Category Archives: All Ages

“A Waterfall of Fish” by Chad Robert Parker

September 19, 2015Gone Fishingbest fishing tale, fishing, fishing story, YosemiteChad Robert Parker

In my family the running joke is that we don’t want to go fishing, we want to go catching. I’m not the best fisherman. Usually it is a good activity for reading a book or pondering the great mysteries of existence. I have spent many trips not catching one fish. I have also had a few trips, usually to the ocean, where the trip was more geared for success. My favorite trip was very much the latter.

My family made a trip to Yosemite National Park. We enjoyed fishing in the pools along the little streams trickling down the mountain. The water was so cold and clear and the air so crisp. The fish would group into the larger pools and hide under the ledge of the banks. We caught some fish throughout the day this way. And then we found the gold mine. Every day the Park would stock not just the streams but the fish pond. Yes, we parked ourselves right outside the stocking truck. Those fish came out acting like it was feeding time and we reeled them in one after the other. While I was very young at the time and would cherish more of a challenge now, that trip still stands out as my best fishing trip.

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“It’s a Small World in Memory Land” By Chad Robert Parker

August 24, 2015DisneylandChad Robert Parker

Captain EO, starring Michael Jackson, may have been the first 3D movie I ever saw. I don’t remember the music. I know I loved the special effects typical of a theme park. That always stood out most to me. Going to Disneyland is quite an experience. Every child should go. Even long lines and hot days are worth it. But since I am not much for roller-coasters, most my memories of Disneyland are of the sights, sounds, the food, the characters, the haunted hotels, and nostalgic castles and parades. Is it crazy that I get so sick on the Tea Cups. Oh, and then there was my grandpa’s favorite ride, “It’s a Small World.” We went on that ride countless times. Talk about a tune that can get stuck in your head. I’ve heard of people going crazy when the ride gets them stuck in there. I’m going to have to get back to Disneyland soon and make more memories with my own kids. What’s your best Disneyland story?

Did you know Captain EO is coming back to Disney World’s EPCOT Center?

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“Water Fights or War Games” By Chad Robert Parker

July 13, 2015Public PoolsChad Robert Parker

Public pools are cesspools. Even worse they are often no fun. Watching 30 kids wade shoulder to shoulder in a 10 x 15 foot condo pool yesterday reminded me why I never even liked a packed hotel pool on vacation as a kid. Forget about the sanitation trucks parked outside the city pool multiple times every year. In fact, Giardia doesn’t deter most. Besides the germs with the apropos sign announcing that there should be no “p” in this “ool,” I simply don’t care for standing room only in a puddle of water. Where is the “swimming” in a swimming pool like that?

With that in mind I set out to join my cousin at the city park pool. My mom urged me to get out of the house and go have fun. She knows I would only like the pool if it was rented out for a smaller private party, so I’m sure she wasn’t surprised when we never made it there. I know, it sounds a little prissy. But really, this was about war.

As we were walking to the park we saw a line of determined red ants attempting to cross the street. A car would pass and disperse the troops and then they would gather again and continue their march. We wondered where they were going with such urgency. Up ahead we found some black ant hills. They never suspected what was coming.

We had to stick around to watch. The red ants suffered most of their casualties from cars. They stormed the ant hills and were killing five black ants to every one red ant. At least that was the ratio on the outside. When they burst forth from their conquest with eggs in hands and only black queen ants in pursuit I assume they had a similar rate of success on the inside.

I was amazed at how interesting it was. I think a couple hours passed by. Before I knew it my brothers were back from their trip to the pool. At any rate, it was the best experience I had going to the public pool.

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“Smell of the fresh outdoors” by Chad Robert Parker

July 7, 2015Camping OutChad Robert Parker

I went on lots of campouts with my parents. My dad was my Scout Leader for many years. My youngest brother is several years younger than me. I’m not sure how often he went camping before our skunk sighting. But the way he reacted had me wondering if he had too much of the California city life.

He was jumping up and down trying to say something to get our attention. Our backs were to him while we were enjoying conversation and the warmth of the fire. At first we ignored him, but then he got louder. I think he was shocked to find that the animal he thought was a cat was indeed a skunk. I was shocked to find him freaking out. I thought we were going to get sprayed for sure. The skunk scurried off without incidence. My brother finally got the words out, “skunk, skunk, skunk.”

We had a good long laugh over that one. Many campouts have followed. I trust my brother knows what to do if there is another skunk, or at least what not to do. Maybe we just had to get the city out of him.

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“Birthday Alert” by Heidi

July 3, 2015Unforgettable Birthdaysbirthday gone wrong, ER visit, learning to walk, new parents, toddlerChad Robert Parker

I remember the year my husband decided to have his family over to celebrate my birthday. He took our son out of his high chair and put him in his walker. Then proceeded to take the gate off the stairs to go down and grab the paper goods. Of course our son followed him all the way down his stairs in his walker. We spent that birthday in the ER with a 6 month old getting a cat scan.

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“Birthday Fishes” by Syndi

July 3, 2015Unforgettable Birthdaysbad gift, birthday, birthday memories, birthday stories, presentChad Robert Parker

One year my older sisters gave me a fish tank and some fish. It was very sweet, except by the time I received the gift the fish were dead. Lesson learned: don’t put too many tropical fish in a little bowl.

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“Clown Party” by Chad Robert Parker

June 29, 2015Unforgettable Birthdaysbirthday, funny stories, juggling, parties, storytellingChad Robert Parker

My favorite birthday was not my own. When I was in high school my youngest brother was still quite young. Whether he wanted a clown party or not, I don’t remember, but as an older brother I was to take center stage. How hard could it be to entertain kids seven years old or younger?

I was not much for tricks but I always liked juggling. Nothing special, but I could juggle a few basketballs, some pins, and eat an apple. I know what you are wondering–no, not at the same time. Why is it that you automatically expect jugglers to add one more ball, or one more spin, or one more element than whatever ridiculous feat they are accomplishing? Here’s looking at you America’s Got Talent. Never mind, I get a little sidetracked, as jugglers often do. Back to the object at hand:

Some children seem really amused with juggling. Others? Not so much. I remember one child in particular staring blankly and picking his nose. When I finished a couple bites of my apple trick he disappeared and by no coincidence so did my apple. By the time I moved from that trick to the next he was gnawing on my apple in the distance.

I got a kick out of how proudly he displayed the remainder of his birthday party favor when his mom arrived.

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“Lost in Tokyo” by Regina

June 27, 2015Lost and FoundChad Robert Parker

It was my first international flight. With so much going on in my mind it was hard to think straight. Several articles of clothing still hung on a clothesline back at the home I had always known. There were so many emotions to consider. Saying goodbye to my family was the most difficult by far. Yet I was excited to see my fiance again soon. What a thought!

We had prepared so long for this day: getting to know each other for a year, documenting his two visits to my hometown and sharing every detail of our long distance love story that we could recall, early morning long line medical checks, and then anxious embassy interviews. His days were my nights and likewise when my day had just begun he tried to rest amidst the anticipation. This would be another long day. The schedule was for me to have a few hours layover in Tokyo, Japan. Then I would be on my way to the port of entry in San Francisco, U.S.A.

I stopped in the restroom, freshened up, and then headed toward my next gate. At the security checkpoint I realized I did not have my purse. I frantically ran back to find an empty restroom stall. I fought back tears as I prayed that in the least my plane ticket, my visa, and my passport would be returned to me and not leave me stranded. Though I was not confident with my English I quickly realized the airport employees were not any better. I was so thankful for one girl, however, whose English was just good enough, and her determination even better. She helped me approach everyone who might be of help. The purse was returned to the lost and found, moments after we located the lost and found.

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“Grocery Getter” by Chad Robert Parker

June 19, 2015Lost and Foundanecdotes, funny story, lost and found, storiesChad Robert Parker

One morning I woke up to find my car was missing. It appeared that the culprit had to be a Mountain Dew drinker as the only thing that remained in my parking spot was a crushed green can and a mess of soda spray. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. I thought about knocking on all my neighbor’s doors at 7am that morning to see if anyone had seen anything. I remembered one of my neighbors could very well be carrying a vendetta if he suspected me at all of making the phone call to the cops regarding his raucous domestic dispute with his wife. He had splattered a Mountain Dew slushy against my door that night, after all. Just about the moment I decided I better call 911, I realized where my car was.

I often had walked those few blocks to the grocery store and back, if I had just a couple items to grab. Only it was raining the night before and now I suddenly remembered I drove to the grocery store on this occasion. Yes, that’s right, I walked back without my car and didn’t even remember it until I was in panic mode the next morning. I was only slightly late to work. My boss let me off with a good laugh over the excuse.

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“Leading the Way” By Chad Robert Parker

June 8, 2015CanoeingChad Robert Parker

We started our 3 day canoe trip at Green River State Park. First we piled up 4 or 5 canoes with all manner of plastic enclosed camping gear we hoped to keep completely dry. Then we piled in some leaders and several boys, 2 by 2. When we pushed the heaviest canoe into the water it looked like those leaders were going to go straight to the bottom of the drink. Lucky for them it leveled off just before waves could lap over the sides.

I still wondered how they were going to manage, at their nearly submerged depth, as we were just barely getting started. We launched a few more boats and then we shifted some gear. Everyone was riding almost equally now out of the water.

The Green River was up that day and the sky overcast. Waves were strong around each bend. The canyon was picturesque with shadows cast on it, but we couldn’t take our eyes off of what we were doing.

A couple boys got up ahead. I tried to get in sync with the boy in front of my canoe as we steered closer to the other boys. We shouted to them to wait up. The other canoes were still far behind. They pulled to the side and began clinging to a tree branch in calm waters along a bank, but the brush was too thick to reach the actual bank. Wind was pushing us into the same shore, but we couldn’t find a better place to dock. We grabbed a nearby limb to hold us close in behind them.

Eventually the current started tugging us mainstream, our limb snapped, and we were going back out into the main waters. We grabbed the other boat and pulled the two together. Then the current started to spin both boats around, despite our best efforts to paddle up current and back toward the bank. Soon I noticed I was tipping their boat and letting water in. We had to let go and both boats were out to sea so-to-speak once again. Embarrassingly, I, a leader, came the closest to capsizing anyone.

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