If for a moment in these here stories, you had a small thought that I just might be one restless tyke and possibly a trouble maker, then multiply that by five on this day.

It was such a beautiful summer day down on the farm.  All of the chores were done and it was not even lunch time yet.  There was still a lot of daylight left. We had already gone down to the train tracks and put pennies on the track and watched the train roll across them and flatten them like a pancake.

We had already caught frogs down in the frog pond and just plain had a lot of fun.  So what do we do next

The five of us sat on the big rock and discussed just what to do next.  The suggestions were many, but some were sure to get us into trouble.  One of us finally got the idea of going for a ride in one of dad’s cars.  We figured as long as we did not actually start the car, then we would not get into trouble.  First, we looked at the old Lincoln.  It was a big car and we reasoned we would get tired too quickly pushing this car around..  Then we went to the Edsel but it was full of stuff.  On to the Kaiser-Frazer.  One of the tires were almost flat so we decided on the Studebaker coupe.  It was small and most probably lighter and did not have extra parts stored in it.  We planned a route that would take us to the top of a small knoll. At the top of the knoll, the designated driver would pull the brake and we would all jump in and away we would go.  It worked well for two of us.  Our legs were long enough to reach the brake pedal and be able to steer the car as we went joyfully riding down the hill.  We had decided on a designated stopping spot before the 4 pushers would jump out and proceed to push the car back to the top of the hill.  As I said, this worked well for the older ones, but for those less than 7 years of age, their legs were just too short.  They insisted on an equal part though, so we let them have their way.  My niece was one of the next ones and she just could not reach the pedals and steer the car.  She chose to slide down and stomp on the brake.  This worked well even though she went a bit beyond the designated stopping spot.  She missed the tree so that was ok.  Then came my really short brother and sister.  They were 5 and 6 years old and insisted they have the same privileges.  There were two in the front seat and three in the back seat, and away we went. When we got to the bottom rolling along at a nice pace, sister had to make a choice really quick.  Either steer away from the tree or let go of the steering wheel and stomp on the brake.  She chose to let go of the steering wheel and stomp on the brake.  She just grazed the tree ever so slightly.  That didn’t bother us older kids because sister was doing the driving.  Not our fault.   Well now its little brothers turn.  We had to help him steer even while we were pushing the Studebaker back to the top of the knoll.  You see, the car was know for its arm strong steering and not power steering.  It would not matter anyway, we did not start the car.  There we sat at the top and began to decide just how to run the risk of little brother hitting that darn tree.  It was a nice big tree and even though the Studebaker was tough, it would look different after it hit the tree.  It was decided the oldest brother would sit next to him and help steer.  So, down we went.

Now, there was some sort of mix-up when we got to the bottom of the tree and with all of us hollering, things just did not go right. Little brother tried to stomp on the brake about the same time older brother was trying to reach the brake and no one was steering.  We hit the tree.   We quickly got out and surveyed the damage to the Studebaker.  It was not bad, but it did not look the same as when we started.  We very quickly pushed the car away from the tree and with a few tries, we managed to put it back exactly where we found it.  The tires sat in exactly the same spot as when we started.   Lucky for us, the car was headed away from the driveway and dad would not notice it for a day or two.  We all swore an oath that we had no idea how that happened, and off we went to the other side of the farm to play a different game.  Maybe kick the can or roll tires down the hill while one of us was inside.  Dad never did find out how that front bumper got so bent.  Not our fault, we don’t drive.

Have a nice day now folks