Water, Sand and Rope (Part 1): Water
Well everyone, I thought it would be good to go back to my childhood experiences now that I finally finished with my latest college story. This one takes place when I was 10 years old as a kid. The title gives some of it away, but the rest is rather interesting. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Summer is one of my least favorite months of the year. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have all the pretty color and not have to shovel snow or trudge through the mud. However, the one problem that summer has is that it's hot. It's really hot especially during July and the first part of August usually. The day this story takes place was no exception to the rule. I was 10 years old at the time of the story and my brother Scott was 11.
I don't remember what the exact temperature was that day. It was in the mid 80's or lower 90's in Fahrenheit. In other words as I put before it was hot. Back in during this time, my house didn't have air conditioning. We had fans around the house, but all that did was create a breeze blowing the already warm air back around the room and onto you. It was about the middle of the morning when I came into Sean's room. My brother was laying on his bed with a fan blowing on high pointed at him. "Hey big brother." I shouted as I came into the room. Sean looked up from the game he was playing and looked at me. "Yeah Jen, what do you want?" I took a moment and stared at him as he returned my gaze. My brother knew better than to just ignore me. I was persistent when I wanted something at that age and I could be a real bother until I got an answer.
After I let my request linger in the air. "Sean, . . . It's hot. I mean it's really hot." I spit out looking up at him. Sean didn't pause his game he just shot me a glance. "Really Jen? Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I was beginning to feel a little bit cold. Maybe I should dig my snowsuit out of the closet and crawl under my electric blanket to warm up." I let out a loud laugh at my brother's statement. I was beginning to gather the idea of sarcasm at that age. Sean had to put it out pretty thick, but I was able to pick up on the joke. "Really Jennifer, I know it's hot. What exactly did you want me to do about it?" I waited until my brother finished, he was a little annoyed by my bothering him over the obvious situation and I could pick up on his attitude in his voice.
"Scott and I want to know if we could go swimming." Sean looked up and at me and just shook his head. "No Jen, you cannot, it's a mile to the city pool and you know mom doesn't want me taking the two of you there by ourselves. Besides, I don't have the 10 bucks to spare for the three of us to get in." Sean gave me a direct answer. The there is no chance in hell of that happening. I waded around the excuses since that wasn't my request in the first place. "I know" I replied, "I didn't mean the city pool, I meant the swimming pool in the garage. Scott and I were wondering if you could help us set it up." Sean looked at me like I was crazy.
He sat back and rolled his eyes around in his head. Then he looked down at me. "You're serious aren't you Jen?" I just nodded with a quiet smile. Sean looked at me again and gave me a look of frustration. Then, he let out a heavy sigh. "If I do this, you'll leave me alone to finish my game in peace for the rest of the afternoon?" I nodded again. "I'm serious Jen, I don't want to be bothered. If you interrupt me again after I dig this pole out, I am going to tie you to the tether ball poll out in the hot sun for the rest of the day. Do we understand each other clearly?" I nodded again. "Fine, go get your swimsuit on and I will go dig the pool out of the garage.
With that, Sean paused his game and departed from his room down the hallway towards the kitchen and ultimately the garage. I headed down to my room to change. My room was closer to Sean's room than the garage. I stepped inside and closed the door to get some privacy while I got ready to go outside. Usually, I would have bothered my mother to help me find my swimsuit and help set up the pool. However, she was absent this morning off visiting my aunt as she often did on weekends during the school year. Sean was 16 at the time of this story and more than capable of watching Scott and me for a day at a time. We did some dumb things, but we we capable of rational thoughts at this age at least most of the time. We really didn't need to be watched constantly unless something was going on.
Still, even without my mother's help, locating my swimsuit didn't take long. It was a green one piece suit with a U shaped back on it. I slid out of the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing and slipped into it. I also grabbed a pair of plastic fisherman style sandals from under my bed and slid them on over my bare feet. Our driveway was gravel at the time of the story and it didn't feel good under bare feet. Once I was changed, I headed out of my room and over to the laundry room which was just off the garage. I opened the bottom cabinet and began digging around looking for the bottle. I was old enough to know not to drink anything under the sink. After a couple minutes of looking, I found the sunscreen and poured some out into my hands. I spent the next five minutes or so spreading a generous coating of it over my body.
The sun was bright over head and I didn't need to get sunburn.
Once I was all set, I entered the garage just in time to see Sean handing the large box down to Scott from the rafters. My younger brother slowed its decent to the floor, but it was still rather heavy for him to handle on his own and it hit the floor with a soft thud. Once the box was down, Sean hopped down and hefted the heavy load onto his shoulders. "Come on you two, let's get this thing set up so that I can get back to my game." My eldest brother stated as he headed out the open garage door with the large box hefted above his shoulders. Scot followed behind him carrying a bicycle pump and I followed after them empty handed.
The three of us formed a procession to the rear yard of the house. Sean led the way looking for a good spot to proceed. My oldest brother selected and open and level spot next to the covered sandbox that sat out in our back yard. Our father had gotten a fresh load of sand for this year like he always did, but it did get to see much action from us as we didn't play in the sand very often at that age. Sean opened the box and hefted the big thing out onto the open lawn next to the sand box. "Well, this is about as good of a spot as any I can see from where we currently are. You had better hope this thing holds air, otherwise it's going back into the garage and you two will have to find something else to stay cool with. By the way, our deal stands either way whether or not this works." Sean began to spread the contents of the box out on the lawn and then began to try and locate the air nozzle to insert the pump.
The item contained in the box was an old wading pool that my mother had bought for us when I was roughly 4 or 5 years old. It was the inflatable kind that you set up in the back yard and fill with a garden hose. The pool was pretty old and had seen it's share of use over the years. It had several patches on it where a leak had sprung, and the hole had been repairs. Sean inserted the end of the pump into the nozzle and made sure the seal was secure. "Ok, you two go ahead and start pumping. It's hot and I am not the one who wants this silly thing set up. If you want to go swimming go ahead and start pumping. I am going to go untangle the hose. With that, Sean walked back toward the house leaving Scott and me with a tiring task to complete.
Scott began pumping first. He was the oldest and he wanted this done apparently more than I did. I just stood there wand watched as my brother pumped the handle up and down at least 100 times. I continued to watch as the pool began to expand and take shape as the air pulled the first of the three chambers that composed it. Scott pumped for a good 10 minutes and to my pleasant surprise, the pool held air without a hitch. Once he was done filling the first chamber, my brother wiped the sweat from his forehead and closed the valve. Scott stepped down on the first wall of the and applied some pressure with his foot. The two of us listened carefully to see if we could hear any leaks. Luckily, there weren't any in the old pool so far. With that done, Scott moved on and put the pump into the second valve.
"Ok Jen, it's your turn." I didn't argue. The sooner the pool got full of air the sooner it could get full of water. I began pumping hard and a few minutes later, the second section of the pool was beginning to inflate well. My endurance wasn't as high as my brothers and I only got it to about two thirds of the way full until Scott had to take back over and finish the last of it. After we filled the second section, we tested it as well to see if the pool would hold it's air. The third section got filled in the same mannerism. Scott and I each had to take 3 turns to fill the final section with air. Both of us were getting tired, but we had come too far to quit now. By the time we got half way, Sean had made his way back over with the hose.
Both of us were out of steam, burning up too much energy early in the process. Sean stepped in and finished the last chamber for us rather than waiting on us to do it. After a quick air test, we got another pleasant surprise as despite the two years in storage, the pool was in tact and held air quite well. Sean smiled and began filling the pool up with the garden hose that he had brought over from the house. Meanwhile, Scott collected the bicycle pump from the ground and headed back to the house. His goal was to put the pump away and change while Sean filled the pool. I just stood there and watched the water go into the swimming pool as my brother sprayed it in. It was going to take about ten minutes or so for the pool to fill up.
Sean paid attention to what he was doing half haphazardly. He was really paying attention to me. My older brother could ready my body language like an open book. When he noticed my full attention was focused on the pool, I got a huge shock as the stream of water altered it's course from the pool to me. Sean gave me a good soaking from the end of the hose as I held my hands in front of me vainly trying to stop the water. It was all in good fun. It was a hot day and the cold water felt good. After a minute or so, Sean pulled the hose back down and resumed filling the pool. We both shared a laugh over the incident and Sean commented that I needed to cool off.
Sean finished filling the swimming pool a few minutes later. "Alright Jen, there it is, give it a try." I wanted to run and jump into the pool instinctively, but I just stepped over the side and sat down. The water felt cool and was a welcome relief from the sun. Sean stepped back and laid the hose on the ground. My eldest brother just stood there and watched as I sat in the water and splashed around a little bit. The pool wasn't very big. It was mostly meant as a wading pool for younger children. It was circular in shape and probably 8 feet in diameter across. I don't remember how deep the water was, most likely between one and a half to two feet. Enough that I could get wet if I sat or lied down, but not deep enough to put in any risk of drowning. Still, Sean stayed and kept an eye on me until Scott got back from the house.
My middle brother was wearing a blue set of swim trunks and trodden out into the yard without a shirt in his bare feet. I heard him use the choice words as he crossed the driveway to the back yard. Sean nodded as Scott came over and sat down in the pool with me. "Alright, you two have fun and let me be for the rest of the afternoon. Scott, you are in charge of keeping an eye on Jennifer. Don't let her out of your sight by the pool. I will be keeping an eye on you from my room from time to time so behave." Sean stated pointing at the window to his room that over looked the back yard. He had a clear view of the pool from it. Scott replied that he would keep an eye on me and that the two of us would behave. I nodded and repeated his promise, at least my own version of it. Sean nodded. Scott climbed into the pool and Sean headed back to the house.
At first, the two of us just sat there in the water staring at each other. It was a hot day and despite how stupid the two of us probably looked sitting in the wading pool, the water felt cool and it was a nice relief from the day. After just sitting there for a while, I shifted my position and half laid on my stomach with my head just above the water. Scott just stayed put and the two of us started talking. I don't remember the content of the conversation, probably something to do with summer vacation and the plans we had for the rest of the summer. I am sure the topic bounced back and fourth. However, after about 20 minutes of talking or so, Scott splashed me hard with a small wave of water. My diary doesn't say who started the fight, but since I am writing the story I am going to go with him. More often than not when two of us start a fight he was the instigator.
Well, two minutes later both of us were bringing up small tidal waves aimed at each other. The whole process took about 5 minutes before we tired ourselves out and drained half of the water out of the pool by splashing it over the side. We both calmed down and Scott got out of the pool and headed over towards where Sean had left the hose. Then he came over and pointed the hose at the pool and began to refill it. Our parents were going to have a high water bill this month. When my brother began spraying the water into the swimming pool, I climbed out as well and retreated outside of the perimeter of where the hose was. Scott ignored me at first and continued with his task. The new water would replenish the depth of it in the pool, and would also lower the temperature of the existing water some. Even though I had just climbed out, the suns heat was quickly drying the water dripping from my sides.
I turned and began to walk towards the house. Scott noticed as I was departing. "Hey Jen, where do you think you are going." My brother was far from being done in the pool and didn't want to be stuck sitting there alone. "I am heading over to the garage to get a life jacket." Scott stopped filling the pool back up and looked at me. "Why on earth would you want a life jacket? Hello Jen, the water isn't even up to your waist. It's not like you are going to drown without one." I nodded, "I know. I just want to go and get one. I'll be right back." Scott just lifted his shoulders. "Alright suit yourself. I should be finished by the time you get back." I repeated my previous reply and continued on my departure. Scott resumed filling the pool with water.
My departure was a mix of lies and truth on the matter. I told my brother the truth about where I was going. However, getting a life jacket wasn't the real reason that I had left the swimming pool. It was really just the first excuse I could come up with that I thought my brother would believe. Not that he took me much at my word on the matter. My real reason for leaving was a mixture of two items that needed to be addressed. First, my secondary reason for leaving was that I wanted to see what we had to play with in the garage. I was a little old for some of the toys that I had played with when I was 4 or 5, but I was still a kid and I wanted to see if I could find something to play with in the water. We had a couple of kick boards, goggles and some other things in the garage that I knew about. I wanted to explore and see what I could find. However, that was only a secondary motive for leaving the pool.
My primary reason for the unexpected departure was to deal with a trust issue that I was currently having. It's not that I didn't trust my brother to keep me safe or have a good time with. I didn't trust him with the hose. There was no way that Scott was that mature and I didn't want to end up on the receiving end of getting sprayed with a hard stream of water. I drew the conclusion when he picked up the hose that my best move was probably just to get out of range before the idea came into his head. I rounded the corner of the driveway and entered the garage through the open door. I began to look around as I entered the room.
I already knew where my life jacket was before I entered the garage. It was hanging on a hook on the wall with the rest of my family's collection of life vests. We had a fair assortment of them. Probably a dozen or so in all. My parents each had one and my older siblings each currently had one as well on the wall. Additionally, there were a couple of extra ones. Some of them were ones my brothers and I had outgrown over the years and two other ones were just extra that we had bought to have some extra one's around for guest going to a boating with us. I began to sift through the dozen or so of them that were on the wall of my family's garage. I needed one that would fit me. There were 4 possible choices and I took a moment to decide on which one.
The first one, I decided against. It was one of those orange ones that looks like a big horseshoe. It wraps around your front and has no back. It secured with a single strap around the waist and the top ties shut. Basically the cheap one you get at Kmart for 5 bucks. The next two were pretty much the same except the size. They were both normal life vests that would simply close with 4 straps around the body. My mother had gotten one for me recently. I had outgrown the normal weight limit on the one that I used to use. It was only meant to go up to 50 pounds and I was a little past that. The only problem was that my mother had gotten it for me at the beginning of the summer. It was still hanging on the wall new with the sales tag still attached. I didn't want to get it dirty or try to break it in just with the wading pool in the back yard.
The second one of that type was the current one that my brother Scott used. It was the same design, but a little bigger. I lifted off the wall and tried it on around my upper body. It was a little big to say the least. Well, after about 5 minutes of searching and failing to find what I was looking for, I settled on my old one by the process of elimination. It was just a red vest style life jacket with closed under arms. The front of it closed with 3 straps and there was an additional strap that went between the legs on it. I slipped it on around my shoulders and did up the straps rather snugly. The jacket was still a comfortable fit and it molded neatly around me. I was just a little past the recommended weight for it. Not that it would really matter in our current swimming pool.
With the life vest wrapped around me, I began looking around the garage to see what else I could find to take back with me. There was a large mesh bag sitting on one of the lower shelves just below the life jackets. It contained quite a few toys that my brothers and I played with at the beach and the local swimming pool when our mother took us. I lifted the bag up over my shoulder and began making the return trip to where my brother was still waiting in the wading pool. The bag was pretty heavy with all the junk that was in it. If I had taken the time to think about it, I should have just dug through it for what I wanted. The whole thing weighted about 30 pounds and at the age of 10 I had to almost drag it back to the backyard from the garage.
When I arrived, Scott had finished filling the pool with water and was sitting back down inside of it. "Hey skipper, looks like you're back. What do you have there?" Scott asked looking over at me from across the yard. "It's all swimming stuff, could you come and give me a hand with this? It's really heavy." I shouted back at him. Scott just shrugged and got up out of the swimming pool. My brother crossed the yard and stood before me. He reached down and scooped the bag up out of my hands and slung it effortlessly over his shoulder. Then he gestured for me to follow and lead the way back to the wading pool. It never ceased to amaze me how one of my brothers could turn a difficult task for me into something they could do effortlessly. The bag hardly slowed my brother down on the return trip.
My brother plopped the bag down on the ground and undid the drawstring. "Well Jen, let's see what we have got here." Scott stated as he began to dig through the bag's contents looking at the trove of treasures I had brought back with me. I just stood back and let him do the sifting. All I really wanted was a pair of swim goggles that were at the bottom of the bag. He was welcome to anything else he could find. The bag contained a whole slew of interesting stuff. My brother sorted through the contents for a few seconds. Then he just flipped the bag upside down and emptied its contents onto the lawn. There were quite a few things in the pile. It contained several sets of goggles, some swim fins, a few things that get blown up and even some rope.
I am going to break the story here for the first part. I know I didn't get as far as I wanted to with it. However, this is already 5 pages long and I really should get some sleep. I have a lot further to go before everything comes together and I don't want to leave any details of this story. Stay tuned and I will get the next part written up in the next week or so hopefully. Until, then you can just use your imagination.
Jennifer