Last night while trying to fall asleep I again thought about the land my childhood home rests on. Our house was on a hill, not a big hill but a hill nonetheless. The houses at each end of the street are on more or less on flat ground, but those in the middle of the street are on an incline or a decline. The hill is gradual and rarely represented much of a challenge except maybe when in the back of a wagon or on a skateboard.
Our house was on the top end of the hill, where flattening out became obvious. Our neighbours to the west had steep slopes in their backyards, and their houses were obviously lower than ours. At both sides of our property there were small changes in elevation, each lot basically was its own piece of level-ish ground. The change in elevation started very subtly at the road and gradually became more pronounced as you moved toward the back of the lot.
At the western edge of the driveway where it met the gentle curve of the curb something happened, at least I think it did. At the road, the change in elevation was very subtle, standing on our driveway maybe put one four or maybe six inches higher than someone standing 3 feet away on the neighbour’s lawn.
Here is how it all went down.
D was a neighbour across the street and was a grade ahead of me in school. D had a jackknife; I think it might have been new. P was a classmate that lived a few doors down. She was small but athletic (certainly more than I). D and P were playing chicken with the knife. D stood on the corner of our driveway and P stood on the neighbour’s lawn. D threw the knife at P and she ducked or weaved to avoid the knife. Once P couldn’t avoid the knife and it hit her, just above the eye. There was blood and crying and general childhood pandemonium. In the end P was fine and D was sorry.
where it happened
Did this really happen? I think so but I am not sure. If I think about the details I have described they seem as plausible as they are incredible. D was a nice enough kid, not prone to violence or meanness particularly. I don’t remember a remarkable recklessness in D’s character. P was a cautious kid, not one prone to irresponsible acts and risk taking.
When did this happen exactly? How old were we? I think before we were in high school but how much before I am don’t know. Did parents get involved? Were there meetings between D and P’s parents to discuss what happened? Did my mother know what happened? Did she talk about it with us? If I knew the answer to these questions once I don’t know them now.
I think it did happen. I can’t say why or when or what happened afterward but I know where it happened. There is a place that I am sure exists and something happened there, a place where if you weren’t careful you could scalp the lawn with the mower.
you’re alive!