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I was always the kid entrepreneur.  If it wasn’t Christmas cards, it was All-Occasion cards.  If it wasn’t cards, it was gift wrap or a plea for money to some good cause.  My favorite product to peddle was those decadent chocolate bars in the mouth-watering options of “Krunch”, “Almond”, or “Caramel”.  These were the easiest products to move, as all I really had to do is buy a truck load of them and leave them in our fridge for my Dad to devour.  And he did.  Thankfully, he was good to pay for them.

This time around, it was cards.  But not for the money – no, this kid had a much bigger prize.  It would take my selling more boxes of Christmas cards than there were people in Telfair County, but I was ambitious and had my eyes set on the grandest prize of all:  The blue and yellow Sea Cloud inflatable boat with matching oars and pump.

After weeks of my hands peddling cards to neighbors and my feet pedaling my Huffy Bandit throughout the town, the Sea Cloud arrived.  She was beautiful.  It didn’t take long for all the kids to start arriving … the Sea Cloud became the Saturday talk of Montgomery Circle.

Brandy, my faithful golden retriever, was there, lips-smacking and tail-wagging, when I took the maiden voyage.  A kid like me couldn’t buy a bottle of champagne.  Besides, Wild Turkey or Boone’s Farm was the drink of the elite there in McRae.  Alas, I’m just a kid so I was forced to resort to shaking up a can of Winn Dixie’s “Chek” Cream Soda to anoint the bow of our sea-worthy vessel.  She may not have been ready for the Atlantic Ocean, but this boat was definitely ready to cross over the big pond in our back yard.

Our back yard was a kid’s dream; vast, and surrounded by everything a kid needs for growing up.  The ditch by the road was wide and deep and filled waste high with water after a summer gusher.  The thick green grass ended with a rather large pond surrounded by the vast woods in the back (by vast, I mean, a couple of residential lots) and the Wooley Swamp that Charlie Daniels sung about on the side.  There had once been a metal wire suspended across the pond for us to zip line across but that ended when too many kids dropped off in the middle with their school clothes on.

The pond teemed with life – minnows, fish, turtles, and “Big Mama”, an albino catfish that we all thought was immortal.   There were big willows that wept over the water leaving opportune spots for bream beds …. and snakes and wasp nests.

Without question, the pinnacle of delight on this block of McRae, GA real estate was the secret, yet well-known hideout called “Fort Montgomery”.  This epic fort was built to withstand everything from alien attacks to nosy parents wondering what happened to that pack of Salem Light Ultra 100s on their dashboard.  The addition of the Sea Cloud gave a whole new level of access (and regress) to Fort Montgomery so we began construction on a state-of-the-art pier.

The pier was any flat piece of board we could find from neighboring construction sites.   The board would be nailed in the middle to the biggest branch of one of those willows extending into the water.  It was as good as one of New York Harbor’s piers unless you happened to step on either side of the board.  You had to be careful to never have both feet down at once and always keep one foot in front of the other.

But who cared.  This was the bomb.  Despite the reality that you could simply walk on the path around the pond to enter those dark woods to Fort Montgomery, the new route via Sea Cloud was really the ONLY way to go.  I don’t recall, but I’m pretty sure I came up with a fare of sorts and charged neighbor kids for rides to and from the fort.

The maiden voyage was flawless.  She graced through the water with only the sound of the water drops dripping off the plastic paddles and the occasional slap of water when I’d be forced to shake off that nasty green, slimy mossy stuff off the oar.  I made several laps around the pond and knew I was born for the water.  I was the Captain.  She was my vessel.

I was in kid ecstasy.

Little did I know that the Sea Cloud would soon be involved in crime.
(stay tuned for “The Strong Arm of the Law”)

*personal note:  this is the first post of what I call “Small Town Stories”.  I alluded to this in my New Years Day post but never followed through.  The content of this category is totally different than the focus of the blog.  It’s not about worship or leadership, it’s fun, life stories and memories of growing up in a small town.  As always, memories are that … memories.  Names will be substituted where appropriate, and facts will be blended with fiction, or half-memories.  That’s what makes them fun.  If you enjoy this series, please let me know by commenting.