What were some of your greatest adventures when you were small?

Living in rural Idaho was nothing but adventure. I have very fond memories of my years in Sugar City. With a built-in companion-in-crime (my brother, Jerry) I was able to see and do things that the explorers of the New World couldn't fathom.

Adventure the First: One of our early adventures led us to the towering smokestack. A remnant of past times, now the abode for pigeons and a place for creatures that longed to know what mysteries are hidden inside the forbidding structure. No, I said that wrong. It was not forbidding, it was forbidden. The Mother told us not to go there. So, one afternoon when the Mother was not paying close attention, the creatures traversed the brick-laden way to the forbidden smokestack. I remember the joy of the adventure, and the expectation of seeing something wonderful and awe inspiring. As we approached the entrance to our journey's end I remember looking up at the stack that rose up to the clouds and thinking, "This is as good as it gets!" We stooped and entered. The forbidding smokestack was immense. The pigeons fluttered about because of the intrusion on their privacy. Well, that's about it...nothing spectacular. A few lousy pigeons, a tall smokestack, and that's about it. It was a grand adventure though. A memory to last a lifetime.

Adventure the Second: Imagine Huck and Tom rafting down the Mississippi. No big deal. We (Jerry and I) went rafting in the Coal Pit. Just to the north of our house in Sugar City was an abandoned coal pit. A place where coal was kept to store large amounts of coal for one reason or another (I really don't know). The coal pit was filled with water. It had to be hundreds of feet deep, that's the impression I got from my mother. Yes, you're right...it was another forbidden place for young creatures. And how do boys interpret the forbidding of an adventure? Well of course, he has to go there. I know we sneaked over there a few times. The first time was an exploratory mission. We checked out the best way to traverse the dangerous journey. We approached the vast watery expanse with trepidation and with great anticipation. Our expectations were not shattered. We saw it...the Coal Pit. Concrete walls to keep in the waters. And things were floating in it. A railroad tie, other pieces of wood, and there it was...a raft. Not an ordinary raft, a raft of quality, a raft of unique design. A raft that used to be a set of stairs. You know what? I'm not sure if we ever did get on that raft; in my memory we sailed like pirates of old. It was a great adventure...and mother didn't catch us. Sometimes mothers sleep easier not knowing what stupid things their children do.