STORIES
 Recently, I was watching a movie called A CHRISTMAS STORY with Darrin McGavin, and I was reminded of just how much our memory doesn't exactly relay the events as they really were. This is an account of a story that I had relayed to my children for years. When I was a child, I walked 5 miles to school every day. The winters were so cold that the wind would literally cut through your skin. I had tears freeze on my face and my hands would be so cold that I couldn't feel them. I was late for school every day, so my parents had to make arrangements with my teacher for me to attend the afternoon class so that I could be there on time. I would start out from home at the regular time in the morning, and after my multiple "check-ins" to see how the new pups or new kittens along the way were doing, feeding the ducks at the pond, stop at the store to get a hand-out treat, I would manage to be there just as the morning class was letting out. I would then have lunch with the teacher and be the first one there for the afternoon class. I remember telling this story so many times to my children in order for them not to feel so sorry for themselves when they were complaining about how far the three-quarters of a mile was to walk to school. About 10 years ago, I returned to Tennessee for a family reunion with my now late husband. We went to my old home-place and I had him clock the distance on the odometer. We went over the trail at least 5 times, and the best we could get out of the distance was 0.9mi. You can imagine my kids response when I apologized for the lie that I had been telling for so many years.
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