He cut it with a push mower and I mean a "PUSH" mower just like the one in the above photo. His back yard was even more spectacular. He had huge flower and vegetable gardens that unfortunately backed up to our house's own back yard with our clothesline , homemade baseball diamond and dogs that were always getting out of the fence wreaking havoc on the entire neighborhood. The problem was, if we hopped HIS fence in the back of OUR yard we could follow the alley all the way up to the theatre and watch a movie for $1.35 and even stop off at friend's houses along the way. The alley ran from our street four blocks up to Main Street where you could see a movie or buy a Krystal hamburger for fifteen cents. If he caught you in his yard, our black rotary wall phone would be ringing to notify our Mother that we had indeed invaded and violated his yard. Thank the Lord there were no Home Owner Associations then.
We would plot our escape over his fence. If he was back there within sight we knew we didn't have a chance. He'd holler "I SEE you over there! Get outta my yard...NOW!"
The "Golden's" ... that was their last name and what they considered their yard, front AND back. Looking back I don't blame them at all.
We were kids that dug three foot holes in our back yard and lined them with long thorns we cut off bushes from another neighbor who also had a fantastic yard with pebble lined gardens filled with exotic plants, trees and flowers ( He was a well to do lawyer) covered the hole with sticks and leaves and waited for the never arriving non suspecting enemy to walk into our trap... They were old too and don't even think they noticed when we commandeered their Pine tree as a fort and place to hook up a wooden pulley running from the top of their Pine tree to the front of the balcony on our house across the street. That one was my brother's idea.
This was back when we had actual "Garbage Men" who went to the rear of your house to empty your big aluminum garbage can and haul it back to the street to be condensed in the back of the big ole smelly truck. The garbage men hated us (rightfully so) and often rode on top of the truck when houses were far apart or a couple of them got lazy. My brother ran a wooden pulley from a line in the top branches of the Pine tree across the street from our house to the balcony of our front porch. When the garbage truck came by my brother gave the fatal signal and his idiotic friend zinged the pulley down the line from the top of the Pine tree. It clocked one of the garbage men sitting on top of the truck and then everybody scrambled. How no one got arrested is still a mystery to me but that dude had to have had one Heck of a headache!
I used to be crazy insane about my own yard but the past few years have made me realize priorities.
At least I still HAVE a yard and at least MY kids are too lazy to come up with idiotic ideas like we did .
I see the picture of this push mower that the ole man from my neighborhood ran every week...manually (at the age of at least sixty) and finally realize why he was such an ole cuss.
Heck, I'm RIDING a mower and I get all sensitive about MY yard...Thank the Lord he didn't just kill us when he had the chance!
I have to work another double shift tomorrow but Tuesday I am off, spending the entire day in my yard and afterwards looking for any kids who look like they may have access to a pulley of any kind!
Growing up in the sixties and seventies is probably the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced...I'll have to Tweet my kids about it!
Til next time...COTTON
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