Adventures with a clothesline

Summer days are meant to be warm.

But camping outside, even if it was in the backyard, sure was cool growing up.

My twin brother and I started attaching blankets to the clothesline in the backyard before we were 10 years old, and spent many nights looking at the stars above, listening to the crickets do their thing, wondering about the overwhelming portion of the world we had yet to explore or understand, and 'night-dreaming' what was in store for us as we grew up.

Camping outside gave us a chance to get away from our basement bedrooms, and the change was always a blast. We'd grab a few blankets and some clothespins, and in about five minutes we'd have our shelter for the night.

One of the great things about growing up in a small town was you always felt secure, so parents didn't have to worry about their kids' safety when they'd spend the night out in the yard, or with the neighbor kids in their yard.

Occasionally, a dog would wander into your yard in the wee hours, sniff around the tent and maybe even lick your face before moving on. That was about the extent of our normal close encounter.

Sometimes we'd have a friend stay over, or we'd load up our sleeping bags and hoof it over to a neighbor's yard. Like any kids that age, sleep was only an option when all dialog and/or other interesting activities had been exhausted.

Eventually we graduated to an actual tent. The zippers and rain flys came in handy to keep the mosquitoes and raindrops at bay.

Soon my brother and I were in the Boy Scouts, and we put our tents to good use more often during the summers.

But some things never change. The dialogue and activities continued, usually until the Scoutmaster would bark an order for "silence and sleep!"

I've talked to people who grew up in Coeur d'Alene, and they said as kids they would often spend the night sleeping out in the open at City Park. That must have been a blast, with the cool breezes off the lake and some gentle waves rhythmically crashing ashore to help you nod off.

And sure, times have definitely changed. Today, I bet kids camping out in the backyard spend more time texting and talking on their phones than staring at the stars or conversing with their tentmates about their futures.

But the sound of crickets and the stars above remain, thankfully.

You can attempt to reach Jerry Hitchcock at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at HitchTheWriter.