Chapter 5

Mom bought us a little pool that summer. She placed it under the car port in front of our home. I recall many hot nights taking a 'bath' in the pool and letting the night air dry us before bedtime.

Mom learned to drive this year. Dad then went out and bought her a 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. A 2-door Coupe. I always wondered why we didn't get a 4 door car? It was a pain in the neck having to pull the front seat forward to get into the back.

We ended up having to keep track of who last sat in the front seat. Many fights ensued as to the memory of who last had the honor. Many times the 3 of us would end up in the back seat as mom had had enough of our fighting.

I recall looking at the strange straps on the seats. We tested out these new 'seatbelts' to see what made them work. They were all lap belts at the time. They snapped together and you could adjust the length of the belt to make it fit on you.

Not long after I remember having a recurring dream. A nightmare really. Where we were driving on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and our car was suddenly sinking in the water. I had the new seatbelt on and it would not snap open no matter how much I tried.

I knew it was a dream since the bridge in question was hundreds of miles south of us at this time. It was still scary. I know none of us used those contraptions for many years to come.

Firecrackers. You have to love that the South is keen on individuals rights. No outlawed fireworks here. You could get the real deal in any local store.

I remember yelling at my brother. I heard the 'explosion' in the backyard and saw my beloved GTO go flying across the grass. In many pieces. I remember running out there and nearly losing it. I didn't care if he desroyed his own models. Why was he blowing up mine?

He allowed me to light the two he had setup in his George Patton tank.

He had tied them in together, and assured me that the length of the fuses would make them both blow up at the same time. Hah! Fat chance of that. One went, and many seconds later the other went. I know I nearly messed my pants as we had started moving towards the destruction. Thinking that both had gone off. Nope. That second one then went off and we scrambled away.

I recall discovering just why he had borrowed dad's hammer. My brother had started building a tree fort on a tree at the top of our hill in the back. The wood looked vaguely familiar. Oh right, those new homes being built. It was only a handful of boards, I remember just looking at him and shaking my head.