I definitely want to go back and take a gondola ride in a simulated Venice just to see what it's like.

Anyway, what really made this trip special was the time we had to interact as friends in a fun environment. We literally felt like we walked through as many hotels as we could just to see what each had to offer. I still remember the details of The Mirage and Caesar's Palace as well as The Luxor and the MGM Grand.

One of the most vivid memories was an awesome show we went to see inside Treasure Island called "Mystere" which is performed by a Cirque du'Soliel troop. If you don't know who they are, check them out on the net.
(http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/index.html)

It's the most entertaining circus you'll ever see. Anyway, I remember we had arrived a bit early and were able to get top notch seats. As more people filtered in, we saw a guy standing at the door in a tuxedo and it looked like his face was painted up (not your typical clown attire). We were laughing as he would lead people to their seats. They were so gullible to follow him as they walked down an isle and then over 2 or 3 rows of seats. One couple gave him their tickets with their seat numbers on it and he jumped in a golf cart, drove up on stage and placed the tickets in the middle of the stage so they would have to go get them. He then went back to lead in another group. All this was going on before the show even started!

Anyway, I never thought twice about the $53 ticket price. It was worth it. The whole trip was worth it and we still even talk about it today. We're even planning a future trip sometime in the near future just for fun!

Elitist

Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 02:28 pm Click here to edit this post

In 1986 I was lucky enough for the company I was working with to send me for a two week stay in England to work at the corporate offices in St. Austel, Cornwall. Unfortunately it was about two weeks before Christmas, so the weather was terrible and the days were short. They put me up in a grand old hotel on a cliff above the ocean - supposedly one that one of the princes used to bring his retinue for summer vacation.

After a week of hard work, I had the weekend off. On Saturday a coworker took time to squire me around the countryside looking for castles and ruins. But Sunday I had to make do for myself and decide to take a train trip to another town to see what I could see.

After the short train ride, I trudged around town with my camera, taking pictures of all the quaint shops and thatch-roofed houses. Then I turned a corner just as the sun came out to see a beautiful old cathedral, blackened by time.

I thought my day couldn't get better, so I wandered into the center of town to find a pub for a pint and something to eat. To my suprise, a pack of hounds came bounding toward and past me, followed by a large group of people on horses. The Hunt had come to town, and I had stumbled into the middle of it! As the swirling mass passed me I frantically fumbled with my camera to record this unique event.

The day was a success. Tired but happy, I boarded the train back to St. Austel and a good nights sleep.

Juju2bigdog

Friday, February 02, 2001 - 01:23 pm Click here to edit this post

Guru, I somehow missed your Las Vegas story above yesterday. If you liked Mystere, you will love O. That is the Cirque du Soleil that takes place in, on, and above water at Bellagio. Let me see if I have anything about that in my archives. Yes, May 2000. Okay, here is the part about O:

Then we go to Bellagio for O. Our seats are indeed obstructed by a hand rail that had bars running horizontally about 4 inches apart. Sort of like looking out a horizontally barred jail cell. The performance was magnificent, almost beyond description. Cirque du Soleil performed over water. The water level was constantly changing during the performance. You never knew whether they were going to be walking on the water or diving into it from fifty feet. Many of the scenes ended with the actors simply disappearing under water, elaborate costumes and all. And then another fantastic scene would begin. Sensory overload. Even if you hate Vegas, O is worth going there for. Very hard to get tickets, though. It has been sold out since it began. We were lucky to get tickets at all.

Guruchaz

Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 01:45 pm Click here to edit this post

A little over a year ago, Tonia and I took our first trip ever to Florida. We stayed a couple of nights on the Disney World property and for 3 days we experienced Epcot, MGM Studios, and The Magic Kingdom. One evening we both decided to get pampered so we went to a spa in the hotel and got the works: a massage, whirlpool, you name it. We had the best time talking to each other and just relaxing together.

After the 3rd day, we decided to take the rental car and head to the beach. We found a nice place to stay near New Smyrna and it was one of the cleanest and most beautiful beaches I had seen at the time. We spent another 3 nights there with numerous walks along the beach and just sitting, talking, and watching the tide. It was difficult to pull ourselves away to leave.

The evening before the day we were to catch our flight out, we had overheard a lady and her husband at lunch talking about a space shuttle launch that evening. We realized that we weren't too far and decided that we were going to drive and get as close as we could to see it. We made a stop or two just to ask where the best place was to view the launch and we were told to go to Cocoa Beach. That's exactly what we did. When we arrived about 2 hours before launch time, there were already a few cars parked at an angle on this particular roadway facing the ocean. It was a beautiful view and you could definitely see the launchpad in the distance.

We had packed our own picnic dinner and since our rental car had a convertible top, we took that down. It wasn't but maybe 15 or so minutes later that we noticed more and more people were showing up to view the launch. We met some great people and talked to them while we waited. About 10 min before launch time, we both got back in the car with the full view of the launchpad in front of us. We were snuggled close toegether and it was a very romantic moment. As we counted down with the announcer on the radio, we could literally feel the earth move, on the launch pad that is.

We saw the red light of the flames as the engine roared and the moment the clock got to 0, we saw a most spectacular sight! It wasn't the same as watching it on TV. We were there! As the red light got brighter and lifted up into the sky, we held each other in our arms with excitement. For about 3 minutes, you heard nothing but cheers as the red light slowly started to disappear into the darkness. The launch had been a success and it was the perfect ending to our vacation.

During the excitement, we completely forgot that we brought the camera so we didn't get a single picture. We just have the picture in our minds of one of the most precious events and vacation we both ever had!

Guruchaz

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 10:13 am Click here to edit this post

This morning, I was looking at a saying that I have framed on my wall. My youngest sister gave it to me not over a year ago and I wanted to share it with everyone. I imagine a lot of people here probably believe I don't have a heart, especially with the way I acted sometimes outside, but I hope this shows you I'm just as human and emotional as most people on this Earth. I still get a little choked up reading it knowing that she left it for me to find after a weekend visit.


To anyone out there that has a brother you want to share a special message with, this is for you:


Brother


In the corner of my heart

I keep a special place

full of childhood memories

and my brother's face.

We shared our breakfast cerial.

We shared our mom and dad.

The best times of my childhood

are the sharing times we had.

Scuffling and teasing

Were part of every day.

Yet love has always bound us

in a special kind of way.

We made some happy memories

that only we two share.

I Love You my Dear Brother,

For you - I'm always there.

Guruchaz

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 10:18 am Click here to edit this post

Game II has definitely been a very memorable part of my life. The time here has had its ups and downs and emotional struggles, but the fact that I've been glued to my seat here as much as I can just reinforces the fact on how meaningful it's been to me personally.

Yes, I was the board clown (or is that bored clown?) GuruChaz on the outside that didn't seem to give a thought about other people's feelings or opinions in a few threads. In real life, that is far from the truth, especially with those I am close to and who really know me. I imagine the "extreme" GuruChaz is what landed me in this game and I have to be somewhat thankful for that for reasons of fate.

I never expected what was going to happen in here for me on a personal level. I was just thinking how I could continue to entertain everyone until I got booted out, which I thought would be early. Go figure.

As I got a chance to talk to and get to know more individuals here, I realized that I started caring more about them and who they are and caring more about what certain individuals thought of me (believe it or not). Feelings like that are inevitable when you meet those you truly like and hold some meaning for you.

These last few days have certainly provoked a lot of thought for me. In fact, I could barely sleep last night trying to internally sum up everything I've done and been through in here. I'm happy, sad, relieved, nervous, and just about every other emotion rolled into one for different reasons.

I've heard that lasting memories are based on perception, interaction, and emotional response. I think I've certainly run that gamut here.

And I'll tell you what. It's kinda exciting!!


(For those I truly hurt in the process, I sincerely apologize. In fact, I still expected you to vote me out.)