more booby trap adventures...

i was reminded of more booby trap stories (not only b/c the season evokes my memories of trying to prove/ disprove the existence of santa) by a story i read in sunday's dispatch (which i can't seem to hyper link).

tarpy's woods is where bluff avenue (the street i grew up on) and cambridge (south of first community) deadends into a cauldasack (sp?). there is a beautiful old home there that used to belong to the tarpy family (who owned a small supermarket close to jones middleschool).

the woods provided hours of entertainment for me and my friends when we were in grade school. i was a tom-boy through and through and we used to take our souped up dirt bikes (ok it was more like a hami-down banana seat bike that my dad help me to convert) and have our version of crash up derby and bmx freestyle tournaments.

the woods and trails were close to the railroad tracks. the location, for some reason, convinced us that ho-bos were invading our bike paths. convinced that our trails and our well-being were endangered- we made all these booby traps in the woods.

trip wire? yes- we had those (they weren't limited to santa). we also did that bugs bunny trick to catch a tiger or lion (dig whole, cover with leaves and branches- hoping that they would fall into the hole)- unable to get out.

we never did catch any ho-bos. but the whole saga sparked my interest in ho-bos and i made myself a stick and a little bundle wrapped in a bandana to put on my shoulder. it was fun.


books i'd like to read this coming year (in no particular order):

motherless brooklyn
wounded healer (got this for christmas)
bonfire of the vanities
sidewalks in the kingdom: new urbanism and the christian faith (also a gift)
god, freedom and evil
suburban nation: the rise of sprawl and the decline of the american dream
the illumined heart: the ancient christian path of transformation
before the mayflower (a book i've had for over five years and yet to read).
the cornell west reader
bo bos in paradise (given this as a gift- but still have not read)
us and them
banishing god in albania: the prison memoirs of giacomo gardin, s.j.