Like Brothers
As I said before relationship titles were one thing, the roles people played were something else.
Before we moved to Jasper, when Mom and I would go visit on the weekends, I always looked forward to seeing my family. However, there was one cousin in particular that I couldn’t wait to see. It was my cousin John. I call him “Big Cuz” now, but back in the day, he was John John.
John John, his sister, Veronica (aka CoCo) actually lived across town in South Quarters with his Mom, my aunt Lola (aka Aunt Hop), my Mom’s sister and their Dad, Clarence (aka June bug) . However, John spent the majority of his time in Mill Quarters with the rest of our family. When Mom and I made it to Jasper, usually on a Friday evening/night, I usually had to wait for my aunt Lola (aka aunt Hop) to come over to my grandmother’s house. John would usually be with her. And that is when all the fun would begin. We would hit it hard and fast. From riding bikes around, after hooking up with the other neighborhood kids, to playing hide and go seek at night around my grandmother’s house, to watching TV and or playing inside.
Plotting and Planning
During this whole time of hanging out and playing, John and I were plotting the master plan. That would be me spending the night at John’s house.
My Mom was a somewhat of a cautious type of person. She really didn’t want to burden anyone else. So me asking to spend the night at John John’s was a big deal. I would have to plead my case. I would usually start early on and ask my mom. Her initial answer would be an unequivocal “No”! As the evening went on, I would keep asking in an attempt to wear her down. Then, if that didn’t work, I would tell John to ask her. John’s mom would insist it was no problem, but Mom remained so cautious. Eventually, she would give in as always, and I would hurry to throw a few things in a brown paper bag for the over night stay.
We would have so much fun. We would try to stay up late watching TV, but eventually we would go to sleep. The next morning we would wake up and then the Saturday morning ritual would begin. Faces washed, teeth brushed, hair combed and get dressed. It was time for Saturday morning cartoons. Eat some cereal and watch the cartoons. We loved when we caught the “Schoolhouse Rock” videos. My favorite was “Conjunction Junction” followed closely by “I’m Just A Bill”. Eventually, usually by late morning or early afternoon, John’s Mom, would drive us back across town to Mill Quarters. Most likely straight to my grandmother’s house. This is where we would get our bikes and hit the streets. I’m not quite sure, but I think John kept his bike in Mill Quarters since he spent the majority of his time there.
By this time, all of the other neighborhood kids would have also stopped watching TV and come outside. We all met “down the road” at the corner by the stop sign. We all had bikes. If you didn’t have a bike, or your bike was broken, you were “stuck out”. We looked like a pre-adolescent biker gang.
We would sit on our bikes at the corner talking, laughing, playing tricks on each other and participating in childhood gossip. There was always smack talking about who was the fastest on bikes or on foot. Who had a crush on who. What just happened on the last episode of “Fat Albert” and so on. Eventually, someone would suggest that we “ride around”. This meant get on our bikes and make the block around the neighborhood. So, if you didn’t have a bike, you couldn’t go. Or, you could double up with someone else who had a bike, if they would let you.
The ride would take us around the neighborhood. We would go past “The Pocket”, to the top of the hill and around the corner, passing some houses of people that I wasn’t real familiar with. We would come down past my grandmother’s house and where my mom would eventually build our house. When we got to the intersection there, we could take the “short way” and turn to go straight back to our corner. There was actually a well worn trail across the land that would eventually be our front yard once we built that house. People were so used to taking that trail as they walked or biked, they still did it once we built there. So, in essence, they were cutting across our yard. Mom hated that!
The other option was to take “The Long Way”. This way took us further down the street by the saw mill/door manufacturer named “The Visador.” As we rode down this way and passed the main entrance to the plant, we would decide if we wanted to take a quick detour and ride through the plant. Sometimes, we would ride all the way through to the back of the plant to where there used to be a softball field where they would play games as part of an adult league they had at one time. If it were blackberry season, we would stop along a fence row or a wild growing patch and pick berries. The quickest way to get us to stop picking berries was for someone to yell “SNAKE!!” Then we would hop on our bikes and fly out of there! We wouldn’t do anything destructive or nefarious. We were just riding around. Once we came back out of the Visador, we continued on our journey back up the street to our spot on the corner.
The World of Tonka
Once Mom and I moved to Jasper, I was able to have access to all of my toys. For me, my favorite toys were Tonkas. Tonka toys were made of almost all metal back then, with a little bit of plastic for the wheels and windows. I had a lot of Tonka toys. Mostly construction vehicles like loaders and dump trucks. Tonka toys were virtually indestructible. As they got older though, they would begin to rust. You’d have to be really careful. Because if you got cut while playing with them, you may have to get a tetanus shot.
My collection of Tonkas included, but not limited to, a dirt loader, a dump truck, a fire truck that could be connected to a water hose and spray actual water from the hose on the truck. A tanker truck and a jeep. As a matter of fact, John got really mad at me (and still is to this day because while pushing the tanker truck that I had filled with water, I ran into a tree root. This caused the tanker part to lunge forward and break the bottom out where it connected to the cab of the truck. I really wanted to cry that day. I had destroyed my tanker truck.
The Three Amigos
John and I grew up like brothers more than cousins. We were always together. However, there would be one more to add to make us a trio! Michael! Our cousin Michael Sells, is the son of our Uncle Homer. Uncle Homer was the youngest brother of our Moms. Michael lived in Beaumont, TX. Michael would get to come to Jasper on the weekends when his dad would come to visit. On occasion, Uncle Homer would come to Jasper by himself. John and I would be very disappointed. We missed our third! Our partner in crime. John and Michael were a grade ahead of me, but only a few months older than me. I think that’s why we were so close.
The Bikes
Our neighborhood was just like any other in the late 70’s and early 80’s. All the kids had bikes. You had to have one. That’s how we got around. And your bike was an extension of your identity. If you were adventurous, you had a BMX style bike. If you were an easy rider/cruiser type, you probably had a bike with a banana seat and U shaped handlebars.
That was me. I was not the ramp jumping, all terrain traversing type. I was mainly a cruiser. I was afraid of heights. So ramps were not for me. I liked speed though. So I loved to pedal fast. I would join in the bike races. Though I rarely won.
John and Michael were more adventurous. John had a BMX style bike that was newer, but his favorite was his Evil Keneval bike!
Evel Kenieval was a famous motorcycle stunt rider in the 70’s and 80’s. He was a daredevil. He would attempt to ride or jump over obstacles, canyons, rivers or whatever. He became so popular, there was a line of toys and clothes for kids and enthusiasts to emulate him. John was one who wanted to be a daredevil just like him. He loved his Evil Keneval bike. So much so, that when he needed new handle bars on that bike, he replaced the original ones with some old ten speed handlebars. In our world, sometimes you did what you had to do. Especially when there was not money to fix things. As a matter of fact, we had one friend, named Randy, who built bikes from parts of other bikes. It would be so funny to see Randy in the middle of riding his bike or jumping a ramp, or popping a wheelie and his wheel would come off because he may not have tightened up all of the ill fitting parts.
Michael had a really special bike also. He had a Huffy BMX. John also reminded me that Michael had one of the first BMX style bikes that had multiple gears in our neighborhood. I don’t quite remember that one. However, I distinctly remember the Huffy BMX because it had a shock absorber/spring built into the frame, underneath the seat. It looked really cool. However, if you were to jump a ramp and land wrong it would bounce you right off the bike.
Lifelong
I’m going to save some of our more outlandish antics for another post. And boy, did we have some. John, Michael and myself are older now. We have families and careers. As a matter of fact, our children are either nearing adulthood or in the emerging adults phase of their lives. We can see the light of retirement though dimly lit, at the end of the tunnel and hope it’s not a train. We text and talk from time to time.
As I was speaking to John the other day, I came to realize how our span of closeness has spanned our whole lives. Over fifty years! We have always been in each other’s life. As kids in Mill Quarters. Through high school. Going to college together. We even spent several years as roommates in our early twenties, just when we were entering adulthood and venturing into this thing called life.
Like I said. We may be cousins by blood, but we act like brothers. And apparently we bare a striking resemblance like brothers also. Especially John and I. It’s been that way our whole lives. From when we were kids, when my niece Tonya, who was a toddler, yelled out at a wedding, “LOOK! Two Alvins!” To just recently when I was visiting my Aunt Hop in a Healthcare facility and the receptionist asked me “weren’t you just here?”
Ahh yes! The cousin chronicles continue . . .
Bloggers note – The Tonka toys pictured above were seen in a thrift shop. They are probably classified as antiques. Their price range was $75 – $80 in their present condition. So, if you have any old Tonka toys from your childhood, you may be sitting on gold!