Source: We Heart It
Tricycle Attacks
When I was not quite two years old, we lived-in the tiny town of Jarrell, Texas. My father was a highway contractor and his current job was in that area. During those years we lived in a mobile home smaller than most travel trailers of today.
No all places we lived had official ‘trailer parks’ as they were called during my childhood. This was the case in Jarrell. My father was a master of finding a small piece of land to park our home during the time the job lasted. In Jarrell an elderly couple had a spot in their side yard he was able to rent.
During our time there, The Huckabee’s became surrogate grandparents for me and pretty much adopted our entire family. Their house was a big white affair with a huge porch that wrapped around the front and side across the yard from where we lived.
I am dating myself here, but TV was limited with few stations that could be picked up with an outside antenna and reception was iffy at best. People actually spent time visiting with each other. Dad and Granny as we called them, spent many afternoons and evenings sitting on this wide side porch visiting with neighbors and friends that dropped by. There were always goodies offered and gallons of sweet tea were consumed on those afternoons.
On neighbor, Miss Loomas was a regular. I’m not sure if she was a widow or an ‘old-maid’ as never married women were called during those days. She was roughly Granny’s age to my young eyes and had the most sour disposition of anyone I had met to that point in my life. I was a mischievous child – some would say slightly evil. Miss Loomas wore the most ugly white sandals I had ever seen with uglier thick flesh-colored stockings. I loved shoes even at that young age, but I hated her sandals and her toes were fair game.
Let me explain ‘fair game’. While the adults gossiped and drank iced tea, I rode my tricycle on that smooth cement floored porch. Each round I made passing the adults I managed to clip her toes with one or the other back wheel — depending on if I was coming or going in my continuous loop.
Even as a young child I was a pretty good judge of character. I’m sure she was lonely, but she was mean … always finding fault with everyone … especially me. I was convenience she hated me … but most likely she hated all children and I was an easy target. My mom had several harsh conversations with me regarding my drive by toe attacks, but I still managed at least one good clip every time she came over and I was riding my tricycle. I never actually ran over any of her toes, but managed to get close enough for her to feel the wheel. This did nothing to improve her disposition and she sure wanted me to get my smart-ass butt beat … but mom never did. She was well aware of our little war and knew I received satisfaction in bedeviling Miss Loomas because of her open dislike of me in general.
All in all, our time there was a good one and we made life-long family friends not only with Dad and Granny but with many people in this tiny Texas town. I began my life as a shoplifter while living there … but that is another story for another day!
NOTE: The picture above is not my tricycle, but a very close replica. Mine had multicolored streamers!
Copyright © 2017 Annie
Always…I wish you peace, joy and happiness, but most of all I wish you Love.
As Ever, Annie
Writing Outside The Lines 