A Kid's Life, Early '80's-Ohio

A Kid's Life , Early '80's-Ohio.
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9,10,11,12 :
Big hill behind a duplex, L-shaped.
We'd open our , shared, bedroom window ;
Blast "Songs in the Attic", Billy Joel, from the stereo.
Or Rush, Floyd.

have water fights with the garden hose
in the stifling heats of the summer,
go running like lightning down the hill
or fish for blue gill, from a rock quarry.

Sometimes,

a bunch of us would visit the "Candy Man ";
a kind , old man who sold us sweets
at bargain deals ,
much to our regret
in later visits to the dentist,
and our parent's : "The bill!"

.....sounds of 'rock' echoed
on hazy, sleepy air :
a water park, "Echol's Lake",
from across the Olentangy
(Old and Scrungy ) River ,
As we called it!

small park on far side of a trailer park,
at the bottom of the hill ;
only memory mar being :
at times, a faint smell of sewage
from treatment machinery there.

we'd play 'Guns' or 'War'
in the itchy, buggy woods ;
in naivete and unknowingly,
one time, I camouflaged myself

with poison ivy tucked
into the collar, sleeves, of my shirt
and maybe the waist of my pants
as well !
That was a laugh riot!

play 'til the sun began to drift to its earth bed,
'til the clarion call : "Michael!Jason!Supper!"
Electrified ; young hearts and lungs.
like lightning, back up the hill ;
barely breathless.

to hard working folks who gave up a lot
to make sure we were happy
and not needing or wanting for
anything.

No-one's childhood is ideal
but, i think, at least for me,
the things that stand out the most,
are what made it so wondrous and alive,
and as close to perfect as it can be.