youth

A    SHORTY   (same as a quickie, but with less drawbacks).

Coming out of the shower this morning (yes we have water in our house), my memory went back to living in Dodge City.   I was about 8 or 9 years old.  Little brother Pat was just a baby, and he was born in 49.  I was born in late 40 - so, about 8 or 9 years old.   Here are little quips of memories from them thar days.

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1.  In Dodge City, we lived on a fast street.  We lived in Dodge twice.  This was the 2nd time.  I can't remember if there were houses across the street or not.  There were trains over there though, not up against the road, but over there.   The house was a one story with steps leading up to the big front porch;  a sidewalk passed in front of the house next to the street.  The yard was big enough that we could play that ball game where you threw the ball over the house, and the kids on the otherside would catch it - then, run around the house to touch you with the ball.   Trying to remember the name of the game - not alley oop - oh well  - you'd yell a particular something then throw the ball over the house.

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2.  Our house was on the alley with two big trees beside the house.  We had a hammock hung between the trees.  Brother Marshall (prolly 13 yrs old) rolled off the hammock and broke his collarbone.  That was a traumatic time.  I cannot remember ever getting in the hammock.  I probably did.  Never have I broken a bone. Of course, that line is tempting the gods.  Let's see if I can make it till the next war without a breaking.

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3.  Across the alley was a house.  Some girl lived there - maybe had brothers - the neighborhood kids would gather in her backyard or ours for frolic.  We little kids do strange things and remember strange things as we age.  I remember sitting in her backyard on my knees acting mad and pulling grass out.  I threw the grass behind me in rage as I glared.   They just ignored me.  So I rejoined the human race.

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4.  Next to the girl's house was a vacant lot covered with tall weeds.  On the lot was a big billboard sign, one of those double wide billboards.  You could climb all over the back of the sign if you had a want.   I rarely wanted.   Brother Jim, 16 months older than I and the family daredevil, fell off the Sign and broke his arm. Jim had a propensity to do stupid things as he buffaloed his way through childhood.

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5.  A few blocks to the left of the house and on the other side of the street was the Pepsicola bottling plant. I seem to remember walking down to get a cold one.  They were in bottles of course, so we had to have a nickel plus a penny for the bottle deposit.  I wish I could remember that we got free drinks - but can't.  Somehow, it seems to me that we bought Grapette, a fine, fine soft drink.

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6.  Pat was just a tiny baby - I may have told this stone before.  The baby bottle nipples were made of rubber, a hard rubber.  Mom would pour coke into the bottles and give them to Jim and me to drink.  We would sit on the front porch sucking and chewing on the rubber nipples.  We thought it was great fun to make a big deal of it as people walked past the house.   Kids our age drinking from baby bottles.  How Wude.   When we finished, the nipples were a bit more worn in, and Pat could enjoy his cool milk.   We never drank milk from them.  Coke was good.

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7.  Radio stations use to have giveaways - call in first - call in second - answer a trivial question - same as they do today.  Marshall won free games at a bowling alley.   We three boys were sent off to the bowling alley.  We walked.   I am sure that fun was had by all.   Can you imagine a 13 year old followed by little brothers 8 & 9 taking off to walk across town today - to go bowling - in a strange bowling alley - with no parental mothering?  Hard to fathom.

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8.  By this time all 3 boys were playing cornets, piano, and accordion.  We had to practice every day - timed practice.  And we did.  The clock was on the refrigerator.  I'd play awhile, then walk in and look at the clock.  This would be followed by mom fussing about wasting time.   I guess we were pretty cute.   Aside:  I believe we had a refrig by this time and not just an ice box.

      In the summer, Dodge City had a municipal band which gave summer concerts on a band shell in a park.   We 3 boys were featured with the band  one night.  We played  Three of a Kind.  Another of our songs had some triple tonguing.  Marshall was the only one of us with that skill.  We two young ones just played the first note of the triplet as Marshall tripled tongued away.  I betcha we were really precious on that concert.   Marshall was always a better legitimate trumpet player than we younger guys.   Parents have a tendency to push the #1 child differently than the younger kids.   True today, true in my day.

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9.  Bums, Hobos, etc. use to come to our back door for handouts.   Mom would provide.  I have learned since then that hobos use to mark house who had good handouts.  Mom must have been a easy mark in those days.  We were never afraid of the hobos who came up to the back door.

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10.  This is where we had Wobblepump, our dog.  Pop taught ground school during WWII at an airbase in Ok City.  The dog was the camp mascot.  When the war ended, he took Wobblepump home.  The dog met his end playing in the streets of Dodge City as did so many.   The dateline on this part of the Stone doesn't jive.  It must have happened when we lived there the first time and I was only 5.  Memory fades over time.

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11.  Boot Hill was down the street a ways.   We guys would walk over to boothill and marvel at the tombstones.  They dressed up the cemetery with  concrete boots sticking out of the ground...a tombstone on one end, boot tips on the other.

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I'll close now.   enough remembered.

More tomorrow if I feels it.

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