Duct Tape Memories

CNNSI has been running photos of NFL seasons from my youth that get me all wistful with nostalgia, and the photo with Tom Landry that mentions the Cowboys/Eagles 1981 NFC Championship Game reminded me that I watched that game at my neighbor's house and had my mouth duct-taped together thanks to my not being able to shut the hell up.

BUT.

Turns out that while I DID watch that game at my neighbor's house, it was actually during a NASCAR race that I got my mouth duct-taped together, not the football game:

THE BALDWINS: nice family, two kids younger than us. Took over the vacant lot next door and turned it into a garden. Spent many an hour singing along to the Grass Roots greatest hits 8-track with their oldest daughter while the mother made the exact same meal for the father: salt fish. To this day, I don’t even know what that is. Favorite memory: over there in the living room while the father was trying to watch a NASCAR race, and I wouldn’t shut my mouth to such an extent that he finally grabbed some duct tape and taped my mouth shut so he can listen to the tv. So I sat there, mouth taped shut for about two hours watching the race. The whole time wondering of course why he even needed to hear the tv; it was the same sound the whole time VVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Was an early lesson: some people would rather hear the sound of deafening, droning car engines than my voice. And if a kid comes over to your house, it’s okay to duct tape him up in whatever way it takes to make you happy.

Thinking about it now, I don't know what's funnier: that at one time you could simply duct-tape your neighbor's kid's mouth together without even the remote fear of getting in trouble for it, or that instead of simply taking off the tape and going home I sat there for another two hours with my mouth taped shut, watching a car race I didn't give enough of a shit about to stop yapping and pay attention to in the first place.

Sigh. Even at age 8 I was a hip, quirky cat.