Pets

A stray cat started hanging around our house. The cat was a light charcoal gray so I named her Stormcloud. I can’t believe Mom let me keep her, because that meant a litter box in the house. We kept the box right behind the kitchen door and I cleaned it with a pooper scooper.

Stormcloud was quite a sweetheart. She liked to snuggle and be petted and purr. One time however, she got scared by something while I was holding her. She clawed my arm really badly and sunk her claws deep into my shoulder. It really hurt! I screamed and cried and created quite a fuss. That made Dad pretty angry so he and Matt chased Stormcloud into Matt’s bedroom with a tennis racket and a golf club respectively. They made a lot of noise and so did the cat. Matt would still swear to this day that the cat ran up a wall and across the ceiling. Maybe so. I was just glad I still got to keep the kitty after that.

A few years later when we got Onyx the Wonderpooch, Stormcloud treated Onyx like her kitten. Stormie would lick Onyx to keep her clean, corral her from going into places she shouldn’t be, and snuggle her while she slept.

Puppy Love

Katy, 13 years old, 1992

I don’t know if anyone ever noticed this, but I was totally in love with Rick Steele. He was older, he was handsome, and he paid attention to me and the other kids.

Right before he left on his mission, Rick came over to our house and gave each of us a small trinket. I don’t remember anyone’s except mine – a peace ring. Ooh… I was just sure I was going to marry him. Hello! He gave me a ring! I kept the ring on a necklace and wore it all the time. I would have worn it on my finger but, quality item it was, it kept turning my finger green.

I stayed true to Rick all throughout his mission. However, he came home, went back to Idaho, and our romance never happened. Ah, young love.

Hair Piece Hilarity

Katy, 14 years old, Fall 1993

Mom & I visited Utah when I was a freshman in high school. I had never been on a plane before and I was so excited. I know we must not have had a ton of extra money, but at the time I didn’t notice; I was too caught up in being on a grown-up trip with Mom.

We stayed with one of Mom’s old friends from Ohio. Kathy Horn? She lived in South Salt Lake, a single mom living in a tiny house with three or four kids. The house was a little bit in the ghetto, and not kept up very well. Fortunately, we didn’t spend too much time there – we were out seeing the sites most of the time.

Mom & I slept in a small, very cluttered bedroom shared with Sister Horn’s teenaged daughter. She snored. Loudly. A lot. She snored so much that Mom and I, who were sharing a double bed, shook with silent giggles until our sides ached.

We went to BYU and other spots around Provo. We saw Dale & Barb Kohli who were living in Roy. We spent a lot of time in downtown Salt Lake on Temple Square and around all the Church buildings.

In the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, we saw the movie Legacy. As we left, quite sobered by the sacrifices of faithful pioneers, we ran into Bishop and Sister Walkenhorst and their son Brett. We knew they were in the area checking out BYU with Brett. We were hoping to run into them, but were quite surprised when we did.

Bishop Walkenhorst, who had always been bald for the seven or eight I had known him, suddenly had a full head of hair. Thick, dark, wavy, luxurious hair. Mom, being the classy and tactful person she is, carried on a conversation normally while I glued my gaze to the floor and tried to keep from bursting out laughing. Finally, Mom ended the conversation. The Walkenhorsts went up the staircase toward the Legacy Theater while we went the other way. We weren’t too far away when we burst out with great belly laughs. We laughed the whole way down the stairs, clutching our sides, gasping for breath, barely able to stand. I’m sure Bishop heard us. Oh well. It was funny at the time.

Baby Bunnies

Family, about 1990

Someone was mowing our huge backyard on Kemp and hit a hutch of bunnies. The mama bunny was killed, but most of the babies survived. We took care of them for a little while, keeping them in a box. We loved to cuddle them and feed them with and eyedropper. When they were old enough, we let them go near the creek bed, hoping they would survive.

Barbies & Jem

Katy, 7 or 8 years old, about 1988

On Saturday mornings, I knew Jem would be on early, maybe around 7am. I set my alarm the night before so I could get up on time.

Jem was a show about a rock band with Jem as the lead singer. Jem and the Rockers had a rival band called the Misfits. They were totally at the height of punk rock fashion with brightly colored hair and artfully ripped clothing.

I also had a Jem action figure with pink hair and a purple punk outfit. She was bigger than a Barbie. When I played Barbies with Jem, Jem looked like an overgrown Amazonian princess.

Also, John liked to play Barbies with me. Except he would play with his G.I. Joes and be my Barbie’s “younger brother.”

Marie Osmond Concert

Katy, 8 or 9 years old, about 1988

Mom surprised me with tickets to see Marie Osmond in concert at the Allen County Fair. I was so pumped. Marie was a Mormon celebrity, and I get to spend time with Mom without anyone else. I remember dancing in the grandstand and getting treats from the vendors.

At the end of the concert we bought some of Marie’s country music. We played the cassette until the tape was too worn out to make the right noises. I could probably still sing along with those songs if I heard them today.

Door Slamming

Katy, 11 - 15 years old

We all know I was quite talented at slamming my door when I got mad. Dad used to tease me saying, “Ooh, good one. It’s all in the wrist.” It would make me even madder.

Pickle Mix-up

Katy, 9 or 10 years old, about 1989

I had a rainbow record player with a few records I loved. I know and I had a favorite duet he bought me the record of, but I can’t remember what it was. Anyway, I would jam out to these records like crazy.

Once as I was dancing around my room, listening to records, I decided to snack on my favorite dill chips. Dad thought he would be sly and sneak some disgusting bread and butter chips into my snack. As soon as I put one of them in my mouth, my taste buds registered the wrong taste. Pickle spewed everywhere. I don’t know if any got on Dad, but he was there, belly-laughing in the doorway at my overreaction.