This used to be my playground....

From the time I was two years old until I was 11, I used to live in Roosevelt. Now, keep in mind that my parents weren't exactly rich. But the double-wide trailer I lived in was owned, not rented, like some of the other trailers in the area. This is the house I used to live in:

Yes, it was always that ugly yellow-green color. But the porch used to have an awning-cover on top, and the fence wasn't there. Funny, it seemed bigger when I was a kid. And my parents took very good care of it. (Not sure who lives there now, but if it's your house, let me know if you mind that I posted the picture.)

This was my best friend's house. She had five brothers and sisters, which means eight people lived in this three-bedroom home. They always kept it clean, and I hung out here a lot:

Now one sister is a doctor, another is married to a doctor, a third is married to a lawyer, she's a social worker, not quite sure where her brothers live, but her Mom and Dad own a beautiful home in Draper. Good things come to those who wait - and work very, very hard.

When I was about 9 and my best friend was about 11, my mom used to drop us off at Marion's (far left). We would have a hamburger, chips, and a drink for $2.00, and could get an ice cream for $1.00. The people who owned this place knew my parents. On the other side of the theater in the picture is a bar. One time, a drunk Ute (think Indian tribe, not football) tried to come in. To protect us, the owner locked the door until the guy left. They were great people.

When I was six, I was in a school program. After the program, Mom brought me here for a sundae. While I was eating it, plaster fell from the ceiling and fell right into my sundae. The owner dished me up a new one so fast, I hardly had time to figure out where the plaster came from. If you wonder why plaster fell from the ceiling, well, have a look. This picture was taken in 1956, from the opposite angle of my shot. It's the place that says "Lunch":

Mom used to drop us off at Marion's, we'd spend an hour here and then around the corner to the brand new bowling alley:

Like my house, it was much more impressive when I was younger. It used to be brand new back in the mid 80's.

This used to be a Pepsi distribution center. In front of it was our bus stop.

In the summer we would ride our bikes over here and buy a can of soda for a quarter from their machine. We thought we were so grown up, buying our own sodas. My dad worked here for a little while, too. We used to joke that they fired him because he drank Coke.

A half hour away from Roosevelt is Vernal. They had this really cool water slide called the Aquanoodle:

It's called something else now, and doesn't look like it's still in business. There's a UPS distribution center right next to it. Steve thinks that they air-drop the packages, and use the old water slide to slide them on over to the distribution center. The one and only time I wore a bikini over the age of 3 was here - I was 9, and we went on a school field trip. It was so much fun, since we didn't even have cable TV in Roosevelt yet.

And last, and still in Vernal, is Tyrannosaurus Rex. He's been moved to a new museum, across the street and down a ways from the old museum:

When I was about 4, my mom and dad took me to the museum. When we walked past Rex, my dad would say that if I wasn't a good kid, he'd feed me to Rex. I'd end up in his belly for the rest of my life. And I'd believe him, and cry. Believe it or not, it was a good memory of my dad.

Coming soon: The Vernal Dinosaurs.