Baggy Old, Ragged Jeans

Physical Experience:

Working on a Vegetable Farm-I pulled off the blue and white gloves, freeing my hands from the sticky, moist rubberized palms and immediately relishing a merciful gust in the hot summer afternoon. After wiping the sweat from my brow I felt compelled to bring my hand to my face and smell the curious scent. My hands smelled earthy, yet rank. The smell came from my own sweat combined with the residue from weeks of picking zucchini in fields that were alternately dusty or moist...


Eating Chitterlings on my mission at thanksgiving

Getting my wisdom teeth taken out while still being conscious...hearing them crack my teeth and feeling the pressure as they yanked on my jaw.

Scenes:

It was the final game of the tournament, and the game was tight. From the left side of the field the wing crossed the ball, and it seemed the center striker might have the advantage as he made a quick move past the sweeper that defended him. The sweeper was large for his age, and had a good leg and could really launch the ball, only this time his foot made contact not with the ball, but with the striker leg. The whistle blew as the striker crumbled to the ground. This was it, a penalty kick and a chance to tie the game. Which player was asked to kick the PK wasn't exactly clear, he was one of two twins that were on the team.

Hiking up to a lake in the Uintah's with my older brother

Speech:

He started to spell the word confidently, but as he reached the end of the word his voice wavered briefly. He said "V-O-L-C-A-N-O...E?" "BZZZZZ...I'm sorry, that is incorrect." Immediately he was deflated, he had previously stood erect, but now his shoulders slumped. Only two other contestants remained in the fourth grade class, and two students were to advance, so his chance was gone. Resigned to his failure, almost in tears, the boy shrank into the audience for good. A minute later, the teacher called out "Clark, come back up here...you haven't been eliminated!" Shocked and confused, he stood back up...

Emotion in the Moment:

I could tell it was bad. My Mom's face looked empty as she talked on the phone, and it could only be one thing. My grandma has been admitted to the hospital the previous day  with a stroke, and things hadn't been looking good. As memories of the times I had spent at my grandparent's house playing games and telling jokes flashed into my mind I started to feel the same empty feeling that I could see in my mother's face. As she got off the phone my fears were confirmed. I thought back to the last time I had seen my grandma, and remember that I had hardly even acknowledged her. It had been about a week earlier, and she was sick, but it wasn't anything new. I said hi, didn't get much response, and I didn't even try to tell her anything that had been happening in my life. That was when the despair set in. How could I have been so short sighted?

Neighbor in Andalusia that had his brother attempt to commit suicide. His twin brother, he was in the military. Good guy, but a drinker and a smoker

People of Consequence:

He spoke so loudly, I wondered if he was trying to yell. Either way, my boss was standing so close to me that I could see small projectiles, flecks of spit, flying at me. I wasn't exactly scared, but I wasn't comfortable either. I came to know that this was how he was with everyone. Loud and direct, without any regard for personal space. He was the stereotypical head custodian, a jack-mormon of sorts. Many of the school children and even teachers were afraid of him, and would whisper furtively about him. But for whatever reason I stayed.

My distant cousin that I went to Elementary, Jr high, high school, and college with. Initially we never got along, in fact we hated each other. Later we ended up becoming friends and are close to this day.