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Often in life I reflect on things big and small that make me smile.  I figure since good memories always bring happiness, why not have a thread here about them.  They can be minor or major and about anything board rules applying.

I'll start with a memory of this local pizza restaurant back home.  Growing up we'd always get their pizza.  I honest liked it at times but preferred other pizza.  I'd often refer to it as "sh!t on a shingle" to my parents. 

Well I ended up getting a job next to this place and discovered some of their other items.  I'd usually end up ordering a chicken cutlet sandwich and an order of fries.  The fries were often soggy and the cutlet was more than not dry.  However, thinking of that food brings me back to a time in my life when things were easier.  And when I go back home, guess what I always end up ordering...a pizza from this place. 

hi,
I am a headteacher for a local special needs school, When i first started my career i worked with a young boy who had severe emotional and physical problems.This young boys parents were always very quiet and never mixed well with teachers/parents.I worked very hard with this young boy and saw a lot of potential that senior teachers seemed to be unaware of. One day the mother of this child came into class and walked up to me and gave me a big hug,she said that her son had kissed her on her cheek the previous night(something he had not done before) she also mentioned that her son had drawn a picture and kept on kissing it whilst mentioning my name, she and her husband thanked me for not giving up on her son and spending so much time with him,

I now employ this very same boy in school as a Gardner for our "special tactile garden"

I  admit that i am a very passionate teacher and i do not always follow the guidelines but i am proud of the results that i achieve.

The first time I went to the Natural History Museum by myself.  Doesn't sound like much, but at the time it was the farthest away from home by myself.  Short of a sense of accomplishment for me.

In the fall of 1983, my ship, the USS LOCKWOOD, went on a fleet exercise with the Australian Navy.  We made two portcalls in Australia, but on the way home, we were steaming through the Indian Ocean near Bali.  One evening I had just gotten off watch and eaten supper, and went up on the fantail.  The ocean was a gorgeous azure color, the islands on either side of us like emeralds, and flying fish jumped from our wake as we cut across a sea as smooth as glass, while one of my shipmates strummed a tune on the guitar.  I stood on the fantail for nearly an hour, watching the sea go by, and even though nothing special happened that day, I still think back on it as one of the most beautiful days of my life  . . . .

Sitting here thinking about my summer vacation from 2005.  Kind of a happy/sad memory, really.

My grandfather was, at the time, recently re-diagnosed with cancer, and it was very severe.  He didn't have much time left.  But, he decided it'd be best to come on vacation with us one last time, as he knew he wouldn't have another.  It started off fun, with him yelling at my grandmother for not being in the car at exactly 10AM, and then driving off without her.  Then we get to the shore, and he was in such a rush to get down there, he forgot to pack underwear.  But we then went on a drive while down the Jersey Shore to the local K-mart down there so he could buy some.  Nothing beats driving up and down looking at the beach while Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are playing.  Seems just, fitting, to have them playing while cruising around looking at all the girls in bikinis. 

Granted he spent most of the week asleep, but the times he was awake were fun.  We're going down to that same motel this week for vacation, and I still have that cd we were listening to.  Granted, I'm now 26 instead of 21, but it always brings back some memories.  Never too old or too young to have a good time at the shore. :teddyr:

I recall towards the end of school my freshmen year going on a trip to Hampton Beach in NH.  I think it was around 1992.  Waynes World had made the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" famous again.  I had just wrapped up a season of playing freshman baseball and was about to take up umpiring with my dad (another happy memory I'll share another day)  My father gave me 50 bucks to spend.  About ten of it I blew right away on a shirt with a chick bending over on it.  The rest I kind of blew on arcade games, shooting galleries and food.  By the time the end of the day came I was out of cash.  Luckily a friend let me borrow a buck for a water because I was beyond thirsty.

I think this particular trip was important in my life because it was the first time I was ever really free to roam an area other than the usual spots.  My mother was always a bit overprotective and hardly ever let me go anywhere without her supervision.  So being able to walk around a large stretch a land was huge to me.  Especially at a place I had been so many times before with my family.

My happy memory for today...

Saturday morning cartoons, late 70's early 80's. :smile:

As mentioned above, I helped my father umpire baseball after my freshman year in HS.   My father was contacted by a friend of mine's father to umpire his 12-14 team.  At first I thought it was just my father but I got to do the bases.  It was a real fun experience.  My father had a reputation to be a maniac behind the plate but I never personall saw it.  I'll never forget the first time I heard him yell "STTTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIKE  ONE..."  I got used to it after time.  I'd often end up with pick up games which I would do alone.  The only bad time I had was when I attempted behind the plate.  I was AWFUL at it and had the single worst coach in the history of little league hounding me.  It was a fun early summer activity I had a great time with.  Sadly, most games in my area are one umpire only.  If I could do just the bases I'd sign up for some extra cash.

I played little league baseball for three years as a youngster. My first year was terrible. I never got a single hit and was terrified of failure and humiliation every time I walked up to the plate. They also stuck me in right field. But somehow I still loved the game. My second year I found my stride. I got my first hit, with many more to follow, I discovered how to field well and they tried me on third base where I excelled, and I learned how to care about a team for the first time. All of these were moments of happiness. However, the big one was a particular day soon after they had first put me on third base, when I earned my coaches respect. He had never really demeaned me at all, but he had also never really praised me particularly or offered enthusiastic support until that day. I was playing my position, with a runner on third, with one out, and only a 1-run lead. The batter hit a line drive at me that was seemingly going to go over my head. I was tall for my age, jumped straight up, and made one of those catches that would have seemed impossible normally. As I came down, I saw the runner at third had taken off to home, but then started darting back after he realized I had made the catch, and I dove and tagged him just in time to make a single-handed double-play. My coach, who was acting as third-base coach that game and was standing right there, made a shout of approval I had never heard from him before, and smacked me on the shoulder so hard it stung. He didn't mean for it to sting, he was just that excited over the play and retaining the 1-run lead, but honestly, after getting over the stinging of that and all the slaps on my back from my teammates as we went into the dugout made for one of the happiest moments of my life that I will never forget.

The heyday of arcades in the early '80s, going to Wunderland (nickel arcade in Portland) and Aladdin's Castle (6 tokens for a buck, in Vancouver) whenever I had some spare allowance.  Who cares if the carpets were grungy and the stink of tobacco was enough to make you cough?