As with most bases we stayed in the same apartment/house once we moved on base. At Fort Bragg we moved into an apartment that was in a converted hospital. The apartments were in long rows with 6 to 8 apartments per building. All of the buildings where connected by a covered, elevated walkway. The backs of two apartments where fairly close together. The gaps between the fronts were huge, at least to my second grade eyes. My dad was still an NCO then so these where NCO quarters. A quick check of Google maps fails to show these apartments, so they are likely replaced by now.
There was a forest just across a field from our apartment. I spent a lot of hours there. Part of a theme of my childhood was spending time in forests or wooded areas, or most any area that is wild. While in these woods I once tried to grab a cotton mouth snake. It threatened me, that's how I found out it was a cotton mouth, an fortunately for me it left quickly. We hunted frogs and tadpoles in the forest. Once coming out of the forest there was a doe with her fawn within a few feet of where I came out. The did not startle right away so I got a good look.
with some friends I worked on building my first tree house. The tree was in the middle of a field near the apartments. We used ropes to climb the tree. Once when I wanted to come down the rope got caught in a nail. I pulled and it seemed strong enough so I started down the tree with my feet on the trunk and leaning back on the rope. Half way down the nail bent releasing the rope. I fell flat on my back, biting a good chunk out of my tongue. I could not stand up straight and went straight home crying all the way. My parents decided that I was alright so no hospital visit. I don't think I ever returned to that tree.
As was common at that time groups of neighborhood kids would run together. There were five or six of us that ran around together doing kid stuff. One of our neighbors had a son, about our age, with sever cerebral palsy. He was wheel chair bound with very little control over his body and could not talk. His mother would bring him out and we would concentrate our play in front of him so he could watch. We often spoke to him in an effort to include him. His mother said he enjoyed being out with us.
A boy a little older or possibly just bigger than us move into the neighborhood. He became the bully, at least to us. We put up with it for a while until one day I lost my temper and fought him. The fight consisted mostly of inept wrestling. An older boy or possibly a GI came by and gave me encouragement. It seemed like we fought for hours. It was probably only for ten of fifteen minutes, until one of us was called home for dinner. As with most of my physical encounters there was no clear winner. The next day he told me that he threw up that night and it was my fault. We did not have trouble with him again. I seem to recall that he joined us in play on several occasions.
On a couple of occasions I complained to my father about bullies wanting him to take care of the problem. His response was that he could come and enforce his will, but could not protect me all the time. I would have to resolve the problem myself. It was the only way to bring the issue to closure.
Several times during the summer trucks would drive along the covered walk spraying DDT to keep the mosquitoes at bay. We would go out and run through the clouds of DDT. Our parents and thus we believed that the DDT was harmless to humans. There were a lot of bugs and our parents got a new product that was supposed to repel the bugs. It was oily and I think I resisted using it. My parents tried it on Jean several times. something about her body chemistry turned it into an attractant. she would come back inside from playing and her face was covered with trapped and dead gnats.
I think my sisters had their First Communion when we were at Bragg. They were towheads at the time. I do not remember my first communion.
Once Billy and I found a lost dog (the post had leash laws). We brought it home and mom found the owner who thanked us and invited us over for hot chocolate. We took her up on it.
One incident occurred that had a lasting impact on me. Living on base we interacted with a polyglot of people. Blacks, Orientals, Jews, Native Americans, etc. It was all part of my life. Once we went into town to a department store. While my parents where looking through clothes I got thirsty and went in search of a water fountain. There were two, one with a line and another with no line. I opted for the one with no line. It worked and the water was good. About the time I returned to my parents the manager came over and asked us to leave. I had taken a drink from the Colored fountain and that was not allowed. Much later it occurred to me that it was highly likely that Colored were not even allowed in the store. But they had to have a fountain for them. These people where locked into a rigid structure that allowed no room for thought; they had enslaved themselves. To be fair I returned to North Carolina in around 2008, some 50 years later, and saw several black and white professionals working together giving respect. My parents tried to explain what happened to me, but I did not understand as I had no reference. I was not in trouble with them. I think my parents were upset that there was in issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment