Owl pellets

In rereading this entry, looking for a witty title, I discovered the term "owl pellets". Now, most of you probably aren't that familiar with the digestive products of owls, so here's a good link.
And since Poppymom gave me props on her blog, I really have to post more. Yesterday, blogger.com was down, I swear!
March 14, 1987
Saturday

Dear Maureen,
Well, last night's dance was a fiasco. First of all, no boys from my grade came, only me and 9 other girls. Second, the DJ people coldn't get their equipment working, and they only played 5 1/2 songs! C was a jerk last night. She hung around with Connie and AD. I don't like who she's turning into! Today was interesting! Dan and I went over to Mr. Connelly's (4-H leader-Wildlife) and I found owl pellets (casts).

Yes, surprisingly, no boys came to the dance. What a shocker. I can only hope I didn't do the A-Ha dance I blogged about last month.
And yes, I was in 4-H for a couple years. My mom had always waxed nostalgic about her years in it, so my brother and I had no choice. Looking back now, I'm glad she exposed us to so many things. We were also in the library's Stamp Club and of course, the Summer Reading Club.
Our 4-H meetings were held in a different school district, so I didn't know any of the kids. The other girls were just as snotty and mean to me as the ones in my own school. It was always uncomfortable, sitting there for an hour each week, making small talk at age 13. Thank god my brother was there to keep me company.
I went to 4-H summer camp (not band camp, you perv) twice. The best thing about it was an older camp counselor who had a Mohawk and wore a Dead Milkmen t-shirt. I didn't know who they were at the time, but it made an impression on me. I thought she was totally cool!
Aside from that, those were the loneliest 2 weeks of my life. Why were people not friendly to me? Was it the way I looked? Sure, I was geeky, but didn't anyone see my sparkling personality and wit? Oh wait-I get shy in social situations and clam up.
But, while in 4-H, I won a bunch of awards for cooking, sewing, and gardening. I met a girl named Tara Althouse, who later worked with me at my first real job. We kind of bonded, being the dorkiest of our club.
In 9th grade, I told Mom that I was done with 4-h. She was saddened and surprised to hear my view of how torturous those meetings were. "But I had such fun in 4-H when I was little!" she exclaimed.
"That was 30 years ago!" I answered. "Kids aren't nice to each other anymore! I hate Meg! She always looks at me and laughs!"
She sighed, but she could see how I felt. Inside, I felt kinda bad, like I was letting her down somehow, but I got picked on enough at school, I didn't need any more torment from kids who didn't even GO to my school! Besides, I wanted to stay home and listen to the cool music I had heard on the Princeton University radio station. Imagine, a band called "Black Flag", like the bug spray!