That hurt!
When the acorns began falling, it was time to make our slingshots. Now, you could go to White's 5¢ and 10¢ Store on the corner and buy a steel one, but it was cheaper and a lot for fun to make your own. We usually headed for the line of bushes in our backyard. The branches were so much more pliable then the ones on apple trees nearby. You just had to wade through the trees until you found a 'Y branch' that was not too big or not too small, but just right. That Goldilocks principle "of not to big, not too small etc." made perfect sense in so many cases growing up. This was one of those times. Unlike the one pictured here, ours were not constructed of a single branch split in two. Our search was to attempt find that almost perfect combination of two branches intersecting at a 'perfect' point, while having some good weight to it. It needed to bend but not too much. You see, the search took a bit of time and often suffered through many a trial and error phase. Next, it was off to locate a piece of elastic to wrap around each end. Luckily, my Dad was a letter carrier and kept a drawer full of large, thick elastics that he used to bind big stacks of mail. After construction was complete and trial runs were made, it was off to find ammo. Very small crab apples or the aforementioned acorn, we found the best. They traveled wicked fast and could make one shriek a bit if you were hit. OUCH! Now, when we wanted to drive our moms crazy, we'd load them up with small raspberries or bright red, choke cherries.
Splat! Splat!
What a mess!
Our white t-shirts would end up covered some days.
What, we worry?
Nah!
I'm better now.
Glad you got that off your chest Birdman :) Actually I was a bit of a tomboy I remember making a slingshot also!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got that off your chest Birdman :) Actually I was a bit of a tomboy I remember making a slingshot also!
ReplyDeleteAs the old saying goes...boys will be boys! Actually, I think I had a sling shot for a while too but, I don't remember sending acorns flying.
ReplyDeleteYou must have heard about our I-10 shooter. Hopefully whoever it is will be nabbed before they kill someone.
That we would be a waste of a good raspberry!
ReplyDeleteI love this story. And I love that your dad was a letter carrier -- always seemed like such a wonderful job to me, lots of walking, meeting neighbors, and plenty of time to think.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised you were a Dennis the Menace?
ReplyDeleteFun times!
ReplyDeleteALOHA
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
Been there, done that. Those were the days.
ReplyDeleteMy son used to make these all the time. Then one of our friends gave him a fancy, store bought slingshot with a jar of paintballs.....I didn't find it amusing. My son did!
ReplyDeleteWhat a "charming" kid you must have been! I can't help but encourage you to seriously consider writing a book about the adolescent escapades of a Maine youth (rascal?).
ReplyDeleteAnd wasn't there, somewhere, the admonition "Be careful with that thing! Somebody's going to lose an eye!"
ReplyDeletetoo fun! my brothers made a few of those, but i was too little to be a target (they'd have really gotten in trouble.)
ReplyDeleteWe did exactly the same, the Italian for slingshot is 'fionda'!
ReplyDeleteHave you priced a store-bought slingshot (I, in good conscience, can't tell you what they were called in the South) lately? A couple years back after tiring of hearing my mother complaining of squirrels raiding her bird feeders, and having an abundance of acorns I decided I'd scare the squirrels away with a slingshot. I think I paid something like $7 for one! Holy toledo. And then to make matters worse, I couldn't ht the side of the bard with the darn thing!
ReplyDeleteMy brother had his slingshot at our bus stop one morning. He shot a bb and it went flying. Right into my eye. Thank the good Lord that I was wearing a (hard) contact lens. It shattered into many pieces; however, my eye was safe and sound. My mother was not happy that day. Why is it that you really never hear of girls owning slingshots? Hmmmm . . . .
ReplyDelete