Big sisters and vampires...

There was a new series on television; it was introduced as an afternoon soap opera. Now mind you my parents would have never willingly allowed me to watch, but every afternoon after school I would run over to Nera’s house “to say hello”…

The name of the series was Dark Shadows. The story line was about a vampire and his lost love. As I sat eating fresh baked cookies, I would watch intently. I knew it was not real, just people pretending. So there was no reason I shouldn’t watch, right?

So began my education about vampires. I was a very sharp student. I learned things like… When vampires suck all of your blood out, you become one too. To stop a vampire, you must drive a wooden stake through their heart. That sunshine burns them like acid. And they sleep all day only to feed on human blood at night. Oh, and one must not forget to have a cross, a vile of holy water, and cloves of garlic handy… For everybody knows those are the things that can save you in the event you are confronted by a vampire.

My routine of “visiting Nera” after school continued for months. At the end of the school year, my family moved. Nera's house was now two hours away. So I no longer had access to my favorite show. As kids do, I quickly forgot about Dark Shadows and set about enjoying my summer vacation.

It was when we moved to the country that my knowledge of vampires returned. I am not sure why. Maybe it was that it seemed much darker at night, or it could have been the sound of the wind blowing through the trees resembling the musical introduction to Dark Shadows. Regardless of what triggered the memories, they flooded my mind each night as I crawled into bed. I knew vampires were not real. But just in case it was a good thing that I shared a bed with my big sister Kathy.

I was the typical little sister. To Kathy, I was a brat. Since she thought I was a brat, a brat I would be! I remember tormenting her, until I had to run as fast as I could to get away from her. She would only take so many of my antics then she would start swinging a broom, mop, or whatever was within her reach. Of course, I made matters worse by laughing and taunting her with each step I made. This would happen at least once or twice a day. I was very proud of myself, I didn’t NEED a big sister.

Now back to the whole going to bed thinking about vampires thing… I would crawl into bed with Kathy. Remember, the very sister I had tormented all day... Well she was not very forgiving of our daily skirmishes. So I was NOT allowed to touch her side of the bed. As I, lay thinking about the vampires I realized that I couldn’t go to sleep. I had to stay awake and make sure that a vampire didn’t come and suck out all of my blood! As the minutes passed my eyes would become so heavy that I knew I would never be able to “stand watch” all night. I thought and thought. What could I do? How would anybody know if a vampire came and swept me out of bed? I was horrified at the thought! Then an idea came to me, all I had to do was touch Kathy with a toe. Just a toe on her side of the bed… she would never know… after all she was sound asleep. I would take a deep breath and slowly move my toe toward Kathy. It seemed to take forever, then… contact! I had made it! Success! Now if a vampire came and took me, Kathy would surely wake up to rescue me when my toe was no longer touching her. Finally, it was safe to fall asleep!

As I relaxed and closed my eyes I heard the sheet move. I just knew it was a vampire there to get me! Then B-A-M, Kathy kicked the heck out of me. “QUIT TOUCHING ME YOU BRAT!” she would scream. "IT WAS JUST A TOE!" I woud quip back...

Maybe I DID need a big sister after all.