Grampa Doesn't Want to Grow Up - Chapter 4

Schools out! Schools out! Teacher’s let the mules out! The refrain echoed through the school yard as we left school and headed home. The sky was blue and the weather perfect. We skipped and ran home leaving our school books behind with thoughts of a whole summer off with only memories of the past year in our minds.

A large empty area in front of the school house served as a play ground. During the winter it had been the scene of a great battle of two opposing armies throwing snow balls at each other behind solidly constructed snow forts. More than one time I had received a face full of snow when I raised my head to throw at an opponent resulting in an agonizing death as I twisted and convulsed on the ground and finally lay still. At the end of the battle there were many casualties laying in the snow around the forts until the recess bell rang and we had to return to class.
The forts had stood for a week before someone had jumped on them and broken them down along with the stock piles of snow balls behind them.

A grove of trees to the left was a jungle where there were lions, monkeys and bears or any other animal we could imagine. Moving with stealth through the trees we would fire our rifles at the beasts and standing over their dead bodies, yell like Tarzan. Climbing in the trees we would play with the monkeys or find places to hide when playing hid and seek. These trees even offered a secluded spot for holding hands and once a quick kiss from a girl classmate.

Below that lay the high jump, long jump and track. I smiled as I thought of how I had recently won the distinction as the fastest runner in the whole school. It felt good to be the first one chosen in a game of steal the flag. I was also pretty good at the high jump.