Goin' to Tuny's

Today was one of those days when I just couldn't get my momentum up. It was raining Persians and Poodles outside making the house inside extra warm, inviting, and cozy. No matter how hard I tried and how much caffiene I consumed, I couldn't snap out of my lazy, drowsy state. Finally admitting defeat I headed upstairs to the guestroom for a short nap.

Well, wouldn't you know it, I wasn't really sleepy, just lazy, so instead of sleeping I lay there thinking and out of the blue came this memory from my childhood. It was one of my mother's favorite stories to tell on her two youngest daughters (me and a younger sis).

Growing up on a farm in rural Missouri in the 60's, there wasn't a lot of trappings in the way of entertainment unless you made it yourself. But that's the best kind really, and for me, it holds some of my best memories.

My father had rigged up a small lawn tractor in such a way that our older sister could drive the two younger ones around the farm. Some times she ventured further afield via little dirt roads to the country store that was the lifeblood of a small farming community. You went to Tuny's for sugar, gas, a coke, candy, and gossip. I still remember the smell of the interior and the squeeking the screendoor made as you stepped inside. To my younger sister and me, you just couldn't get any better than going to Tuny's for candy and a coke whether on the back of the tractor or in the backseat of our mother's car. As far we were concerned,when we got to Tuny's we had arrived. It was the ultimate road trip to a 4 year old and a 6 year old.

My father had a different idea of what constituted a road trip and loved planning family get-aways. One year, right after DisneyLand opened, he packed the Buick with luggage, food for road-side meals(the choice of food he made is a whole nuther story),and his 4 women plus an extra friend for big sis so she would have company other than the youngest ones. That alone should tell you how brave the man was to travel all alone with 5 females.

Over the next week or so we made our way west stopping to savor all the sights along the way. We have a photo album full of pictures of girls standing in front concrete tee-pees, with fake Indians and some of us standing at a respectful distance from tall cacti as old as the hills. There are pictures of us standing in front of the magnificence of the Grand Canyon my mother clutching with a death grip the clothing of the youngest as she threatens to go over the side. There is even one of me and my younger sis sitting in the trunk of the car. I am sure my mother was ready to put us there for the duration of the trip.

At last, California! The night we arrived and before visiting America's newest theme park, we were so exicted. Whatever Disneyland was, we were going there! The next day, tickets were bought, mouse ears were donned and we walked into the park. I remember we all stood there and just looked around us in amazement. Well, everyone but the youngest and I were amazed that is. I began to howl, youngest followed suit and I voiced our thoughts on the whole theme park thing with one simple statement. "We want to go to Tuny's!"