Weekend Freewrite - 2/6/2021

Money was spent on drugs and Italian delicatessen food (with added scotch to top the evening out). Isn't that what all parents do?

Mine did!

The 70's in Washington DC were rife with drugs, alcohol, protesting, streakers and long gas lines.

As a kid, it was all about playing outside un-supervised all day getting into as much mischief and adventure as we could within daylight hours.

We collected pet rocks, mood rings, slinkies. We rode our bikes without helmets and jumped over our friends like we were Evil Knievel (who happened to break every bone in his body). We went from Bazooka bubble gum to Bubbalicious, played with Ouija boards because that was a game, right?

It is amazing that we survived the 70's...but we did!

"I loved camping and going down rapids" said no kid with allergies!

For such a child of nature, it was a cruel joke being allergic to the very thing that made me the happiest. Glamping, had there been such a thing back then, would have served me well. At times, I looked like an inflamed crustation of rashes from eczema.

Does a storm water tunnel count as rapids? These were plentiful in our neighborhood and a favorite adventure for my friends and I. We'd often play with the crayfish that made there way from local creeks and rivers. On one occasion, however, we got caught during the incoming tide as we were halfway through the tunnels. All those years of gymnastics paid off as the rising water required a sideways split in order to stay dry. The other kids had to swim their way out. This would be our last storm water drain adventure.

I feel like I was blessed to have a couple schools that really took the time to organize interesting camping trips. Most involved sleeping in a cabin or lodge, but this particular trip involved sleeping in tents....on a beach....in winter.

One evening we were suddenly awoken by wild horses raiding the camp. Apparently my friend Betsy had stashed marshmellows (a broken rule...bad Betsy!) and the horses stampeded our tent leaving us exposed to the winds and bitter cold.

We could hardly see except for the circumference of giant shadows snorting in a frenzy while rummaging through our stuff to satify their sweet tooth. The cold was unbearable and in desperation, we attempted to feel around for our coats, blanket...anything to keep us warm until the wild horse frenzy was over. To my absolute delight, I happened to find my sleeping bag and made a sleeping bag coat to stave off the ocean winds.

This is my entry to @mariannewest's daily freewrite
https://hive.blog/hive-161155/@mariannewest/3-part-weekend-freewrite-2-6-2021