I am Going to Do It

I am going to do it.... do it?
Yes, I am going to do it...
I am going to stop being so reserve...
No, I am not going to do anything illegal...
but I am going to have fun... I have
lived life inside the lines. Doing what
is proper... doing what others think is
proper. I think the Red Hat ladies have
it right. I would join them... but I am
not a joiner.. Never have...

My daughter will tell people about my
scrap with the Brownies... Never should
have told her that story. Some things
you just shouldn't tell your kids.People
shouldn't know about your past...... Oh,
heck.. why not.

See when I was about 8, I join the
Brownies.. Or did my mother send me
to Brownies? Doesn't really matter.
I only lasted about 5 months, if that.
You see between my house and the
school where I went to Brownie's,
there was a candy store... A penny candy store.

Now for those of you who aren't old
enough... a penny candy store was
about as big as a living room. And
from one end to the other there was
a glass display counter. Inside this
counter there were rows of boxes.
At least 5, some times more rows.
And each row about 15 boxes.. Filled
with every kids dream of candy. There
were Mary Jane's, which had peanut butter
inside. There were Double Bubble gum,
that was the size or your thumb. There
were jelly bean types, Tootsies Rolls,
taffy types, hard rock candy types, and
wax types.

Wax types were big red lips, mustaches,
tongues, big teeth. These would fit into
your mouth, behind your lips but not
completely in your mouth with the rest
outside of your mouth on your face. .
And sometimes it changed. Like at
Halloween. When they had fang teeth.
You would wear this and laugh with
your friends until you got tired of it
and then you would chew it like gum,
until you got tired of that, and spit it out.

There were all kinds of favors, banana,
raspberry, tutti fruitti, cherry, licorices
(which turn your teeth black... which
was soooooooo cooooool..parents didn't
think so.)vanilla and of course, chocolate.

The curses of curses for me was..... Double
Bubble Gum. I loved that stuff. I would
blow the biggest bubble with it. And of
course, drove my mother nuts with my
constant chewing with it. Of course it is
hard to chew it with your mouth shut,
when you got at least 2 wads of it in there.
Some times 3 or 4. Sadly, it only took a
few times, and Mom would make me spit
it out.

And that is where Brownies came in.
I would take my 10 cents dues and stop
at the candy store. I would buy 10 Double
Bubbles. And I would go to Brownies and
give it to 9 others. But after about 5 months,
the leaders complain to my mother that she
was not sending my dues. (I think I kept
telling them, I would bring it next time).
When the leaders and my mother matched
stories... it seems the weak link was .....me.
Because the Brownie leader didn't not find
that taking my dues and buying gum with it,
was within the moral code,and I am sure
that lying was in there somewhere too. So I
got dumped. I thought maybe the fact I
shared each time might be worthy defense,
but they decided not. So there it is... my shady
past. My one and only fraud career. Dashed.
And I am sure my mother was very persuasive
in her usual way. Which sent me on the
road of honesty...

And all penny candy store owners are
in Heaven. That is the only place that they
could go with the patience they had as
each child in the neighborhood, day after
day, many times a day, would change their
minds at least 20 times each, of which
one they wanted.
"I want the red one... no, not that one, the
other one, and a green one, ok, no I don't
think I want a red one, give me a yellow
one instead. Is the black one good? Ok, give
me a black one and put the green one back."
Yep, candy store owners are in heaven alright.
Other wise there would be a stack of
strangled children behind the store.

So, I have decided... to splash my feet
in puddles. After all, I am going to get a
cold anyway. I am going to walk thru the
rain with my hands held high and enjoy
each drop. I am going to color trees purple,
or maybe red. And color the grass in swirls...
And if I feel a little quick step or a jig when
I hear music... I am going to do a quick
step or a little dance step... why not...
Yep, I am going to do it...