Monday, October 18, 2010

My Magic Garage

Good morning star shine. The earth says hello! Okay, I'll stop quoting Willy Wonka, and just say that I'm glad to be back after some well deserved family time. On with Memoir Monday...

I've been told more than once, "You weren't like most kids." It's supposed to be a compliment, but now I wonder what most kid's lives were like. Did any of them have a magic garage? Mine was a typical two car, dry-walled, and cement garage under my bedroom that came to life at night when I closed my eyes.

The automatic door gave way to a thick, red velvet curtain that could be opened with a few tugs on the pulley. All common garage content melted into the walls to make room for the performance - under warm, golden lights cheerfully glowing upon the faces of my audience. They sat on padded folding chairs which were lined up the slope of the driveway.

One night I was a magician pulling rabbits out of a top hat. Another night, a baton twirling wonder. I think I was even a singer with a voice that reached into the very heart of every listener. Sometimes my friends performed - a comedian, an animal trainer like Jack Hanna, or a musician playing the trumpet.

We never failed to sell every seat in the house, and my over sized plastic pickle jar was stuffed full of money that I planned to use on a puppy, a trip to Lagoon, dance classes and a perm (so I could be like the cool girls), or a stack of books.

I wasn't bothered by the ordinary garage that returned every morning. It had its uses, too. There was that big pole right in the center, an excellent turn-around spot for when I roller-skated down the slope on weekends.

Did you have a magic room in your house?

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20 comments:

Crystal Cook said...

I love the sound of your magic garage. :) I had a magic tree in the pasture behind my house. Those were some good times. :)

Joanna St. James said...

I had an evil bedroom, serves me right for reading abt goblins and the like.

Kristine Asselin said...

I love it. Magic is awesome. ;)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

The imagination of children is so awesome! My best friend and I had a magic fort in his backyard. :-)

Carolyn V. said...

Mine was the back yard. There were a lot of fairies and evil super heroes back there. =)

Angie said...

Ah, I love your magic garage. How fun. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Mine was the hay barn in my parent's back yard. If my parents knew how often I jumped across those rafters, they would have killed me! But pirates must swashbuckle!

Heidi said...

I had a haunted basement filled with scary men that wanted to cover my mouth and stuff me in the closet before I could scream. I never told my children, but for some reason they share my childhood fears.....must be hereditary. :)

Lydia Kang said...

My old basement, before it got redone, was a great place to play. We'd hang along the steel beams, sleep on our cool but damp sleeping bags when the summer heat made the bedrooms into saunas. I loved that basement (even though we found an occasional snake, frog, and more-than-occasional spider).

Jeff Beesler said...

My magic room actually was the backyard. Being a youngster with a lot of energy, I would bounce around outdoors, imagining worlds of all sorts in the blink of an eye. It got to a point where I had cut a dirt trail right through the middle of the yard because I'd stick on the same path.

Mimi said...

Oh yes! Mine was the garage too, but it was a shop!
Then we had hen houses at the end of the garden, and they were houses where we "lived". And the path down the garden was a road, and our arms formed a steering wheel to drive our cars around!
Imagination is a great thing; I wonder, with all the computer games, if the next generation will have one at all?

Shelley Sly said...

Awww that was so fun to read!

Although mine isn't a room, I did pretend that my bedroom closet was an elevator when I was little. My sister and I used to step inside, close the door, pick a floor number, and make up wherever it would take us. It was cute.

Susan Fields said...

I had a perm when I was young. I just remember being called Raggedy Ann after that.

I don't think I had any magic rooms, but my best friends basement became a professional skating rink on the weekends. :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

very very nice. Love this little reminder. I had a magic dog. he spoke only to me.

Shallee said...

How fun! I had a magic orchard. It wasn't technically mine, but the magic world in it definitely was. Thanks for sharing!

Tracy Loewer said...

My parents just barely got a garage built a couple of years ago, so no magic to report on that front...I definitely thought there was magic everywhere else though.

Shallee said...

P.S. I gave you an award on my blog! Just wanted to let you know.

Melissa said...

Can I LIVE in your magic garage?

When I was younger I had magic all around me because I carried it in my head... Now that I'm older....I think the voices just got louder. So now I write about them.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

The magic was all in my head as a kid. What a wondrous childhood your parents created for you! :)

Shannon said...

A magic garage is too cool!

I had a walk-in closet in my room. Pure magic!