Hand/Foot/Paw Prints

When I was young we lived in this old farm house that according to my memory was right next to the freeway, and some sort of office building yet still had a field in the back with a stream running through it. It seems somehow contradictory or wrong but I definitely, kind of remember all those things (or something like them). Anyway, the stream is the reason we've journeyed back to the old farm house. I also had this older brother who was kind of a jerk (although I'm not sure he was trying to be in this particular story but either way, he gets his comeuppance later (that's some foreshadowing for you (I like nesting parenthesis))). On one fine afternoon I was out exploring the stream area in my stylish red galoshes.
The record (my memory) is a little unclear about the details of these galoshes but they may have have Sesame Street characters on them. It's impossible to say for sure but I like to think it was Grover, or Cookie Monster... or better yet one of each, let's go with that. So, here I was exploring my surroundings with Grover and Cookie Monster when my evil older brother came along and decided to show me how far he could push Grover down into the mud. Turns out it was pretty far which, I have to admit, was pretty cool for a minute. Then the novelty wore off and I wanted Grover back. Turns out Grover had grown fond of his new home there in the mud and felt no qualms about letting my foot go and just leave without him. So there we were, Cookie Monster and me just standing there on one leg screaming/crying (Cookie Monster wasn't crying, he's tough). Evil older brother? Gone, maybe for help but, I wouldn't count on it (I think he had Oscar the Grouch galoshes). Eventually Dad, or Mom, or some random adult came and saved the three of us from certain doom and there was much rejoicing.

We now venture from the stream to the driveway of the old farm house. Oddly enough, we still have water. This time it's in a kiddie pool. Man, I was having some fun times in that kiddie pool. I liked the kiddie pool. You know what else I liked? The kitty. So, what could be better than turning the kiddie pool into the kitty pool, right? Now, it is a well known fact that cats don't like water. It is also a well known fact that little kids, in this case maybe 4 years old, don't know well know facts.
Off I went to get the cat and help him get in the water. I successfully got the cat and successfully held the cat over the water but, my drop of the cat was somewhat less successful. He figured out pretty quick what was going on and the specifics of what happened in the following moments are a bit of a blur. I'm pretty sure the cat suspended the laws of physics and gravity as cats often do. I came out of the scuffle a little shaken (ok, I was bawling again), a little wiser (this is how well know facts get to be that way), and with a small paw shaped wound in my left elbow pit (don't act like you don't know where I'm talking about).

For our third and final vaguely related tale we head inside the old farm house to the kitchen. Let me set the stage for you. The players are me, my mother, and my evil older brother. My mother is somewhat upset. My evil older brother is weeping and wailing. I'm in trouble but I don't seem too concerned about it. My mom apparently was determined to help me understand what I had done so that I could feel bad about it. So, she lifted up evil, sobbing older brother's shirt to reveal the damage. Apparently, I had slapped him in the chest (who knows why but I'm sure he deserved it (this is the comeuppance I alluded to earlier)). The damage came in the form of a full, quite distinct, red hand print across his chest. The site of this probably didn't really have the desired effect since I seem to remember just being fascinated that I could do that by slapping him. From then on this scene came to mind every time I saw one of those super special hypercolor t-shirts.

This is probably the only time in my memory that I came out on top in a fight against the evil older brother. I'd like to dedicate the win to Grover and Cookie Monster.