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Life lessons can be learned in the ditch |
Chapter 15
At some point in my childhood I became fascinated with ditches. Especially those that were full of water.
When we finally got a family car in addition to the “bus,” I can remember staring out of the side windows of the faded maroon ‘48 Chevy 4-door watching the deep ditches alongside of Highway 169, wondering what would happen if we were to swerve into one. Would we drown? Who would survive? What would happen to the car? Would we be stuck with the bus again?
There was a ditch between Mrs. Greenfield’s house and our little house. One early spring day sister Carol decided she could walk on water (frozen water) and nature decided she couldn’t. The ice broke and Carol went in. There she was, face down, looking like she had already drowned. Older sister Margaret came to the rescue! She jumped in, sister Bette ran for help.
I don’t know what sister Sharon and I did, but from that point on there was a unique closeness between Carol and her life-saving older sister, Margaret.
Another ditch episode initiated in the church parking lot when Sharon, Carol, Don, and some others dared me to run through the ditch at the end of the lot. I must have just watched a WWII film on TV, because I told them I could make it with my BB gun held over my head like some war hero.
I didn’t realize until I was in halfway up to my chest (or was it my cheeks?), in ice cold water that my wet winter clothes were weighing me down, and I needed help to get out of there.
Lesson Learned
Make sure that you know your limitations when attempting to cross a ditch that life puts in front of you. If you get in too deep you may need someone you can count on to bail you out.
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