The Zorro Club

School starting= apples for the teacher= this blog!
From ages 5-10 we lived across the street from a large Irish-Catholic family that had 8 kids. It was a very loosely run household. I remember the mom, Rosalie, had bright red hair and spent  all of her time sitting in an easy chair working crossword puzzles. Unless someone was dying she never stirred. My brother and I loved to go over because there were no rules! When my mother was at her wits' end with us- which was often- she let us go over.
We all started a club called the Zorro Club. We met in the cellar of their house. Our mascot was a black widow spider that they had found in the cellar, no less. It was dead and was stored in a small baby food jar of alcohol. It was produced at each meeting so we could all go "Ewwww!" The oldest sister was president and got to sit in the coveted old beat up easy chair and hold the macabre jar.
I must say as a group we rated right up there with "The Little Rascals!!"
Among many activities ( most of which we - my brother and I- got in trouble for) was one I remember vividly. It was the beginning of the school year and apples for the teacher were produced, along with poison ivy leaves. I wasn't in school yet but it was my job to rub the poison ivy leaves over the apples for the teachers as I was the only one who did not get poison ivy. So I am ashamed to say I did most of the dastardly deed. To this day I never eat apples given to me by students!!