The Fourth of July, Simple Pleasures, and The Homemade Marble Game

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Today, I reflect on my Independence Day memories as I sit enjoying the simple pleasures with my family.

My first family had a swimming pool in the backyard when I was young. We spent many happy hours in the pool, as did our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors. I wanted to give our boys the same experience, and we have had above-ground pools in the past, but were never able to take care of it properly due to massive amounts of leaves that fell from our backyard trees. That changed a few years ago when a dureche (straight line tornado) took one of our trees down and split the other in half. The leaves diminished greatly, and gave us a big open space with lots of sun AND shade to enjoy.

It gets hot in Memphis. Hot. Not just hot... the fires of hell hot. I used to like summer until I moved down here. But I have been miserable in the 100+ degree Memphis heat for years. Our boys have been wanting us to put a swimming pool in the nice open space in the backyard. However, we can't afford one right now, as I have been out of work for such a long time. So I began to look for a way for us to cool off this summer without breaking the bank, so to speak. I would have been satisfied with a wading pool to cool our feet off. But the heat has risen in Memphis, and is due to go on much longer than we would like. I remembered having fun in the sprinkler when I was very young in the days before our backyard pool, and wondered if there was a way of doing something similar, only on a "grown-up" basis. I couldn't see the four of us frolicking in the sprinkler, but had an idea which we put into action yesterday, and it turned out to be one of the best ideas I've ever had.

We constructed an outdoor shower from a short hose, a watering arm and some brackets. I didn't want to have to change the hose out when I water the outdoor plants, so we installed a brass pipe splitter (for want of a better term) for the spigot. This wonderful invention allows me to hook up more than one hose and direct the water to whichever one we want to use at the time. So we hooked up a 6 foot hose and attached a watering arm to it. We secured it to the house using some plant hangers, and put down some paving stones to give us a firm place to stand and to help drain the water away as well. Eureka! It works like a charm! When I got under the water yesterday, I had been working in the yard, trying to get some tomato seeds planted and was as hot and dirty as I had ever been. When the cold water hit me, all I could say was "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". I think the guys thought I had lost my mind, but honestly, it was the closest thing to heaven I had felt in a really long time. The whole project cost very little, and the payoff was huge. This little invention of ours is going to save us this summer. I'm sure that my parents and grandparents would be proud of my innovation.

So today I enjoyed the outdoor shower once again, as Steve fired up the smoker and put the pork butt on for a long day of smoking. We don't often have days of pure leisure, so this day was a real treat. We stood under the shower, then sat in the sun with our feet soaking in the wading pool, watching the dogs circling us, wondering why we seemed so peaceful and happy. At one point, we took the babies (Gizmo and Gidget) and let them cool off as well. They weren't as pleased with the water as we were, so we let them dry off and go in the house. Rhys put Rocky in the pool and she liked it so much, she sat down. Then she laid down and stuck her head under the water to cool off. What a funny sweetie she is. She jumped out and went to chase something. We sat in the sun for a while, just relaxing. Sitting in the sun was wonderful. I don't often have a chance to do that, but I have a feeling we will be relaxing much more often now that we have a way to cool off.

I guess we're not going to do any fireworks tonight. We have a few morning glories and maybe some bottle rockets. Maybe we'll still do some. Tucker would be pleased. That silly dog loves to chase after them and barks his fool head off. He and Rocky get into trouble sometimes with chasing things. Yesterday, they chased some bees, which chased them back, and we ended up having to shuttle them all in the house while we killed the suckers. But I digress. It's illegal to shoot off fireworks in the city limits in Memphis. Not illegal to buy them. You just go to the next county to get them. But who's going to arrest you for it? Certainly not the police, when the one down the block is shooting them off as well. I remember a time when fireworks weren't illegal and were very common on the Fourth of July. When we lived on Oglesby in Calumet City, I remember going out in the front yard with my Dad, and watching him with firecrackers and cherry bombs. The most we kids could do was to play with sparklers. But the image of the entire street being lit up by fireworks thrown by our neighbors stays with me. Those were good times. Simple, but so good. Our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would all come over and we'd "barbecue" outside, with coolers of drinks in the garage, and lawn chairs everywhere. Sometimes there was a badminton game going on in the field behind the garage, where my father had mowed down the field and "claimed" a piece of it for us as long as there wasn't a house behind ours. Many many times, there were some injuries to my father's ankle, since playing a game during our gatherings was serious business and we went all out.

After everyone had eaten all they possibly could, the party would move from the backyard to the inside of the house, where the adults would play cards or the "marble game" that my father had constructed out of a piece of wood and some marbles. He had drilled holes in the wood, and the holes were a little smaller than large marbles, which we called "pierzies". We would roll the dice, and move our marbles around the board, to end up in the "home" position. The person whose marbles were all at "home" first won the game. It wasn't until I grew to adulthood that I realized that our "marble game" was actually Parcheesi in disguise, and my father had made that game for us to play because we couldn't afford to buy the actual game at Bargain Town (which became Toys R Us). He was innovative, and I'm glad I am able to appreciate that quality now. I loved playing the marble game, as did everyone else who played it. I wish I knew what happened to that old piece of wood. And as I played Parcheesi with my family today, I remembered playing the marble game, and hoped that my boys would love it as much as I still do. I wonder if I can do the same with a piece of plywood... and if I get some marbles...

The pork roast was wonderful. So was the rest of today. And so were the memories. It was nice to be able to remember them now with sweetness. Many other memories surfaced as well, which I will write about in another blog. But for now... I have grapes to harvest. Peace to all of you. Please remember those who died so we might live with freedom.

Nazdrowie'

Paczki Puta