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Archiver > ARIZARD > 2000-11 > 0973116194


From: "Rosemary Kenney" <>
Subject: RE: [ARIZARD-L] More Stories of Izard County, Please? - Mike C.
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 16:03:14 -0600
In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.0.20001101080752.00b54900@pop.netzero.net>


My goodness, Mike, I'm glad you weren't my child! I'll bet if they knew
what you and your friends "got in to" that BOTH your parents were
prematurely gray!!!

Rosemary

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael W. Condardo [mailto:]
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2000 11:28 AM
To:
Subject: RE: [ARIZARD-L] More Stories of Izard County, Please?


Boy howdy...you played the same stuff I did...Come the 4th of july, we had
to walk a couple of miles to buy fireworks...it was great for the ecology
(though we didn't know at the time) because we cleaned up every beer and
pop bottle (laying anywhere) to get money for firecrackers (legal then). on
the walk back home was a small pond with sunfish,carp, and frogs. The Hobo
Jungle was a half block from the pond. With a fresh-bought supply of
assorted sized firecrackers, we would launch an all-out attack on the
residents of the pond. Your aim had to be pretty good to even get close,
but it was "war". One day we had launched another major attack, when these
three "BOs" came over from the "jungle" and started yelling at us for
killing off all the frogs...seems that was a 'quaranteed food supply. Well
it wasn't us because we never got that close,or let alone kill a one. Seems
the county came in and sprayed the pond with DDT to kill the
mosquitos...and killed everything else. That was the last year of the
"Firecracker Bombing Range". The following year, we were big enough to
"challenge the "BOs" in their own territory. The "jungle stretched out for
about a 1/2 mile between the Union Pacific and the Northern Pacific
Railroad Tracks. The area was about 100 feet wide, overgrown with willow
and russian olive trees mixed with mesquite and sage brush. The BOs would
would find a scrap of wood or cardboard and take it into the jungle and
build themselves a "mansion". Well anyway, we got real brave that year
after they sprayed the pond. It really started when one saturday we were
walking to town (3 miles) to go to the afternoon movies. We decided that
this slow freight train blocking the way might be faster than walking...so
we hopped our 1st freight. we were just hanging on the side irons when we
went past this brakeman waiting to throw a yard switch. He yelled at us to
"git off". We weren't bad kids, so we got off the train...which meant we
had to get off to the side of the tracks, which meant we had to walk next
to the jungle. Well these two BOs jumped out of the jungle and tried to
grab us...we ran like all git-out, and got away. So the next time we bought
firecrackers, we naturally just had to show these "bums (who couldn't catch
us anyway)who was boss . We got our punks glowing red-hot, and our pockets
full of assorted firecrackers. We even figured since we were going to be on
the run, we should start our attack from the north end of the jungle so
when we got to the other end we could just keep running for home. READY-
SET -GO! we caught them totally off guard ( the local police wouldn't even
go into the jungle unless it was serious) so we went running, trying to
light those firecrackers on the run was something we hadn't figured on.
Frank almost got caught when in frustration he stopped to light a M-80.
Tossed it and had to side-step a flying tackle. But we made it out of the
other end of the jungle. We only fired off 4 firecrackers...didn't blow the
BOs jungle to smithereens like we had planned, but we were the tough-guys.
Later, the reality of just how many BOs lived in that jungle and how close
we came to capture...really scared the hell out of us. But that day we
could have licked the Japs, the Nazis,...and the Commies, all before lunch.
Once again, we saved the world at age 12. Mike C.

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