Walkway to HeavenNovember 20th, 2007 @ 7:01 am
When I was in elementary school there were no buses. I mean, there were probably buses in the world, just none that took anyone to my school. Therefore, we walked.
The path to the school was directly next to a canal. A very large canal. And since that isn’t a very safe thing for young children to be walking next to, a fenced in pathway was erected.
While this isn’t a picture of the walkway I used, it was pretty much exactly like this one. You know, except for the roof part. My walkway didn’t have a roof.
Which brings up a good point.
If you are going to erect (yes, I’m going to continue using that word) a fenced in walkway to stop the children was escaping and drowning in the fast moving canal water on the other side, you might as well make it impenetrable. The younger kids never would have dared break out of the walkway, but dude, the fifth graders were known to climb over the walls and walk home on the dirt path next to the canal.
They were tough. And brave. And basically stupid. That canal was scary.
The kids who lived along the path of the walkway were lucky. They had a little gate that went from the walkway into their backyard. I was friends with one girl that had her own little gate. Her name was Stephanie and I loved it when she would invite me to her house. I thought that using the gate was about the coolest thing ever.
Life was much simpler back then.
The end of the school year always brought warmer weather and Tyler’s candy store. Tyler and his friend would wake up before anyone else, head to the opening of the walkway, and set up their candy shop. Their candy shop consisted of a card table and hand written price tags showcasing their wares. Of course the candy was over priced and, of course, we wanted to buy all of it.
Tyler was no idiot. He was making a killing.
I remember trying to earn money by doing chores around the house for the sole purpose of buying from Tyler’s candy shop. Even though the same candy could be bought for cheaper at the local gas station, all of us kids wanted to buy from Tyler. It’s like Tyler made buying candy from him the cool thing to do.
We moved far away after the I finished the fifth grade. My new school didn’t have a walkway and I missed the one I had become accustomed to. I told my new friends about how cool it was. I told them about the gates and the canal and I told them about Tyler’s candy shop. The walkway always seemed so magical to me. But the kids in my new school didn’t seem to understand the magic.
Over time I lost contact with the friends I had in elementary school. The last time I visited the old neighborhood was about fifteen years ago. At that time I heard a rumor about the old walkway. Apparently one of the students dad had hung himself on a tree on the canal side of the walkway. I don’t know whether or not this is true. I imagine it probably isn’t true. But still, I think about it every time I think about the old walkway.
I got online this morning and looked around google, hoping to find something on my old elementary school and the walkway. I didn’t find any mention of the walkway. I thought, for a second, about calling the school and asking them if they still use the walkway. I figured it might sound a little suspicious if I did this, so I held off.
But still, I’d like to find out what happened to the walkway. Because, in my mind, it’s still a magical place.
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My baby brother’s wife gave birth to a little boy last night. Word on the street is that all is well with mom and bebe. I’ve yet to see pictures, or even talk to my brother. But dude, I’m pretty happy for their little family.
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And because you haven’t heard me talk about bikini waxing in a while, you’d better go and read all about my latest New Thing.
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And because we all love TV, let’s discuss last night’s glorious slapbet episode of How I Met Your Mother over at WeHeartTV.
Back in the day
anne
said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:21 pm
You don’t stink.
I wasn’t planning on commenting b/c after being away all weekend my blogroll was horribly overwhelming…but we can’t have a sad Isabel, now can we?
By the way, the first onesie I gave away was a huge hit!!
Rhi
said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:25 pm
You smell like Subway, which is why I wasn’t commenting.
And, for the record, I just ate a Gyro and that’s what I currently smell like
Danielle
said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Looks like someone already beat me to the stinky comments.
You stink. Your words. Not mine.
jessica
said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:45 pm
I certainly can’t smell you from here, but maybe that’s because I have a cold.
I had a magical bridge in high school. I’d love to go see what’s become of it now…
janet
said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:58 pm
There was a canal by my elementary school growing up too! We all feared it’s dangerous current (non-existent) but by the time you got to 5th grade you were cool if you dared jump it. I remember I tried, and ended up slipping on the green slippery goo on the bottom. Much more gross than scary in the end.
janet
said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:59 pm
ps congrats on the new addition to the family!!
Liz
said,
November 21, 2007 at 3:20 pm
psssst. i tagged you for a meme.
Rachel
said,
November 21, 2007 at 5:32 pm
It is funny the things we remember from childhood.
Christar
said,
November 21, 2007 at 7:08 pm
In Shaun’s neighborhood they have a little walkway that goes from one neighborhood to another. It’s like going through someones backyard to get to the other side of the street, except you don’t go through a backyard. I always think it’s so neat. One of my good friends in High School also had one of these walkways in her neighborhood. I think they’re totally awesome. They call them something like a kitty walk or something weird like that. But never~the~less, it’s cool!
Michele Lewis
said,
November 21, 2007 at 9:01 pm
You should start (dare I say it) a canal walkway myspace page or facebook. Let me know if you do I might be your friend should I decide to return to the black hole of myspace. That sounded really bad.
SJ
said,
November 22, 2007 at 3:44 pm
What a cool story from your school days, I have some that are similar, however mine doesn’t include a cool walkway.
You win.
angela
said,
November 24, 2007 at 11:23 pm
My mom was a grade school teacher at my school, so my brother and I would always go to and from school with her everyday. I always envied the bus kids and thought being able to ride the bus home would be the absolute coolest thing ever. This is probably my version of your magical walkway gate. If only I had a friend to ride the bus home with.
Liza's Eyeview
said,
November 27, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Oh I love this walkway to heaven memories, and the Tyler Candy Shop… childhood memories like these are wonderful