Ice Cream Soup

So get this--I don't do poetry. But I'm taking this poetry course hoping that I'll break out of that and find a hidden ability buried deep in my writing skills. No such luck so far, but I did write this for class and I like it. Have a great Shabbos.

1988
late afternoon
on a breezy May day
mommy and me
the house to ourselves
at my feet--my open knapsack
leftover potato chip crumbs
oiling the bottom
shiny tile floor
and light wallpaper
this is my white and pink house
my 932 East 28th Street
between I and J
this is my mother,
her funny round belly
surrounding my new baby.
we sit at the kitchen table
mommy and me
she smiles
I smile back
between spoonfuls of cookies 'n cream
she asks, "How was your day?
What did you learn?"
and takes a sip
of her afternoon coffee
I say, "Blah, blah, blah"
and take another gulp
of what is fast becoming
ice cream soup
my mother tightens her lips,
opens her eyes,
moves her face in close--
and like a small animal sensing a stampede,
I know a tickle attack is coming.
closing my eyes and squirming in my seat
I laugh before her wiggling fingers get to me
this is my mommy and me
this is a cookie bit
in my vanilla cream life.

And for My Thethith

I love quoting The Offive. I also love quoting real life people who I know and love. Also, sometimes but not often, I'll quote myself. I repeat--NOT OFTEN. Anyway, I was thinking about how much I like remembering certain lines that friends have said because there are times when I'll pull them out of my memory. For example, Chaya once said, "y'know--I really just don't like girls." That wasn't a very good example. Three summers ago, Doni said, "I just heard that a bunch of guys in the grade above me got married. I guess they had nothing better to do." Lucky for him, he met Miryam shortly after that line was spoken and realized that there are other reasons people get married. And at the time, I had a good quote.
The weird part is when someone will tell me something that reminds me of something a friend once said a long time ago and then I'll be too embarrassed to point out that I remember odd details, but that's okay. My point is that if I tell you you said something just believe me. I may have terrible short term memory and even worse word retrieval, but I really do remember lines and exchanges. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

"What? You're drinking coffee every time I see you!"
"But never with caffeine."
"You are out of control."
"Out of control! I am completely out of control!"

"That old lady's you."
"No, she's me."
"She's you and you."
"I meant she's me and you. You and me."

"How are you?"
"Doing well."
"What time did you get in last night?"
"12:30. Well, no I mean 1:30, I left 2:30. 12:30. I got home 1:00."
"Let's start over. How are you?"
"Not as well as I thought I was."

"Oh no! Look--there's a stain on the carpet."
"See? This is what happens when you eat in the house."

"Excuse me while I interrupt your face."

Others, like "your Life is becoming a soggy mess," are best in context. That time someone asked my mother to make him cereal and then went to watch tv. When my mother told him that the cereal was ready and he couldn't eat in the den and had to come to the table, he threw a tantrum. He had a complete and total meltdown that he couldn't eat and watch tv at the same time. After trying to rationalize with him and realizing that wouldn't work, my mother said, "just stop crying. Your Life is becoming a soggy mess." It was so amazing that I smile at how hard all three of us (my mother, the crier, and I) laughed.
Another good example of context is when I was driving with a friend and I think that at some point I put a drink down in the cup holder and accidentally hit the seat warmer thing without realizing it. Anyway, neither of us had said anything for a very long time and then out of nowhere came the, "why's my back getting hot?" Okay, that doesn't sound funny even when I put it in context. I guess for some you just had to be there.
Which reminds me of something else that was said this Shabbos. Everyone at the table was laughing over something I didn't hear.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing."
"No, tell me."
"What ever, you had to be there."
"But I was there."
That too is not so funny. Actually, that sounds rather depressing.
In other news, remember QOTD?

"You see--a little bit of light and suddenly you realize everybody's not a snake." Shabbat shalom.