What were you thinking???

I’m pretty sure that those of you who are parents have, from time to time, asked your kids: “What were you thinking?! Were you thinking?”. I know that I’ve asked that question a time or two. Well, when I went back to Akron this weekend, I visited a couple of my old haunts and thought about my various adventures:

Go Speed Racer!:: Howard Street is the longest, steepest hill in Akron, as we passed by this hill, I told Tony of my 10-speed bicycle adventure. One day I rode my bicycle down Howard Street. I had a speedometer on the bike. I wanted to see how fast I could go, so I placed the bike in the highest gear, 10, and peddled for all that I was worth. I got up to 60 mph, or about 100 Kph! Unfortunately, at the bottom of the hill there is a road and a stop light. Just as I was nearing the bottom, it turned yellow and then red. I could not stop and had to run the red light. Fortunately I was spared. There were no cars coming. Now, when I think back about all of the grim outcomes that could have happened, I think, “What were you thinking?! Were you thinking?!!!”. Somehow we survive into adulthood!

Stepping Stones:My second one was less intrepid, but not all that wise. I was photographing in Gorge Metro Park. I used to like to go there and photograph. It’s been 20 years since I’d been there and a lot has changed. There is a dam that I liked to visit. I used to like to sit on the rocks and watch and listen to the water rush over the dam. It was a somewhat treacherous climb from the trail down to the dam. You had to be extremely careful, especially with camera in hand. Now, they’ve added a deck, stairs, rails, etc. It’s quite easy to get near, but you can’t get on the spillway unless you climb over railing and jump down.

Here is a picture of the spillway. I used to walk across the stones to the other side, just for fun. Mind you, I always went alone, so if something happened to me, I’d be washed down the Cuyahoga River without a trace!

Other adventures in the life of Paul:

• The Fire Hydrant: Every year, the city of Akron would come through various neighborhoods and flush out the water system by opening a fire hydrant and letting spew for a few hours. Well, one fine day, I happened to be riding my bike near such an event and thought: “I’ll bet that I could ride through that!”. Guess what?! You can’t!!! That stream of water picked me up and dropped me on the opposite sidewalk and bent my front tire! Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!
• Shopping cart derby: Akron is famous for the Soap Box Derby, the famous gravity car race. Well, we as children in Akron were quite inspired by this. Having no soapbox racer didn’t present a problem, we just used an old abandoned grocery cart, a hill, and some gravity. Guess what?! You can’t steer those things and we all know how bad the wheels are on those anyway! Another bad idea!
• War! What young boy doesn’t have a G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu grip and a war fantasy. Well, I was nothing different. One day we were sitting around playing darts and, becoming quite bored at throwing them at the dartboard, decided to have a game of war and throw them at each other. Guess what?! Another fabulously bad idea. Those things hurt a LOT when they stick in your legs! We were kind of smart in that we had a rule that you had to throw for the legs! I should have played Scrabble!

Well, I look forward to hearing of Tony’s adventures, way, way, way after he has done them!

C’mon, don’t laugh at my stupidity, I know that you have some stories of your own!