the days are long and short

When people would tell me that me and my friends were playing in sewer water I knew they were wrong. I knew what sewers were for and we would have seen floating turds or yellow water.  The water was so clear in fact that it must have been rain water but I rarely saw it dry, even during the summer.

The ravine that ran behind my elementary school was called “The Creek” but to me, it was a canyon. The end that I usually entered from featured an enormous six foot concrete tunnel that ran under a road. The water that ran thru the tunnel was rarely deeper than about 3 inches so you could walk thru from one side to the other if you knew where to step and didn’t mind getting your feet wet.

From there the creek wound its way around for blocks, probably 15 feet below the level that the school and the local houses were built on. The sides of the valley were covered in trees, bushes, and at one point a rockslide of 10 to 15 huge Han Solos frozen in carbonite sized slabs of gray concrete. Stuck in the dirt where they had fallen, these slabs were excellent for climbing on, and one in particular was positioned perfectly as a slide.

Numerous club hideouts were constructed in the creek, as well as several nicknames for it.  I have a distinct memory of trying to sketch out a logo that renamed it the “Danger Zone” This memory also includes humming the Kenny Loggins chorus of the same name while trying to strategize the best places to take cover from someone lobbing grandees at you if you had just been running at top speed.