Page 86 - REALLY What A time Book IX

REALLY SO WHAT
What A Time

DITCH

The game, would start in the evening after dinner, and
continue until parents started whistling or calling everyone
home.

We might have had 10 kids on each side. It was the best game
ever. You might hide for hours, and never be seen. If seen,
and you weren’t caught in a basement, you would be chased
until tagged.

I’d say that when chased I was seldom caught, even by the
older boys. The most difficult time was when you tried to free
your jailed comrades. Often there would be more than one
‘Chaser’ protecting around the Jail. It was difficult to free
anyone; but, worth a try.

On the other side, being a chaser for me was only a matter of
seeing a loose kid. I could run faster than, longer than, dodge
and, stop and go quicker than anyone else.
This game was called ‘DITCH’.

Everyone loved it. But, Pop had his limits. He didn’t like me
running all over the community, and possibly into the woods
at night. He also knew I didn’t like the boy next door and on
more than one occasion had to pull me off of him. The boy
was a real creep, dishonest, and a liar. I thought he deserved
what ever happened if I could catch him, before he ran into
his house. It was off limits, but safe for him.

We neighborhood kids played ‘DITCH’ three hours a night,
four nights a week all summer.

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