Saturday, January 10, 2009

Crabapple Cove

Do you remember in MASH that Hawkeye was from Crabapple Cove? There is something about crabapples. Small apples. Can be hard to eat raw, but are good in jellies, jams and desserts. So, why am I writing about crabapples? Because of a prank that me and some neighbors did, when we were kids. I hope that the statute of limitations has run out on this. A block from our houses was Beltline Blvd. A major road through Columbia that was four lanes. At the corner of Beltline and Parkman, there was a house with some bushes at the front that we could hide behind. The homeowner had a crabapple tree in their backyard. They also didn't like kids, so it was a double prank. Take their crabapples and use them to attack cars. So, here was the deal. It was dark, so the drivers couldn't see us. We hid behind the bushes. The cars had to go up a steep hill by us. We would throw a crabapple and bounce it off the road, and then it would hit the bottom of their car. They would think something was wrong with their car, and we had a good laugh. Harmless fun, right? It was all about timing. You couldn't bounce the crabapple too soon or too late. It had to be just right. That was, until a police car headed up the hill. It was dark. We didn't see the lights, until the cop turned them on after we hit the underside of his car. We ran. The owner of the house was interviewed by the police. He knew nothing about it. We didn't do that prank anymore. About six months later, I was at my Grandmother's house in Greenwood. She had a crabapple tree in her backyard. She was making some jellies, and I ate my share of the crabapples and got a severe stomach ache. I figure it was God's way of punishing me. What goes around comes around.

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