Waltzing Maltida

Like many of you I've been a 'scribbler' since they handed me a pencil. If I wasn’t daydreaming or scribbling at writing, then I was dancing and singing. Grandma Mahaney sometimes called me “Waltzing Matilda” - the name comes from an old song - because she frequently caught me in the midst of an act. My Grandma was born in 1911 and most of her musical taste pre-dated 1950. One of her favorite songs was “You Are My Sunshine”, which I sang along with her since I knew the lyrics because of the 70’s mustard commercial. Often Grandpa Mahaney expanded or shorten the nickname, such as in “What have you been up to Matilda?”

Up to things I usually was. You see when I wasn’t writing about adventures, I was trying to put some into action in my own life. I lived in a half-reality/half-imaginary world. It was hard to the separate the two. Sort of like our political landscape today.

My kids asked me a short while back about one of those embarrassing childhood stories I have. After recounting the tale and having another good laugh at my own expense (a theme to my life), I thought ‘I should write these crazy stories down. What if I develop early-onset Alzheimer’s and can’t remember them?’ (okay, preparing for the worst another theme).

So, here are the embarrassingly true stories of Waltzing Matilda… my first add is probably the most embarrassing childhood memory I have... keyword there is childhood... I seem to have a knack for embarrassing moments.