neighborhood cucumbers, and it had some official name, I’m sure. To Walter and me, it was simply the pickle plant. Right across the tracks that ran in front of the pickle plant and across from our new front yard was an old abandoned brakeman’s hut. It lured Walter and me in a time or two (or a hundred) to play. We’d build fires and roast marshmallows in that old building. No one would bother us in there, and we had the time of our lives. That brakeman’s hut wasn’t but 30 yards back from the house, so it was Momma-proof, too. That was the best part, actually. When she’d get home, it was close enough that we’d know it and could get back before she’d have to come out calling for us from the front porch.
That old building must’ve been an eyesore to all the adults who could see it. Thinking back on the view from our front porch, it was something awful. In addition to that abandoned brakeman’s hut, the city dump was a measly 80 yards away. We traded the smells of an outhouse for the smells of the city dump. Eighty yards! Shoot, I’ve returned footballs in NFL games longer distances than that (in fact, I returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the same game once, both over 80 yards). So, basically, we’d go out the back door, down the hill, and BAM…we’d be in the city dump, right there with all the smelly and unsightly mess that goes with it. Ironic, too, that right up next to the dump was the Pearl River. It was only about 200 yards or so from the backside of the house and seemed to press right up against the dump. The EPA would have a fit over anything like that today and rightfully so. Walter and I played down there all the time, and we even saw a bulldozer push garbage right into the water. And you know, I’m not even sure it was wrong to do stuff like that at the time. Funny how some types of “right and wrong” (“black and white,” too, maybe?) can change over time.
Anyway, the Pearl River is where Daddy took us fishing, so we’d catch a little junk to go with our fish. Still, even the junk and nasty smells of the dump are fond memories in my heart. Actually, as a kid, the whole area was amazing. To Walter and me, it was sort of an oversized playground and the perfect place for playing hide-and-seek, army, or any other active, outdoor, crazy-fun game that kids just don’t play anymore. A lot of kids these days have much nicer things than Walter and I had growing up, but they don’t have any good places to play. That’s the truth.
Walter and I had no time as kids to think about what we didn’t have. We were too busy running around and enjoying what we did have. There were certainly other families back then that had more than we did in terms of material things, and the kids in those families had nicer toys and such, but Walter and I never noticed the difference. Today kids have to have the latest gadgets, video games, iPads, etc. They don’t seem to care much anymore for trees, mud holes, old abandoned buildings, and yes, even city dumps. “The best things in life are free” is a cliché for a reason. Walter and I didn’t spend time wanting what the other kids had, because we just wanted to have fun, and we had the most fun with all the free stuff outside our back door.
Another uncle of ours lived a few houses down. Between our uncle’s house and the city dump was a little pond that seemed like Toledo Bend Lake to Walter and me. It was huge in our little eyes, and we just knew there had to be a world-record bass swimming under the surface. Though we never found that elusive giant fish in the water hole, I can tell you a couple of things that for sure lived there: leeches and snakes. Saw plenty of those. Or were they slimy blood-sucking monsters and man-eating anacondas? Well, that’s what “Edward Charles” would’ve said, so let’s just go with it.
Walter and I were blessed to grow up when playing outside was all a kid could do to have fun and stay out of trouble. There
That old building must’ve been an eyesore to all the adults who could see it. Thinking back on the view from our front porch, it was something awful. In addition to that abandoned brakeman’s hut, the city dump was a measly 80 yards away. We traded the smells of an outhouse for the smells of the city dump. Eighty yards! Shoot, I’ve returned footballs in NFL games longer distances than that (in fact, I returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the same game once, both over 80 yards). So, basically, we’d go out the back door, down the hill, and BAM…we’d be in the city dump, right there with all the smelly and unsightly mess that goes with it. Ironic, too, that right up next to the dump was the Pearl River. It was only about 200 yards or so from the backside of the house and seemed to press right up against the dump. The EPA would have a fit over anything like that today and rightfully so. Walter and I played down there all the time, and we even saw a bulldozer push garbage right into the water. And you know, I’m not even sure it was wrong to do stuff like that at the time. Funny how some types of “right and wrong” (“black and white,” too, maybe?) can change over time.
Anyway, the Pearl River is where Daddy took us fishing, so we’d catch a little junk to go with our fish. Still, even the junk and nasty smells of the dump are fond memories in my heart. Actually, as a kid, the whole area was amazing. To Walter and me, it was sort of an oversized playground and the perfect place for playing hide-and-seek, army, or any other active, outdoor, crazy-fun game that kids just don’t play anymore. A lot of kids these days have much nicer things than Walter and I had growing up, but they don’t have any good places to play. That’s the truth.
Walter and I had no time as kids to think about what we didn’t have. We were too busy running around and enjoying what we did have. There were certainly other families back then that had more than we did in terms of material things, and the kids in those families had nicer toys and such, but Walter and I never noticed the difference. Today kids have to have the latest gadgets, video games, iPads, etc. They don’t seem to care much anymore for trees, mud holes, old abandoned buildings, and yes, even city dumps. “The best things in life are free” is a cliché for a reason. Walter and I didn’t spend time wanting what the other kids had, because we just wanted to have fun, and we had the most fun with all the free stuff outside our back door.
Another uncle of ours lived a few houses down. Between our uncle’s house and the city dump was a little pond that seemed like Toledo Bend Lake to Walter and me. It was huge in our little eyes, and we just knew there had to be a world-record bass swimming under the surface. Though we never found that elusive giant fish in the water hole, I can tell you a couple of things that for sure lived there: leeches and snakes. Saw plenty of those. Or were they slimy blood-sucking monsters and man-eating anacondas? Well, that’s what “Edward Charles” would’ve said, so let’s just go with it.
Walter and I were blessed to grow up when playing outside was all a kid could do to have fun and stay out of trouble. There
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