neighbourhood

One summer afternoon when I was around six years old, the family was at my aunt and uncle's house for some sort of party. I was in the pool, and my dad and his cousins were watching me, making sure I didn't drown. As I was swimming, I wondered out loud if my uncle could buy a slide for his pool. My father, who I suppose was bored and possibly a little drunk, decided it would be fun to tell me there was a slide.

I swear, I looked for that slide for thirty minutes straight. And every time I asked where it was, someone would point to the opposite side of the pool and say, "It's right there!" until my dad decided to stop torturing me and told me there wasn't a slide.

For years, I thought that slide had disappeared off the face of the earth, and I was the only person who didn't get to see it before it "left"

I used to believe…

from Denmark, so the spelling might not be correct...

In Denmark the ice cream truck is ringing. I remember that many parents told their kids, that if it was ringing it meant that the ice cream was sold out.

Back when McDonald's put "Smiles: Free" on their menu, I thought that smiles were something you could order. I always wanted to ask for one, but I was too shy to ask.

I used to believe that those blue thins you see on the road so fireman could locate hydrants were magic machines that you stood on and it teleported my thoughts to my parents.

I thought that a the resteraunt Hulihans, that it was Hula- HANDS! They would chop off your hands, fry them, and serve them! I though the logo would be two disembodyed hands, in green gloves, tossing a dark pink HulaHoop. I though the logo would look like the Doctor Suess illestrator drew it!

I though I would have to sit on my hands or else they would be chopped off!

when I was little my mom always said something about things in stores not being on sale so we couldn't buy them...well I was very confused for so long because I thought that meant that the store carried things that people couldn't buy...later I realized my mom just meant by on sale that they were cheaper...

I used to believe that if there were men doing roadworks outside my house, I couldn't go outside or they would put me in the manhole and put the cover back on and leave me there, and that this was something they routinely did.

At pedestrian crossings with red and green men on the lights my mum always used to say wait for the green man, for months id wait for a man wearing green to walk by on the other side of the road. Whenever i said we could go my mum said no the green man hasn't come.I tried to convince her he had. it was only one day when i looked up high enough i realised why i was always wanting to go at the wrong time!

I believed that swimming with the light on in the pool was fine at night, but if the light was turned off in the pool that the drains in the pool would open and sharks would swim in and get me. I could only scare myself for 1-2min of swimming w/ light out in pool before I would get out & turn it back on. How I thought the sharks swam through 8in holes I do not know

I used to think under the manholes aliens and crocodiles and snakes and stuff would live under there, and if you stepped on the manhole one said beasties would pop up and drag you in and eat you or turn you into a beastie too. I managed to convince my little brother so, and everytime we go skating or for a walk, he avoids going even close to a manhole. He thought they eat the dog one day when he stepped on the manhole.

I used to think that 'J walking' meant you walked in the shape of a J. I always used to think to myself 'why on earth would anyone want to cross the road in the shape of a J when they will end up in the middle of the road?' I used to do it just because I thought I was being naughty!

All the streets in my town are like this..15th 16th 17th and so on also the cross streets are a , b ,c ,d ,e ,f so when i was growing up I though everyone in my town including me was crazy and were being held captive in crazy town,,this is true

I used to believe when you put a coin a Gumball machine, the coin would fall to the basement and a homeless guy with a box would sit there and wait for more coins.

It took me a loooong time to realize that you had to go to the post office to mail a letter. I had always thought you just had to leave anything you wanted to mail in your mailbox and the mailman would pick it up for you at the same time he dropped off your new mail.

When I was little, we went to the mall and went on the escalators. I thought that the very last escalator step looked like a mouth with teeth and that if you didn't hop over it, it would grab your feet and suck you under! I still laugh about it, and every now and then I'll hop over the last step on the escalator, just in case.

I used to think that sky scrapers were large street sweeper like machines that flew trhough the air. Scraping. What for? I have no idea.

I still thought that office workers worked in them though, because my father always claimed to. Giant yellow machines, flying through the air, piloted by men in suits and ties.

After seeing the movie, "Cast Away", I always yelled "FedEx" whenever a FedEx truck went by and casually ran away if I was outside, or if I was in the car, I'd just say FedEx like people say Slugbug. I wasn't scared or anything; it was just a superstition. I can't remember when I finally stopped doing that.