The Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City, Maryland, opened in 1955 and closed in 1995. I found these photos in an old album and wanted to share them with folks who want to remember how it looked back in the late 1970s. These photos are of me with a friend named Katie.
Dated May 28, 1979
Dated Feb. 1978
Here is a commercial that aired in 1981 for the Enchanted Forest:
Here is the forest in ruins.
…James’s daughter Eva. Age 8 months.
This is likely the worst life story I’ll ever write about, but the more I hear about Dr. Who, the more I feel compelled to share why I don’t watch it.
When I was in first or second grade, at Beltsville elementary, one of my classmates was a tall, slow-witted blond kid. As I remember it, he was a friend of mine, but as a 6-year-old, it was apparent that he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. To give a clearer picture of how I remember him at the age of six, see Tom ‘M-O-O-N’ Cullen from Steven King’s The Stand, though I’ll admit that’s unfair and not nice.
Anyway, the teacher asked us all if we had done our homework from the night before. We all had, except for him.
“Well I had to watch Dr. Who,” he said.
And with that, I promised myself I would never watch Dr. Who.
Again, I don’t claim to have any superiority over this guy, and I certainly watch my fair share of silly television, but his endorsement of the show and the fact that he didn’t do his homework because of it awakened a prejudice within me that permanently turned me off from ever watching that show. Glad he didn’t say the same thing about Ancient Aliens.
I’m fairly certain that this is the first time in about a decade that I’ve held an infant (Jan. 1, 2012). This being the child of my friend James, holding her was less of a choice and more about him putting her on my lap, but needless to say, it was very nice. This is Sophia Chiu at five months. I’ll remind her that I held her when she’s all grown up.
After 11 years, and after milking my ’97 Mercury Mystique for almost all it was worth, I purchased a new car. I got a Toyota Camry LE. It was pretty much exactly what I set out to get. Between the earthquake and Hurricane Irene, the car actually got partially damaged in a small hail storm. The roof had very small dents in it, but the dealership fixed it first.
