Since I have been writing about interests of my childhood and teens, how about movies?  I loved them and I had lots of favorites. I think my all time fave star is

ESTHER WILLIAMS

You can see how much I adored her -- if anyone could sit through those filmsy plots dotted with musical numbers by lame musicisions (Xavier Cugat might have been popular, but not with me) and so-called actors -- poor Esther and  her minions never had a chance. I do love the Busby Berkeley stuff however.

I loved horses as a kid but wasn't around them much. In about fourth grade, a new girl came to our school and a bunch of us followed her lead and took riding lessons. We were all a little bit horse crazy, but part of the fun was getting permission to wear our jodphurs and boots to school the day of our lessons.  In those times, girls HAD to wear skirts at all other times. You know how pre-teens love to be set apart -- when accompanied by a group of friends!

My tastes in horses changed over the years, depending on what was available to ride and show. I really wanted to be a girl named Judy Cohen who lived in Chicago and had a beautiful dapple grey three-gaited horse named Mistletoe Maid. The won loads of ribbons and trophies and her picture was often in a full page display in The National Horseman magazine, which I drooled over.

So here are a few examples of the kind of horses I WISHED I had more of in those days:

Get the picture? I adored these American Saddlebreds with their high-stepping ways and flashy turn-out.

But I also liked many other breeds, such as the Morgans, below.

But if I really had my druthers and could both be young and have any horse in the world, I would probably choose an Arabian. See below.

Absolutely magnificent. But for the time being, I just look at pictures and think of all the horses I used to ride, including that brown pony, a three-gaited bay, almost black, gelding named Gay Spirit (long before that had any meaning beyond a happy horse!), and others like a few hunters and a parade class black. Perhaps I will turn up some pictures when and if I get around to going through all the slides and boxes of prints and negatives.

The letter I in the number on the sail designates Lake Geneva sailboats that participate in the Inland Lakes Yachting Association races.  Above, a class E scow, one of the fastest and most elegant of sailing crafts.

I took sailing lessons at the Geneva Lake Sailing School, in association with the LGYC. As a young teen, I loved sailing, though I was torn first, by my love of horses and my wish to spend more time in the saddle than on the water. Then, once I started outgrowing the horsey phase, I was more interested in the guys who sailed than perfecting my techniques as a skipper.

Above is an M-16 scow, a class of boats built by the Melges Boat Works in Zenda, WI, a little town just south of Lake Geneva.  Buddy Melges is a world-renowned sailor and winner of all sorts of honors including an Olympic Gld and the America's Cup.

This is also on Lake Geneva, but I am not sure of the class of boat; it looks like something added long after I was no longer around.

Some Views of Lake Geneva, WI

Lake Geneva is just a few miles north of the Illinois border in Walworth county, Wisconsin.

It is about six miles long and 2 1/2 miles at the widest point, in the shape of a boot. The above view is from the hills behind Fontana at the western end of the lake. The lake in the background is Lake Como.

At the other end of the lake, or just beyond it, is the Grand Geneva resort, originally known as the Playboy Club resort.

The lake is surrounded by a public path open to all. Sometimes it is well marked as it travels the lalwns of the mansions.

Siometimes the path is through wooded areas.

In Lake Geneva City, the Riviera anchors the piers of the lake boats.

It's a rather fanciful building, with a ballroom on the upper floor and various carmel-corn and cotton candy vendors on the main floor, in addition to various arcade attractions.

Here is the beach in Fontana.

A typical view.

The lakefront of Country Club Estates in Fontana.

There are often many sailboats racing on the lake.

The excursion boarts are also familiar sights.

Fancy boats are often seen, like this Portofino reproduction.

The grounds of the Lake Geneva Country Club.

It doesn't take a country club to have a lovely lakeside lawn.

From a hilly point.

The huge bulb of Yerkes Observatory is a landmark.

There are three domes, two small and the big one with the 40-inch refractory telescope.

An old postcard view of lovely Lake Geneva.

Some of the houses at Lake Geneva

I loved to cruise around the lake and look at these great mansions.

The house at Black Point is now open to the public.

Lots to see -- and there is more!