It was a Sunday night (if memory serves) and my roommates all left our dorm room to go eat supper. I thought it odd that no one asked me to join them but I had plenty of ramen noodles (a college staple!) in the room to eat for my supper.
A few minutes after they left, they came back, bursting through the door and declaring me "kidnapped." I was blindfolded and led to an awaiting car where I laid down in the backseat. Then my friend (I think it was Sheila) drove around our small town to confuse me on where we were headed.
What my friends didn't know is that I read one (or ten) too many children's mystery books growing up! The heroines in those books are always getting kidnapped or trapped in a truck. So as a tween (though long before THAT phrase was coined) I would pretend to be kidnapped when my family drove around town. I would lay in the backseat of our car and try to figure out where we were by the sounds, bumps and turns.
As a result of my previous sleuth training, I knew exactly which restaurant my friends stopped in front of - Western Sizzlin (what? you thought it would someplace else?!). We all piled out of the car, me taking off the blindfold, and enjoyed a great dinner in one of their banquet rooms. I have to say, it was one of the best birthday parties I've ever had!
Well, it's been YEARS since I've pretended to be kidnapped in a car or read many children's mystery books. But I intend to remedy that this year by participating in the Children's Classics Mystery Challenge at 5 Minutes for Books. All you have to do is read a children's mystery chapter book written before 1980 and link up your reviews on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. That's it.
My plan is fairly simple: read the Nancy Drew book I picked up off the $1 table at the library and read the 7 or 8 Trixie Belden books stored in my basement. I might even throw in a little Box Car Children since Will is devouring those at a rate of one a day!
And maybe, for old times sake, I'll close my eyes the next time Joel drives and pretend I've been kidnapped. Or just take a nap. Either one would work.
6 comments:
LOL! What a great post! (Yes, I think I'd opt for the nap nowadays.) That's a really funny story.
So far you are the first I've heard that might read WITH their children so if you do get those Boxcar children with Will, do tell!
What a fun surprise (even if you weren't completely surprised which is probably how you like it!).
Sounds like some fun reads! And I would definitely opt for the nap!
Wow, I never knew you had this cool skill! What a fun birthday! I too vote for a nap in the car!
I used to do the same thing in our car!! I love it!
I'm going to have to check into this. My girls are devouring Boxcar Children, too, and my sis-in-law just told me that she left a bunch more at my grandparents' for us to pick up when we go next week. I need to read along with them. And, now that you've reminded me of Trixie Belden, I want to go see what I can find and reread! Thanks for sharing!
This is so funny! I love that you pretended this way in the car when you were a tween. So funny. I recently had the neatest memory about pretending when I was a little girl. :) So fun to remember things like that.
Did you see the new Nancy Drew movie? ...new some time back, I mean....can't remember when
That is wonderfully funny that your sluething experience helped!
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