A cold hard truth: Lots of us can't hold our licker

MA BIG SOEUR MARIE ET ME: She attended the French
side of St. Albert's school where the fence got licked in
both official tongues. 

I belong to a Facebook group called "I grew up in Sudbury." 

I don't often post to the group and neither do I know what possessed me to do so, but Wednesday, I asked the following: "Where was the frozen fence you licked and got your tongue stuck on? Mine was in front of St. Albert's school on Eyre Street." 

The first response arrived seconds after I hit enter. Andrea wrote: "Carl A. Nesbitt school." 

A few minutes later, came this, from Jennifer, another Nesbitt student: "Nesbitt. "Me too!" 

I'm writing this on Friday, Jan.1. (Happy New Year!) The fence posting (see what I did there?? Ha!) has been up for a little more than two days.

More than 450 lickers responded. 

The majority just reported in a location. 

Like Brenda, here: "At primary school. Notre Dame du Saint Rosaire in Blezard Valley."

And turns out a lot more than fences got stuck on. 

Cheyanne: "Bus stop (lamp post) on Leger Cres. School fence. Redwood Acres."

Or this one, from an overachiever named Peggy: "Barn door latch in Cape Breton. I even had to go on tip toes to reach it..lol" 

Or the athletic Rose-Anne: "We had metal snowshoes like gliders and I stuck my tongue on it. My mother came to the rescue with a glass of water." 

Carole: "I do remember doing this at Cabot street park on the play turn thingy ha. Think we would learn the first time. Ugh. Awful feeling. Lol. I can almost feel the sting." 

 Maurice: "Did the deed (only once) on the metal part of my sleigh." 

 Al: "Queens Athletic field. (A Sudbury outdoor sports facility.) Skating the oval. Stopped to sit in the stands and decided to stick my tongue on the railing. I’ll never forget this. I may have been 6-8 years old lol."  

Jenny: "Ski lift at Adanac" (Sudbury's local downhill skihill was called Canada spelled backwards.)

TABANUSH! Done incorrectly,
getting unstuck hurt like the devil.   

Riki: "Tetherball pole at old Levack Pubic School."

Suzanne: "At my memere's in Sturgeon Falls" 

Ray: "St. Louis de Gonzague on a black pole. I still remember seeing my tongue skin on the pole and bleeding like mad. I ran home crying. I was around 7 years old." 

Erin: "Mine was the metal zipper on my ‘Alaska’ snow suit from city surplus." 

Linda: "My parents fountain in back yard pool. Ripped my tongue off and left most of it there! Popsicles for a week" 

Grant: "The hockey rink they use to have at Immaculate Conception school on Lavoie St in 1968, I was 5! Licked the door hinge..stupid move! Mom had to poor tea on my tongue to get it off!"

Jon: "Central Public School, Kirkland Lake, Boys entrance. Ouch!" (Okay. Jon here is one of the few people I actually know who responded. Jon and I have worked and played together over the past 40 years and I'm just telling you that because he is one of the smartest people in my universe, he's in fact wise, he's a successful businessman, publisher, artist and all-around great citizen. What I'm saying here is, frozen-fence licking is not for dummies.)

Back to the stuck folk.

In some cases, authorities were summoned. Erin: "Alexander School kindergarten. Firetrucks were called. 1989."

Anna: "Mine was on the poles of the Brights Wine store beside Kresges downtown. Remember my Dad just pulled my head and you could see the little white marks left from my 👅. I was really young but I’m sure it hurt. Remember crying lots LOL."

Kelly: "St Michael’s school. My grade one teacher proceeded to scare us half to death with a story of a kid who ripped off his entire tongue and couldn’t ever tell his mom he loved her. I felt I needed to test that theory. She lied." 

David: "École St-Pierre schoolyard. But I hardly touched the metal fence post - just enough to feel about a millimetre stick and unstick. Lucky moment. But still memorable. Why did we do it?" 

SOLID ADVICE: Here is a link to a blog about how to get
unstuck. It's also where this great photo came from. 

Lisa: "My bratty classmates dared me, and I too got my tongue stuck on the same fence post on Eyre St as everybody else, LOL. We might need a support group now." 

Mike: "I remember Norman a.k.a. Bucky at école Sacrée Coeur in Val Caron. His whole tongue was stuck on the fence post because his sister dared him. Gross! I remember a lot of blood!"

Rita: "The playground slide."

Rita, in a follow-up post: "The big question is why??"

Solange: "I remember my first time was in the school bus."

Louise: "Well I was smarter than most...I licked the metal on our shovel."

Arynn: "I had a swing set in my yard with an attached slide. I licked the flat part of the slide. Didn't know what to do, pulled hard, tore a strip off. Never ever did that again.

Merle: "I remember in Grade 1 at St. Jean's school lol. After recess we all had to line up and for some reason the Grade 1s were all close to that long green steel railing and think there were about 6 of us and we all got our tongues stuck on the pipes. Remember Miss Gordon coming out with the warm water and getting all of us unstuck with poor old Mr. Chenier who was at the caretaker at the school. He was French and would mutter some 'tabernac' words when all the kids came in and a bunch of us all stuck to the pipes."

You should know that the elementary school I attended--St. Albert's, was actually two schools. The first floor was English; the French kids attended on the second storey and for some reason, we seldom interacted. It's the subject of another blog but this week, over frozen tongue stories, some of us, er, bonded.

To my original question, Vic answered: "Yup. Probably the same fence post. Eyre and Albert. Lol." 

To which I responded: "At least we first and second floor kids had that in common. The fence got licked in both official tongues."

Vic: "You got that right. Esti. You and I ever fight? LOL"

I could read these all day.

Eliza: "I didn't lick a fence. I put my mouth around a bar on a swing at my friend's house. Ripped the skin off both my lips. It hurts."

Debra: "Immaculate Conception school in Val Caron, Ont. (A few miles north of Sudbury) Put my tongue on the school fence while waiting for the school bus. Damn missed the bus, too. Had to walk home... Took about an hour and I peed in my snow suit. And I was about 7 years old."

Monica: "Sudbury Downs racetrack. Dad was parenting." (I remember taking my three young children Ewa, Ria and Michel to the track, too. It's very educational.)

 

I could tell you lots more, and perhaps might in another blog, but I think you get the picture. 

Plus I have to stop some place so might as well with my favourite. Read it. You'll understand.

Anita: "Once only. Was the entrance door for the grades 1-6. Friends dared me, right? Who can refuse a dare? Luckily, my dad owned his own bus route...so when he found out...he came running to help me...he put his warm hands around my mouth and blew hot air...it came loose..my dad was always my hero...and even now when something goes wrong I feel his presence."

Peter: "Me, too."