Jaskson Falls (under the ice)

JACKSON FALLS
(UNDER THE ICE)

I was a ten year old kid, left in charge of my younger brother and sister, so mom could get the house rid up for Santa’s arrival. And so as the oldest, it was up to me to pick out the spot. … In the dead of a NEW JERSEY winter, on a beautiful calm day, just the day before Christmas…we three began the trip to Union County Park.

Mom warned us it was mighty cold today, but she was kind of looking forward to us not being around…
Everybody, already wanting to go, suited up for the cold weather. Mom just bought us these new heavy duty winter coats and we wanted to try them out. A few hours out of the house, hey, it’d be fun…
Of course, I would watch over my brother and sister, best I could. In this, there was no doubt. Mom read it in my face.
“Be safe.” Mom said, getting a kiss on the cheek from each of us.
Mom said, making me accept more then a ten year old should.
“I’ll bring them home safe.” I told her, bundling-up for the cold winter’s day. Mom double checked each of us at the door, and one by one, we met up outside.
“I’m getting to old to kiss mom.” I said to my brother as my sister Laurie came bouncing out the house last.
“What?” Laurie said, noticing that I was wiping her kiss off my cheek. In my luck mom had closed the door on the three of us before Laurie could go whine to her.
“You are so ‘see through’.” I told my younger sister, heading so smoothly down to the stair landing, and lucky thing I grabbed the hand rail.
We weren’t the first step off our front porch and, I hit a rouge patch of ice as my foot shot out so quickly, its weight almost dragged the rest of my small thin body with it. If it weren’t for the thick padding of my new coat, landing on them boards would have sent me to the doctors. Instead, I quickly recovered, finding no real damage. Standing up again, watching the steps, we headed down the stairs to the sidewalk that would lead us in the direction of the park. The step’s we all figured out had been the scariest thing we would have to deal with the whole day. Laughing and joking as we walked, the day seemed to be gentle towards us.
Traveling the same snowy route, as normal, I held the direction as the ‘mod squad’ traveled down the back streets of the city. We laughed, checking out things along
the way, following the creek that weaves through the city. The water, in a lazy drive showed it’s movement under the ice. The ice was thick this time a year, but we stayed well on land the whole way. We had finally walked to the biggest street we had to cross, the two lane main street was known as, St George Ave., though the day’s traffic was really thin today, we still took care crossing.
The street was a quick paced two lane highway that had Union Park as one of it’s many entrances. We all holding hands, looked each way, watched the traffic slush through the winters snow. In a large clear spot, we skittered across the street, Laurie, almost slipping on the dark pavement of the wet street. We were across safely, and noticing the white landscape of the park, we headed in, kicking paths in the snow as we walked.
Finding the swings and slides wet, we decided to walk on past the park and follow a road that lead out the ‘back-way’... it also took us to JACKSON FALLS. The falls were nothing more than a spill-off for the reservoir that fed our town with a water supply. As we made our way down a small hill, that lead to a small street bridge that crossed off one side of the fall’s. Now, standing on the bridge, I was just watching the mist of the fall’s glide over the ice that had formed shortly after it, showing me a run of large bubbles flowing underneath the thinning ice. It was a truly a Rockwell picture that suddenly turned a fun winter walk into a twist nightmare of frozen tundra.
My younger brother Vince and my younger sister Laurie had slid down the embankment off the bridges side. Quietly and unknown to me, they had tried to walk out across the thinning ice...
I had barely heard the cry for ‘help’! Hearing them, but not seeing them, I raced to the bridges edge and seeing them both ‘neck high’ in the water, the ice under them broken and slipping with the current under the ice. Sliding down the red clay embankment, I realized that the current was trying to suck them under the ice!
If this happened, there would be no saving them. Not thinking, I ran to the water edge, and quickly splashed in after them. It was a good thing they had clung to each other. Though the water wasn’t very deep, the current rushed the water quickly through the small space. It had ‘sucked’ Laurie under, to where Vince was just barely able to keep her head above the ice. Laurie’s legs were already being sucked down stream as the fear of Vince’s eye’s told the story.
Fighting the swift current that tried to knock my feet out from under me as well, the cold water had numbed my legs as well... I suddenly grabbing Laurie’s coat hood, telling my brother,
“Pull! Come on... the lands only a few feet away!” I screamed as he finally got his own footing and between the both of us, the rushing current finally lost its grip on Laurie.
With a lost of energy I’d never felt before, Vince, Laurie and me finally lay panting on the bank of Jackson Falls. I wasn’t cold at all, just extremely tired.
The fight out of the water, I still can’t remember, but as Laurie and Vince suddenly realized we were still alive... It was about that time we all suddenly realized something else. We were soaked to the bone, and going to freeze to death!
“We’re safe...” I said to them as they walked around on the bank.
“Willie. I’m starting to get ‘cold’...” Vince stated to me.
Looking around, I realized that the three of us were the only people within eyesight... Not even a car was parked nearby.
“I know... We’ll have to get to some place warm.” I said, thinking about the track back home. ...Like this, we’d never make it.
“Willie. I’m freezing, it’s too cold.” Laurie stated, her lip’s now a solid blue and her teeth beginning to chatter.
“Follow me, come-on...” I stated to the both of them, leading them up the embankment.
“Where are we going?” Vince said, the water still dripping off him.
I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do, Wet and cold, thinking about it, if we got up by the street, maybe that someone would drive by. I could flag them down... I realized mom would ‘kill me’ if anything were to happen to either of my younger siblings.
Standing at the sidewalk now, looking all directions. There was nothing but cement, pavement, trees, and snow. In every direction,
“Willie!” Laurie said, glad to be alive but ‘freezing to death’ now,
“I know! I know,” I said, running out of ideas as to a source of heat... Any heat… Where too find it, and quick! They were both beginning to chatter in a vocal whine, I too was starting to feel the icy waters effect.
I’m not sure how the idea struck me, But suddenly, I remembered the Christmas ‘wreath’ in the large window of the coin operated laundry building a block from the parks entrance… That ‘wreath’ was as bight in my mind as the star above Bethlehem… from there… I thought of a dryer’s….HEAT! Standing in the middle of the street, my brother and sister were now crying beside me. The thought took a hold of me and I knew where to go…
“I got it. Let’s move. Laundry dryers!” I stated starting a trail heading back through the park.
The path would take us back to Saint George Avenue and to the Laundromat next to the parks entrance.
“Laundromat! Heat!” Vince said, beginning to follow my walk. The word ‘heat’ kick started Laurie into following too.
I was now frozen! With each step, crinkled ice that had froze within my pant legs stabbed painfully at my skin. As we walked through the park, the ‘whines’ and ‘cries’ of our coldness grew louder,
“We got about two blocks of walking. Walk as fast as you can... I know it hurts. I hurt too! Walk faster! Keep walking!” I stated as I too trudged onward. I could feel the water in my clothing harden with ever step, quickly turning to ice…
The cries and whines behind me grew as we pushed ourselves across the snowed over park. The snow clumping to each of our boots made them fell like lead weights. In through my own chatter, I spoke to them, as they clung to each other in a stumble-step across the half foot snow covered park.
“Only a block to go... We can do this. Come-on…. HEAT! Warm, beautiful, heat, keep walking... Large, huge, big warm machines, heat!” I said trying to coax them onward. Step by painful step, we got through the park.
Out on Saint George Avenue’s sidewalk, we all realized the Laundromat was only about twenty yards past the park’s entrance... if we could make it.
“My tears are freezing!” Laurie said in such a painful way, I turn to see if she was actually going to make these last few yards.
“I know sis, so are mine. Just keep moving.” I stated to her. Vince, who was no longer able to speak ‘verbally’, just whined at the frozen fire that had taken over his own body. I was now concerned about it being open! If not, I’d bust out the plate glass window in a heartbeat! There it was, just ahead, twenty yards, the sole source for living.
Good... as the door was unlocked I was relieved. It took three tries at opening the door, as my fingers wouldn’t close around the door handle! As the blast of heat swirled out of the building… Instantly, Vince and Laurie began striping off coats, boots and sock’s.
Not thinking about anything else, I began to doing the same. Now looking around, already in my underwear, I suddenly realized there wasn’t a single person in the place. Vince stripped out of all but his underwear and aiming for a dryer, jumped in. Laurie seeing him doing it, shedding her clothes, also crawling into one of the unused dryers,
“This one still warm…” Vince said in an chattering voice, looking out at her.
I didn’t even get my boots off before Laurie had crawled in with him, and sounds of bliss through chattering teeth echoed through the empty Laundromat.
I don’t know if I was being responsible or concerned, but, it didn’t feel right to climb in with them. Picking up their still frozen coat’s and shoes that still held water. I just wanted my clothes dried. Suddenly, an idea had struck me. Looking about, I found a coat hanger.
Taking it, I hunted under the machines for maybe a lost quarter. On my first swipe, three quarters slid out onto the solid white with blue speckle floor. Money that would turn on ‘three’ of these dryers,
“Jackpot,” I shouted glad to see the shiny quarters.
“What?” Vince called out, breaking up their humming chatter.
“Found money... We can dry our clothes!” I said.
“Good, Stick one in our machine here!” Vince said, as suddenly Laurie realized that wouldn’t work out that well.
“Can’t do that… This thing ‘spins’,”
“Here…” I said popping in a quarter and turning on the machine.
I held the button in with the door open as the machine came to life... The rush of sudden heat almost burned as both Laurie and Vince scrambled out of the dormant dryer and stood in front of the large opening that blew out a massive wave of heat.
“Now you’re talking!” Vince stated, quickly taking over the job of holding in the button. In about four minutes, I could feel my finger’s again as I looked over the floor of the Laundromat. All our clothes showed water leaking from them as I realized we needed them dried... It must have looked funny seeing three young kids standing almost naked in front of a drier... We didn’t care. As long as no one made my brother take his finger off that button!
I started picking up all the clothes and shoes, tossing them into a dryer and inserting the second quarter.
“Save that last quarter!” Laurie stated, keeping her back to the dryer. In a gather of all the clothes, now drying (Mine as well), I searched for more ‘coinage’. Putting another found quarter into there machine, Laurie seemed relieved. There we all stood in our soaked underwear, watching the open dryer going round and round. I held my hands in the blasting heated air as our chattering finally subsided. This heat felt ‘great’.
“I didn’t think we were going to make it...” Vince stated.
“Neither did I...” Laurie stated, adding. “Actually, until I saw Willie splashing in after me, I though I was a goner...”
Twenty minutes had past, and although hundreds of cars had gone by the open glass front, not one person had opened the door to this place. The boots clanked loudly, sometimes bumping against the dryer’s door. Finally warming up enough, I went to try my luck at that ‘money trick’ again.
Taking a coat hanger, I swiped again under the machine I tried before. In a flash before my eyes, six quarters slid out into the open. Two more swipes and three dollars in quarters stared back at me. I went under the next three machines and pull out almost nine dollars all together.
In a flash, I knew what I had to do. Mom had ‘long time ago’ set-up a taxi driver that would pick up ‘any of us’ by a mere phone call... I walked to the phone picking up a phonebook, opened to the taxi-cab page. Seeing our taxi’s ad, I slipped a quarter in the pay phone, placed a call to ‘Tom’ our family’s taxi driver.
As Laurie and Vince still stood in front of the open dryer. I knew they were about warmed up, as Laurie’s hair was now about dry. The clothes were about dry, as I handed them each there own items. They never figured out my plan, but as the dryer with their clothes.
“Get dressed... Tom will be here in about five minutes to take us home.” I told them both.
“Did you call mom?” Vince asked, climbing out.
“No, But I did find some more money under the machines. And I have enough to get us home” I told him.
“Great! Home…” Laurie said, buttoning up her britches.
“Money… How much money,” Vince asked, still trying to get his socks on.
“Enough to get us home, who’s thirsty, I stated.
“How much is enough?” Vince asked, pulling on his still wet boots.
“Almost nine bucks! And I’ve only checked this row of machines...” I stated as Vince realized that there were three more rows of machines left unchecked!
Tom had gotten there quicker than Vince could take a swipe or two himself. Laurie however, just wanted to go home.
“Tom’s out front! Vince, let’s go!” Laurie told him, not wanting his money-grubbing to delay the trip home.
As I opened the door, the cold of winter that was outside blew in, Tom had reached over his seat and opened the backdoor of his cab for us as all we shot in. Piled in, closing the door quickly as he smiled stating Merry Christmas…
“So, how’d you kid’s get up here?”
And so had begun the story of how this story was written. It ended with us finding the pile of money…
“Boy you kid’s sure have a guardian angel looking over you guys…”
“Yeah… I’ll say.” I thought out loud,
Now… in front of our house and saying goodbye, I asked him how much I owed him…
“Nothing… you kid’s just behave… Remember, Santa’s coming tonight…” Tom stated
as we all thanked him with a smile… With that, we quickly tasted the cold air one last time that day, carefully climbing the slick stairs up to our house. We all were just so happy again to be back home, safe, dry and warm… Hum, tomorrows is Christmas…

THE END