Fun Times At Memphis Kiddie Park (Parent Tip)

Although I do not have children, I suggest that parents take their children on surprise fun outings once in awhile.  I remember going to a tiny amusement park that just had rides for little kids.  Sometimes I remember my parents just surprising us and saying “We’re going to Memphis Kiddie Park today.”   It first opened in 1952, a year before I was born and is still going strong today! 

I remember liking to ride in the Ferris wheel cages, the carousel, the cars, the boats that went in a circle and how hard the one ride was that you had to keep turning a wheel to make it go along the track.  Here is a picture of all of us four kids by the trolley car ride.  (I am the one farthest on the right--I don't remember those awful peddle pushers though and don't know why we are wearing tennis shoes!)  It even had a small roller coaster that at first was kind of scary, but that I got to like a lot!  I believe by going to the Memphis Kiddie Park and being able to experience the fun of going on different rides when I was very little sparked my love for amusements parks when I got older.   They even had a miniature golf course with fun obstacles where I often played when I was older.

I remember thinking as a kid that working at Memphis Kiddie Park would be a fun job.  The ones running the rides get to make kids happy and collecting the tickets,  turning the rides on and off looked like an easy job to me.  I never did apply for a job there though.

Years later, when I was youth director at our church, we went there with 5^th-8^th graders for a miniature golf outing which my dad helped me with. 

When I was commander of our AWANA Club at church, one year I organized an outing for all the Sparks (boys and girls in K-3^rd grade) who had finished their handbooks.  They had a great time and so did I.  I could even still fit on the Little Dipper roller coaster and still enjoyed it!  I’m the one right in the front!

I have many pleasant memories of this little fun place.  If you live in the Cleveland area or visit with young children, I highly recommend to take them here.  It’s very family friendly!  

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

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Who Are Cat People?

This is a video about an amazing cat sanctuary I wish I had known about when I was trying to find homes for my dad's three cats after he died. Two of them had FIV (Feline aids) and the other was a small thing with parasites. They were all nice cats, the two males just didn't get along and neither were neutered. Judie and her husband are real cat people. They used their retirement savings to get this no-kill cat sanctuary going and it costs $15,000 a month to keep it running. They've been going for eight years now!

My dad would have loved to volunteer at a place like this and I'm sure if he had known about it, would have been sending them money to help support it. That is why I send a monthly donation. I felt so bad I couldn't save his cats, but by supporting this sanctuary, I am able to have a small part at saving others. Perhaps you could help too?

Because my dad had such a soft spot for cats, I included some stories about them in the book I wrote in memory of my dad, My Funny Dad, Harry.  He was by no means the perfect cat owner, but he did love them very, very much and always let them rule in his house--scratching up anything they wanted and napping anywhere they wished.  They loved him very much too!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

Stop by Saturday Samplings for highlighted posts of the week at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

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It May Be Grubby But It Saves Time!

As my dad aged and got up into his 80s, he became very slow about doing things. Getting dressed would take him at least an hour if not more! It takes me just 10 minutes and that includes the time I take deciding what to wear. His solution for this was to just sleep in his clothes and wear the same clothes all week. I was actually doing well if I got him to change his clothes after just a week!

I understood why he did this, but I thought it was grubby. When I did camp counseling at Beulah Beach, one of the things we were told to do as counselors was to make sure the campers changed their clothes each day. It's so true that the elderly become like kids again in so many ways.

I come home and remove my bra when I change into my shorts and t-shirt and then don't even bother changing for bed. Just jump right on top of the covers still dressed and go to sleep. I do change in the morning into fresh clothes at least!

Do you ever sleep in your clothes . . . and wear them the next day? Do you have any time saving tips?

Inspiration for this post came from One Hat, Two Hat, Wife Hat, Mom Hat--Not Mom of the Year. Check out the post, it's pretty funny.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

How Nutritious Is The Cereal Your Family Eats?

When we used to shop for my dad after he couldn't drive anymore, he would make out his grocery list with what we thought were goofy brands of cereal. Nothing sounded good to us. He ate Fiber One Bran, some Smart Start kind, Kashi Heart to Heart 7 Whole Grain Flakes and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. In my way of thinking, the Corn Flakes was the only one that sounded normal to me.

I quit eating the sugary kids' cereals a long time ago when I was trying to lose weight, realizing they were packed full of sugar and weren't very healthy. I kept Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, Rice Chex, Special K and Raisin Bran. Just this year I added Cheerios Multi-Bran to my cereal list. However, when I went on http://cerealfacts.org, I was shocked to find that NONE of the cereals I eat are very healthy and that dad's were way higher up on the list!  

I spent about a half hour plugging in different cereals to make a list of which were more nutritious that we could start eating. (Even Gorilla Munch (organic) is listed as being more nutritious than the ones I currently eat!)

What kind of cereal to you like? Do you think it's nutritious? I bet you will be surprised at what you find if you check that site. Here is a screen shot I took of the top 10 most nutritious:

Who likes Shredded Wheat?????  Not us!  I don't even like the Frosted Mini-Wheats!


To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This