The Spin

From a friend:

"My mom went to a baby shower and all the kids of the moms were roaming free outside. We all ended up eating poisonous berries, so the moms freaked out and called a doctor. He told them to give us Syrup of Ipecac and hoist us up under their arms and spin us until we got dizzy. Then they'd rush us over to a bucket where we puked out the berries. It was awesome."

The Prank

When I was 13 my sister and I short-sheeted my mom's bed but by the time she came home she was too drunk to notice.

The Zodiac

When I was 7, my mother’s boyfriend had a poster next to his toilet depicting the sexual positions associated with each zodiac sign. Mine was the one where the lady sits on the man’s lap, facing away. I wondered if that was some sort of clue to the Aries personality I was going to have.

The Camp Out

A friend rode home with her drunk father from a bar late one night. When they parked in the driveway he got out, went into the house and locked the door behind him, all before she could even get out of the car.

She tried pounding on the door to get in, but he was to passed out drunk to hear her.

The Nightmare

My first nightmare was of the lion on the Lowenbrau beer can.

Just Plain Karen

One friend grew up ashamed because everyone in her town was named something like Creek, or Sunshine or Moonflower and she was just plain Karen.

The Name

I went to school with a girl named Amber Tree Frog In The Rain (I can't remember her last name).

Photo: Red Eyed Tree Frog In The Rain by Michael Durham

The New House

One day, when my friend was in 4th grade, she came home to find a piece of paper taped to her front door. The paper was a map her mother had drawn of how to get to where they had moved while she was at school. "That was the first time I slept the night in the park" she told me.

The Pick Up

My friend's parents once picked up some hitchhikers and then asked them to watch their 5 kids while they went to England.