The Fort

Looking back throughout my childhood I often think to myself,”Life was a walk in the park. How could I get myself in so many sticky situations?” I remember the hardest part of my adolescent day involved deciding between Lion King and Ninja Turtles (both respectable films). With the lack of responsibility throughout my summer days, came unforgettable experiences. Some might say a twelve year old boy without mischief, is like a fish out of water. Well I was definitely not about to prove the adage wrong.
A quick bit about me: I grew up in rural central Wisconsin, where cattle outnumber people and stoplights are…..what’s a stoplight? Anyway, when I wasn't contemplating over my mother’s VHS collection I spent a lot of my summer life with me best friend, Kevin. Like any good friendship Kevin and I had a secret fort. We liked to think a trained ninja wouldn’t be able to find our fort if he tried. The truth of the matter was our secret meeting spot was just a couple of trees with some over grown shrubbery residing between a church and a back road in the outskirts of town.
One sunny July afternoon after a long day of biking through my quaint hometown, Kevin and I pedaled to the familiar spot. A bag of candy in one hand, and devilish grins on our faces the two of us rested our bikes in high grass near the rear entrance of our secret post. The front entrance would have been for guests, if we ever had any. The each of us climbed our respective tree trunks. Then, like any other day Kevin and I started to converse about the normal topics: girls, sports, girls, super heroes, girls, etc. As the beating sun reflected off our young faces, the conversation turned into a game of Truth or Dare. After divulging enough information about my younger sister I knew it was time for me to choose a daring act. Then Kevin said it.
My first reaction was, “No way Kev, I’ll be grounded”. He looked at me with one of those looks that meant a thousand words. There was something about our fort; it had an unspoken set of standards. I didn’t want to back down to anything in that fort. I’ve always considered myself a competitor, and I love a challenge, even to this day. That day was no different. After some consideration I looked my friend in the eyes from across budding tree leaves and said, “Yea, I’ll throw a rock at the next car”.
I rested my bag of gummy bears safely in the tree and slithered down to find a rock. I looked down and saw a palm sized rock that would complete my arsenal then I waited. Minutes felt like hours. Kevin didn’t doubt me and I think that’s why he crawled out of site in the tall grass. Then I saw it. Barreling down the road like a runaway elephant, a beat up gray van lined with copper rust was in my sites. My heart started to pound as my target drove toward me. Kevin was dead silent. I wound up my cannon of a twelve year old arm, and threw the rock soaked in my sweat. No more second guessing.
I’m not 100% sure but the sound that steel panel on the van made was comparable to the first shots at Fort Sumter. BANG! Following the blast from the rock came bright red brake lights. Once again Kevin I locked eyes and in sync screamed, “Run!” I didn’t have time for my life to flash before me, but if there were ever a good time it was now. We climbed on our bikes and started pedaling. With our years of experience, we used alternate routes; though driveways, backyards, and alleyways. Without any sight of the van and resting in Kevin’s backyard, we were free. We did it. I huffed and puffed with the same devilish grin as earlier and said, “Truth or Dare? Ha!”
A week passed and I knew I had gotten away with my little rock throwing incident. Lying on the couch watching Lion King, my mom informed me, my Uncle (also the local handyman) would be stopping by to fix the broken air conditioner. Peering out the window I watched as he pulled into the driveway with his new work vehicle, a beat up gray van lined with copper rust.