I Was A Weird Kid

I spent my summers reading books. I read strange books too. I was a bigtime HP Lovecraft fan. I read Voltaire's Candide although I had no idea of what it was really about. I read an interesting psychology book called the Primal Scream. I read many classics and teen books by Paul Zindel. He was another favorite...and I read non-weird books like stuff written by Judy Blume.
I sought out magazines like Spin and Creem. I bought one issue of Rolling Stone only because it had a lot of portraits that I wanted to sketch. I bought a lot magazines to sketch things out of them: vogue, Architectural Digest...I actually read reader's Digest but avoided their condensed (hacked) books like poison.
We didn't really go to the movies a lot. I mainly watched classic b&w movies. I stayed up late to watch old Saturday Night Live shows-the ones with Murray, Belushi, Curtin, Akroyd. I watched every video show I could, even the bizarre ones on local channels. Oddly, I never watched Mtv. We couldn't afford it(and now that I can afford it, I don't watch it anyway). When we got a vcr, I started habitually "renting" Monterey Pop Festival from the library and of course, more classics.
I played some old record albums that my dad left behind, like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin (technically Big Bro and the Holding Company but it was all about Janis for me)...I even had the album with art by Robert Crumb on it. It was fascinating although I didn't understand the whole picture once again.
I filled several journals with depression and self-hatred. I made my way through reams of paper-sketching, coming up with my own comics, designing weird little clubs with my friends that required club charters, coat of arms, etc.
I had a mural of Anubis on my closet door. I painted it myself. Posters of James Dean on the walls...
I was the designated "Fixer" in the house, putting together tables, stereo cabinets, etc. with a butter knife and a meat mallet...just using what was available. I laid down sticky tile, ripped up carpets glued to the floor, swept up the grisly aftermath of roach bombs. I'd sometimes fix emotional situations too or try to. I sometimes had to take the role of "adult." I did a lot of babysitting for my little sister. I learned terrible family secrets that were a burden to me.
Other times I was the direct cause of upheaval. I'd scream obscenities til I was hoarse when I was pissed off enough. I had a tendency to drink whatever alcohol was available. When I was fifteen, I tried to cook a chicken with wine and I got way more cooked than the chicken did...however when offered a joint by my boyfriend, I turned it down.
I used to listen to weird little radio stations. One of my favorite programs was "Gee Dad, It's a Wurlitzer" all organ music. KXLU played a lot of punk, there were college radio stations that played odd songs like "Somebody Killed Mary Cooly." To this day I remember all the words.