Recently in Blast From the Past Category

Below is a transcription of every single diary entry that I made between the years of 1987 and 1990. Prepare to be amazed and have an peek into the prolific inner workings of my young Erica brain. Spelling and punctuation errors are included. Enjoy.

Diary 1 Cover

4-11-87
Dear Diary,
Today was my birthday party. I got lots of groovy stuff. Thats even where I got you Dear Diary. Iv’e always wanted a Diary. And that is when I got you. I love you Dear Diary. I’m glad I got you. Well lets get on with other things. I love school.

4-12-87
Today we went to see Crocadal Dundee. It was great! I love Paul Hogen. I love school. [Editors note: the rest of this entry is completely scratched out, but from what I can read it’s about thinking two boys in my class are cute.]

6-8-87
Dear Diary,
Today was great!! How are you? I read this poem somday. Want

10-27-87
I lost my cat two weeks ago. Freda. I loved her so much. My Mom ran over her. I loved her so much.

1-10-88
I got a new cat. Her name is Freda. I love her. She looks like Freda. She is sweet. So you like my dodle? I like doddleing. Do you? [Editors note: there is a scribbly drawing on the bottom of this page. Also, did I think that the Diary was a person that was going to answer my questions? Also also, yes, we got a cat that looked just like the cat that had died before and named it the same thing. Freda was an important part of our family. It is also worth noting that we briefly had a dog previous to this that we also named Freda.]

3-18-88
Yesterday was St. Patricks Day. But today someone spent the night tonight.

11-25-88
STARTING of real Diary.
Dear Diary,
Yesterday was Thanksgiving! I had so much to be thankful for. So much I couldn’t think of all the things I was thankful for! Today is suppose to be the biggest shopping day of the year or season. I am in the 4th grade now. I have to change classes. It is fun. I am in ROTOC. We’ve changed the name. We go on Monday from 8:30-11:30, and Wednesday 12:30-2:00. I was rated 4th best in the state of the world. See you tomarow. Bye!!! [Editors note: ROTOC was the gifted program in our elementary school, and ROTOC stood for “Reaching Out To Our Community” but was changed to GATES “Gifted And Talented Eductional System” or something like that. Though, by my statement of “4th best in the state of the world” and spelling of “tomorrow,” I might have been missplaced in that program.]

No Date
REAL Diary
I haven’t been writing in you SORRY! I promise I will write in you every day.

April 12, 1989
[No entry]

Diary 2 Cover

1-1-90
Dear Diary,
Wow! I can’t beleive it’s 1990. A whole year & decade has gone by. Last night my family & I stayed up until 1:20. My aunt, uncle, and baby cousin came over. Christmas came and left. It was fun. I got great stuff. I even got a phone! I was sick the week before last with the flu. I missed all of the last week of school. I have to make up work. I guess you can say I had a 3 week vacation. We still have 1 week left. Well, I’ll have fun.
Love,
Erica Reid
[Editors Note: three large hearts are below my signature, which is in cursive.]

1-2-90
Dear Diary,
I have to make it short. Today was okay, But just a few hours ago I got horrible stomach pains.

2/9/90
Dear Diary,
Sorry I haven’t written in you for ages. Wednesday I got my phone put up, a light put up & yesterday I got a beautiful ballet pencil box. On the bus I thought up this story. I will write it in my diary when I can.
xoxo,
Erica Reid
[Editors Note: three large hearts are at the bottom of this page.]

2/9/90
Once upon a time…
Jill Michelle Stacey
[Editors Note: this page has this the text above crossed out in blue marker with the word “Stupid” written underneath it.]

5-16-90
Dear Diary
I am talking to my good friend Rosemary. She is my good friend

5-31-90
9:33 pm.
D.D.,
5 more days of school left! Then we get the whole summer out!  I’m so excited. The NKOTB concert in in August. I can’t wait. Now in school, we are having 6 weeks tests. Blech! Gross tests. I made 5 99’s on my BASAP (sorry) BSAP test though. That’s the best you can get. Well, I gotta go. Time for bed. C-ya!
[Drawing of a heart] ya babe,
Erica Reid

That was the last entry.
Clearly, I was a brilliant child.
It is really interesting to me, though, the amount of guilt that I carried for not writing in the diary. Like I was putting all sorts of unrealistic pressure on myself to do things that only I am pressuring myself to do. I GUESS SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE.

I was singing it last night. Love it!

I am doing a lot of self-indulgent Googling today, and I stumbled upon this classic from May 20, 2008, when Sasha and Cutie Bumblesnatch crashed the Senior Soul Train on the WGN Morning News:

PRECIOUS!

Thinking back on my younger years, I always thought I was a giant dork. Let's be serious, I know I was a giant dork, but it looking at all these old photos, it looks like I was pretty cool! I had style, personality, I had it goin' on! Take a look:

(Lot's of special appearances in there by Sarah.)

From an old birthday party

From L to R: Alison, Rosemary, Allison, Michelle, Jill, Me, Melissa (behind me), Sarah

I've added a new category of posts called "Blast from the Past." As I keep working on this scanning project of old newspaper clippings, programs, etc, I will be posting things here and there on my blog.

Here is a newspaper clipping from the Vicksburg Evening Post publicizing the Nutcracker December 1987. I was a Mouse and Ponchinella that year. That is me and my little butt on the left, and my friend Alison Price and her little butt on the right. In the center is my old dance instructor, Genie Atwater, who I've blogged about before, and also in there, just right of me, is my friend Karla! Look at how cute we all are.

(They almost always misspelled my name. When I decided to change my last name to Gerdes, Fuzzy said "no one will ever know how to say or spell your name" and I told him that was old hat to me. If I wasn't listed as Reed, I was always listed as Eric.) (Also, it says we are rehearsing at Warren Central, but we are clearly at St. Mary's Gym. I remember that day like it was yesterday and I will never forget the smell and feel of that gym. It was always cold.)

It is fun to find this now that I am back in ballet classes and leotards and tights are a part of my weekly routine. Of course, now that I am pushing 31, I blew out my shoulder this week in hip hop class, but it was totally worth it. I was "leaving it all on the floor" as they say.