My Friend

Debbie & "Panky"

Notice my "purse" and my long hair!

This was one of my very best friends at school. Her name is Panky. Whenever I hear that old song "Hanky Panky" by Tommy Roe, I think of her. I will tell you that the name of our school in Dayton was "Weaver Elementary", I think it is closed now. We were attending an afternoon "fair". I remember my purse was red, and my outfit tan. You can't see us, but Donna had the same outfit. Mom gave us both a pretty purse. Now that I think about it, I don't recall Donna ever carrying hers. She probably threw it away somewhere. I loved the pretty things and Donna loved the boyish things. She would NEVER play dolls with me, and I couldn't throw, catch or kick a ball good enough to suit her, but we still played together. How different can two twins be? I don't think she carries a purse today, or at least I have never see it.



Another Random Thought

Children learn different today then we did all those years ago. Sometimes punishment was "order of the day". One memory that stays with me is my first Spelling Test. I was in the 2nd grade. I remember I failed it miserably. I only got one word correct, and that word was village, but more than that I was punished. My teacher "cracked" her ruler across my hand for every word I missed. Ouch! Boo Hoo! I wonder where Donna was? She probably spelled all of hers correctly. I told you she never felt my pain! I never wanted that to happen again, Okay, Okay it did happen again, but eventually I became a good speller.
Village: V-I-L-L-A-G-E. See!

"Good Morning, Merry Sunshine"

"Our Song"

Being bashful, it was surprising that I would be in a school program, but I was. We both were. My role was to sing this little song to the "Sun". Donna's role was to be, you guessed it, the "Sun", and sing back to me. I'm sure she sang with a snarl. As you can see, I still have my script. Donna most likely threw hers away that same night.I believe we were probably in the 1st grade, approx. 1965. We both got to wear these beautiful long dresses. Mine was pink and Donna's was yellow.  I love it, she hated it, but we were "twins" and our teacher thought we would be so cute. I also carried a doll and Donna held a big "Sun". Mom made us practice that song everyday. We sang it so much that I am sure we could sing now if we wanted too. We don't.  Well actually, I am humming it.  Everyone was so concerned that I might not sing and concerned  that Donna might sing a different tune, or something worse, she might "punch out" the Sun.  The big night came and it was showtime; Mom kept reminding us to "be good" and sing loud and clear, and to please, please sing. I was ready, Donna was ready. I was caressing my doll and Donna was "spinning" her Sun. Then it happened, I sang like a canary or a screeching owl, depending on your point of view, and Donna froze like an iceberg. I believe it was "I" who had to throw her a line. When she began, out came her merry song, Of course, her "Sun" was upside down. I don't think she ever "starred" in another play. And the Oscar didn't go to...   

Twins Day

As I reminisce about being a twin, I would like to mention that there are conventions for twins. We have never gone, however I know they are well attended. I have read about them on-line. Here are a couple links if anyone would like more information. twinsdays.org and twinsrealm.com. I wonder if Donna would like to go? Yoo Hoo! Donna...

Random Thoughts!

There are so many memories of our growing up together it is hard to record them all. When I start thinking about those times, my mind just races. I want to write everything. It is true when we say that "those were the best times" even though we didn't think so at the time. I am remembering things that I have thought of in years. In that same Dayton neighborhood, Donna "got a job" watering one of our neighbors Roses. Donna let me go with her. I remember this Rose garden as being enchanting, with all colors of roses and a wrought iron chairs to sit on. Donna even let me help. We were sometimes treated to lemonade and cookies. What a treat!
We had to walk to school too! I remember it being a long walk, but I know it probably wasn't that far. We actually got to come home for lunch too. Mom was always there. Donna "ran" all the way. I never could keep up with her. Still can't, of course now I don't want to. Oh, a random memory is returning. Donna and I both had a tricycle. Donna's just flew. Mine was slow, so I talked her into "trading" tricycles with me because I was convinced her tricycle was faster than mine. Can you believe that? Donna finally agreed to trade. She hopped on mine and "flew". It didn't take me too long to figure out that it wasn't the tricycle. I begged her to trade back, after all my tricycle was in better condition than hers. She did, and she has been a step ahead of me ever since!

"Sam's Garage"

Sittin' on the porch in 1964.

We played outside alot! There were no such things as video games, and no computers. We didn't have a television for along time. When Mom told us to "play outside", we did or we did chores. At this time, we lived in what was considered a "rough" part of town. The 1960's and Civil Rights. It didn't seem that way to us. One of our neighbors ran a garage next door. His name was "Sam". "Sam's Garage". He loved all the neighborhood kids and we loved him. We played over there all the time. In mid afternoon, he would treat us to kool-aid and cookies. That was a treat to us, because we simply did not have things like that. We would all gather at Sam's garage and have fun. He let us help him. In the winter, he would have peanuts roasting on his old "pot belly" stove. I can smell them now. Ummm! He was so wonderful to us.

Shyness

We grew up in an average home. I have an older brother and two younger brothers. We didn't always have what we wanted, but we had what we needed. We were blessed to have both parents for a long, long, time. Actually, I was very bashful growing up. Everyone was always trying to help me "come out of my shell". I remember hiding behind Mom's skirt when company came to the door. I was so bashful! The owner of our local grocery store, "Rosie's Market", would always offer me a beautiful doll if I would only tell him a story. These dolls had beautiful hair and dresses, the most beautiful doll I had ever seen. They were lined up on the top shelf. I would always stop and stare and wish. Donna could have cared less. I wanted to say something so badly, but I just couldn't. Donna was always hollerin'at me..."Tell him The Three Bears, Tell him The Three Bears"! She even offered, but he wouldn't let her. Eventually, I did come out of my shell. Now I talk too much.

First Day of Kindergarten.

First Day of Kindergarten

Donna on the left; me on the right.

Don't you just love the sidewalks?

We always walked to school. Yes, we did! We were wearing red jumpers and white sweaters. Whatever happened to clothes like that?

Everyone is always concerned about whether or not twins become dependent on one another. Donna and I were not that type of twins. We could have cared less! I think identical twins fall into that category more than fraternal twins do. We never experienced that feeling of "oneness" that some twins do, but we were still very close. I never felt her pain and I know she never felt mine. That's what makes our school years so interesting. I was always being scolded for the trouble Donna got into. Everyone was so afraid that we would become completely dependent on one another that they separated us in kindergarten. I still remember that first day; I cried all day long. No one could console me at all. There were two kindergarten classrooms and the way they were set up you could see into the other classroom. I remembering looking up and seeing Donna "escaping" out the front door. She didn't even try to "spring" me, can you believe it? The teachers eventually caught her. I don't believe she fared much better, although she probably wouldn't admit it. I can hear her now " I just wanted to go home!" My tears didn't fall because Donna and I weren't together, they came from typical first day of school blues. I eventually enjoyed kindergarten, Donna, however, never did become a big fan of school. In the classroom, there was this huge playhouse. I had never seen anything like it before. I absolutely loved it. Isn't it remarkable what our memory retains. I can remember that playhouse just like it was yesterday. The teachers found out that whether we were together or not, it didn't matter. So naturally we spent our early elementary school years together.

Still "Hopping"

There was another time that Donna led me around pretty good. That was when she came up with the brilliant idea of "hopping" on the bus to meet Dad when he got off work. She was always saying "Come On, Deb!" an I always went. My brain didn't develop until much later. I was scared and said "No!" It was one of the few times I actually showed some backbone. Talk about being in trouble, Dad would have "killed" us if he would have come out of his workplace and seen us standing there. I shudder to think about it. Our parents were very kind but stern. They just didn't know what their two angels were up to. I can't believe we got away with it either. I wonder where our older brother was in all this! Hmmmm!

Riding Around on a Bus!

Here we are with our oldest brother. Yikes! Notice the cars!

As I look at these photos, memories come flooding in. When we were very little; we used to ride the Dayton Public Transportation Buses by ourselves. Yes, that's what I said; "by ourselves". These were the huge yellow buses that traveled all over Dayton.  I don't remember our exact age, but, I do know that it was in the early 1960"s. Donna used to talk me into anything. She still does! You can't see me, but I am pointing my finger at her. As it happened, the bus stop was right in front of our house. Children rode for free, so we would wait until a crowd formed and got on the bus. I have no memory as to whether or not anyone questioned our being on board. We would then get off at the shopping center along with everyone else.  I remember looking in the shops, that's all.  We were too little to have any money. Then we would ride the bus back home. You've got to understand that we were probably four or five years old at the time. We did this regularly. One time while we were waiting at the bus stop to come home, we saw our Mother go by in a taxi. I screamed and Donna grabbed me and we "hid" behind the big red and blue mailbox, which caused us to miss the bus. As you can guess, I, being "the girl", started crying. I just knew we were never going to see Mom and Dad again! Boo! Hoo! Donna,on the other hand, told me she could get us home. She said we could walk home; all we had to do was to follow the railroad tracks. Boy, was I gullible! Can you believe that we followed the railroad tracks?  I know if I were reading this, I wouldn't believe it either. Well, we made it home. Many years later, after we had both grown up, we finally told our parents. We both assumed that Mom and Dad knew about it. I don't know what made us think that. Apparently they did not know. I thought we were going to get a spanking right then and there. I hadn't heard Mom use words like that in a long, long time. Looking back, I can't believe we did things like that. I know times were different, but... Yes, there were others. We had no fear at all...well at least Donna didn't. What is truly amazing is that we couldn't even tell time, and yet we knew when to come home. Donna was definitely the "ring leader".   

Nearness.

Being fraternal twins we never experienced the feeling of telepathy that some twins do.  We were and are completely independent of each other. I 've always wondered how it would feel to experience that  kind of closeness with her, especially since we live in two different states.  She is amazing!

Two Alike.

I am on the left and Donna is on the right.

Angels? I think not!

 

Everyone is always so surprised when someone tells that they have a twin. Twins are so cute, cuddly, and adorable. We are supposed to look alike, act alike, and dress alike. Hah! Let me tell you about my twin. My twin is a sister. We were born in March of 1959 in Dayton, Ohio. My name is Debbie and hers is Donna. She was named Donna because my Mother said she looked just like my Dad. His name was Donald, Mom's was Marjorie. Both are gone now. My Mother said that the name Debbie just kind of rhymed with Donna. Debbie and Donna, how cute! I should have gotten the hint then, but being an infant...I didn't have a clue of what was to come.  We are definitely fraternal twins. The "only" thing the same about us is that we were born on the same day. Donna has always been more of a "tomboy" to my being more of a "girlie" girl. I still hear here hollerin' at me to "quit being such a girl". She really hated the girl thing. Still does! She loved sports of all kinds. I loved dolls of all kinds. She was smart in school. I struggled to get good grades. She was rebellious. I followed the rules. She was always in trouble, and I was always the good one. How many believes that? Well, it's true. We had very different likes and dislikes; however, we seemed to always get along. As far as I know, there were no other twins in our family tree. I want this blog to be a record of our journey together, a legacy to our children, and hopefully a payback. Can you see me smile? 

 

Welcome to my Blog.

I enjoy sharing stories of my childhood. I'm told that I am a pretty good storyteller, not so much a writer. "I don't talk good, and I write even worse". You be the judge. I grew up in a much simpler time and I know that one day my children will say the same thing to their children. My sister and I were and are a "hoot". My hope is that these memories will bring enjoyment to all who share them.