This shadow on a 3 decker is on North Street, next to the old Shailer Elementary School. I think we've all heard of selective memory. My brother has it. He claims he does not remember flying off the top of Elephant Rock as a kid and surviving to the bottom. It was an amazing 'flight'. I do remember that day. Now, climbing trees was a rite of passage growing up in our neighborhood, probably every neighborhood. We all loved to climb, the bigger, the more challenging, the better. Eddie loved to climb too, even though his body layout wasn't a part of the master blueprint for making it to the top of any tree. He was chubby, slow and a bit clumsy, but wanted in on all out feats of courage, midnight escapades and stumbling and bumbling with the fairer sex. There was a day, in winter, as I remember. It was a classic leafless, cloudless, cold January afternoon. It was a challenge, to see how high up a black- barked, gnarled maple, towering over a lot of Evergreen Cemetery we could get. We all took our shots for 'neighborhood immortality' that afternoon. We scampered up as far as we could go. As I remember, once you got up 15 feet or so, the combination of the blustery, biting wind, slippery bark and teenage nerves took their toll. Eddie was last to go, and he seemed to have a plan and seemed possessed. Amazingly, he got up about 1o feet higher then any of us. When we finally told him he had won and to come back down, he turned and looked down and burst into tears. He was frozen He claimed there was no way he could ever maneuver down the maple. He was almost screaming above, and at the bottom, we didn't know whether to laugh or cry with him. Honest! Soon darkness was beginning to creep in, and it got so bad he even begged us to go to Arbor Street and get the Fire Department to come and rescue him. "They did it when ST fell off Rocky Hill and got snagged on that ledge. Please do it." He pleaded. Well, there was no way we were going to alert the firemen. It took us 20 long minutes, but we finally coaxed him down branch by branch to terra firma. Various pats on the back over, we all headed off in multiple direction to the safe confines of our homes. Another day of growing up an early teen was accomplished. On this incident, my memory was not selective but served me well.
Nice image
ReplyDeleteHappiest New Year wishes
with Warm Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
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Interesting... my sister and I often remember some incidents and not others... you've jogged my memories!
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Birdman...So many great memories.... I wonder how any of us lived through childhood!!!!! ha
ReplyDeleteGreat tree shadow picture.
Betsy
Sweet story, Birdman. I like it that you didn't make fun of Eddie, at least not in front of us. Adventures like this stick on all our minds.
ReplyDeleteune belle ombre de cet arbre.
ReplyDeleteand i'm so glad you served this memory up to the rest of us today. one of your best, birdman.
ReplyDeleteNice story... with universal appeal, I'd say. My mother often derided me for not remembering certain bits of family history, but then she'd totally deny other events I remembered clearly and she did not. I did learn, however, that we create family myths, stories that have been told over and over, that you wonder how much embellishment occurred with each telling. Wonderful shadow shot, Birdman. I wish you and yours a wonderful new year... with much joy in shooting and sharing.
ReplyDeletelove the tree and shadow - and your poor brother!
ReplyDeleteTreed! Great story. Sometimes you shouldn't get what you think you really want, e.g. to "win" climbing trees.
ReplyDeleteMost people could relate to this story. I mean who hasn't been stuck up a tree without a ladder - metaphorically speaking?
Love that tree shadow, love trees, love climbing. As I've said before, I don't know how some of us made it to adulthood.
ReplyDeleteExcellent story Birdman and great shadow shot to go with it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute story! It reminds me of a time when my son was little and he climbed an oak tree in our backyard and got stuck up there. I had to climb up and get him down and he never tried climbing a tree again.
ReplyDeleteToday he would have a helmet on and safety nets set up below. I wonder if they even let kids climb trees now?
ReplyDeleteYou really are the best at telling a story! This is a good one. Oh, that photo with the shandow is pretty darn good too!
ReplyDeleteOmigod! Free pies and ice cream? I'd never leave the place!
ReplyDeleteYou're a funny guy. Remember to turn on the furnace tonight. Wouldn't want you to freeze.
It was so cold here today, I couldn't play golf. That really made me mad! And it's gonna be colder tonight. Who do I talk to about these egregious breaks with common sense, not to mention the outright illegality of cold weather in Florida?
Great shadow!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that shadow! Tree-climbing was a constant activity in my childhood, and we had lots of good ones where I lived. My tree memories are not as scary as this one, although I believe there were a few times I wondered how I'd gotten onto some impossible branch.
ReplyDeleteWhat a memory! I'm glad your brother reached the ground safely.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I don't remember happenings from our childhood the same way. I think we all remember selectively. :))
What an amazing story. I was the chubby kid so I can relate to it but it would never have occurred to me to climb so high I might not get down. Better safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a nice shadow you caught there!
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