Re: [at-l] funny true story that is kind of trail related

[ATnavi@aol.com]

In a message dated 02/21/2000 12:56:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, rpb@eoni.com 
writes:

> And a childhood with woods to play in may just be the best thing going.  

Hear, hear, Rick!

I KNOW my love of the woods grows out of childhood experience. Not only was 
there an empty wooded lot behind my house -- with HUGE boulders and dense 
brush to explore -- my parents didn't raze their own lot, so I had lots of 
trees to climb in and even a little "jungle" in one corner of the yard. My 
fondest memories of childhood are climbing up and over the fence on one or 
another of many dogwood trees, and joining the kids next door in playing 
fortress up on their huge rocks. I also had to walk through dense woods to 
elementary school, past a pond with tadpoles, a raging icy brook (lots of 
temptations to cross it on logs, which I did, rather than use the official 
bridge), patchwork swamps and dozens of deer trails. From that standpoint, it 
was a disappointment to move on the 6th grade and have to take the bus to 
school.

Of course, it didn't hurt that my parents used to take me on their hikes, 
either. <G> Shame that stopped when my first sibling was born...but at least 
we still went to state parks and had picnics and played frisbee-- and walked, 
slowly, with the baby.

Missing those carefree days,
Navigator
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