Remembering
Rick was dismayed to return after the party and find such a profound mess. It was dark and cold but it seemed that the driveway, small side and back yards will full of garbage. Almost everything he didn't need but had stashed in the cellar was somewhere on the first floor or outside. His eyes adjusted and he began working methodically at corralling the mess for disposal. Fortunately he had at least 50 empty trash bags to work with. For a moment it seemed his glee at conquering the profusion ran counter to the holiday spirit. He stopped humming but maintained his pace. As dawn was breaking the last of the refuse strewn on the old back porch was stuffed away.
Still kneeling he remembered the late fall camping trip with the scouts and how amazing he found the entertainment. The vaulting gymnast wore aluminum-silver pants and western leather boots with ornate designs. Despite the dark he used shaded goggles. The two light-weight poles could crank from a pivot point four feet from the end ratcheting him up higher and higher toward a net stretched at least 30 feet above the ground. The poles extended from the bottom almost magically as the acrobat swung on the arm portions. Higher and higher he went, quickly soaring by feet above the birch trees and extending upwards toward the dark boughs of the black locusts, all lit with one amazing laser-like light. Uncontrollably he shared the enthusiasm of the boys.