Continued From Day 18…

Mrs. Ekstrand’s son was the same age as Jeff, and the two often rode their bikes or played games together over by the creek.  Their favorite games usually had something to do with playing “Army.”  They came up with different objectives to overcome, and would arm themselves with different weapons.  More times than not, the objectives were on the other side of the creek.  After all, that’s where the baby raccoons – who not only doubled as buffalo, but were also the “bad guys” – had come from.

The other side of the creek was enemy territory, and the two boys were always armed with the most modern weaponry of the day.  Ears of dried corn served as grenades, and were never in short supply.  Rifles were fashioned from fallen branches (later replaced by Red Rider BB Guns), and Daisy was the best scout in the division.

Along with 4th of July celebrations came the most realistic of the weapons in their arsenal; the bottle rockets.  Other than overdue library book fines, Black Cat bottle rockets were one of Jeff’s biggest expenses of each summer.  They were only available for purchase one week before 4th of July every year, so Jeff saved as much money as he could to bulk up his “arsenal.”  He bought as many bottle rockets, smoke bombs, and giant sparklers (perfect for night operations) as he could carry on his bike.

Jeff’s father taught him at an early age how dangerous fireworks can be if used improperly.  He was taught that smoke bombs and bottle rockets could start fires in the pasture beyond the creek if the summer was dry, so once his assault was completed and his objectives obtained, he would carefully account for everything he sent into enemy territory.

Mrs. Ekstrand’s son had a pair of camouflage binoculars, and he was very good at making sure that not only the rockets and bombs hit their mark, but that they were completely safe to the surrounding landscape.  No operation could continue unless he signaled the “all clear.”

To Be Continued…

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