Me and Julio, down by the schoolyard
2002 01 24
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The colours of morning glory, and dancing while we sang Captain and Tenille in our piping voices. We'd run from one side of the back lot to the other, and in winter our snow forts dotted it like sugar lumps.
If I close my eyes I can still walk there in my dreams. There's the corner store; there is the street to the highschool I would eventually attend; there is the home of the man who always froze a section of lawn into a skating rink each winter; there is that steep hill we always feared we'd fall down, but never did.
And there, there is the school with its large lot, secret spots, and the librarian who really did resemble an owl.
There is the street to run down to the corner store that was just that much too far to make it back from, without being late in from recess.
Just over that fence is the public swimming pool and its child-friend the wading pool, with springing animals to sit up and splash around. If you keep walking that way, you'll find the grove of cherry trees we'd climb, and the swingset out in the middle of what seemed a secret nowhere to us.
If I walked inside and down to the end of the hall, there would be the kindergarden, and it really had a garden of sorts. There was a separated outdoor play area for the small ones; off to the side of the school, fenced off from the rest of the grounds, and its own entrance. We felt very special.
In the corner is our book room ... I still have my reading list from then, long pages detailing all the childhood stories I'd read. I should re-read them some day. In the next corner our childhood kitchen and craft area, and opposite three large blocks of very hard plastic in blue, yellow, and red. Each of these had different shapes cut in the sides of circles, squares, and triangles; and each day three of us were allowed to take our nap blankets in for our sleep time.
Sometimes, in winter, we'd be taken to the ice rink nearby. I still can't ice skate well, it hurts my lazy ankles and arches.
My grade four class was invited to sing in the Santa Claus parade one winter... we practiced our carols and sat on folding chairs on the float. I wore a coat of many colours. Cheery children, and my grandmother in the crowd smiling.
There, too, is the scout hall where I spent a few years in the pseudo-military, nature-oriented Brownies and Girl Guides. I still have my badges somewhere. I think I still have my little Brownie hat, with its golden sprite embroidered on the front.
There, cuddled and tucked away on a quiet street, there are some favourite days, and warm sensations. There is the place where we played, where laughter was easy and pure, where friends felt like a lifetime. There is my childhood.