DAYS OF CHILDREN (not for contest)

When we were children, we had our own world, entirely unknown to adults. The yards were surrounded on three sides by hedges. Where they met, they formed shaded tunnels. The adults had the roads, but we traveled through the neighborhood, half crouched through these hidden trails, meeting up with friends at familiar congregation centers. We didn't need cell phones to know who would be there- and if they weren't, they'd catch up later. We would gather to plan our adventures.

We might meander from one house to another not knowing what would come next. We would eat icy popsicles, pick dandelion and violet bouquets, examine a thriving kingdom of ants, swing on backyard or playground swings, sing out rhyming songs while jumping ropes, scratch out hopscotch or 4-square games on the rough sidewalk with a hard, jagged rocks. A day of billowing clouds would invite us to flop down on our backs our eyes gazing upwards, our minds and conversation drifting with the clouds.

Other days we might organize and form an exclusive clubhouse with blankets, sheets and cardboard and make up rules, secret ceremonies and events for the members. Sometimes we'd create talent shows where each person would identify their own talent and rehearse a routine that would be formed by much brainstorming and discussion. There would be a host who would introduce the show, the acts and keep the program flowing. Occasionally we performed the show for moms who would be outside hanging their white sheets to dry in the hot sun.

We even had our own places with names created by children. The maps in our minds were filled with worlds and images untraveled by adults. Some were deep in the woods along trails worn by the children that traveled them. They included such destinations as "The Frog Pond", The Swinging Willow", "Bicycle Hill", "The Old House" (a somewhat organized pile of formed stones). It was a parallel world forged by items and places of importance to it's inhabitants. Many of these places had mysterious and ever-growing legends associated with them which were whispered reverently from child to child. The stories bound us together into a secret society. It was a time of dreams, where anything could happen in those long days ruled by children.