Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Me I Used To Be

Last night my family and I stretched out on the trampoline in our backyard to watch the Perseids meteor shower. It was a little cloudy and the the moon was so bright that the shooting stars were hard to spot but we did manage to see a few.

While the star gazing wasn't quite as spectacular as we'd hoped the time prone of my did get me thinking to days gone by. As a kid I lived on my trampoline and lying there next to my boys took me back twenty plus years to all the nights I spent stretched out on the canvas in a sleeping bag chatting with my buddies.

Hardly a week went by in the summer when two three or four of my buddies didn't sleep over under the stars. We talked -- about girls, we would never impress but thought we could, about what we would do once we turned 18 or twenty one, where we would live, what job we would have. Sometimes we told scary stories that would get under our skin and drive us inside, though being boys we never admitted fear. We would nonchalantly say it looked like rain or that the wind was coming up, or the moon was too bright to actually sleep, though in reality very little sleep ever took place.

And one time me and my buddies spotted a burglar breaking into the house. that one scared us and we snuck inside to call the cops. They police showed up quickly and the guy was caught in the act but we always feared the burglar would find out we snitched on him and the outside sleepovers were always a bit fearful after that as we speculated the guy would come back to enact his revenge.

And of course me and my buddies played truth or dare. We have mooned passing motorist, streaked down the alley in front of cars, egged and toilet papered the house of those we didn't like. Snuck over to girls houses to tap on their windows only to be chased off. Yep, there are a lot of stories from thsoe days and last night I enjoyed remembering them and my friends as I stared into the heavens.

One of those friends who was nearly always there was this guy. Tomorrow is is his birthday. He doesn't have comments enable on his blog anymore but there is an email address. If you get the chance drop him a well wish and tell him Travis sent you. I remember one of our late night conversations under the stars where Jason said he wanted to name his kids shithead and dumb ass just so the teachers would have to say those words while taking roll and that he would have a chance to go out on the porch and call their name. Well he does have two kids but thankfully they have other names. Probably the truth of the matter that as teenagers he and I should have been called shit head and dumb ass. I'll leave y'all to speculate which moniker better fit me.

18 comments:

Rocketstar said...

Nice post man. Yeah, those were the days weren't they. Sneaking out late at night, roaming the neighborhood, moving people's hoses to their neighbors house, TP'ing, climbing up on the elemnentray school roof and kicking all of the balls from recess off the roof.

Unknown said...

Well, I never slept outside, but my boys loved putting their tent on the trampolene and sleeping out there. This was when I lived way out in the country, in the woods, and they would almost always come in the house because they "heard" something, or thought a coyote was gonng get them!

But I LOVE laying our trampolene and looking at the stars!

March2theSea said...

laying on the trampoline..sounds nice. My kids would never have laid still tho! hahahah

Anonymous said...

Wow! What great memories. Back when pro wrestling was real (at least it seemed like it), that old trampoline was also host to many a super-battle-royal-cage-death-barb-wire-tag-team match. The smile on my face today is a great birthday present. Thanks Travis.

Spy Scribbler said...

I've been asking for a trampoline every Christmas since I was 7. I'm still asking.

Love sleeping under the stars.

Monnik said...

nostalgic posts are the best. I can just see you guys wrestling on the trampoline...

What a great place to watch a meteor shower too!

yellowdoggranny said...

my cousins and I used to love to sleep on the screened in porch..we all had quilt pallets, pillows and slept in our underwear as the heat was so miserable no one would wear 'jammies'..we would sing songs and fart..farting was a big laugh getter..

Unknown said...

We have a trampoline - kids love it. Me, not so much. When I jump on it, I hit bottom.

It's fun to reminisce about a simpler day, isn't it? Makes me glad I'm not a kid now...their lives are way too complicated.

Thanks for sharing, Travis.

SL

Patti said...

husband and i have often said that the dumbass years are some of the best.

did you ever stick a sprinkler under the tramp and let it go full blast?! we did...DUMBASS!

Nnairda's said...

I enjoyed this post. It's funny how sharing moments with your own children can bring you back to so many years ago.

Scary about the burglar! You guys were brave to go back out and sleep. Those were the days...when a young boy or girl could sleep outside in their own backyard.

Adriann

Joshua said...

ah the days of yesteryear, how much fun they were and how fast they flew :)

Andrea Frazer said...

You wrote a great post there. I never slept on a trampoline (is that what you said? have to re read) but I get the hanging out for hours. I am quite certain that with a name like shithead or dumb ass you would have gotten more girls than you thought.

Unknown said...

That was a great post! Thanks for sharing!
hugs,
Robyn

debra said...

It's ofter too cloudy here to see the Perseids, although we've seen the Leonids several times. Someone gave my daughter a tent that goes on the trampoline. She loves going out there with her buddies.

Kristen Painter said...

Based on your descriptions of what boys do, I might have been a boy too. lol

Lana Gramlich said...

You went out to early for the Perseids (presumably you went before 4 am or so.) Unfortunately we were clouded out here, but I got a very entertaining thunderstorm yesterday instead, so I guess it all comes out in the wash. ;)

Beatrice, Bea, Bibi--That's me! said...

Great post. It's nice to go back and just remember. It shows you how far you've come in the world.

holly said...

there were two nicknames in bloom county : potty-butt and poopy-potty. my best friend in high school and i use these as our nicknames to this day.