Day 94: 1994

School:

The great year of our Lord, 1994. It was a fantastic year. There are probably several reasons why, while most of them I will not remember. What I do remember is that I was in 3rd grade. Mrs. Gustafon was my teacher and it was in a split class with the 4th graders, which would normally be quite intimidating for children that are a whole year younger, but it wasn’t. The 4th graders were an awesome bunch of people that I was able to keep friendly associations with throughout my entire middle and high school career. Mrs. Gustafson is still the best teacher I’ve ever had. She was funny, stern but fair, entertaining, and treated us all like we were her own children. I think she said “damn” and “hell” a couple of times, which was the ultimate cool factor for a teacher. We even had a field trip at her house on the last day of school!

Books:

School was great, but the books were better. (I guess 3rd grade is when I knew I was going to be a nerd.) Goosebumps were hitting the shelves almost faster than I could read them. Almost. The first one of the series I ever read was #19 Deep Trouble. My step-sister owned a few Goosebumps and I tore through them like a paper shredder. They were scary and funny, weird yet relatable, cliche but original. The Goosebumps series was the first of its kind: horror middle-grade books that seemed to be in endless supply. R.L. Stine was a nerd marketing genius. It was a tough day when I had read all 27 books that had been released. I didn’t know what to read after that.

Then the day came that I was walking through K-Mart with my Grandma (those are tales for another post) and on the vast aisle of books/magazine rack it sat: #28 The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. I remember squinting from afar, seeing the iconic lettering of the bubbling green Goosebumps. The cover was bright blue with a yellow, creepy bird popping out of an old fashioned clock. My brain scanned itself for recognition because for months I looked through every bookshelf I could find in any store, and I always found the familiar ones that I had, unfortunately, already read. But on that day, there was a new one! I think I screamed and startled my Grandma. Normally I would be clamoring over some action-figure that I “needed,” which was the ritual of K-Mart (R.I.P), but that day I got a book. My Grandma will forever be the hero for that infinitely generous purchase of $6.99 U.S. and $8.99 in Canada.

Other Things:

Those were my fondest memories, or at least the ones that come time mind when I think of 1994. And technically The Cuckoo Clock of Doom was released in 1995, but it was the same school year. A lot of other things happened in 1994. Here’s a short list of what I remember with the help of the Internet:

- O.J. Simpson highway pursuit (I was so mad that it was the only thing on TV while I had the whole day at my Grandma’s to watch whatever I wanted. I played outside a lot that day.)

- Kurt Cobain killed himself (I remember hearing about this, but not really knowing who he was or what he did. It wasn’t until high school that I became a Nirvana fan.)

- The World Series was not held that year (What I remember is that they were having a strike over disputes with their contracts. That was a boring time on ESPN. In hindsight, it could be the reason that I am able to enjoy watching bowling, pool, and ping pong on TV sometimes.)

- Friends became a TV show and was an instant hit with my family.

- The Internet and email started to become a thing. It was the first time that I spoke to a person via video chat on the other side of the world. It blew my mind.

Years later, I would walk home from school every day and see the spray-painted 94 on the crosswalk sign in front of the high school. That vandalism would remind me of the great time I had all those years ago. Life was simple. Life was good. Life was interesting all over the world. I’m sure that year is different for everyone and not always for the better. But for me, it provided happy foundational memories and experiences that have carried me to this day. Mrs. Gustafson is one of the reasons I am a teacher today. Those 4th-grade students built my confidence by simply becoming my friends. And Goosebumps sparked my inspiration in writing and story-telling.

Thanks, 1994. You were rad. Cowabunga, dude.

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Author's Note #1: If you ask my cousin, Troy, about 1994, I am sure he has many many many more facts about that year. He probably knows what the weather was like and the Pantone too. For more information, check this out: https://baseballfordinner.com/