In addition to the garden, the circle has a few trees, some large ornamental rocks and a small carpet of grass. Gordon tends to the grass with great devotion. No one asked him to do this, of course. He just takes it upon himself to keep the grass in order. Everyone would agree that he does a good job with it.
Sack kids are frequently chastised for causing harm to the circle's flora. The lower tree branches, in particular, have been frequent targets for their mayhem.
They're taken to task for littering in and around the circle, too. Candy wrappers and drink containers are the most common items to be found. You can even run across discarded clothing or abandoned sports equipment from time to time.
If you ever need a basketball very quickly, the Sack's centre circle can usually provide what you're looking for.
But rarely is there any malicious intent to cause damage. Most of the shenanigans in the circle are simply caused by the exuberance of youth. When kids become careless, the circle's greenery can take a beating.
And then, of course, there is young Doo. . . .
***
The Sack was like a suburban desert last Saturday. The air was dense and hot. The intensity of the sunlight was almost overpowering.
There was very little movement on the street. There was almost a low buzz in the air from the electric fans that ran throughout the neighbourhood. You could imagine that people were slumped in their basements, clad only in undergarments.
It was a really hot day.
***
The only movement in the Sack came from young Doo. He was cavorting by himself in the Sack's centre circle. He was flailing about on his hands and knees.
Doo was on the opposite side of the ornamental rocks, so I couldn't really see what he was doing. But he looked like he was enjoying himself very much.
I was sitting on my front porch. I was eating a cherry popsicle and thinking about how I don't eat enough cherry popsicles. Other thoughts came to mind, too. But the cherry popsicle thoughts were most notable.
***
A car drove into the Sack. Gordon was at the wheel. He was coming home from the grocery store.
Gordon always goes to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon.
He got out of his car and walked back to his trunk to pick up his groceries. That's when he caught sight of Doo's activity in the Sack's centre circle.
His quick shriek was followed by an angry bark. Then he started pointing at something in the circle. Doo was now standing up. Whatever sin he had committed was causing an unholy racket to burst from Gordon's mouth. Doo seemed frozen in place, transfixed by the older man's fury.
That's when I decided to investigate the matter.
***
It was a very big surprise when I saw the reason for Gordon's rant.
Young Doo had dug up a portion of the circle's garden and about three feet of Gordon's precious grass. Several deep holes were evident. Corresponding piles of dirt sat beside the holes.
Prominent amid the black soil was a battalion of yellow Tonka trucks. Doo was clearly in the midst of a major construction project. Given the scale of the holes and the Tonka trucks, he had something quite majestic in mind.
***
The variety of Tonka trucks employed in Doo's project was impressive.
He had big diggers, dump trucks and even a few earth movers. The Tonka vehicles were clearly from a previous era. They were made with metal, rather than the hard plastic used in today's variety. Later, Doo told me Sticky, his new step dad, bought the "twucks" for him at the flea market.
***
My arrival on the scene seemed to distract Gordon.
He moved his attention away from Doo and started to tell me about the damage. He talked as if I was unable to see it with my own eyes. Meanwhile, Doo stood with his hands in his pockets. He wore a confused look on his face. He knew he was in trouble. But he seemed unsure about how much trouble might be coming his way.
Eventually, Gordon ran out of steam and we made a plan to repair the damage. Doo and I would fill in the holes, replant some of the flowers and prepare the area where the grass was ruined. Gordon would run over to the nearest garden centre and pick up a single roll of sod.
Gordon even agreed that Doo's mom and Sticky wouldn't be advised of the matter, providing Doo gave a reasonable effort in the reconstruction. Doo thought this was a fair arrangement. He likes digging very much.
***
Doo's face, hands and clothing were spotted with dirt and sweat even before we carried out the repairs. By the time Gordon returned with the sod, I was well on my way to looking the same way.
Gordon put the sod in place and went off to retrieve his garden hose. Despite the magnitude of Doo's original project, we had carried out a surprisingly reasonable repair.
When Gordon returned with the hose, I went into the Wonders' house and picked up some cherry popsicles. Then Gordon, Doo and I sat on the ornamental rocks. We ate the popsicles and admired our work.
"I don't remember the last time I had a popsicle," Gordon suddenly said. His lips were starting to look bright red from the cherry flavouring.
"Me neither," Doo replied. The cherry popsicle made his mouth look like it was covered by hastily applied lipstick.
"That's funny," I answered, "I was just thinking about that earlier."
***
2 comments:
My brother has no cherry popsicles. I may take the kids to the corner store...
Yeharr
I would highly recommend it. Given a propensity for cooler, damp weather, most people here don't have a/c --- but the heat wave finally found us, so electric fans and cherry popsicles are mandatory. . . . I hope you enjoy the rest of your time off.
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