“Live! Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”
Finally we have rain. It started gently, but now I can hear a heavier rain and drops plunking as they hit the umbrella yet there is no fierceness about this rain. The forecast does say a thunderstorm for the afternoon. I hope so.
I was a fearless kid. I think most kids are. On the swings we’d pump and pump our legs until we were going faster and higher. Once we got high enough, we’d jump off and fly for just a little bit. We climbed trees and crossed ponds using makeshift rafts. We tried to ride horses bareback in the field. We climbed the water tower. I remember once my friend and I needed to cross the highway for a shortcut home. It was two lanes then two more lanes in the other direction for us to cross. We stood and watched for a break in the traffic then ran across the first two lanes to the grassy median where we sat for a bit catching our breaths before the next leap. When we were ready, we stood beside the traffic watching for a break. When it came, we ran across to the other side then jumped the fence. To us it was no big deal, but I suspect my mother would have been horrified as the traffic was fast and heavy on that highway, Route 93. We had no doubt we’d be safe. We were kids. We were invincible.
A few broken bones and chipped teeth later I know invincibility isn’t true, but that hasn’t stopped me. I like the adventure, the novelty of trying new things, of going new places and eating strange foods. I love off the beaten track and find it odd other people don’t. Life is filled with so many possibilities I wish I could try them all.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: crossing the highway, fast cars, fearless, four lanes, higher and faster, rafts, Route 93, running across the highway, running in traffic, swings, tree climbing
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
August 11, 2015 at 12:40 pm
Hi Kat,
Yup. Did all that, too. Except we didn’t have a water tower. Just a fire tower on top of a hill and it had stairs so not much of an adventure. 🙂
I’m not sure I even knew I93 existed when I was young enough to be invincible. As a teenager, my friend and I ran across Route 1 somewhere in Peabody and then ran back across it to walk the many miles home via the freight tracks.
Possibly the dumbest fearless thing I did was to pat the adult male tiger at the Stone Zoo. I was going to say ‘brainless’ but I put a lot of 9 year old thought into the problem. It was a highly calculated risk.
It’s cool and raining steadily. I can hear it banging on the AC unit and tapping on the plastic bag of garden dirt outside the living room window. It’s a nice sound.
Enjoy the day.
August 11, 2015 at 12:55 pm
Hi Caryn,
The tower had one of those ladders attached to the side, but I think climbing any tower is an adventure when you reach the top.
We never did Route 1, too far away for us though we did ride our bikes to East Boston.
I think it wasn’t brainless-I’ll go with the calculated risk!
The rain is a nice sound. It is much heavier now than it had been, a steady rain with no individual drops.
I do have to go out later as I am out of coffee, my life’s blood.
Have a good day in the rain!
August 11, 2015 at 1:58 pm
The same here 🙂 I loved those swings and one time I jumped very far and hit my arm on a irión bar. I was lucky because I realised it was going to hit my head. It too the surgeon eight hours to get everything in place in that arm again 🙂 🙂 🙂
After that I became a bit more careful 🙂 That is until I started biking to work, I don’t know how many times I crashed ands fell of my bike 🙂 I’ve always worn a helmet though so the head was the only thing I never injured 🙂
The day started out rainy here but now the sun is shining again. Slightly chilly now though so I guess we’ll get a cold night.
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 11, 2015 at 6:51 pm
Christer,
I can’t imagine how badly injured your poor arm must have been. t sounds like the surgeon was putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
We didn’t have helmets when I was a kid, nobody did. I was lucky back then though as I never fell off my bike.
It is still raining here. The weather had the cape as the only place where it was still raining. We got almost 2 inches of rain today.
Have a wonderful evening!
August 12, 2015 at 1:07 pm
There was almost nothing in one piece in that arm 🙂 Even the artery had broken in several places 🙂 🙂 I’m pretty happy I did lift my arm that day 🙂
We didn’t have helmets when I was a kid either but they were around when I was around 18 years old, I started using one as soon as they came, I already then knew how easy I ijured myself 🙂 🙂 🙂
August 12, 2015 at 1:16 pm
Christer,
You were darn lucky it was your arm and not your face.
There is a saying here: What do you call a bicyclist/motorcyclist with out a helmet? An organ donor.
August 11, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Does visiting a petting zoo today count as dangerous adventure?
Rain at night, sun at daytime, perfect.
August 11, 2015 at 6:52 pm
Birgit,
Not unless one of the animals had sharp teeth and a taste for people!
Still raining here.
August 11, 2015 at 8:26 pm
When you’re young you are immortal. I did all the things you mentioned and broke my left arm in the third grade falling off a jungle jim. The Dallas School district removed that jungle jim from that elementary school playground about three years ago. I think they got their money’s worth. It was a different era. We all rode in cars without seat belts or shoulder harnesses. There were fewer inoculations and the Salk vaccine was brand new when I was inoculated in the second grade. Everyone smoked and it was hard to escape second had smoke even out of doors. A cancer diagnosis was a death sentence. Heart attacks that were survivable made one a cardiac cripple because bypass surgery and transplants were science fiction.
Today we hit 102 again but a weak cold front came through and a few rain showers gave a few souls some relief. The next few days promise temperature in the high nineties. I like the heat better than the cold. I can always find AC and I can remove my clothes and jump into the pool in my condo complex.
August 11, 2015 at 8:35 pm
Bob,
Three of my grandparents lived into their 90’s even without all the preventative medicine. My grandfather was in the hospital for the first time in his life when he was 91. They were lucky living through polio and flu epidemics.
Cars didn’t go as fast back then. There were few highways here back then like the ones we have now so speed wasn’t a factor and there were far fewer accidents.
It has rained all day long and is still raining.
August 11, 2015 at 11:25 pm
Kat,
We ran across the (busy) 2 lane road. After counting just the right amount of traffic on each side. They were all going 50 mph. No median. We were fearless—with a bit of calculation thrown in.
August 11, 2015 at 11:30 pm
t,
Always a bit of calculation before the run. We were, like you, fearless but not dumb,
August 11, 2015 at 11:36 pm
Kat,
We did have our dumb moments.!!
August 12, 2015 at 12:17 pm
t,
But they were fun!!!!!