• Thanks for stopping back after my technical glitch, and thanks for helping out.

    Jamie Simmermans last blog post..You Can Help a Desperate Writer!
  • Writer Dad
    Malathionman: It's a good thing we took their colonies away.

    Jamie: We were dipping fingers into the collective unconscious. Thanks for the heads up on the plugin. I'll definitely check it out. I'm on my way to help a desperate writer!

    Luis: We all have a Quan.

    Dot: I still live in a bad neighborhood, about a mile and a half from the Quan.
  • I found a DualFeeds pluggin for WordPress over at http://www.scratch99.com/2007/06/wordpress-simple-css-text-boxes-in-posts/. Not sure if that's what you're looking for, though. ;)

    Jamie Simmermans last blog post..You Can Help a Desperate Writer!
  • Dot
    It's so sad to me that you had to experience bad neighborhoods even as a child. I grew up in a place where there were no bad neighborhoods. Of course, that was because of segregation in the real estate industry, but I didn't learn that until way later. My best friend and I sneaked to our Quan at lunchtime in elementary school.
  • LOL!

    I remember my Quan.

    Thought I'd rather not mention it here :), it sure did get me in some trouble.

    Everyone has their own Quan at some point.

    I actually miss mines!

    Luis Grosss last blog post..How To Build A Community On Your Blog
  • I so love to hear childhood stories! I think I might like to meet your older sister. We would have have had great fun together as kids. ;)

    (Just an aside, I swear I did not read this post until after I posted mine. Funny how we were both thinking about habits. It must be the brainwave of the day!)

    Jamie Simmermans last blog post..Character Development for Dummies
  • When I was a kid I never got into trouble, unless my sister was invovled. :)

    Hey, no kidding about commenting on Tara's page, it's a pain! I think
    Coventry Telegraph is anti-American!

    malathionmans last blog post..The Wrath of Mrs. Khan
  • Writer Dad
    Marelisa: Me too. By the way, I especially enjoyed your post today.

    Chris: Something like that.

    Urban Vox: Not exactly, but sure.
  • show me the moneyyyyyy!!!
    that quan u talking about??? :)

    UrbanVoxs last blog post..I Blame Boris!!!!
  • 2 bus fare in the middle of danger to visit your girlfriend, huh? now that's love...lol

    Chriss last blog post..Make Money With Pokemon
  • Ah, the corrupting older sister. This post reminds me of when I was in law school in Washington DC and I had to go to really shady neighborhoods in DC to notify men that they had to appear in court (I was in a clinic that represented victims of domestic violence). I would go with a male friend but the neighborhoods were so bad that we would have to stop several taxis until finding one that was willing to drive into those neighborhoods. Thank goodness we both survived our "bad neighborhood experiences" Sean.

    Marelisas last blog post..Thoughts to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing
  • Writer Dad
    Vered: It may be cliche, but I'm equal parts childhood, adolescence, and adult.

    James: Do you want to trade childhoods, at least for a day?

    Steph: I'm serious. I think I'm gonna do it, maybe sometime in 2011. Your parents actually tore a book in half!?! That's crazy. I thought that only happened in movies. I'm sorry. I think King would probably think it was funny.

    Barbara: We make fun of one another without mercy.

    Kyddryn: Our ice cream man parked outside my favorite park. His stuff was a total rip-off, and I could easily acquire the same merchandise at the Quan, but the Quan did not make deliveries like the ice cream truck. Memories are better than the best candy.
  • Oh, wow, I forgot another one - the ice cream wagon when I lived in Florida! He'd park outside the elementary school and wait for us pigeons to flock to him...and whenever I had money (admittedly, not often), I would blow it entirely on his inventory, scuttle home, and gorge on it before Big Brother got home and confiscated my contraband for himself.

    I prefer to forget about the convenience store I'd ride my bike to and filch loot from...ah, childhood pilfering...if I'd had a brain in my head, I would have snitched something with actual nutrients so I wouldn't have to eat a Kool-Aid sandwich for dinner again or wait for the next day's school lunch to eat a "real" meal, but noooo...I had to gravitate to the penny candy. Selfish wench!

    Shade and Sweetwater,
    K (who is tickled by some of the memories she's reading and remembering)

    Kyddryns last blog post..The Promise, Part Two
  • Hi Writer Dad - What a cool memory to revive. I'm betting when you and your siblings get together there are a lot of "remember whens", laughs and smiles.
  • Oh, The Talisman! My favourite Stephen King. I've read it more than once, both times when I was a teen. He was a secret back then. A forbidden pleasure.

    I used to own Needful Things, which I read in its entirety out loud to my cousin one summer when we were 16 in Montreal, and then It, which when my mother found was ripped in half and stripped of its cover. She said something about the devil and evil and that was the end of the book. I'll never forget that and how I reacted after. If King knew how, he'd be simultaneously flattered and horrified.

    stephs last blog post..Magic in the Air
  • WD: of course you like. You're a writer. And you know a good story when you see one, yes?

    stephs last blog post..Magic in the Air
  • No Quan in my childhood. Just a wide open farm and lots of trees and river banks to pass the hours. The memories are nice. Interesting to hear sis's perspective tomorrow.

    Jamess last blog post..Hey, it could happen...
  • Ah, fun memories.

    I love to read people's childhood memories.

    Cliche or not, our childhoods do shape us into the people we are now.

    Vered - MomGrinds last blog post..Hospitalized with Meningitis
  • Writer Dad
    Denguy: I think we all had a Quan.

    J.D. Meier: The Talisman, I believe, was my first King book. Still one of my favorites.

    Blogger Dad: I'm sure you're right. Sounds super creepy.

    Stacey Shipman: When we were finished at the Dentist, we always went across the street to Weinershnitzel. Jumbo dog, all the fixings. Did I mention I had braces?

    Max: I want to read your story, but fair's fair. I'll wait.

    Wendi: Are we ever as imaginative as when we're small? If there was some way to squeeze the juice from my children, I'd drink and use it well.
  • When all of us cousins would get together on Sunday's for Spaghetti dinner at Grandma's house, we would *go for a walk around the block* that walk included a vist to the old disheveled candy store with the slow-moving crabby Italian woman behind the counter. We were convinced that her inky black hair and her evil eye meant that she was a witch and we would shake and quake as we *risked our lives* for our penny candy. We would always come running and tumbling out, collapsing on the grass at the park across the street- making up stories about what we thought she was going to do to us.

    Ah...the imagination. We were convinced she had captured naughty children and hidden them in the backroom. But the candy...tasted all the better for the adventure that it took to get it.

    Wendi Kelly-Life's Little Inspirationss last blog post..Remembering Pen Pals…
  • Hi,

    love the introduction. Probably because I have a similar candy story. And yes, we got caught too of course. I may write it down here, but first want to read the rest of The Quan tomorrow.

    Cheers,
    Max

    Max Forlanis last blog post..Not So Happy Birthday
  • While I never hid candy, this post brings back the memory of going to the dentist for a cleaning and then heading downstairs to the general store immediately after rinsing for my penny candy. My mother wouldn't allow sugary cereals in the house, but she allowed sugar right after a visit to the dentist!

    Looking forward to your sister's take on The Quan.
  • Blogger Dad - Your post triggered another memory even further back in my childhood. When I was in elementary school, there was a house on the way home from school that children used to go to all the time. It had been converted in to a 'store' of sorts, just selling candy and other sundries to kids. I went there one time, just to see what it was like. It was creepy as hell and I never went back. I'm fairly certain it was a front to sell drugs.

    Lance - thanks!

    Kyddryn - NEVER read Stephen King?! Wow. You WERE sheltered! J.D.'s mentioned Talisman is one of my favorite books which I tore through during summer school one year. I think one of his most original and best books is Insomnia.

    Blogger Dads last blog post..Why do I blog?
  • It's so weird. Stephen King taught me some naughty stuff early on -- I think it was the Talisman. My sister and I used to walk to "the Lake Store" to buy my Mom cigarettes (but it's how we stocked up on our secret stash of candy.)

    J.D. Meiers last blog post..Spend 75 Percent on Your Strengths
  • Ah, yes, I too had a "Quan" but it was called the "Avondale." My brother and I used to go there for 15¢ bags of chips--those were good times.

    Denguys last blog post..The Eyes Have It
  • Writer Dad
    Blogger Dad: I did the same exact thing. I had a black satchel and I would fill it with candy, action figures and Garbage Pail Kids. I had a decent markup and was doing well, until I got popped by the authorities. I'm excited about KittyTown's post too. Yay, day off.

    The interview was my pleasure.

    Matthew: Daisy loves Jelly Bellys. Me, M&M;'s.

    Lance: My stepbrother was exactly the same way. My dad found some giant candy graveyard in his bedroom, after he'd lied about some missing candy. Sugar's like baby crack, I guess.

    Eric: You'll get a closer view with KittyTown's perspective.

    Dave: Mischievous, not naughty.

    Kyddryn: Your adventure sounds a lot more exciting. Ours was kind of frantic and frightening, and we never (as KittyTown will tell you tomorrow) got chocolate. Give me a Reese's any day.

    Steph: That's a good idea. KittyTown's is more like a short story than mine, but I could add them together and flesh it out. I like.
  • You've evoked fond memories of walking to Becker's and purchasing candy on the sneak (Ma! Going to the library!!).

    I haven't thought of that in a long time. Back then I was like, yes! I can buy this...and this and this and this! Now I'm like, 2$ for a chocolate bar? Are you freaking kidding me?? But screw the library - I'm spending my money on books instead. :)

    Can't wait for KittyTown's post! The Quan sounds like the stuff of short stories. I think you could flesh out this post.

    stephs last blog post..Magic in the Air
  • I have not yet read Stephen King. What can I say? I had a bizarre, sheltered, rather worldly childhood that didn't include Stephen King.

    Alley's General Store in West Tisbury Mass. It was a hike of several miles down a dirt road to the paved road, then a bit more to the store, and half the time I hitched a ride. Heck, it was on an island - where would a kidnapper take me?? Plus I knew a lot of people out there at the time.

    I had a little salt-cod box (Minus the salt cod, because that? Is some nasty stuff, I don't care how long you soak it in milk!) with a sliding lid that I hid my stash in.

    All the other kids had pot...but I had Reese's Cups.

    Midnight Hershey bar, oh yeah!

    Yeah, tell a kid they can't have candy and see if they don't find a way. Especially a kid with a serious addiction to all things chocolate. Hah!

    Shade and Sweetwater,
    K

    Kyddryns last blog post..The Promise, Part Two
  • You naughty, naughty children!

    Dave Fowlers last blog post..Women’s Work: The Hardest Work I’ve Ever Done
  • Thanks for sharing a great story and insight into your childhood. This kind of post brings me back to my candy eating days as well. :-)

    "Motivate Thyself"s last blog post..10 Tips To Help New Bloggers Beat The Odds And Push Past Their Rookie Status
  • First off, great interview Writer Dad (Blogger Dad did good)!

    Our youngest has his own personal Quan right here in our house. He sneaks candy whenever he can. He gets caught. He stops for a while. Then, he does it again...He's sneaky, but not so smart. He never throws away the wrappers...
  • Steven King is the master of the dirty word. I still remember reading stuff in "It" that both shocked and amused me.

    My favorite kind of candy has always been Jellybeans, especially the flavored one. Very delicious.

    Matthew Drydens last blog post..You Don’t Like Me
  • Thank you again for the interview and the link, you arrogant arrogant man.

    Ah, the joys of illicit candy. I used to sell candy in middle and high school. Funny thing was that the candy trade was like the drug trade, with candy dealers each fighting for their corners. The candy market was great, though I only squandered the money on comic books and more candy. Hmm,since I'm looking for a job, maybe I should head down to the school with a duffel bag full of candy... On second thought, probably not the best of ideas. I can see Dateline's Chris Hansen coming up to me, "So, what do you have in the bag there? Oh, candy, eh? Yeah, I bet... Have a seat over there."

    I look forward to KittyTown's post! I just love the sound of the name KittyTown. Reminds me of the "Funky Town" song, only I picture cartoon kitties dancing around.

    Yeah, maybe I should go to sleep now.

    Thanks again for the great interview, you arrogant jerk.

    Blogger Dads last blog post..Eight(teen) Questions - Interview with Sean Platt from Writer Dad
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