Childhood Reminiscing Session #1: Celia, the Spy

(I have decided to set aside one day a week for writing little vignettes about my childhood.  This will allow me to practice my creative writing skills for that best-selling novel I'm going to write someday ;).  Plus, when I'm 90 and my memory has gone a little fuzzy, my stories will have already made it out of my clouded mind onto the page for the world to peruse.  So here's to killing two birds with one stone!  Enjoy Childhood Reminiscing Session #1!)

I was seven years old when Harriet, the Spy came out in 1996.  Something about that movie just captured the imagination.  Anytime the rare and luxurious opportunity to rent a movie from Blockbuster came up, my choice was always Harriet, the Spy. There's something to be said for spying.  It's nothing like a reality show where the participants know they are on camera so they act accordingly.  It's more like The Truman Show.  The people who were unfortunate enough to fall under my scrutiny were completely unaware that others might be watching them.  They were in their element.  They were acting as their true selves.  I don't think even psychologists get that kind of raw quality when performing their scientific studies.  (Probably because it could be considered unethical but that's beside the point...)

My friend Hannah came over to my house one fateful afternoon to play.  Still firmly believing that my calling in life was to be a spy, I suggested that we spend the afternoon spying on people.  We found some notebooks and pencils to record our observations and then set out into the backyard, anxious to find the perfect spying location.  We settled on the far corner of the backyard where the ground sloped down to the fence.  We had a perfect view of the sidewalk from our perch and the branches of the nearby redwood tree completely hid us from view.  We could see without being seen.  Not bad for a couple of amateur spies!  We carved "Hannah and Celia's Spy Place" into one of the panels of the back fence and kept our eyes peeled for random passers-by.

Sure enough, a construction truck pulled up right within our line of vision.  Two guys, one middle-aged, the other in his 20s, got out and walked around the truck to examine the sidewalk.  Apparently that little glance at the sidewalk was exhausting because they then climbed into the back of their truck and pulled out a couple of sodas.  After downing half a can of soda in one swig, the middle-aged man let out a rather loud belch.  Thus our first spying session ended shortly thereafter as we two seven-year-olds had to duck down behind the fence to hide our uncontrollable fits of giggling.  After taking down copious notes about the human behavior we had just had the privilege to witness, we headed back inside, thoroughly pleased with ourselves for completing our first successful round as spies.

Mission Accomplished.

(As a side note, I need to say that I created the above graphic on my own.  Because I am not one who is generally known for being incredibly tech-savvy, I just wanted everyone else to rejoice with me in this small victory.)