Description of growing up in early eighties. |
A Kid's Life , Early '80's-Ohio. _________________________ 9,10,11,12 : Big hill behind a duplex, L-shaped. We'd open our , shared, bedroom window ; Blast "Songs in the Attic", Billy Joel, from the stereo. Or Rush, Floyd. have water fights with the garden hose in the stifling heats of the summer, go running like lightning down the hill or fish for blue gill, from a rock quarry. Sometimes, a bunch of us would visit the "Candy Man "; a kind , old man who sold us sweets at bargain deals , much to our regret in later visits to the dentist, and our parent's : "The bill!" .....sounds of 'rock' echoed on hazy, sleepy air : a water park, "Echol's Lake", from across the Olentangy (Old and Scrungy ) River , As we called it! small park on far side of a trailer park, at the bottom of the hill ; only memory mar being : at times, a faint smell of sewage from treatment machinery there. we'd play 'Guns' or 'War' in the itchy, buggy woods ; in naivete and unknowingly, one time, I camouflaged myself with poison ivy tucked into the collar, sleeves, of my shirt and maybe the waist of my pants as well ! That was a laugh riot! play 'til the sun began to drift to its earth bed, 'til the clarion call : "Michael!Jason!Supper!" Electrified ; young hearts and lungs. like lightning, back up the hill ; barely breathless. to hard working folks who gave up a lot to make sure we were happy and not needing or wanting for anything. No-one's childhood is ideal but, i think, at least for me, the things that stand out the most, are what made it so wondrous and alive, and as close to perfect as it can be. |