A Contemporary Huck Finn

When I was in third and fourth grade, my family lived on the Raging River, twenty miles east of Seattle. In those days (early Seventies), this was the hinterland – we might as well have already moved to Alaska, except for the weather, of course, which is much milder in Washington.

The nearest “town,” Preston, was a mile from our house and consisted of an old abandoned lumberyard and a combination gas station/candy store. My sister and I would ride our bikes to the candy store and spend our allowance on penny candy (literally, in those days!). A two-foot-long “rope” of gum, either watermelon or green apple, cost a nickel; epic bubble-blowing contests ensued.

We spent most of our time, however, exploring the local woods and river . . .

I caught my first fish there, a slim eight-inch trout that might as well have been a world-record marlin. I remember my breath catching as the rod tip quivered with the nibble; then, as the line tightened, I started reeling in and “striking” so hard that the fish flew out of the pool and landed somewhere behind me in the woods. That sucker was not getting away!

There was a rope swing above the same pool in the river, which provided countless hours of summertime fun, as well as a more traditional set of swings closer to home, where we reached for the sky and marveled at tales of kids who had swung so high they actually went all the way over the top, completing a full circle! Though we dared each other to duplicate the feat, I, for one, felt silent relief that none of us actually achieved it.

We played hide-and-seek in the woods, of course, and also led “expeditions” into the deepest, darkest forests of unexplored frontiers. We were cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, bug collectors, tree climbers, and the like. Once I came upon a teenaged couple in a small clearing . . . they were kissing! Yuck!!!!

Those halcyon days along the Raging River continue to nourish my soul when the hectic demands of adulthood weigh me down, or when I just want to revisit the child within myself that still enjoys exploring forests or sitting alongside a nice quiet stretch of river…