1/7/04

The Lake (2 of 3)
There were several families who were regular weekend guests. We were almost never there alone. We were as close to those kids as our own cousins. We devised our own games that we played for hours out in the water. We were rough - but we all became very strong swimmers. One favorite was "Canoe Capture". A team would start out in a canoe, and the opposition would swim out to it. The swimmers would attempt to conquer the canoe. Those is the boat would fend off the swimmers with paddles by splashing aggressively. It could get pretty brutal. Eventually the boat would always be swamped. Then we'd be into phase two of the game which was to maintain control of the swamped boat. We'd push and shove, swim up behind each other and dunk, then turn the boat over and hang out in the air pocket to rest. We'd put one or two kids into the boat lying down and then spin it around. This could go on for hours. The moms would usually bring a big plate of sandwiches down to the dock about noon, and we'd all get out long enough to eat - then be right back at it.
We also had a ball with a giant inner tube. Four or five kids could fit on it. We'd all sit on that tube with our legs in the middle grasp each others arms and do a backward leaning wave type motion. One by one we'd spontaneously flip off backwards to upset the balance, and eventually the tube would flip on the remaining kid. Sometimes we'd do the same thing but standing on the tube all laughing and screaming. It couldn't have been more fun.
Evenings were also incredibly special. We had no TV there, so we provided our own entertainment. There were lively card games or an excruciatingly difficult puzzle. We had STACKS of comic books. But the BEST was the music.
My dad was very musical and had a beautiful tenor voice. Many of his friends sang well also. So once dinner was over, we'd often have a dozen people, adults and kids, out on that front deck singing. Dad would play the baritone ukulele or a banjo and we'd SING our hearts out. You haven't seen anything until you've seen three little blonde girls belt out "Hard Hearted Hannah, the Vamp of Savannah"! My sisters and I will still do that one together - any chance we get. Dad's friend, Dr. Kerr had a very deep bass voice and was a great addition to our ragtag chorus. It wasn't really ragtag though - it was magic.

Written by sunflowerkat321 .

This entry has 1 comments:
Boy, this entry really brings back memories. Some of our best times were spent in the water, too. A bunch of us would join hands and then we'd run together and do canonballs in the water and try to drench sunbathers!Uh-hee-hee-hee.Comment from andreakingme - 1/7/04 2:12 PM