Saturday, August 22, 2009

My Sissy's Birthday

Today is my sister Jill's birthday! She is the prettiest, most stylish, keeps-her-toenails- painted girl I know! She is also the most unselfish giving person I know. I could rant on an on about her sweetness and love for her family, but instead I am going to tell you one of the funniest things that ever happened to Jill and I.

I was 16 and Jill was 15. I had just gotten my very first car, a 1983 Buick Regal, and I was stylin. It was the prettiest car. I loved that car. Anyway... Jill and I decided we would get in my stylin car and drive to Century Plaza. This was a local mall that at the time was very nice and was the place to go.. Now it is closed. Anyway...I'm sure we got all dolled up and headed out.

We made it to the mall and did whatever we went to do and then we decided we would go by my dad's office and surprise him. I was looking for any excuse to drive my new car for a little longer. There was one problem though. Jill and I aren't what you would call "directional geniuses". We are "directionally-challenged" to say the least. We thought we knew how to get to the office from the mall, so we set out as only young inexperienced teenagers do and just went. Now remember, this was before cell-phones were prevalent and I did not have one. Hence, my penchant for always calling when I get somewhere. My parents had this drilled into us from a very young age. Well, Jill and I actually did make it to the office and saw my dad.


Here is where the story starts to fall apart. We got lost going home. I cannot even count how many times I have ridden home with my mom from that office. Twice a day for many many days because at one time we only had one car and on the days my mom needed the car we would have to drive my dad to and from work. So you would think I would have a little sense of the general direction on how to get home. Well, I didn't. And then I had Jill trying to tell me what she thought and how we should get home. Oh how I wish I had a recording to that day in the car!

I won't go into all the details of our excursion except for this little part. Here in Birmingham our airport is right in the middle of our city. Actually right in the middle of a neighborhood. You can just be driving along looking at old houses and then wham! you are in the airport. Guess what happened to us. We were so lost, bad lost, to the point of crying lost. So we just kept driving. Driving right into the airport outskirts. And then somehow we got into the non-turn-around lane that takes you straight into the airport parking area. And then into a non-turn-around lane that took us straight into the airport parking deck. And then we had to press the little button to get a parking ticket because there were all these cars behind us and the gate in front of us. And then we had to drive through the parking deck and horror of horrors drive to the parking attendant booth to get our ticket punched so the OUT gate would open and let us out. We were laughing so hard by this time we could hardly breathe. And can you imagine what the parking attendant thought. Two girls just cruising through the airport parking deck. He did not make us pay for the little drive through though. I'm sure he just wanted us out of his deck.

I'm not really sure how we made it home that day. We did though and everytime we start telling that story we still get so tickled with each other. My dad did go and get us one of those huge bag cell phones that hooked up to the cigarette lighter. Now I was stylin in my Regal and with my bag phone. Which I could not use except in case of EXTREME emergency because it cost about $10 a minute to use and my dad would rather just take the car away from me than pay that much money for a little chat!

Happy Birthday Jill! And if I 'm going to get lost (which I will) I'm glad you will always be there to (try) to tell me how to get back home!

17 comments:

  1. Oh my, this is hilarious, and it reminds me SO much of how my cousin and I used to drive around. I remember when she was driving her large red Impala and we decided to cut the engine off at a red light to "save gas." Uh, when the light turned green it would not start.

    I don't remember how long we sat there or how many cars were finally backed up behind us, but we finally got started and got home.

    Aren't those the funniest times?? We did not have a stylin bag phone.

    Lynn

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  2. Oh and don't forget when you went with me to get my "Bride" picture made for the Birmingham News and my car broke down in the middle of the road. We called Daddy to come get us and his broke down on the way. He had to call Terry to come get him and I had to ride home in the wrecker. Never did get that picture made.

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  3. Jill, how could I forget that? Did we have Tyler with us? For some reason I remember Mark having to come and get the baby in the carseat and I rode in the wrecker with you so you wouldn't have to ride by yourself with a strange man. But that may have been a completly different time!

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  4. So Funny !!! Tell Jill happy birthday. I think I remember this story of ya'll getting lost.

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  5. That is absolutely hysterical!!!! What great memories. Hope Jill has a happy birthday.

    Gotta love sisters. :-)

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  6. Aaaahhhhhh, just another story to confirm how God made you for the Clark family...perfect fit.

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  7. Happy Birthday, Jill!

    That is an AWESOME story!! So did you have to pay for parking?

    That is just priceless! :)

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  8. No, the guy did not make us pay, thank goodness!

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  9. That is hilarious!
    I am also directionally challenged, and I totally understand the not knowing how to get home from your dad's office...I never pay attention to where we're going if I'm not the one driving. When we first moved to Birmingham I got lost many times going to some of my family member's houses, even though I'd been to their houses many times I was riding with my parents and paid no attention to where we were going.

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  10. I am laughing right now~that was so funny! If must have been nice growing up with a sister so close in age. I have 2 younger sisters that I am very close to. Thank you so much for visiting and leaving such a nice comment. You made my day! I would love to see your denim skirt~It sounds a little fancier. God bless your sis on her birthday~I hope all her wishes come true when she blows out the candles on her birthday cake~
    God bless, Rose

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  11. The lost in the airport story is one my all time favorites!

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  12. That is the funniest story! I have four younger sisters and we have tons of stories like that. Whenever we get together we drag out these old stories and laugh until we cry. Our husbands just roll their eyes and move to the livingroom to watch sports.

    Happy Birthday Jill!

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  13. Happy Birthday, Jill! What a great memory between sisters...too funny!

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  14. That's my girls.

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  15. Very sweet story! Thought you were going to tell us you ended up on the runway! Heading over to say Happy Birthday now!

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  16. Aw, I never did have a sister--only one brother. What a funny story--but a sweet one. I can really see how much you two sisters really love each other! You two are really blessed to have each other! :)

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  17. You had me giggling at the parking ticket part! I have a sister who is 2 years older than me, so I can relate to the antics of sisterhood.
    Rhonda

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