When we lived in Lubbock, a great event occurred in my life. I learned to ride a bicycle. Because the streets in Omaha had been so steep, I was always afraid to try learning how to ride. I was afraid I would end up in a bloody heap at the bottom of one of those hills.
In Lubbock , however, the streets were very flat and level. With a little encouragement, I learned to ride a bike, and soon was riding all over the area. One of our very favorite places to ride was a large field area located around a swampy pond. We called this area “Rabbit Hills”. We spent hours riding, building forts, hunting frogs and snakes, or just chasing each other around in that area. When it rained, this area became one huge mud hole. It didn’t stop us from riding there, but it did slow us down a little.
Our biggest haul came when we ventured into the swamp. We caught turtles and frogs by the dozens, and brought them home to turn loose in our backyard. We tried to pen them up in our sandbox, but it didn’t work. For years afterward, we would find one of those frogs, or the occasional turtle, when we mowed the lawn. (Yes, we found them THAT way). I felt like I was forced into another phase of my life when they cleared away that place, and began building homes there. It will always hold a place in my memory.
Take care, and remember the good times. Stick.
2 comments:
I loved that place. When I was about middle school age it filled high with water. I remember walking out to the "island". There were points where I could barely keep my head above water. Pretty scary considering I couldn't swim!
that sounds like a seriously fun time. When we first moved to albuquerque we had a lot of frogs one year, it was so fun to see all these teeny tiny frogs all over like they had rained from the skies!
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