The Adventure

 The news is giving me anxiety so let’s do something else…

The time someone might have attempted to kidnap me in the weirdest way possible….

When I was four we moved into this brand new apartment building, smelled like wood…. Anyway, it butted up to a field on, I “ think” Nevada??? Or Hamilton after it changes???? I have a difficult time remembering those streets I used to know like the back of my hand. 

Anyway, I was allowed to cross the busy street by myself to get candy from what was or was next to a building supply store. I could take my two year old brother too, just look both ways, you know, good parenting.

I’ve written about this place before. I had a best friend whose name was Doug. We were adventurers. Remember we made and found arrow heads and the district school  bus station was in front of the apartments and it had real clay just under the surface. My uncle worked there. We rode bikes everywhere. We’d stay up all night during slumber parties and wait for the coyotes to come out then we’d watch Saturday morning cartoons and go out to hunt them… They were, obviously, gone by then and doubtfully afraid of two four year olds with homemade arrowheads, anyway.

So one day, like magic, like the Wizard of Oz, a hot air balloon landed in the field between our apartments and the street. Of course Doug and I were fascinated by OZ showing up and all so we went to check it out. It was loud with huge bursts of air and gas and stunning in every single way. The man, who was old, to us, and rather looked like OZ asked if we wanted a ride, of course we did! Plus we were basically wild animals anyway, no need to get permission from the adults who also just happened to live with us, parents some called them. So he gets out and heaves us in and we take off! I can only see through tiny holes in the basket but, I mean, it was super high to four year olds and then I could even see the top of the apartments which is when, over the loud noises and  happy squeals I hear a woman losing her mind. She’s screaming at the top of her voice… what’s she saying?

Tracy!!! Tracy,God  Damn it! Get down. 

That was pretty hard for me to do considering it was impossible but she yelled at me anyway until the nice man from OZ lowered us down. My mom was both happy and furious. She grabbed me and Doug, I felt so bad for him having to end our adventure on this sour note and all, then she turned her attention to the man who gently began to fly away.

See, my mom apparently had a line in the sand. Go anywhere you want EXCEPT into a hot air balloon. That’s where I found my limit. Simple enough I thought as air balloons rarely drop from the sky I imagined.

It was a good adventure and after we’d had to be confined to our homes for the next day we talked about it often. 

Tracy