by Dina Mcnulty

Created on: July 04, 2008

"Worms"

It was a hot sunny day in July and I was a restless child crammed inside the backseat of a stuffy car with my two brothers and my sister. The four of us tried hard not to get on each other's nerves by taking up any more space than was necessary, and we all anxiously awaited the moment when the motion would stop, and we could pile out and get a breath of fresh mountain air. Would this moment ever arrive? It seemed as though it might not.

The endless, narrow, and winding mountain roads seemed to lead to nowhere important. My father was becoming increasingly impatient when it became apparent that none of the handful of little shops along the way had worms for sale. Without worms, our day of fishing might not happen.

I was becoming increasingly agitated as I found the non-stop twisting and turning to be nauseating. Even worse than that, however, was the fact that I was bored. I didn't find my father's unpleasant complaining and cussing to be amusing or comforting.

Sometimes children get into mischief when they are bored and desperate for fun, and I was no exception. How likely would it be that I could find trouble, however, stuffed inside of the backseat of the car with my three siblings, and my parents in the front? My mind was not trapped, however, and I eventually came up with a creative outlet. I decided to share my brilliant idea with the only other person I knew would appreciate it, my brother Rob. Even if I was unable to muster the courage to follow through with my plan to stir things up a bit, he and I could laugh and entertain ourselves with the idea alone.

As I explained my evil little scheme to my brother, it became apparent that I would never be brave enough to actually follow through, but we sure enjoyed the idea. We laughed and giggled until water poured from the corner of our eyes and our bellies hurt, and then it happened. It just came out. It wasn't really even intentional. It was just a compulsion that got away from me. As I casually uttered the word "worms", my brother looked at me with genuine shock and surprise, his hands covering his smiling mouth. My father slammed on the brakes unable to see the sign and yelled "Where!" Oh boy! I did it now. With a shameful grin I could not hide, and a barely audible voice, I explained that I was only joking.

If I thought I was fed up with my father's endless cussing and complaining before, I hadn't really seen or heard anything. My ears really hurt now, and it wasn't just my father, it was my mother too. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted my 'goody two shoe' sister rolling her eyes, her face crumpled in disgust.

I felt ashamed and small as I hunched my shoulders, pulled my feet up onto the seat, and buried my head in my knees. As I tried to stifle a giggle, I felt even more ashamed. The more my brother and I tried not to laugh, the harder we rocked with silent laughter, the squeals inside of our bellies just dying to explode.

Over the years, we continue to laugh at this childhood memory. Even my parents and my sister can't hide their amusement.

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