Yes, our club house was the bomb.
It was kid-made as opposed to man-made. We just happened to have random bricks in our back yard doing nothing but providing a home for many a spider. I think originally my dad was going to make some sort of grill or BBQ thingy. But that was a project that never got finished.
So my sister got an idea and built us a fort. One with brick walls and a plywood roof.
It wasn't in a tree, silly!
Nope, on the ground, safe and sound.
We would spend a lot of time in there. It was the hideout when it was time to do dishes. It was the cool place in the summer. It was the place where my friends and our 5th grade boyfriends would play spin the bottle. We were 10. Harmless.
Fun place to be.
Our neighbor, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky as us.
Oh, he had a fort, alright. He dug a really deep circular hole in his back yard and covered it with plywood as well. He had dug out little candle ledges in the dirt and little smoke chimneys. We thought it was great because there could be light inside. And it had carpet.
Looking back all I can think is idiot!
It gets worse.
One day we went into of his inferior fort and he was lighting the ledges. Only there wasn't any candles. How was he doing this? Kerosene. The guy had access to kerosene. And he brought it into his fort.
Not cool.
It was also not very cool when he spilled some of that gas and the rugs caught fire.
I scrambled out the hole with my sister close behind. The guy broke through the roof of his fort and rolled on the ground trying to put the fire on his leg out.
Yes, this guy's fort was the bomb.
Literally!
22 comments:
it's amazing what some parents let their kids get into!
Holy cow I am glad ya'll didn't get hurt.. geesh
Wow... So what happened next? Did you guys put out the fire or did the fort collapse into itself? It's a good thing that his fort was in the ground and not on a tree! Bet he got into a lot of trouble, huh?
I am so glad everyone was okay.
That is crazy! I'm trying to wrap my mind around how someone was okay with letting their kid dig out a big hole in the backyard and light candles in it! :0
Just came over from Mama Kat's... love your writing style! I took ASL in college and considered being an interpreter part-time, but didn't do the follow through once I left school, got married, had kids, etc. Anyway, I'm ramblin'... enjoyed your site, will be following!
I am just curious if you would think YOUR 10 year old playing spin the bottle is harmless. Just wondering if I should let JJ come and play anymore......
It's amazing that any of us ever survived our childhood!
=)
Kerosene?! What?!
You tell the best stories and have such a good memory!
Soooo many angels are assigned to watch over kids. I don't want to die, because that might be my assignment, and I'll be forced to decline. I had a fort, too, though. It was a refrigerator box from RC Willey, and we made windows and I sliced half my thumb off cutting a door. Had to rush to the Dr. Good times. Good fort making times. Don't let me die.
whoa! that's crazy. luckily you guys made it out ok!
I think I read about your neighbor in a Stephen King novel. Were there animal sacrifices involved somehow?
Your fort sounds cool. His fort sounds scary.
I love this stop on my little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "U".
This made my imagination go crazy (ier)
Thanks for linking.
A+
We always made forts out of packing boxes and blankets! What fun that was!!
I laughed out loud when I read this. . .and I am all by myself right now. . .hmmm (what does this say about me?)
too funny. . .would you let your kids play with fire?
Sometimes I wonder how we all grew up...sounds like something my brother would have done....lol
Quite the story! Glad yours wasn't underground.
I am so glad there are safe LED lights now for children's forts, treehouses and the like!!
Michael Beevers?
That is some story! so glad everyone was ok!
that was a kid next door, right? I hope that was a kid next door. The idea of a grown man doing it and then inviting kids to hang out in it, well, it just creeped me out. I am glad that everyone was okay.
O jeez!
blessings..
keep joy and love alive, smiles.
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