What's over that hill? I want to go see!

IrishEyes

IrishEyes

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Location
Midwest
In hindsight I realize I was always searching and exploring. Never taking things for granted but maybe
needing proof for myself or to experience it for myself. I have no idea, it's just the way I am.
I grew up in Los Angeles County when it was beautiful. Every church had a bell ringing on Sunday, every neighbor hood
had a mini-mart for those quick candy or soda trips and a gas station that would fill your bike tire with air if you needed it.
I remember our houses all had an avocado tree and either an orange or lemon too. One street I lived on actually had a
stable where they bred and raised Arabian show horses. I made friends with that lady right away, My mom used to say
"if there is a horse within a mile of us, she will find it".
My grandparents opened the door to my wanderlust pull when I was young by taking me on trips to see family in
Oklahoma and Arkansas where they came from. Seeing the country from a car and all that changing scenery made my
imagination explode.
"Grandpa....what's over that hill, can we go see?" Even though it was taking us off route for a short while he would snicker and say
"over Yonder we shall go and see where the crow shall go"
I had six Uncles of which at least 2 of them were always present. Mom and I lived with my grandparents until I was not quite 4 years old.
Though we moved out, I was more at grandparents home than my own.
One such time my grandparents had to go grocery shopping and had my 2 uncles Gary and Jim watch me while they were gone. I heard them talking strangely in their room and peaked in.
They were at their bedroom window (2nd floor), window open, screen pulled off and practicing jumping from the window to the tree so they could sneak out at night. I was fascinated, I wanted to do it too.
"I want to jump too" I squealed, they spun around and Gary said a firm "No, you are too little!" For some reason I knew what words to say that I had never said before "Let me or I will tell Grandpa". After discussing how not to be killed from either result...1. me getting hurt, 2. Them getting hurt when Grandpa found out, Gary jumped to the tree, braced himself on the limb and called to Jim " OK....throw her and you better throw hard"
That flight was marvelous! Then Uncle Gary's strong arms and hands catching me was delightful, I wanted to do it again. They bribed me with ice cream
and a bike riding lesson to just stop. I never told my grandparents. Years later Uncle Gary confessed he darn near soiled his pants when I was in midflight.


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A really interesting way to explain your thoughts about living life full of wonder whats over that hill.

Mine was about not wanting to settle in a job that would be routine until I could retire. Joined the Navy to see the world. Did that & was never satisfied with boring same old stuff every day. Now with DIY projects all done looking over the hill is about making sure my wife & me are enjoying each day.
 

Knight said:
A really interesting way to explain your thoughts about living life full of wonder whats over that hill.

Mine was about not wanting to settle in a job that would be routine until I could retire. Joined the Navy to see the world. Did that & was never satisfied with boring same old stuff every day. Now with DIY projects all done looking over the hill is about making sure my wife & me are enjoying each day.
Click to expand...
I will be adding some as I am in the mood, doing this as a project for my Grand Daughter. I would love to sail on a tall ship just once as long as it's clear weather 😁 Probably the nearest thing to that would be a trip to Boston and take a ride on one there.
 
A Bike, my magic carpet ride
My Uncles were the teachers of bike riding. Once again it was a team event. My Grandparents lived on a small hill in Whittier, Ca.
Their method of teaching me was Jim at the top of the hill, Gary at the bottom. Instructions: "Try to keep the front wheel straight, don't worry about the brakes yet, Gary will catch you. If you fall you have to push the bike up the hill yourself. If you make it to Gary he will carry it back for you"
What can I say, they were my heroes, I believed in them, I trusted them. I wanted to make them proud. The first push off I fell maybe six feet into it. I would not cry, that would scare them, so I sucked it up and pushed the bike back to begin again. Second push off, it was shaky all the way down, bumpy and jiggly but I made it to Gary. His whoop of success as he caught the handle bars made it all worth it.
Once I made it down the hill steady we began the process of braking. For that we would go down the hill then on the flat ground they had me use the brake: Gary ran beside me and told me when to push the pedal back and when to put my foot on the ground to catch myself. This took more time than learning to keep the front wheel straight it seems. Learning those smooth stops took time and patience. One scraped elbow and one bruised knee later we reached success.
One morning I came out for my bike lesson and all three bikes were out! Finally a neighborhood trip! They did show some intelligence on safety in this. I had to ride on the sidewalk as they rode in the street next to the curb by me. They taught me about corners, stop signs, traffic, driveways and keeping both hands on the bars for that time. It felt like pure freedom to me, the wanderlust grew in size a bit.
 
Skates: invites others to explore with you.
Once I began school and expanded my playmates to include girls, not just Uncles, I discovered
skates and how much more social they can be to include others in slower exploration of the world around us.
You can fit more in a group with skates into a closer circle while cruising the sidewalks.
An added benefit was the local mini-store didn't ask us to move our skates away from the door when we stopped
to buy a treat, because we carried them in.
Skates gave us the opportunity to stop as a group and speak to Mrs Old Lady with the roses, Mr. Gotta Old T-Model car in his drive.
Plus if anyone fell, you didn't get left behind a half a block before someone noticed you needed help. We did put a lot of miles
on those skates which came with hours of laughter and building friendships. Which led to Slumber Parties. Skates were good but,
I still needed to see what was on that OTHER street and it was too far on skates.
 
I'm probably not following the right train of thought with this, but the question, "What's over that hill?" reminded me of something from a long time ago.

When my wife and I had only been married a few months, we were driving home from work one day on the interstate, and the most beautiful rainbow we had ever seen arched in front of us. It appeared to touch ground only a short ways off, and we wanted to see that part, so we got off the highway and drove on side streets to find the end of it. The further we went, it always seemed just a bit further, until we had gone far out of the way, and of course, never found it.

I have no regrets for the time lost over our foolishness, because it's still a good memory to me.

"There is a tendency to spend a lifetime rushing here and there indiscriminately chasing rainbows," -Steven Redhead (international author, speaker, and business and product development specialist)
 
MACKTEXAS said:
I'm probably not following the right train of thought with this, but the question, "What's over that hill?" reminded me of something from a long time ago.

When my wife and I had only been married a few months, we were driving home from work one day on the interstate, and the most beautiful rainbow we had ever seen arched in front of us. It appeared to touch ground only a short ways off, and we wanted to see that part, so we got off the highway and drove on side streets to find the end of it. The further we went, it always seemed just a bit further, until we had gone far out of the way, and of course, never found it.

I have no regrets for the time lost over our foolishness, because it's still a good memory to me.

"There is a tendency to spend a lifetime rushing here and there indiscriminately chasing rainbows," -Steven Redhead (international author, speaker, and business and product development specialist)
Click to expand...
The title is a question I drove my family and now my husband nuts with. I always like the off beaten tracks, out of the tourist areas where the real beauty is. When I went to England I went North, not the usual area London, etc. I wanted to see the beauty, meet the everyday people, not more tourist like me. My husband is a point A to point B, no detour kind of person. So we compromise and sometimes as you did, we would chase that rainbow too but not every time, especially if the destination was a fishing trip. o_O
 
My late husband and I couldn't pass a side road without turning down it to see what was at the end.....at least often. Nothing there? Oh, well, maybe next time. We saw some odd things.....

The Spousal Equivalent is a " get from point A to point B as fast as possible" traveler. I do insist on stopping at old graveyards, though, as I can't resist walking around reading headstones.
 

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