Dangerous Liaisons

You know those HUGE black garbage bags that hold something like 13 or 15 gallons worth of trash? And they're nearly as tall as a human when you pull them out of the box? Those were used for incredible feats when I was a kid. 

Growing up in a smaller community, we had irrigation days where ditches and yards would be flooded with mountain water run off. Certain neighborhoods had certain watering days to take care of their yards and gardens. The best part, however, was the water that filled the ditches. 

You may be asking what that has to do with the black garbage bags. A lot, I tell you! A lot! One of the things we did most when I was a kid was grab one of those garbage bags and head for the ditches. You'd open up the bag, put yourself inside, and then sit in the ditch water until it filled the bag and sent you sailing down the ditch. It was a fast ride because the water moved fast. 

The only potential problem was getting out of the ditch with your bag (and body) intact before you went under a driveway cover and got stuck. And probably drowned. Maybe this wasn't such a great thing we did in retrospect. Nah. Are you kidding?! It was great fun! And cheap. 

Quite often, the bag would rip because it was so full of water. Plus, it was quite slippery, so trying to yank it out of the water with wet, prune-y hands was kind of difficult. The other difficult part was making sure you yanked the bag up and out of the water rather than dragging it. If you dragged it you would most likely be pulling against the asphalt and create tears in the bag. A few small ones were no big deal, but much more than that definitely decreased your speed in the water. 

If there got to be too many holes in the bag, we'd sit on them instead and hold on for dear life as the water dragged us down the length of the ditch. That usually lasted at least a few more rides before a new bag was a necessity. 

I remember getting caught under the driveway cover one time. My legs were stuck in the bag under the driveway cover, and I was really struggling to get out of the water. My heels were digging into the ditch to hold on to that garbage bag for dear life as my forearms were holding my entire body weight above the water so I could get out. I almost recovered with the garbage bag intact, but at the last second the water filled up the bag again and sucked it down the ditch to its demise. 

It's amazing to me that we can't find such cheap summer entertainment now. Everything costs money, and summer entertainment consists of going to the movies where it's air-conditioned and comfortable. The good ol' days never knew of such a thing. Sure, we had movie theaters, but playing outside in the heat was what summer was all about. It was like a silent contest to see who could go to school in the Fall with the brownest skin. If you were lucky (like me) that tan would last year round with only the slightest fade when Spring came around. 

I do, however, admit now that many of the things we did during summer break were pretty dangerous. After all, I could have easily drowned in that ditch had the bag not broken free. My arms could have given in and the water would have sucked me under. Or I could have whacked my head on the cement ditch and never come to. But those were the days when dangerous liaisons meant staying out of your mom's hair in order to avoid housework or chores. It was totally worth it - risking life, limb, and all.