Thanks to everyone for sharing such great stories, and keeping this thread going. I have been racking my (old) brain is search of an experience I have yet to share. I have a lot of short snippets (quick tickles, quotes and things that women have told me about being tickled over the years, etc.), but not a full story. So...I came up with an idea. I am not sure if it's a good one or not, and may end up in the trash...
Some of you may recall, back in the day, that Dear Abby used to post letters from women who complained that they couldn't stand to be tickled. I decided to compose a letter to Dear Abby on behalf of my Aunt Deb. Aunt Deb is/was one of my two "tickle crushes". In this letter, I will combine a bunch of little/short tickle references into one submission. I hope this works to some degree....
PS: I always thought my Aunt Deb looked like the late, great Princess Di. She was tall, blonde, and thin...although she wore her hair longer. Aunt Deb's feet were 10's, in both size and level of ticklishness. Here goes...the first draft. I will return later to tighten it up (unless I'm told it sucks, then I will...come up with something else 🙂)
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Dear Abby,
I never thought I'd be writing to you, but I have a unique problem I need to solve. I am a 40-year old woman going through a tough divorce. I moved in with my sister's family for emotional and financial support. They have a big house, and it's just my sister, her husband, and her college-aged son who live there. They have made me feel very welcome and treat me very, very well.
My problem is, my nephew loves to tickle me! I am ticklish, and I mean TICKLISH, especially on the bottoms of my feet and my ribs. My siblings used to tickle me to death when we lived together, but that was a long time ago. I haven't been tickled in a long time, and it was never an issue with my nephew for as long as I've known him, but now it seems like once a month he finds a way to tickle the life out of me. I need to get him to stop, but I don't want to mess up what is otherwise a great situation.
It started one day when we were fighting over what to watch on TV. Play-fighting. We've always gotten along more like brother-sister than aunt/nephew. I knelt down in front of the TV, kind of messing with him, and before I knew it he was pulling me away from the TV by my leg. I thought that was it, but he then locked my bare foot between his knees, removed my slipper, and tickled my foot! I was hysterical and called out to my sister for help, but none came. It seemed like he tickled my foot for eternity, I couldn't escape, and he kept tickling my foot with his fingers. It was torture! He eventually tried to get my other foot, but that helped me get away from him. I was hoping/thinking that might be it for the tickling, but...
Last month, we were watching wrestling on TV, and we started shoving each other around in the living room. I saw where this might be going, so I called it quits. But he didn't quit. He pushed me to the sofa, AND SAT ON MY LEGS! He started tickling my feet...I was wearing heavy socks, thank God, and it barely tickled, but in trying to escape he got me in a wrestling hold (I think it's called a half-nelson), and I couldn't move. Then he calls to his my sister "hey Mom, can I borrow your hands?" My sister comes in from the kitchen (I hoped to get him off of me!) and simply says "Sure...". She then snakes her hand into by ribcage and tickles me for all I am worth. It was hell! I was laughing so hard I could not even beg for mercy. She stopped when I let out half a scream...but he didn't let go. She then says "did anyone ever play the 'count the ribs' game with you...?" Holy crap. Shen then tickled my sides and ribs with both hands, teasing me until she was done counting. It was awful. But then...there was nothing even close to tickling for another month, until last night...
My sister and husband were out of town. On weekends, I work as a hostess at a very nice restaurant. I came home after work and my nephew was asleep on the sofa. I tried to wake him and send him off to his room. He mumbled something, but didn't budge. He had a blanket over him, but a bare foot was sticking out. I thought (foolishly) that maybe I could wake him and maybe pay him back a bit for tickling me. I scratched his foot a bit, and he was up like a flash and coming towards me. I had my hostess outfit on (dress top, slacks, and pantyhose stockings...and oh my God I think the pantyhose made my feet even more sensitive), and pleaded with him to not mess up my good clothes...but he didn't listen. All he said was "ohh...you want to dish it out, but not take it..." and he tackled me like a footballplayer, sat down on the sofa, and trapped my stockinged feet. He crossed my ankles so he could get at both of them, and started tickling me. AND HE WOULDN'T STOP!. I was laughing so hard, and I was so trapped that it was frustrating. I could not get any leverage to get away. He had me positioned so he could tickle both of my feet at the same time. Torture! At one point I was laughing without making a sound, it was so bad. Every inch of my feet are ticklish...the bottoms, the tops, the toes...and that's what he went for. He finally stopped...my throat was soar from screaming, and my lungs ached.
I need to keep this from happening again. Abby, what would you do to stop it, but still keep peace in the house?
Signed,
Extremely Ticklish Aunt
Dear Extremely Ticklish,
First of all, let me tell you that I can relate, and I feel for you. I have extremely ticklish feet. My biggest nemesis is my sister, Ann. She is younger than me, and used to be smaller, but she passed me is size while I was in college, and she loves to antagonize me. Tickling me is her main weapon, and once she could pin and hold me down, she loved to torture me. And I believe your are correct; nylons make my feet even more ticklish. One day I came home and I was wearing nylons and a skirt...and my sister was home with one of her friends. They snuck up on me when I went into my bedroom, with my sister making some lame excuse about "my friend says she may have the most ticklish feet in the world, but I told her that maybe you do." I started to protest and jumped across the bed to try to escape, but my sister pulled me down on the bed and pinned my ankles under her arms. Her friend then tickled my stockinged feet as a I laughed and screamed...but the more I did, the more she tickled my feet. In your word, torture...and they didn't stop until I started choking from laughing. I still remember wiping tears from my eyes...it was horrible.
As for your situation, I will need more information before I can comment. My main concern, from what you tell me, is that perhaps your sister is putting your nephew up to this. Do you think that might be the case?
Regards,
Abby