Football

There was a great advantage to having half an acre for a backyard. You could play any game you wanted with as many people as you wanted. Dad had a huge wire backstop built in the southeast corner away from the house so we could play baseball. A homerun was to hitting the ball over the top electrical wires at the edge of the yard. It was a ground rule double if the ball went into the orange grove. And you didn't tell mom and dad if the ball went into Flippsi's orange grove and one of us went after it. (Flippsi didn't like kids and had a mean dog! And we tended to steal his pomegranates...... )

But football was really cool in that yard. We played "Goal Line Stand". The object was to carry the ball 10 yards against everyone who wanted to play. That meant that there was a center to hike the ball and the kid that the ball got hiked to on one team. Everyone else was on the other team. Oh, we watered the 10 yards for a couple of days so we played in a mud hole! They would let me play even though I was a "GIRL" because I could fake out the opposing lineman by going under them and then catch a pass. Darrel, George, Bobby, Keith, those are the names I remember. 

I remember playing this with Bill and Dan a lot. I remember getting such satisfaction bringing some guy to the ground when I was just a kid. I especially remember being very smug when I took Daniel out. This, of course, was during the period that he didn't exist. So such action on my part was exceptionally sweet. Looking back, I am amazed that he didn't try to get back at me but I don't remember him ever doing that. I think even then he was protecting me.

I remember kids coming from all over that part of Lindsay to play in that huge yard. I remember Dan running a lot in those games. I remember Mom making us shower in the garage with our clothes on before we were allowed in the house. I remember laughing and running and being really, really dirty. Great football.