Dr. Crisp has given me a writing assignment. He wants me to write about my earliest memory. He says it's a common topic for students to write about, but he might also be testing me somehow. He's my doctor, as well as my tutor, so he's always trying to figure out why I'm so different from everyone else. Maybe he thinks my gigantic brain remembers things differently too--Ha-ha!!!
First memories are tough for me cuz my life has been the same for as far as I can think back. My family always celebrated holidays with small homemade gifts. I always helped with the cows, the chickens, and the crops. And I never left the farm until this year. I had no Internet or cable TV, and the only people in my life were Ma and Pa.
Well, no... I'm not sure that's exactly true. For a long time I've felt there was somebody missing who used to be with us a long, long, long time ago. But even when I'm remembering as hard as I can, he's just a shadow person. Or...she? I can see red hair and freckles, and Ma and Pa didn't have red hair and freckles, so who can it be?
This assignment is dumb and I'm not doing it anymore!!!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Seven Feet of Nekkid
Mrs. Johansson still isn't happy. Apparently my clothes, handmade by my own mother's hands, are "woefully inadequate for a proper young lady." When she said this I wanted to pick her up and toss her across the lawn. That would show the little witch who the woefully inadequate one is--but you'll be proud of me for biting my tongue and just glaring down at her from my full height.Okay, so I've grown a few feet since Ma made my skirt-shorts. They don't cover my knees anymore. But so what? I've seen much shorter skirts in fashion magazines. And that's what I told Mrs. Johansson, too.
"Your hem is higher than most people are tall. You're seven feet of nekkid, from the ground up!" And that's just the way she said it too, seven feet of nekkid. Well yeah, maybe I am, but that's all leg. And there's nothing obscene about my legs except that they happen to be almost nine feet long!!!
"Of course you're right, Mrs. Johansson," Mrs. Appleton said, taking that witch's side. "But what can we do? They don't sell outfits off the rack for 18-foot girls."
"I'm 17 feet 10 and one half inches," I reminded her.
"I can't make any exceptions to the rules," Mrs. Johansson stated. "There's no such thing as a child who can't fit into standard clothing sizes, especially these days, with special orders and the Internet."
"But Melly is one of a kind," Mrs. Appleton protested.
"No exceptions," Mrs. Johansson snarled. She and Mrs. Appleton continued to argue while I stalked away as fast as my freakish legs could carry me. Even if they sold Gap dresses or Banana Republic shirts in my size, I'd never trade in the clothes that Ma made for me with love and her own ten fingers. Never!!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Hoop It Up!
Dr. Crisp gave me a present today. He said it was a housewarming gift, or a shedwarming gift--or is that not really a word? Anyway, it's a basketball hoop of my very own!!! Hooray!!!
I wanted to set it up inside the shed so I'd be able to play at night or during the winter, but Mrs. Appleton said no. "We're going to make this space look like a normal girl's room, and normal girls don't have regulation-sized basketball hoops in them." I don't know how Mrs. Appleton knows what normal girls have in their rooms these days, since all she has is a son, but I have to do what Mrs. Appleton says since she's my only source of romance novels and fashion magazines!!!
There's a paved area on the left side of my shed, and that's where we hung the hoop. It's exactly ten feet off the ground, at about the level of my hips. Dr. Crisp says he'll help me paint lines for a court, but for now we measured off the distances with chalk. The free-throw line is fifteen feet from the basket, which seems pointless because I can keep my toes behind and lean forward to drop the ball into the net--I can't ever miss!!! The three-point line is over twenty feet from the basket, so I have to throw the ball like players on TV, except that I don't need to jump or use both hands to take a shot. If I run and jump toward the basket from behind the line and drop the ball in, Dr. Crisp says that would still be worth three points!!! I can slam-dunk too, of course, but I have to do it gently to keep from breaking the backboard or rim.
I spent the afternoon shooting baskets from beyond the half-court line, about forty feet out. I keep hitting the side of the shed instead of the basket. It's going to take a lot of practice to get good from that far!!!
I wanted to set it up inside the shed so I'd be able to play at night or during the winter, but Mrs. Appleton said no. "We're going to make this space look like a normal girl's room, and normal girls don't have regulation-sized basketball hoops in them." I don't know how Mrs. Appleton knows what normal girls have in their rooms these days, since all she has is a son, but I have to do what Mrs. Appleton says since she's my only source of romance novels and fashion magazines!!!
There's a paved area on the left side of my shed, and that's where we hung the hoop. It's exactly ten feet off the ground, at about the level of my hips. Dr. Crisp says he'll help me paint lines for a court, but for now we measured off the distances with chalk. The free-throw line is fifteen feet from the basket, which seems pointless because I can keep my toes behind and lean forward to drop the ball into the net--I can't ever miss!!! The three-point line is over twenty feet from the basket, so I have to throw the ball like players on TV, except that I don't need to jump or use both hands to take a shot. If I run and jump toward the basket from behind the line and drop the ball in, Dr. Crisp says that would still be worth three points!!! I can slam-dunk too, of course, but I have to do it gently to keep from breaking the backboard or rim.
I spent the afternoon shooting baskets from beyond the half-court line, about forty feet out. I keep hitting the side of the shed instead of the basket. It's going to take a lot of practice to get good from that far!!!
Comments on Comments
I haven't said it before but thanks to everyone who's been leaving comments on all my blog entries!!! And special thanks to Tai and Willy for asking me to apologize to Jay Appleton and make everything better between us. You guys are so sweet!!!
The thing is, Jay was avoiding me way before that whole thing with the pie, and now he's so distant I couldn't apologize even if I tried!!! Besides, I was only rude to him once, while he's been rude to me every single day since we met. He owes me an apology too!!! He's got to meet me halfway at least. If he comes to my shed, I'll apologize for eating his pie and belching in his face, but I'm not going to go crawling over to him first!!!
Also thanks to Willy for asking about how my cows are doing, now that I've moved into my new shed. I still have to pasture the cows and milk them twice a day, and yesterday I washed them all in the creek cuz it was Tuesday. My new shed is close enough to our farm that I can go back and forth as much as I need, thank goodness!!!
And thanks to everyone for your book and movie suggestions!!! I've still never been to a theater. If I fit at all, I'd have to sit waaaaaaay in the back to keep from blocking other people's view. But that Forest Gump movie sure sounds like something I'd like to see!!!
The thing is, Jay was avoiding me way before that whole thing with the pie, and now he's so distant I couldn't apologize even if I tried!!! Besides, I was only rude to him once, while he's been rude to me every single day since we met. He owes me an apology too!!! He's got to meet me halfway at least. If he comes to my shed, I'll apologize for eating his pie and belching in his face, but I'm not going to go crawling over to him first!!!
Also thanks to Willy for asking about how my cows are doing, now that I've moved into my new shed. I still have to pasture the cows and milk them twice a day, and yesterday I washed them all in the creek cuz it was Tuesday. My new shed is close enough to our farm that I can go back and forth as much as I need, thank goodness!!!
And thanks to everyone for your book and movie suggestions!!! I've still never been to a theater. If I fit at all, I'd have to sit waaaaaaay in the back to keep from blocking other people's view. But that Forest Gump movie sure sounds like something I'd like to see!!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Super-Sized Me
Mrs. Appleton has been giving me magazines to read, so I can learn more about the outside world, or her version of the outside world. Mrs. Appleton's world seems to have a whole lot of fashion, romance, and makeup in it--but she also slipped in a news magazine, probably by accident.
The story on the cover was about "Our Super-Sized Kids"!!! For a moment I was really excited about the idea that I wasn't the only one!!! But no, the article wasn't about other people like me. It was about normal-sized kids who eat too much and don't get enough exercise.
Still, I probably brought the national average up a bit. I don't want to say exactly how much I weigh but it's over a ton and a lot closer to two. Compared to me, the "super-sized" kids in that story are featherweights. Even that kid on the cover with the five-scoop ice cream cone and broken skateboard!!!
The story on the cover was about "Our Super-Sized Kids"!!! For a moment I was really excited about the idea that I wasn't the only one!!! But no, the article wasn't about other people like me. It was about normal-sized kids who eat too much and don't get enough exercise.Still, I probably brought the national average up a bit. I don't want to say exactly how much I weigh but it's over a ton and a lot closer to two. Compared to me, the "super-sized" kids in that story are featherweights. Even that kid on the cover with the five-scoop ice cream cone and broken skateboard!!!
Life in the Cage
I had another dream about that boy again. Dream Boy. The one who wanted me to be the new Queen of the Tall Ones. He was still twenty feet tall and gorgeous, but his arms were crossed and he looked soooooo disappointed in me. I wanted to hide my head in shame, and I didn't even know what I'd done.
"I see the little people have made you a new cage," Dream Boy said.
"Do you mean my shed?" I asked. "What's wrong with it?"
"You should be living in a palace, eating off golden plates, wearing pearl-encrusted silks."
I laughed. "You don't know me very well."
"No, my queen, you don't know yourself."
I know he's only a dream, but really!!! What right does he have to say something like that???
"I see the little people have made you a new cage," Dream Boy said.
"Do you mean my shed?" I asked. "What's wrong with it?"
"You should be living in a palace, eating off golden plates, wearing pearl-encrusted silks."
I laughed. "You don't know me very well."
"No, my queen, you don't know yourself."
I know he's only a dream, but really!!! What right does he have to say something like that???
Monday, June 23, 2008
Distant Jay
I can see the Appleton's house from the doorway of my new shed. I can see Jay Appleton watching me from his bedroom window on the second floor. That's as much of him as I've seen this whole week. He certainly didn't come out to wish me good luck in my new home.
Into the Shed
I'm writing this inside my brand new shed!!! It's not my old familiar barn but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Mr. and Mrs. Appleton had the shed built by a company that usually builds airplane hangars. They put it up in a rush over the weekend cuz nasty old Mrs. Johansson at Child Welfare wanted it to go up fast-fast-fast!!!
Damn Mrs. Johansson and all her "rules" about not allowing oversized 15-year-olds to sleep in buildings filled with cattle-droppings and rodents!!! I've been living in my family's barn for over half my life, since I first outgrew our house, and it's always been cozy. Convenient too, and still just a short stroll from the Appleton's house--through the orchard, over the fence, and across the pasture. I have to go there a few times a day to take care of my cows anyway, so what's the big deal if I spend the night? I'd still be sleeping there, no matter what Mrs. Johansson says, except that I don't want the Appletons to get in trouble. They've been nice and really, with Ma and Pa gone, they're the closest thing I have to family.
The shed is a perfect square, 50 feet on a side. Mr. Appleton says it has more square footage than his house, even though it's just a single empty room. The floor is poured concrete that took a day to dry, and the walls are white metal inside and out. The sliding door was made for small airplanes, and opens with a push or by an electric motor. I can walk through without ducking my head!!! The roof is 25 feet high at the walls and slopes up to 30 feet in the middle, which is high enough to be out of reach when I jump!!!
There are no windows, which suits me just fine. I've never had so much privacy, including a lock to keep people out when I want to be alone. And I have a bathroom with running water and a shower!!! My computer and TV are here but there's no real furniture yet. Mr. Appleton has a workshop and says he'll build furniture to my size, but there's no rush. My old barn didn't have much more than a pile of hay for a bed. I brought some hay from the old barn and got all the comforting animal smells that come with it.
Oh, the cows are going to be so lonely without me!!!
Damn Mrs. Johansson and all her "rules" about not allowing oversized 15-year-olds to sleep in buildings filled with cattle-droppings and rodents!!! I've been living in my family's barn for over half my life, since I first outgrew our house, and it's always been cozy. Convenient too, and still just a short stroll from the Appleton's house--through the orchard, over the fence, and across the pasture. I have to go there a few times a day to take care of my cows anyway, so what's the big deal if I spend the night? I'd still be sleeping there, no matter what Mrs. Johansson says, except that I don't want the Appletons to get in trouble. They've been nice and really, with Ma and Pa gone, they're the closest thing I have to family.
The shed is a perfect square, 50 feet on a side. Mr. Appleton says it has more square footage than his house, even though it's just a single empty room. The floor is poured concrete that took a day to dry, and the walls are white metal inside and out. The sliding door was made for small airplanes, and opens with a push or by an electric motor. I can walk through without ducking my head!!! The roof is 25 feet high at the walls and slopes up to 30 feet in the middle, which is high enough to be out of reach when I jump!!!
There are no windows, which suits me just fine. I've never had so much privacy, including a lock to keep people out when I want to be alone. And I have a bathroom with running water and a shower!!! My computer and TV are here but there's no real furniture yet. Mr. Appleton has a workshop and says he'll build furniture to my size, but there's no rush. My old barn didn't have much more than a pile of hay for a bed. I brought some hay from the old barn and got all the comforting animal smells that come with it.
Oh, the cows are going to be so lonely without me!!!
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Illustrator Challenge
Artists can create illustrations of me or the events in my life, as long as they are appropriate for my young readers. Any previous post on this blog can be illustrated. If I like an image that goes well with a post on the blog, I may add a small thumbnail version along with credit to the artist and a link to the full-sized image. Images of me posted elsewhere should link back to the "Giant Girl Rampages" blog.
If you want to draw a picture of me, here's what you need to know:
I'm 15 years old and almost (but not quite) 18 feet tall. Mrs. Appleton says I'm very pretty and well proportioned, which I guess is a complement. I'm not super thin or anything but I think I'm in pretty good shape.
I have dirty blonde hair that's kind of wild because I trim it with Pa's old hedge trimmers. My eyes are green as the ocean, as Ma always said, but I wouldn't know because I've never seen an ocean. My skin is tanned from being out in the sun a lot but not too dark and (usually) not burned.
I wear a blouse and skirt-shorts that my mother quilted for me three years ago. They look like a big patchwork cuz she used many squares of fabric and cowhide. I've grown since then, so the skirt-shorts no longer come down to my knees, my blouse is way tight, and there's a bit of skin showing in between. I don't have any shoes (and that makes me sad to think about so I usually don't).
If you do draw my picture, send the link in a comment so I can post it to my blog. Thanks!!!
If you want to draw a picture of me, here's what you need to know:
I'm 15 years old and almost (but not quite) 18 feet tall. Mrs. Appleton says I'm very pretty and well proportioned, which I guess is a complement. I'm not super thin or anything but I think I'm in pretty good shape.
I have dirty blonde hair that's kind of wild because I trim it with Pa's old hedge trimmers. My eyes are green as the ocean, as Ma always said, but I wouldn't know because I've never seen an ocean. My skin is tanned from being out in the sun a lot but not too dark and (usually) not burned.
I wear a blouse and skirt-shorts that my mother quilted for me three years ago. They look like a big patchwork cuz she used many squares of fabric and cowhide. I've grown since then, so the skirt-shorts no longer come down to my knees, my blouse is way tight, and there's a bit of skin showing in between. I don't have any shoes (and that makes me sad to think about so I usually don't).
If you do draw my picture, send the link in a comment so I can post it to my blog. Thanks!!!
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