Cricks and Hollers

The Football Game pt. 5

2011-02-16T00:24:00.000-08:00

Heading For The Field

I tossed the ball up in the air and caught it a few times, without dropping. And when I was looking ahead and trying to see the next motion we needed to take, Aaron interrupted.

He asked, "What are we going to score in?"
And then corrected himself, resaying differently.

"I mean," he said. "What are the endzones?"

I threw my finger in the air, while telling him.

"Past the rose bush," I said,
"Annnnnd," proceeding further,
"Past the dirt patch here."

This was also known as home plate.

I then went on to tell him, how the row of Christmas trees made a perfect sideline for the home team. And explained how the edge of Bo's area, going straight down from yard to yard, would suit the opposing team just fine. They were the two, unmarked sides of our fixed, green playing field.

Looking past that game, and through playing with other kids from other neighborhoods, I learned my position was actually called the 'all time' quarterback, instead of just quarterback. It's interesting how catchphrases stick, and then everybody uses them. But what's even more neat is how the three of us, developed a kind of wording ourselves.

What was once, "Let's play a football game," grew into, "Let's play a game."

John pushed off the picnic table, and was giving his shoes a good look over, while Aaron was tracing toward us both, on a grass cut days before. I was rolling the halfly softened football, back and forth between my palms. But mostly, I was rotating the warmer side to my cooler hands.

And the two of them were about to flip a coin.

The Football Game pt. 4

2011-02-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

The Locker Room

"Let's play a game." I said.

They nodded their heads.

We went back in the house and got our shoes, then met by the old, red picnic table.

I tossed my old shoes out on the grass before me, and then slipped one on. I bent down on a knee, and reached for my loosened shoelaces lying on the ground, and then with a quick, high lift, I pulled them tight and fastened with a tie. I felt like a player would in a lockeroom.

I stood up and looked at my brothers. Aaron, who barely ever tied his shoes, had already secured his dangly, knotted laces, and was trying to loosen them out from how awkward they felt on him. And John was sitting, carefully pulling each row snug before wrapping himself a perfect bow.

I can still remember the first day we ever played a game.

"Let's play a game of football," I said.

"How do we do that?" Aaron asked. John quietly listened.

They both were staring and waiting for a response, but I didn't know how we'd go about it either. I just knew people played football, and it sounded like a good idea. So, I went from there.

"Let me see here," I said, before going quiet. And with the attention centered around me, I stood and wondered to myself.

"Hmmm. Somebody's got to be the quarterback..And somebody's got to score... If John's the quarterback, then I would be playing Aaron. I would always win. That wouldn't work. Aaron could be the quarterback, and I could play John. But Aaron wouldn't be able to throw the long ball and we'd be running the same short plays over and over. That wouldn't work either. I'll be the quarterback all the time, that's the only way to do it."

I broke from my silence, eager to share my answer.

"I've got it, I'll be the quarterback and you and John go against each other."

The Football Game pt. 3

2011-02-14T01:02:00.000-08:00

Pregame

I took a bounce step off from the weathered, porch deck, and glanced down at the badminton racket and shuttlecock, before gliding along past the tall, wooden fort just to my right. Once I crossed over the corner of the endzone, I slowed my pace and neared the dirt patch which sat midway through. I leaned down and picked up the football.

After smacking the ball and my hand together a few times, and as I stood there tossing it up and down in the air, I looked over the yard wondering, once again, "What am I going to do today?"

This was common for me, because I didn't want to be bored. But there was something different about that morning. I noticed how I'd went straight for the football. And how I wasn't floating a birdie from off the racket, or swinging the bat, pretending to hit a ball. And how for some strange reason, I felt up to a game of football.

In the moment that followed, I was unable to know the true significance of my decision. And only after I'd taken the field, untill I was too old for playing, could I entirely grasp the considerable choice I had made. It was the start of a day, to one of the greatest football games I've ever had the fortune of playing in.

The Football Game pt. 2

2011-02-13T00:34:00.000-08:00

The Players　

I was a hair taller than most kids my age, but a little bit skinnier. I did go through a chunky stage, a couple of times, but I was mostly thin which made me look longer and lankier than I really was. John was shorter than me by a head length, and had a lean, stocky build to him. Aaron was also a head lower than John, but bony and scrawny. If you put us in a row, one in front of the other, we could rest our chins on top of each others head comfortably.

Our normal schedule, after breakfast, was to go outside and kind of wake up if you will. This might have entailed throwing a frisbee lightly, just to toss and catch, or hanging off the low branch of the big tree near the road, stretching out but never climbing, or maybe, if one happened to be laying around, picking up a basketball and shooting a couple easy shots, but never a rough game of football.

The Football Game pt.1

2011-02-12T02:59:00.000-08:00

The Team

Almost every day of the summer, my brothers and I would play a game of tackle football out in the front yard. Not against any of the neighbors, or kids from down the street, and not even friends of the family and their kids, but just us three and the long, narrow yard strangely resembling a small versioned football field.

We had enough players. I was the quarterback, John was my only receiver, and Aaron was also my only receiver. They would take turns trying to score against each other.

There were no field goals, no referees, touchdowns counted as a point, and any close calls were decided by a do over.

We'd play to ten points-unless we got cut off by an unexpected trip to the bread store, or lost track of time and forgot about baseball practice, in which case we'd go to five-perfectly fine with just one game a day. We didn't want to play too many and wear the fun out.

The person who got the ball first, had to win by two.

Bike Tag pt.5

2011-02-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

I was 'It'.

Well I went after one, and then I went after the other, but they had already gotten better at the game. And I missed a couple shots. At one point, I was chasing after them both and they split apart on me! So I retreated, and came up with different plan. I rode slow. They started riding slow. And then I went into action.

At first, I made like I was chasing Aaron so John felt out of danger. And then, I followed Aaron untill he brought me nearer to John, but continued on my pursuit. Then finally, after a couple of passes, and when John was convinced I would chase Aaron 'till the night fell, I cut real fast towards him and sped up.

I was going straight for him.
He was just strolling along.
I caught him off gaurd.
He was beggining to see me coming.

Suddenly wide eyed, he went on the only path he could take. The one in front of my attack. And he had crossed in front of my bike, at the exact time my front wheel met his back one. And the whole bike flipped out from underneath his body. He tried to put his hands out, but he landed chest first on the ground. I swung back to check on him.

Surprisingly, as he got up brushing himself off, we didn't have to go to the hospitol that day. But I will say this, we found another game to play.

Bike Tag pt.4

2011-02-11T14:20:00.001-08:00

Aaron Was 'It'.

He made tracks for John. John stepped on the gas. And Aaron booked after him.
John launched ahead but towards the loose, graveled driveway, leading up to a smaller, thinner strip of yard, and because he didn't want the risk of getting tagged and whipping out, he leaned from out of nowhere into a calm, smooth turn, all the while looking back to see of Aarons position.

Not far behind, was Aaron trying to keep up. But John still had the loop around a bend, so he leaned further into the turn. Aarons afterburners had burned too early, so even though he tried to scooch over and keep up, he couldn't adjust to the sudden change of course, and was forced to go straight. John rounded the half circle with just enough distance, before straightening out and breaking away.

Aaron was busy redirecting.

And while he was, I was searching for anything I could use as a blocade. I picked out the swingset, and an overgrown rose bush, and then looking ahead, noticed how the picnic table would work as well.
But while searching for the fourth obstacle I could move around, Aaron was gaining. And he was gaining enough ground to make me sweat. So I had to jet. I instinctively sped for the rose bush.

Aaron was catching up. I was trying to get to my safe spot. He almost had me.

But I was going too fast for hiding behind the bush. And I was running out of yard. Immediately, I slammed on my breaks. Sschhhhhh. I did a skid out! My back tire shredded up the slick grass, the shreds flew off in a tail behind me, and the foot I pivoted on safely caught my balance. I looked back to see the mark. And then I rode on. I was in the free.

By this time, John had swung over by the house and was rounding back in our direction, but when Aaron focused in on him, he shot back on the same course he'd come in on. Aaron tried to intersect. But he couldn't get a tire on him. So instead, he rolled on and adjusted his thinking cap. I was outside of the chase.

Aaron must have instantly remembered our clash from earlier, or saw me as matador holding a red flag, because from out of nowhere, he cut hard in my direction. I could hardly believe he was going so fast. And I just stared. I had to go. But it was too late.

Bang!

He slammed into my axle. The exact same place I'd hit his bike.

Continued...

Bike Tag pt.3

2011-02-11T04:48:00.000-08:00

Tag You're 'It'!

John was near the driveway, which gave me enough time to spread out from Aaron.
And Aaron was crossing the yard, soon becomming the first target. We rode kind of slow at first, no one really knowing how to go about the game. But not long after, the pace really picked up.

I scoped the scene.

I looked left, and seen how Aaron was riding out of view, and then right to see John sprinting in a blur towards him. Aaron didn't know what to do. He was beggining to run out of yard. But instead of going out of bounds, and breaking the unspoken rule, he quickly turned back around.

He saw John charging, and how John was much closer than before. Right away, he realized there was no time to speed up. And to avoid a collision, he balanced and angled the bike just right. John, still unsure of how hard he wanted to tag, rode by him.

In the name of the sport, John wanted to keep the game interesting, so he left Aaron behind and went for me. Having just missed, and with his heart even more set on not being 'IT', he peddled faster than when he started. Now at that point, I had been wrapped up in watching those two. So I was caught off gaurd. And Instead of being far away from me, John was way too close.

I dashed to the right. But no sooner than I got up the speed to make a break, he was already behind me and breathing down my neck. I slammed on the brakes. I was hoping he'd pass me by, but he locked his brakes as well, and veered alongside me to the left. We barely escaped crashing. But in the near hit, our peddles touched.

Dink!

I'm not kidding you, just the outside of the pedals tinked together. And that was an official tag.

I was it.

"What was Aaron doing?" I wondered. "I gotta get him next."

He was not too far from me, in the spot him and John last met, and was riding figure eights in order to watch without wrecking in the process. I went into overdrive. I pulled back on my handlebars, lifted the front wheel off the ground, ducked my head down, and winged my elbows out to the side. I had the cranks of that bike spinning as fast as they would go. And I sent him a jolt. He took off like a rabbit for the hayfield, but landed by the dead zone dog area. And Bocephus, our giant, black greyhound who was chained to the area, would have playfully trampled him. So he stopped. And he backed up. But I had him cornered. And I was already aiming for the spot I would hit.

Smash!

I rammed into the back of his front axle.

Continued...

Bike Tag p.2

2011-02-09T23:48:00.001-08:00

Paper- Rock- Scissor.　

No matter how many times the links came off the sprocket, I always put the chain back on. I was never one for giving up, you know. I always tried again.

But one particular day, I said, "I will take a break."

The chain had fell off more than usual, and many times in a row, so I decided to find something else to do instead. I started up a game of football.

I couldn't have come up with a better idea, on a day like that one was. Sure it was summer, but a cool breeze was blowing. And the clouds covered most of the sky. For a good part of the morning, and into the afternoon, the sun had been hiding. And every once in a while, when the timing was right, the sun would peek over a large field of cloud, and shine in from a clear, blue sky, warming us up again.

After the game, we found ourselves hanging out under the big tree. We wanted to catch our breath in the relaxing shade, and take a break from playing.

John started to talk about those Monte Carlos on the other side of the yard. They were my dads' cars. And he planned on fixing them up, but he never got the chance. So they sat beside the house, underneath two light, blue tarps.

"I'll tell you what I would do, if I could fix one up." John said.
"I'd drive it real fast!"

He made like he was holding a steering wheel, and then slammed down an imaginary peddle with the wrong foot.

"Vrooom!" he said, reving up the engine.

After that, he went on to say how he could save up his birthday money and start buying the parts he needed. And how he could get a job, over the summers, and work on it after school. And when he was old enough to get his liscense, that very car would be sitting in the driveway, shinny and new, rip roaring and ready for the road.

While he went on, considering whether or not to race it on a flat track, a long story turned short, as I remembered back on a game I heard about earlier in the week.

Quickly after, Aaron asked out of nowhere, "What do you guys want to do now?"

I answered, "We could play bike tag."

That was exactly what I was remembering.

"What's that?" Aaron asked.
"You just play tag with bikes." I said.
"Okay," Aaron replied, in a way he should have.

John stayed quiet.

Well since noooo one wanted to be 'it'.

We had to play paper-rock-scissors.

"Ok...,"What did I go with last time?" I said under my breath.
"Ahhhh. That's right. I went with paper." I remembered.

I won with paper the last time, but I needed to pick something different for this shoot off.
I knew I had to go with rock, or scissors. And that way they wouldn't catch on to me. I had to be unpredictable.

"I'm ready now. This time it's rock." I'd decided.

We moved closer to each other, put our hands out, and made a fist over top of our hand. And without saying a word we all began.

"One..Two..Three," I counted out loud.

Aaron had Rock
John had Scissors.
And I had Rock.
John was it!

Aaron, otherwise known as 'McSkinny,'-a combination of his middle name, McKinnely, and his skinny body-was close to his bike, so he started riding away immediately.

John, who still up to this point had not officially said yes, was farther off from his bike, and calmly walking over. He was in no hurry to damage his ride.

And I gave a hop-skip towards mine, laying by the tree without a kick stand.

We got on our bikes and started playing.

An Old Barn pt. 6

2011-02-09T23:44:00.000-08:00

An Egg Hunt!

"I found an egg!" I cried out. "A real live egg!"

It was laying on a hay bail, tucked back in a crook. I quickly reached down to pick it up. On the way down, I wondered if the egg was left behind by the farmer, or if the egg had just been laid, but either way I was going to find out. So I picked it up. And before I even knew, I was holding a cold, covered egg, smothered in chicken poop.

Yuck.

"Look at this guys." I said.

Aaron was the first one over, and John right after him.

They curiously watched as I turned and viewed the egg. I shook it and then listened, to hear anything inside, but I heard nothing. So I gave the egg to Aaron.

"Let me see it." John said.
But Aaron was already handling the new find. And once he became content enough with his share, and not a moment sooner, he then passed the egg over to John. And John followed by rolling the little wobbler in his hand. Soon after though, John lost interest and returned the egg to the bail.

"I found another one!" Aaron called out moments later.

And the egg hunt had officially begun. John was dashing off in corners, Aaron was climbing up the rafters, and I was moving hay bails as far as I could move them.

Shortly after, we all three circled around together and counted to see how many prizes we had found.
And come to find out, we'd found a lot of eggs. We'd found about a dozen!
But what we also found, was our own little Easter egg hunt, inside a friendly, old barn.

Bike Tag pt.1

2011-02-09T13:44:00.001-08:00

The Bike

I had been riding for years before I finally got my first real bicycle. And when I did, I flat wore that thing out. I got it from my cousin, who moved away shortly after, and it was a racing bike. It was a rough, old bike, but a racing bike none the less.

But I'm pretty sure when he first got the bike, he was able to enjoy the comfort of a padded, gripped handle. Instead of the slick, grippless ones I'd been getting used to.

And I imagine those very handles, were once part of a nice, straight handlebar. One with a tilt, but not too tilted. But I didn't know anything about that, mine had been wrecked and was leaning back.

I guess, what then showed to be a dented and out of date, steel framed bike-close to being junkpiled-was in fact at one time, new and scratchless, with a thick racing tube-nearly ready for the track. But I couldn't tell.

Honestly though...I didn't mind. I liked the little islands of rust, painted in. And who needed a fresh, white coat, when I'd just get it dirty anyway!?

I did wonder how the decals looked when they were sparkly and blue. All I could really see was a half, torn sticker on the top bar.

I bet whoever bought the bike, brought it home with the tires still having those tiny, rubber, flippy things on them. They'd be shocked if they saw the faded, blue tires I was riding on every day. The tires had a bald path, worn all the way around the center. And as surprising as this may sound, they never went flat. They made for a comfortable ride.

The seat was hard to take. The cover pad had been lost, or ripped off, when my cousin wasn't paying attention. And the cushion pad was a covering for a thin, steel plate. So whenever I wanted to sit down for a while, I would have to switch butt cheeks back and forth. But I wasn't the kid who'd go for a joy ride. I liked to go fast. And that seat was skinny enough to pedal over, going top speed.

The chain was a pain. It would stay on for a while, but then five minutes later pop off. And not just pop off, but completley pop off without a seconds warning, slamming me down. Let's just say, I got my fair share of chain changing in over the summers. But I got faster. At first, I started off by stopping and flipping the bike completely over, whenever it would come loose, but then I got to the point where I could put the chain on while I was standing up.

The Kiata Crick Stick Race pt.2

2011-02-09T13:13:00.001-08:00

The Crick

We ran for the crick. After we crossed the road, we shot down the short trail. It was the only clear cut path to the crick. It was part of an embankment, and the sloped off ledge immediately fell into a pretty steep drop. So going down would happen fast. And once you got to the bottom, you'd have to look back just to see how you'd done it.

The trail was kind of narrow too, not the actual opening but the water rut snaking down the center. The rut wasn't too deep. I never did twist an ankle or anything. But that year, I can remember my shoe would barely fit in what was then the fastest way.

Don't get me wrong, not everybody had to run down. There was another way. You could use the stepping stones sticking out from the sides, or you could jump if you wanted, but that I wouldn't recommend, because your feet would sting something awfull afterwards.

An Old Barn pt.5

2011-02-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Chickens Here, Chickens There.

When we got inside the barn, and I was instantly met with a strong smell of hay and a faint hint of dinginess.

Out of nowhere a chicken fluttered. It was flying towards the rafter. Meanwhile, others were clacking and bauking along the baseboard and scurrying for safety. Thankfully, I hadn't been attacked by a screeching owl.

I turned to the bails of hay stacked against a main dividing wall. They were stacked in some parts, overflowed in others, and covered the entire floor they layed on.

Soon after, my eyes had become more adjusted. And I could pretty much see into the back room where the cows would feed. But the room was too dark to make out any figures. ( I believe I would have heard something by that point, but the fact still remained, the cows could be sleeping back there.) So I stepped softly.

Chickens were still ducking for cover, as I moved along watching out for rats. I hesitently stepped to the left.

Feeling safer now, I took a gander around the place, but stopped half way to look back at what I'd just saw in the rafters. I saw the chicken we first ran into. The one who ruffled her feathers and started all the rucus. And she was now perched high above the floor. She was ducked down on a rafter and scared, but she looked comfortable. You know, I bet she was relaxed because she could see me. But anyway the whole time I watched her, she was watching me.
John and Aaron were off looking around. And while they were busy, I was inspecting the entry room for anything worth talking about.

An Old Barn pt.4

2011-02-09T13:07:00.001-08:00

The Barbed Wire Fence.

The very moment we crossed the lot, we could feel a new reality settling in.

We stared at the barbed wire fence.

The fence was the only thing seperating us from our final destination. But if we crossed over at that point, we stood the chance of having those wild cows run after us. And if they did chase us, then jumping back through was going to hurt a lot worse. So it was right then or never. It was our last chance, and our last shot at turning back.
I went first.

I lifted the top wire. And then I lifted it higher. But getting through those wires was a challenge. The reason was, I had to slowly lift my leg through and still balance with the other. Also, I had to make sure I didn't scrape my back against the barbs when I did it.

"Whew!" I was through.

I then stepped back, and watched the wire bounce from my letting go.

It was Aarons turn. He was the next one to take the step, out into the great unknown. And he did it, with nooo problem.

John was up.

Would he change his mind at the last second, and go back to the safety of our yard?

Would he run and tell mom, and spoil our plan?

No. He made the step too.

And now, we were all three bonded by yet another seal of secrecy.

Turning and facing the barn, a thought suddenly occured to me how there may be creatures hiding within, and lurking in the shadows. But I shook it off. Instead, I began stepping off to the side, and over the sunken hoof prints that had been squashed into the manuered mud.

First things first, I needed to look by the water trough. I needed to make sure there was nothing hiding around the corner. And after a quick glance, I found the coast was clear.

"Ok." I whispered. "Let's see whats inside."

Standing before the entrance, I peered into the darkness of the doorless opening before me. The entrance was bigger than I imagined, and so eery. It was like the mouth of a monster, staying open 'till the victim enters in, before closing shut and swallowing and swallowing them up.

An Old Barn pt.3

2011-02-09T13:05:00.001-08:00

What About The Cows!?

The barn was the hang out for the cows. And before then, I hadn't gone anywhere near the beast. And...I wasn't going to. To me the cows were huge, and terrifying, and I didn't know what they were capable of.

Would they try to bite me if I got too close?
Would they try to eat me!?
Or worse yet, would they get mad and charge like a bull, trampling me under their hooves?

All the sudden, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the barn anymore...but....

"I can't pass this up," I said. "I have to check it out."
But I couldn't think about it though... And I just had to do it.

"But I need a plan," I said.
And immediately, I put one into action.

First off, I had to find the cows. I scanned the hill, but didn't see any.
Secondly, are the cows in the barn? I didn't know.
So I came up with the only solution I could come up with.
"I'll run real fast if they are."
Thirdly, I needed back up.
And that's what I had two younger brothers for.
"Let's go over to the barn and check it out," I said out loud to Aaron.

"The barn?" He hesitently replied.

"Yes, the barn," I said, sounding confident.

"But..."

"No buts...don't you want to see what's inside? I asked.

"Yeah," he answered, to agree.

"Let's go!" I exclaimed.

On our way over, John must have noticed our brand new strut, because he asked laughingly,

"What are you two doing?"

"Come on," I said. "We're going to the barn."

"Uh...okay?" He said, unsurely.
But he joined us anyway.

We were set on course. We crossed through my uncles yard, and then went over to the lot next to his property. The lot wasn't too big, but it was covered in higher than normal field grass. Once there, we then knew we had to; swim through prickly weeds, step over giant snake holes, and dig out sticking burs, but we were prepared for this journey. And there was no looking back.

An Old Barn pt.2

2011-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

It Was A Creepy, Old Barn.

The barn was beside my uncles yard, at the base of a hill, and belonged to a farmer who lived nearby at the top. It was an old, small barn, but big enough for a dozen cows or so. It had a rusty, sheet metal roof, a splintered, wood panel siding, and a large, water trough always filled and sitting outside. Close by was a road. And between the barn and the road, was a heavy steel gate, connected to a barbed wire fence.
Behind the barn, was a large, rising hill, flattened at the top and spread over a wide, open field. The length of the field dipped down a holler, but the width of the field ran left and butted up against the farmers house.

Up to this point, I had seen the outside of the barn only, but after today all would change. After today, I was going to a place I'd never dared to go in the past. I was going to a place I'd never even imagined I would be. I was going to where the cows were.

The Kiata Crick Stick Race pt.5

2011-02-09T13:00:00.001-08:00

The Race

Before we began, I had to see if any rules needed to be set. I wanted a fair race, and there'd be no complaining.

"You're not allowed to touch it if it stops," I said out loud.
"But what if it really gets stuck and won't move?" Aaron asked.
"We'll, if it gets stuck then you can move it, but it has to be there for a while...like five seconds," I replied. They both agreed.
"So this is where we'll be standing when we drop 'em in the water, and we're all going to start at the same time, okay?" They huddled closer.
"Aaron you stand over there so John's got some room...You ready?"

One..two..three. And they're off!

Aarons started ahead of Johns, Johns was kind of lagging behind mine, and mine was in the middle. To get a better look, I jumped over to the side and watched as the SUB flowed on course.

"Was it going to pick up any speed?" I wondered as it appeared to hover, just before catching a fall and zipping on.

Moments later, I saw Aarons was still making good speed. And even though the SPEEDER was in the rougher parts; bouncing, spinning, but shooting off quicker than normal, it maintained a comfortable lead.

Johns was gliding down the big stream, slowly building momentum like a snowball down a mountain. The YACHT was continuing smooth and steady. And by this time, finding the mainstream snaggless and catchless, safe from any kind of bind.

At this point in the race, I felt pretty confident.

But all the sudden, my SUB headed left toward the danger zone. It was over near the high rocks. "Oh no. It's a ship graveyard over there, the point of no return!" So I darted across prepared for the worse.

On the way, I noticed how the SPEEDER was now whipping and whirling at an almost unbeatable pace. And the only thing making me feel better, was having looked back to notice Johns had gotten stuck. At least I was gaining on HIM.

"But would mine be next?"

"Well look at that," I said. "I caught a break."

Out of nowhere, the SUB turned a rudder and cut towards the nearby major current, which was even faster. I was back on track. Now all I needed for victory was a bit more luck.

Closer to the end now, John quickly realized he was too far behind. On the other hand, Aaron was riding shotgun in the super SPEEDER, ripping through waves. But my SUB was closing in by the second and gaining speed.

A stream catapulted the SPEEDER. The SUB was following in. The SUB'S not out yet! But they're only seconds from the finish. The SPEEDER is blazing ahead. The SUB is edging closer. The SPEEDER just needs a couple more feet!!!

Come on SUB. Come onnnn. Go!Go!Go!

Ohhhhh!!!!!

The SPEEDER got STUCK in a rock.

Yeesssss!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I won! 　
　

The Kiata Crick Stick Race pt.4

2011-02-09T12:59:00.001-08:00

PreRace

It was getting close to the start time.

Now whenever the crick was up, I'd always have to hop-step real quick across the tops of rocks. I didn't want to get my shoes soaked-to be honest, I still don't like wet socks-but if I didn't hit 'em just right then the water would overflow on my shoe, and get inside the holes of my tenni. And that wasn't going to happen.

So I diligently made my way over, at least most of the way, but not before making a stop on my usuall landing, the big rock. It was a great place to catch my balance, and plan out my next steps for the final leg.

But I wasn't planning that day.

That day I was looking out at the great swell we were headed for, the three main streams leading up, and how, off to the far left a strip of rock bed showed more because of the lower water.

"This is perfect," I said. "We'll start down here on the right side, with three different ways to get there."

I'm telling you to this day, I believe that crick was made just for us.

The Kiata Crick Stick Race pt.3

2011-02-09T12:57:00.001-08:00

Finding a Boat

The starting gates were about to open, and I had to find myself a boat.

When I got down to the rocky bed, I looked over at a foot of the bank nearby. It was the spot. The natural way of the stream had dug into the wall, and overtime left a pool of water circling and swirling, and because the water drained slower than usual, the outsides of the pool had captured different sized wood. The perfect stick getter.

I wanted one skinny but not too skinny, and long but not too long, able to get through tight spots, but heavy enough to speed down a rapid if given the chance. And this I found. We'll call it...'The Blue Jet Bullet Submarine', the 'SUB' for short.

John was already on the other side by this time. He found a big, thick stick. The 'YACHT'.

Aaron had grabbed a tiny, little twig known as the 'SPEEDER'. It was built for getting in between cracks, in case pushed off course.

An Old Barn pt.1

2011-02-08T01:42:00.000-08:00

Just Because I Wanted To.

I woke up one morning, when I was a youngster, and stretched out on the bed. After laying there for a moment, I wondered what to do with such a wonderfull day.

"I'm on spring break." I said.

Right then I sprung up, scootched over the edge, and dropped down on the clothes I'd worn the night before. Dressed then, I went straight towards the kitchen-which was my usuall routine-and scarfed down a bowl of cereal. After that, I headed out the door, into the front yard, and stood outside noticing the mist from an earlier rain.

"It stopped raining just in time." I said.

The timing was too perfect. And I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go inside that old barn. Now, I had never been inside that creepy barn, and honestly, I'd never wanted to because it was too scary. But there was something in the air that day, something special, and it made me want to take a chance I'd never taken before.

The Kiata Crick Stick Race pt.1

2011-02-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. What to do?

When I was a kid, I found myself trying to escape the heat, one hot summer day, by looking for something to do in the front yard. The sun was dry, and bouncing off my shoulders, and the day was to the awful point when time, really, really slows down. My brothers, John and Aaron, we're off searching for clues but they hadn't came up with anything. And I didn't have a plan. So at that point, I had no other choice but to wander on.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm not hanging around all this boredom." I said...

I joined the basketball pole standing near the driveway.

I wanted to do something fun, something not been done yet, something so neat and fun we wouldn't even notice time flying by.

With both hands in my pockets, I had already, unknowingly, become the 'kick dirt kid'.

"The sun is following me," I said sadly. So I looked down and away, and then shifted a bit to get comfortable, but really nothing helped because the wind was blowing at me. And just like the wave of an oven right when you open the door, it blew at me.

"If only I could come up with an idea," I said quickly. But I was stuck.

And then, a spark suddenly appeared. An idea came out from nowhere. One of those ideas, which at first glance might be something, but then realizes into you're all kinds of surprised you didn't come up with the idea earlier?!

I had found myself in the midst, of what turned out to be the greatest and most thrilling idea of the whole entire day, and one I've never forgotten since.

"Let's have a stick race!"

"Yeah!" John and Aaron exclaimed, at the exact same time. "That sounds like fun."