March Memory

It's a sloppy day here in Minnesota. I walked around, dodging puddles and icy spots on the sidewalk, hoping to find a picture that would convey what a cloudy, almost foggy day looks like here in the North. I got nothing. It was a pretty ugly day, but I didn't fall down, and later in the day, I got to play some mixed doubles at Wooddale with the hardcore girls and Jerry.

I have this picture. It was taken in March a long time ago. This is March, too, so perhaps appropriate. This was the Palm Sunday, the day that I was confirmed as a member in the Methodist Church in Coleraine. The photo almost certainly was taken by my dad, and it contains younger versions of people who sometimes read this blog - Mr Moohoo, Santini and a guy who used to call himself Pee-eyester (I don't know how to spell the name any more) I'm the guy in the necktie with the shirt sleeves sticking out of the jacket.



I remember some disagreement with my parents, especially my mom, about confirmation classes leading up to this occasion. I wanted to play hockey that winter, but the practice time conflicted with confirmation class, so I didn't play hockey. I might have turned out to be a pretty good player, but I'll never know for sure, now. I remember being very disappointed by the decision, and maybe even cried about it. I was 12. There were other things later that would have been more worthy of tears, but I didn't know what they were at the time.

Anyhow, here I am with my sibs, in front of our house in northern Minnesota "celebrating" my new status. In March of 1955. Lots of things you don't easily forget.

[I decided to look up the date of Palm Sunday using an Easter date web site. It turns out that Palm Sunday was April 3rd in 1955, so there are some things that I apparently don't remember exactly accurately. But, what the hay, I was only 12.]