This, That, and the Other

Maggie, at From Cave Walls, and Lauren, at LSS Attitude of Gratitude, alternate hosting Throwback Thursday. The idea of the prompt is for them to give us a topic and for us to write a post in which we share our own memories or experiences about the given topic. This week, Maggie asks us about Secrets, Hiding Places, and Niches.

Here are Maggie’s questions.

1) Did you keep a diary or a journal? If so, where did you keep it?

Unlike many bloggers, I never kept a diary or a journal back in the pre-internet days or in my youth.

2) Did you have treasures or money you hid from siblings or parents?

Not really. I had two sisters who were both considerably older than me and pretty much ignored me. My parents didn’t seem to be all that interested in or nosy about my “treasures.”

3) Did you have a need to hide things your parents would not approve of, like cigarettes, etc.?

When I was in my mid-teens I used to hide cigarettes in a tiny niche in my closet. I also had a small collection of “girlie magazines” (which were tame by today’s standards) that I hid behind the headboard of my bed.

4) Thinking back, describe your most creative hiding place.

My hiding places were more functional than creative.

5) Did you have a tin box or safe or a diary with a lock?

I had a small metal cash box (similar to the picture below) where I used to keep my saved up allowances that I would use to buy baseball cards, comic books, and girlie magazines.

6) What about yourself? Did you ever have a favorite get away spot or hiding place?

We used to live in a four-level split level house from when I was about five until I went off to college, and the lowest level (or “sub-basement”) was my domain. It wasn’t a hiding place, per se, but my sisters and parents rarely went down there.

7) If you did not feel the need to hide away, where did you go for a little alone time?

Either the aforementioned sub-basement or the woods that were at the end of my block.

8) If you had siblings, did they hide things from you? If so, what types of things?

As I mentioned, my siblings were older sisters. Fifteen and nine years older than me. Their rooms were, under penalty of death, strictly off limits to me. So if they had any secrets or things they wanted to hide from me, I didn’t dare find out.

9) Now that you are an adult, do you still have little niches where you hide things away, like mad money, treasured letters, etc?

No. My wife is like a bloodhound and if I were trying to hide things from her, she’d surely find them and then I’d have some ‘splaining to do.

10) When you feel the need to be alone, to where do you retreat?

As I mentioned in my response to Sadje’s Sunday Poser this past Sunday, when I want to be alone, I go outside, weather permitting, to my back deck where I have a swing chair hanging from my pergola. My backyard has beautiful views, the sounds of a running waterfall and birds chirping, and it’s a great place to relax, unwind, and enjoy the serenity.