There was more to the lake house of my youth than the two-story home in Gun Barrel City. For starters, my father owned some land across the main living quarters. Patches of short, green grass covered the small lot. At the front, a wooden yard sign with hand-painted lettering identified the property’s owner. The land was flat near the street, but gradually sloped downward toward the shore of the lake. On both sides of the treeless lot, there lay a single-storied house, each occupied by a different resident. To my recollection, I never met or saw the owner of the left house, nor did anyone else in my family. However, my father did occasionally visit with the people living in the right house. The owner was a Chinese man. I never saw the two conversing, but they must have developed some sort of friendship. For he gave my father a hand-painted Chinese banner featuring calligraphy and an image of a tiger.
Sandwiched between these two properties, my father’s land had a wooden pier leading from the shore to the lake. Whether it had been built by my father, his relatives, or someone else, I know not. I do know it was the center of many pleasant memories, most of them centering around swimming, diving, and fishing.
Across the street from the lake house to the left of my father’s property, there was a large park. For some strange reason, it had small, round wooden humps surrounding its perimeter, acting as a barrier of sorts. The area had short, green grass like my father’s lot, but the greenery completely covered the land.
On the right side near the lot situated next to my father’s property, there were a set of large, wooden seesaws. For the most part, we stayed away from them, thanks to my fear of falling off. This was magnified by the fact that a small, metal handle served as the only thing to hold onto. I eventually overcame my fear, but never spent much time on it.
The merry-go-round lay near the central front of the park. Made out of metal, it had a red-painted cylinder in the center of a circular platform. Several L-shaped arms protruding from the cylinder were welded to the platform’s outer circumference. In many ways, it resembled an octopus or spider on top of a plate. To complete the attraction, a path of hard but sand-like dirt ran along the ride’s circumference.
To get the ride’s rotation started, all you had to do was grab one of the arms and give it a push. Of course, the resulting speed was very slow, even if you gave another bar a strong push. The best approach involved grabbing a bar and running along the gray dirt path as quickly as possible, the hard soil providing better traction than the surrounding green grass. The trick was jumping onto the platform as the arms flew by.
In addition to standing or sitting on the platform as it spun around, there were other ways to have fun. We often chased each other by swinging under the bars or maneuvering around them along the edge of the platform. We held special club meetings, doodled in the loose dirt of the surrounding pathway, and acted out fantasy adventures. The amount of time spent at this one attraction would be impossible to count or measure, yet there was one other place where we spent even more time whittling away the hours.
Standing a considerable distance behind the merry-go-round, a jungle gym shaped like a spaceship, more like a bottle ship, provided lots of entertainment. We loved to play Chase, often swinging, climbing, and maneuvering on the metal bars. They were welded together, forming a structure which resembled the end product of an erector set. Although the top featured curved bars, the remainder consisted of square and rectangular shapes.
We often climbed to the top just to talk, spin tales, and tell jokes. We also played all sorts of physical games and contests that included races to the top and bottom. In addition, there were plenty of fantasy adventures to act out using toys and action figures.
To the far left of the merry-go-round, two large swingsets towered above the other attractions. The height must have reached at least sixteen feet. Long, metal chains attached the seats to the top crossbar. There were twelve seats in all if memory serves correctly. However, there was more than one type. The first kind used a hard but flexible plastic which was colored black. The second used a rectangular block of wood measuring somewhere between half an inch and three-fourth of an inch. Regardless of the measurement, the wood was rather thick and could easily support people of all ages.
As was always the case, we always found ways to push the envelope to have more fun. This involved going as high as you could, then jumping out of the seat. The further you could jump, the better. We also liked to stand on the seat while standing. How we managed to not seriously injure ourselves while doing all this remains a mystery.
The area beyond the jungle gym was treeless and sloped downward toward the lake’s shore. A few picnic tables lay here and there, but we completely ignored them. At the edge of the shore, a concrete barrier served as a wall. We often climbed down the wall to go swimming and clam hunting.
The hunting was done by slowly walking, allowing the feet to feel around and locate a specimen. Once you felt something smooth, you tried to dig it up with your toes. If you couldn’t get a strong grip, you had to resort to diving underwater. The darkness of the water forced you to use blind guesswork and often required several attempts. Most of the time, we came home empty, but we did find them. The majority of the clams we discovered were only half-shells. We occasionally discovered a full clam, an event which always brought excitement and celebration. Instead of trying to open the clams, we just washed away the mud and placed them on the dresser.
Along the western border of the park, a driveway led from the main street to the water’s edge and beyond. It allowed residents to easily deposit their boats into the lake. During my early childhood, my grandfather had such a boat. I can’t remember exactly what it looked like, but I do know that it was large and had a white bottom.
I always wanted to drive the boat, but my wishes were usually denied. I remember that I took charge of the wheel on some occasions, though I’m sure it was at moments when I had no chance of ramming the boat into something. Regardless, I always had fun riding aboard.
We usually visited the gull island from a distance, making sure not to antagonize the birds. We also drove under bridges and slowly traveled through areas filled with the large, thick trunks and branches of submerged trees. When the inspiration came, we would sometimes go fishing.
I have no idea when, how, or why the boat left our possession. It was there in the backyard one warm season, then gone the next. Like the boat, we eventually gave up ownership of the property. It was a place of fun, adventure, and excitement, a home of love, friendship, and bonding, and a retreat from the busy, stressful routines of life in the city. This was the place forever known as The Lake House.
Sandwiched between these two properties, my father’s land had a wooden pier leading from the shore to the lake. Whether it had been built by my father, his relatives, or someone else, I know not. I do know it was the center of many pleasant memories, most of them centering around swimming, diving, and fishing.
Across the street from the lake house to the left of my father’s property, there was a large park. For some strange reason, it had small, round wooden humps surrounding its perimeter, acting as a barrier of sorts. The area had short, green grass like my father’s lot, but the greenery completely covered the land.
On the right side near the lot situated next to my father’s property, there were a set of large, wooden seesaws. For the most part, we stayed away from them, thanks to my fear of falling off. This was magnified by the fact that a small, metal handle served as the only thing to hold onto. I eventually overcame my fear, but never spent much time on it.
The merry-go-round lay near the central front of the park. Made out of metal, it had a red-painted cylinder in the center of a circular platform. Several L-shaped arms protruding from the cylinder were welded to the platform’s outer circumference. In many ways, it resembled an octopus or spider on top of a plate. To complete the attraction, a path of hard but sand-like dirt ran along the ride’s circumference.
To get the ride’s rotation started, all you had to do was grab one of the arms and give it a push. Of course, the resulting speed was very slow, even if you gave another bar a strong push. The best approach involved grabbing a bar and running along the gray dirt path as quickly as possible, the hard soil providing better traction than the surrounding green grass. The trick was jumping onto the platform as the arms flew by.
In addition to standing or sitting on the platform as it spun around, there were other ways to have fun. We often chased each other by swinging under the bars or maneuvering around them along the edge of the platform. We held special club meetings, doodled in the loose dirt of the surrounding pathway, and acted out fantasy adventures. The amount of time spent at this one attraction would be impossible to count or measure, yet there was one other place where we spent even more time whittling away the hours.
Standing a considerable distance behind the merry-go-round, a jungle gym shaped like a spaceship, more like a bottle ship, provided lots of entertainment. We loved to play Chase, often swinging, climbing, and maneuvering on the metal bars. They were welded together, forming a structure which resembled the end product of an erector set. Although the top featured curved bars, the remainder consisted of square and rectangular shapes.
We often climbed to the top just to talk, spin tales, and tell jokes. We also played all sorts of physical games and contests that included races to the top and bottom. In addition, there were plenty of fantasy adventures to act out using toys and action figures.
To the far left of the merry-go-round, two large swingsets towered above the other attractions. The height must have reached at least sixteen feet. Long, metal chains attached the seats to the top crossbar. There were twelve seats in all if memory serves correctly. However, there was more than one type. The first kind used a hard but flexible plastic which was colored black. The second used a rectangular block of wood measuring somewhere between half an inch and three-fourth of an inch. Regardless of the measurement, the wood was rather thick and could easily support people of all ages.
As was always the case, we always found ways to push the envelope to have more fun. This involved going as high as you could, then jumping out of the seat. The further you could jump, the better. We also liked to stand on the seat while standing. How we managed to not seriously injure ourselves while doing all this remains a mystery.
The area beyond the jungle gym was treeless and sloped downward toward the lake’s shore. A few picnic tables lay here and there, but we completely ignored them. At the edge of the shore, a concrete barrier served as a wall. We often climbed down the wall to go swimming and clam hunting.
The hunting was done by slowly walking, allowing the feet to feel around and locate a specimen. Once you felt something smooth, you tried to dig it up with your toes. If you couldn’t get a strong grip, you had to resort to diving underwater. The darkness of the water forced you to use blind guesswork and often required several attempts. Most of the time, we came home empty, but we did find them. The majority of the clams we discovered were only half-shells. We occasionally discovered a full clam, an event which always brought excitement and celebration. Instead of trying to open the clams, we just washed away the mud and placed them on the dresser.
Along the western border of the park, a driveway led from the main street to the water’s edge and beyond. It allowed residents to easily deposit their boats into the lake. During my early childhood, my grandfather had such a boat. I can’t remember exactly what it looked like, but I do know that it was large and had a white bottom.
I always wanted to drive the boat, but my wishes were usually denied. I remember that I took charge of the wheel on some occasions, though I’m sure it was at moments when I had no chance of ramming the boat into something. Regardless, I always had fun riding aboard.
We usually visited the gull island from a distance, making sure not to antagonize the birds. We also drove under bridges and slowly traveled through areas filled with the large, thick trunks and branches of submerged trees. When the inspiration came, we would sometimes go fishing.
I have no idea when, how, or why the boat left our possession. It was there in the backyard one warm season, then gone the next. Like the boat, we eventually gave up ownership of the property. It was a place of fun, adventure, and excitement, a home of love, friendship, and bonding, and a retreat from the busy, stressful routines of life in the city. This was the place forever known as The Lake House.