As country kids, we had to use our imaginations when it came to entertaining ourselves. Obstacle courses were one of our favorite past times.
The best course ever was the summer my brother was 9 and I was 13. Marshall's career plan was to be an architect so he would bring out the pencil and paper to draw the course before we put the plan in action. We then gathered our "obstacles" which consisted of but not limited to: 5-gallon buckets, empty detergent boxes, rocks, golf club and balls, our BB guns, cinder blocks, etc. There was a long stretch of dirt road in the front of our house that was perfect for our obstacle course.
The starting point would be in the driveway behind Mama's suburban. You couldn't start without your hand being on the bumper. The first obstacle was to grab your BB gun and shoot and hit the empty detergent box six times. Next step was to jump on the bicycle and weave around the 5-gallon buckets. Points were deducted if you hit a bucket. Then came the golf challenge by having to hit a golf ball through the gate from a distance of 20-yards. (Marshall still plays golf.) Back on the bike to face the dreaded ramp made of cinder blocks and left over lumber that Daddy used for scaffolding on his rock mason jobs. Many a wreck happened with our ramps but we weren't deterred from always including one in our courses. Racing back to the starting point on your bicycle would conclude the course.
We would tweak the course along the way and add more challenges. One challenge included roping one of the dogs. Mama put her foot down when she caught us roping her cocker spaniel. Our roping days ended when Marshall roped me off my bicycle. Towing a wagon full of rocks behind a bicycle didn't work out too well either.
I still have childhood scars from our obstacle courses. These scars serve as reminders of hot summer afternoons, busted up elbows and knees and drinking water from the ditch in the backyard. By the way, I never made it over a homemade ramp without some sort of mishap.
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