Did I mention it was a “let down?” Well, it was in some respects. I really
thought they were cutting off body parts (kids’ imaginations DO run wild you
know!) or pulling each other’s toenails out like my dad always threatened to do
when we really got on his nerves. (Discipline was a little different back then
I might add.) Heck, maybe my dad came out there and personally pulled out their
toenails! There was one neighbor kid in particular I know my dad always wanted
to pull out his toenails! I think one year he finally dumped him in a snow bank
(and his mom knew he deserved it!), but that’s another story.
Turns out they were playing a kid’s favorite game, but in
the dark. Regular tag had evolved into flashlight tag. And there was also hide-n-seek in the dark. Ok, so it didn’t involve toenails being pulled
out or body parts being cut off or some weird satanic ritual (as if kids really
know about satanic rituals anyway!), but the more we played, the more fun it
got.
So fun I found myself shrieking and letting out high pitched
squeals, especially when someone grabbed my foot in the dark to tag me out.
That was a bit spooky I have to confess. I never saw him coming! He was the
sneaky one in the group (there’s always one, isn’t there?). He didn’t turn on
his flashlight to tag me out. Instead he grabbed my ankle. If I didn’t have
such a strong bladder (my mom always said I had the strongest bladder of all
the girls) I know I would have peed my pants! Instead I think I just jumped out
of my skin. I probably looked like I saw a ghost!
After I got over that initial creep out, the game got more
and more fun. And the more I screamed. And then, yes, the “secrets of the
universe” were revealed. Now I knew what all the screaming was about. The
random lights were just their flashlights lighting up the evening sky. The big
kids did a lot of what we all did during the day, but in the dark.
Being a “big kid” was pretty fun!
