Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Blog Chain Post: The pullout couch of dreams

Okay. Please, please forgive me. I know I've been a bad blogger as of lately. But I had good reason. Today (actually, just five minutes ago) I just hit send on an email to my editor with a file containing the sequel to KATANA. Meep! (I know I sound like the roadrunner when I'm excited, it's just my cross to bear.)

Anyway, back to the blog chain. This chain was started by Jon who asks:
Imagine the home(s) where you grew up, and start drawing a floor plan. As you draw, memories will surface. Grab onto one of those memories and tell us a story.
Oy. This is a toughy for me because anyone knows who me knows that my childhood was...well, it just was. But I did spend a lot of time at my Grandma's which was awesome. Incidentally, Grandma just turned 91--holla! Grandma's VIP so you gotta show respect. *peace-sign chest thump*

But I digress.

One of my favorite thing's about Grandma's house was this really old pullout couch she's use for us to sleep on. The mattress was so thin that the springs would jab you in the back all night long. And that horizontal bar! the one that ran right down the middle of your spine! Seriously! Who designed those things?

But that wasn't the awesome part.

The awesome part was the cavity created in the couch when the mattress was pulled out. It was just thin enough for a eight-year-old to squeeze into and BAM! Instant clubhouse of awesomeness. I could spend hours in the cavity of the couch pretending it was different things; a secret cave, a dungeon, a submarine, whatever. The only bad part was making sure your head didn't touch the top of the mattress otherwise your hair would get caught in the metal underside and that hurt like a mother.

Did anyone have a pullout couch like that? I really miss that thing (but not the chunks of hair it ripped from my scalp.)

For more fond home memories, check out Kate's post from yesterday and Katrina's post tomorrow.


But seriously, did anyone else play inside the pullout couch? Anyone?

6 comments:

  1. My family had a pull out. Not quite the same, since you could convert the entire thing into a bed, but there was a cavity. Too many cookie crumbs inside it to play though.

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  2. Ha ha ha!! This was so great. I can totally picture you as a child pretending you're in a submarine, and then getting your hair ripped out by the metal under the mattress. :) We didn't have a couch like this, but in my early twenties, I stayed with my boyfriend's family and they did. That horizontal bar is THE WORST! Also, while we're complaining about how things are made, nothing should have metal poking out that traps little girls' hair in it. I can't even remember all the spots I got into where my hair was at stake.

    Thanks for this trip down your own memory lane! :)

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  3. We had two of those in the family room, we called them 'hide-a-beds', which I spent most of my childhood thinking was 'hydabed'.

    They were very heavy and cumbersome, but as a family, we frequently moved the room around. We definitely made tents under them, just like you!

    Thanks, Cole - I love this.

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  4. We had some relatives with joints like that, but we didn't get to visit them all that often.

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  5. EEP Congrats on hitting send. That is always good. And dude - I love grandma memories.

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  6. My family had a pull-out couch like that - often utilized for sleepovers. It definitely was the most uncomfortable thing ever, and I am really annoyed with myself for never trying to squeeze myself into the hollow part and use it as an impromptu fort.

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