People build lots and lots of houses. And sometimes, a few of those houses may become abandoned. Once that happens, it doesn't take long for them to quickly deteriorate into an eyesore. Or perhaps a better term may be a really cool place for kids to play.
Miami, Oklahoma, population about 12,000 circa 1967, had a few abandoned houses here and there. One of them was just up the road a block from my house. It sat all by itself, thickly overgrown by bushes and such.
It drew the neighborhood kids like Mecca draws the faithful.
Of course, I don't have pictures of "the old house," as we neighborhood kids referred to it. And when I revisited Miami just a couple of years after we had moved away, it was already gone. But my memories of the secretive place are keen even today.
Of course, the primary function of an old house was to serve as Command Central for games of Army. Perhaps it was just a local thing, but the neighborhood kids and myself didn't play much cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. No, we were soldiers. Perhaps it was the G.I.Joe influence of the times.
Anyhow, that abandoned house was where all battles against the enemy were launched. Warfare would take place within the house's confines, as well, as we would squeeze up against the wall and sneak our way up to the doorways, and suddenly let out a yell and start shooting.
Another cool thing about old houses was that you could break windows, write on the walls, or do pretty much anything else you chose (short of lighting fires) and nobody would care. It was a nice break, as opposed to the rigid rules we had to observe in our own homes.
Plus, sometimes there were cool things to be found. It wasn't unusual to find an old Mercury dime or buffalo nickel in the dirt outside or perhaps in a crack in the floor.
And you could also let your imagination go wild. Sitting on the overgrown back stoop, you might picture just who was living there and what they were doing ten or twenty years ago. Maybe there was a kid your age then, who had to careful to pick up his room, now littered with pieces of plaster that had fallen from the rain-soaked ceiling.
Of course, some abandoned houses were simply dangerous, and scary to boot. Two-story houses frequently suffered from wood rot that made venturing up the stairs an experience that might well involve plunging through to whatever lay below, perhaps breaking an ankle in the process.
Despite the potential for danger, abandoned houses were a big draw to adventuresome little boys. They still are, I reckon. However, before I close on the subject of abandoned houses, I must comment on one that is very close to me.
You see, a childhood home of mine now sits abandoned with a "KEEP OUT" sign in front of it. I stepped in anyway, figuring that if a sheriff or the like showed up, I could explain that this used to be MY house.
Anyhow, as I walked through the rotting structure, the memories came flooding back. That's where I sat in the living room floor as my beloved Kansas City Chiefs fell to those blasted Dolphins in the marathon playoff game of 1971. There is my wood-paneled bedroom, where my posters of Johnny Bench and Roberto Clemente once hung. And there was broken plaster on the floor that I used to have to be careful to keep clean.
Abandoned houses could be fun as a kid. But to an adult, they might provide something much more introspective.
Comments (4)
God, I loved this kind of thing as a kid. It was dangerous but fun!
Posted by Rhea | January 30, 2008 6:49 PM
Posted on January 30, 2008 18:49
In 1980 my grandfather sold some land and a big house which had been in my family since before the Revolutionary War. I spent much of my chilhood there. The house was listed as a NC Historic Site so the Philip Morris Tobacco Company (no relation), which bought the property, couldn't tear it down, but they were also under no obligation to maintain it. Around 1990 I was passing through the area and drove (trespassed... I too figured I would be able to talk myself out of it if caught) onto the property.
The place had become a crumbling ruin (it wasn't in great shape to begin with). Chimney collapsed, etc. It was sad, and a little creepy since it was night and I was alone and the place had some ghostlore attached to it. It's funny how much rich family heritage we take for granted as kids....
Posted by Lee Morris | January 30, 2008 11:10 PM
Posted on January 30, 2008 23:10
i like cheese big time lool
Posted by paul c | February 23, 2008 8:59 PM
Posted on February 23, 2008 20:59
Oh, Ron, you remember the Chiefs in that playoff game! Me, too! What a heart break. The Chiefs were so much better, and capable of beating the Cowboys but never got the chance.
Podalak had his best running game. Passing was great on both sides but KC missed 3 field goals but on of the greatest kickers of all time, Stenerud. I might have misspelled that. AH, he might be a Norwegian like yourself.
People might forget that the KC defense was great that year. One game with Cleveland, the Browns could not get past the 50 yeard line for nearly the whole game if not the whole game.
That Xmas game was a heart breaker for yours truly. I hated Miami for years afterward and seeing them go undefeated in a year when there was barely a 500 football team was the supreme insult to injury.
I think the Redskins could have won if Larry Brown had not beat himself to death. He was no good by the Superbowl. Miami was supremely lucky that game and that season all all through their Shula years.
While God may have been rumored to play for Dallas and there is some evidence for that, there is perhaps better evidence that Miami made a pact with the devil and sold their souls for the miracles they were handed. God has too much going for Him to side with either Dallas or Miami.
I am sure it would have been the Chiefs and the fact they did not win is good evidence that God does not even concern Himself with football. Good thing for Miami and Dallas.
Also recall that 1970 and 71 were interesting years in sports for another reason, moving on to baseball. Only perhaps 3 or 4 people in all of baseball were making $100,000 a year. Hank Aaron and Joe Torre of St. Louis were 2 of those after 71. But Steve Carlton, who had a great 20 plus game season as a fine left handed pitcher with a great slide and who was one of the better hitting pitchers in all of baseball, was traded to perhaps the worst team in baseball, the Phil. Phillies, because Carlton had the gall and nerve to ask for $100,000. Can you believe it? What a deal!!!
He went on to win 27 games for Philly, the worst hitting team of nearly all time. Now you tell me if he was worth $100,000! I could have killed Cardinals management for trading him. But Carlton was not just a damn good player or pretty face, by the opinion of some females. He was a thoughtful well read man who might even be called a bit of a conspiracy theorist.
So he was more worthy of perhaps being called a role model than many dumb athletes.
But how interesting that most ball players did not even make $100,000. Yet today, many make several million per season. What the h311 happened, Charlie? How did it go from so little to so much? Baseball used to be affordable, though I have never actually paid for a game and lost interest long ago.
Why were we all so willing to pay so much for a ticket as prices rose? And while players excused their greed by saying the owners made lots of money, and indeed, they did. But now the players wanted to become like owners, rather than ticket buyers, their fans.
It is easy to pass he buck and blame others or excuse ourselves, but we all have an individual responsibility for what we do and it affects everyone around us.
Shall I reason that since I had a neighbor who raped and killed, that it should be OK if I did the same?
We can blame the rich and powerful and there is some blame to be had, but really, can any of us claim less greed?
and if we are willing to pay such extravagant prices for tickets, deserts, coffee, or whatever else it is we are willing to pay so much for, then can we blame those who sell to us, when we act like such fools? Haven't we sort of asked for it? Just asking ;-)
But as Ron and I weep a few more tears for Kansas City and Stl Louis, why not also give some thought to how much we have changed from 71 till now and why? From there, maybe we can regain some of the sanity our parents has in the 60s and that we sort of let go of, along with those after us.
I do not want to be known as the generation in place and power when the world went to h3ll so to speak. Yet, it would appear that . . . Well, can't we go back just a little, anyway? Just asking ;-)
Posted by Scott Irv | July 13, 2009 10:39 PM
Posted on July 13, 2009 22:39