three hundred sixty eight

 AMUSEMENT PARK ADVENTURES

If you were a kid in a small town in Ohio you might see Disneyland on television but because of the distance and cost you had no hope of ever going there. The idea of going on a family vacation to someplace interesting to a fifth grader was nearly impossible. Instead we created our own amusement park with what we had around us.

The city was founded in 1806 so the sewer system was functioning but not modern. We had a large opening to the storm sewer system close to our house. We would venture in through the spider webs past the reach of the light. We were motivated by the power of a dare. 

One day five of us met at the opening with flashlights and candles. We were going to see how far we could go. Battery technology was poor in those days so they only worked for the trip in. Candles were useless because our matches got wet so the trip back was going to be scary. 

Two brothers headed back and after issuing threats not to tell, three of us kept going. We made it to Ellsworth avenue several hundred yards from the opening where we went in.

Luckily it had storm drains that let in some light. As long as we could see light our eyes had adjusted to the darkness so we could see enough to keep going. 

The drains were not large enough to crawl through and signaling for help was out of the question. Having the police involved could not happen because our parents would be informed so we pressed on. 

After several hundred more yards we made it to another entrance we knew about. It was located behind a factory that had high fences and security guards. We got there but the entrance had bars covering it.

With wet matches, dead flashlights, wet clothes and shoes we started heading back. The darkness didn't bother me but the occasional waist deep hole filled with the unknown was my problem. Visions of rats, bats, spiders, snakes and leeches filled or thoughts. We went from trying to scare each other to trying to hide our fears. 

It took a long time to finally reach the exit. As we approached our toughness and bravery came back but when we finally made it out we could barely hide our relief. 

I got home replaced my fathers flashlight dead batteries and all and tried to sneak into the house for a change of clothes. My mother didn't see me but she certainly smelled me. 

I had a story but she didn't want to hear it. For some strange reason none of us got in any trouble. Years later I hear my older brother by seven years, talking with his friends reminiscing about their sewer adventure. I felt a secret pride when I heard they didn't get as far as we did.

It wasn't Disneyland and I'm glad we didn't find any Mickey Rats, but it was one amazing adventure and a perfect place for boys to tell turd jokes.