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1) Camping: Man I used to be the camping queen, young and sweet since before 17. (OUCH! My apologies to ABBA!) My family first started camping on a regular basis after we bought our boat in 1974. Dad named it "Frawg" because it was something I used to say. (What happened was, when the expression "gross" came out, my best friend and I overused it so much, her mom told us we could not use it anymore, so we substituted "frawg.") Anyway, I camped off and on with different people as I grew up, and by the time I reached my second husband, I was a camping scientist. I had a 1982 white Mustang hatchback and could pack it with firewood, tent, ice chest, food, clothes, sleeping bag, rolled-up foam sleeping pads, fold out chairs, cook stove, lantern and more. To this day I can make anything fit into any space. So when was the last time I went camping? I dunno. Maybe 1993? I know I went in 1991, because that's what I chose to do for my 30th birthday. I probably went a few times after that but can't remember anything specific.
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And now? You couldn't pay me to go camping. Well okay, you could, but you'd have to pay me a lot! That's my step-dad on the left and my now 24-year-old daughter standing behind me:
2) Bowling: I used to bowl on a regular basis since I was 14. I have my own ball and shoes and towel and powder and everything. I'm not sure how the bowling tapered off. It was probably a vanity thing when I gained weight and didn't want people to focus on my giant butt. Or maybe various old age aches and stuff. I don't really miss bowling in a bowling alley because now I can bowl at home on my Wii. And I can bowl left-handed and not hurt my thumb. I'm maybe 29 in this picture:
3) Dinner parties: Actually I was only into this when I was married to my second husband, but I was forever having dinner parties or cook-outs. And it wasn't because we had a pool, because I also had them in the winter. The very idea of having a dinner party now almost gives me a heart attack. I prefer to meet people at restaurants.~
4) Ballet: This one is different from the others because I would do that right now. The thing is, I was lucky to find adult ballet for exercise classes as I started to get older, but I can't find them now - and believe me I have looked. If I had lots of extra cash, I would have private classes because that's about the only way I could have ballet class around here. Age discrimination, no? I think I am 31 or 32 in this picture:
5) Rock Concerts: Although I always say my first concert was Aerosmith, I did see The Carpenters when I was 9 and The Who when I was 14. I don't really remember those as much as all the rest. Probably because I was sober. Or just young and overwhelmed. But I used to be a concert fanatic. I not only went to oodles of concerts but went to the giant mishmashes like Texas Jam and even Champagne Jam in Atlanta. I posted about my crazy Rolling Stones weekend. Okay, maybe I didn't, I couldn't find it. But it was one very long weekend. Anyway I haven't been to a concert since 1994 and it was either Elvis Costello or Bonnie Raitt. I did internet searches and found that Costello was May 1994, but I couldn't find a record of when Bonnie Raitt was here. And now? I'd list going to a concert just a hair better than going camping. You'd have to pay me. A LOT.
10 comments:
Like you, you couldn't pay me enough to go camping. I like my comfort now, the idea of sleeping on a "comfortable" mat less than 1 inch think on rocks and stone - meh, not so much.
I still love doing the dinner party (only because Mr.Jazz loves to cook), it's my format of choice for seeing friends.
And concerts: Hardly ever. I do see Marillion whenever I can, and they're doing a Weekend in Montreal in April, so I'll be there with bells on. Otherwise, I've become cheap in my old age. I really don't see the point of paying over $100 for tickets to a show that'll leave me deaf for 3 days.
I must admit that Mrs. BB and I still camp. Hey in the UK and Ireland it cost a hell of a lot less than a hotel and you get to meet many more "locals" than if you were at a hotel. Let's face it if we have to camp to be able to visit for an extra couple of weeks, we camp. We have a small backpack tent, good mattresses, a small one burner stove, and all the rest of it. We pack it all into a duffle bag that not only passes the size limit for aircraft baggage but also the weight allowance. How's that for packing?
As Jazz said, I love to throw dinner parties and cooking for our peeps is definitely one of the top reasons. In addition, you get so much more for so much less than the cost of a restaurant. I find it's the best way to spend quality time with people you love or a great way to get to know the new folks on the block. My back does not agree with camping no matter how thick the foam. I do love the nature side of it though, hence our cottage in the woods.
As for concerts, I'd still be attending quite a few if it wasn't for the overpriced tickets. My first concert was YES in 1979 and the ticket cost less than a tenner at that time. A good time was had amidst the thick cloud of suspicious smoke that filled the Montreal Forum.
Re: Bowling
Were you good?
When I bowled semi-regularly, I barely ever got above a 150. I doubt I could break 100, now.
I was never a fan of camping. I was never fanatical enough about a band to spend the money for a concert. I've bowled a few times...meh...I do like having and attending dinner parties. The main things I used to do that I don't do anymore is going to clubs.
Cool post! I like camping, although I don't like "roughing it" completely. (I need a place to take a shower and a grill to cook my food!)
I love dinner parties, but haven't had one in a while. If I had one now it'd probably turn out like one of Mary's (from the Mary Tyler Moore Show).
You look great in the pics, especially the ballet one. You remind me of Stevie Nicks in that photo, which btw, may be the next concert I attend. Actually, Fleetwood Mac will be here 4/23 and my husband is dying to go!
Jazz,
~~No kidding. Those things are LOUD. Hell, a lot of movies are too loud for me. If "someone else" cooked, I'd probably have a dinner party too.
Mr, BB,
~~It sounds like you are definitely a killer packer like me, but I need my comfort. I don't want to visit any place bad enough to sleep in a tent.
Mr. Jazz,
~~Ah yess, the special smoke. How I remember that. It was even there at the outdoor concerts I attended!
Ticknart,
~~At bowling I was extremely consistent. You could graph my whole bowling life and it would be an upside down check mark. 1st game: 117, 2nd game: 147, 3rd game: 96. Those are averages but it was always that way.
Xup,
~~I could have included something like that. I used to go dancing a lot, but not at big clubs. I still hit City Streets to dance maybe once a year though.
Scarlet,
~~How weird you said that about Stevie Nicks. In her video "Gypsy" she reminded me of my best friend from 6th grade. But me? I wish. Okay, now maybe not so much.
Gee, the thing I probably miss most that I haven't done in years is horseback riding. When I lived in Amarillo we use to always go down to Palo Duro Canyon and ride horses and/or hike and climb the canyon.
This post of yours did get me thinking though, and I weighed the things I don't do much anymore with the things I do anew now, and seems the list is pretty close to even in my mind. I do a lot of things now that I never did back in the day.
Love the pictures of you, especially that beautiful ballet picture!
Carole,
~~I am terrified of horses although I have done two of those group easy trail ones. And yes, I do new things two. That's certainly something to think about.
I remember one of our last camping trips back in the late '80s when we all realized we had brought lawn chairs. And foam pads or air mattresses for under the sleeping bags. That was the end of that fun!
The last concert I went to was Bonnie Raitt - well, I didn't actually see her, she was at Exhibition Place before they tore down the stadium and I bought food and sat in the sun on a wall on the perimeter outside and heard her perfectly, peeking through the fence occasionally for a glimpse.
I'm having a dinner party this weekend and am unbelievably stressed out about it all.
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