...when I smell:
Chlorine
Crayons
Campfire
Rain
A Bag of Marshmallows
W-D 40
Peaches
Erasers
Cedar
Homegrown Grapes
Homegrown Tomatoes
Lilac
Cut Grass
Sprinklers
We used to play "Run From the Cars." We wore blankets as capes, and ran up the block to the STOP sign and waited. As soon as a car came we dashed toward our front yard, barefooted and sweaty. If we could get behind our car parked on our curb before the other car passed, then we were safe. If we didn't make it behind our car, we collapsed onto the grass and covered ourselves with the blankets as the car drove by.
If I close my eyes now, I am back, safe, under my flannel blanket. My breaths are heavy and hot. I smell dew, dirt, grass. I examine the grass stain on my knee. Nothing major. I lift the corner of the blanket and peek to see if the car is gone. Phew. I stand, brush off my knee and hurry back up to the corner.
2 comments:
Oh! You just unearthed a hidden memory! We used to sit on our porch and stare at the corner until we saw a car coming around it. Then we'd have to run across the front yard, around the pine tree, and back to the porch before the car passed our driveway or we were dead.
I can feel my heart pounding right now from the stress of it. Did I really believe I would die if I didn't make it back? I don't know.
I love your list of smells.
We used to sit on our porch and wait for car accidents on the corner of 8th south and 10th east. That was before they put up a stop sign.
People falling out of cars with contusions. Best summers of my life.
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