Green Floppy asked if I would write up the story of when I fell into the river -- what I like to call "The Day They Tried To Kill Me" -- and so here it is, in all its glory. I hope you all like it!
So, this one time, back around 1975 or so, some of my older cousins and siblings (some, but not all, of the arrowed people in this group, only everyone was a couple years older than in this picture)...
...decided that we would all go for a bike ride around town. I don't remember exactly when it was, but it was probably one of those warm days of early spring, where it's warm enough to be outside doing stuff, but not warm enough to be without a jacket or hat. Anyway, I know I was riding a small yellow bike with a yellow and white "banana seat" on it -- those were the style at the time -- and I was wearing The Most Fabulous Hat Ever, as seen here:
As I said, it was probably early Spring, which means that the snow had been melting for a while, and all the melt in town was making it's way to the Mighty Maunehsa River, as water is wont to do. Which means that the water was higher than normal, and running faster than normal.
Anyways, when you ride your bike around town, the most fun way to get back home is to go through Firemen's Park. And the quickest way to go through the park is to cut through on the cement bridge down by the mill and just below the dam. (Otherwise, you have to ride all the way downtown and up the steep hill to get to the main park entrance, and who wants to do that?) Here's a picture of the cement bridge, taken on a normal-water day.
So anyway, we're riding around town, and we get to the cement bridge below the dam, and lo and behold, it has water rushing over the top of it! Well, the older -- and, presumably, wiser -- in the group (as seen in this picture)......determined that it was okay to cross, in spite of the RUSHING water going over the top, and they forged ahead on their thin-wheeled bikes with their strong teen-aged legs, making it safely across with no problems. I, however, with my wimpy single-digit legs, and small thick-wheeled banana-seat bike, did not. One moment I was pedaling away, and the next -- WHOOSH!!! -- and I was floating away. The water started to carry me down the river, along with my bike and The Most Fabulous Hat Ever.
(Here's a picture of the water rushing away from the cement bridge -- and this is on a normal day! Just imagine the rushing from water going OVER the bridge, too!)
So there I am, being swept down the river, and the next thing I know, The Brother had jumped into the river and rescued me -- Yay, Brother!! And then somebody fished out the yellow banana-seat bike -- Yay, Someone!! Unfortunately, however, The Most Fabulous Hat Ever had been carried away downstream somewhere, and was never to be seen again.
And that is the story of The Day They Tried To Kill Me.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Guest Article: The Day They Tried To Kill Me
Hey, everybody -- in the comments of my previous post, the subject of falling into the river came up, and I said I knew someone who did that, and Stamppy asked if I could post the story. So I checked with the river-falling person, and she has sent me The Story. And I thought I'd post it here in its entirety. So here it is!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hey, Green-F, that was really nice of you to feature a guest article in your blog. I have some comments now, which I'll direct to your guest writer person:
Hey, your family is very handsome and fashionable for the times! I wonder what that one boy is doing with his hand on that little girl's head, tho. I hope he outgrew THAT nasty habit! And I hope the little girl outgrew the habit of hugging froggies.
Banana seat bikes are just the greatest, aren't they? They can be a little damaging to a young boy, tho, who might like to wham the steps while riding one.
That IS the most fabulous hat evah! I myself had one very similar, but in blue/torquisey stripey colors. They're kind of like the "do rags" of the 90's, but way more fashionable. I think they called them "stocking caps" back then. I even have a story about one from my youth which I could write about some day. But anyway, back to your story.
Awww, bunnies! So cute!
I guess you were out riding with the wrong older-but-wiser-crowd that day. Seems like when a boy cousin comes to your house in exchange for the girl sister to go to the cousin's house to pal around with the girl cousin, that it's called a "trade." Had the trade gone the other way that week, you wouldn't have driven into the river. But who knows, maybe you would have ended up sticking yourself with a crochet needle while pal-ing around with the girls. But anyway, back to your story...
Older Brother and The Cousin seem to be glaring in that photo. Kinda scarey! But it could be the sun in their eyes, cuz I think teen boys are usually very friendly.
It's remarkable how the Older Brother even heard or seen you in the water after you fell in!! Did he hear your shouts for help? Did he and The Cousin wait on the other side and see you fall into the rushing stream? You should ax the Older Brother and The Cousin for their versions of the story. yea! doooo it!!
Too bad about losing the fabulous hat! Some kid in the next town probably found it and wore it like their own and took good care of it.
Did you tell your parents about your adventure? Did they ban you from ever riding thru the park again? Did you all get grounded for a week?
By looking at your photos, I was able to find that exact river where you fell into and I noticed that the cement walk bridge is gone! And the damn is gone! And the river takes a different twist thru the park! There's a gorgeous River Walk there, now, too! Just like in San Antonio and Augusta! There was no way to take a short cut across the Maunesha river anymore, I had to walk further to a car/pedestrian bridge. Times sure have changed since the 70's.
It was nice to let someone else take over the posting for a day. Ha! I've sent your comments to fall-in person, and she sent this back in reply:
=============
Hey, thanks! We always were at the forefront of fashion! Strangely enough, that boy does still do the hand-on-head thing to that girl. I guess some habits are hard to break. lol
Good point about the banana-seat bikes. I'm certainly glad I wasn't a boy -- that could really hurt!
Yes, of course: "Stocking cap" is right. I hope you write about your stocking cap story! The stocking cap hardly ever gets spoken of these days. It's a real shame.
The bunnies names were Mittens and Ralph. They were very soft and fluffy.
Yes, we also called it a "trade" -- it must have been a common thing in those days. Probably had the trade gone the other way, I may have ended up falling over a desk while playing school or something. lol
I don't think they're glaring -- just trying to show off their massive amounts of cool.
I don't know how much they remember of the day. I once heard Cousin say that, as he remembers it, I *drove* off the bridge. But, of course, that's not true. Why would I do that??
I don't remember if there were any consequences in the form of groundings or bannings, or if the parents even ever knew until much later. It was so long ago!
They shouldn't have taken the bridge out! How are people supposed to easily get to the park? Ppft.
Post a Comment