rainbow arch bridges

during my recent visit to conneaut,
i saw some places from my childhood.


there are 2 "rainbow" arch bridges
in conneaut,  solid cement and both in
remarkably good condition.


the first bridge is on old mill road.
as a child, i played in the area behind 
the city cemetery, located above the creek
over which the bridge spans.
there were mulberry trees, and branches 
that my friend and i would use to swing out 
over the gully. the creek ran near there 
and we always climbed back up the path 
and made our way through the tombstones, 
scaring ourselves with the thought of 
ghosts and rotting bodies.

i doubt that our mothers ever knew where
we disappeared to on those adventuresome
days.


the second bridge had an even scarier memory.
this is where i began my fear of deep water.
my sister and i were invited to go swimming
with our neighbor susie and her family at 
farnham dam.  farnham is noted for its 
dangerous ledges, drop offs unseen into the
deep water. 


i think i was aware of them, and tried always
to stay in the very shallowest of waters. 
i would feel my way along the shale bottoms, 
a mere depth of only 3-4 inches.


my recollection of the "event" is that i was
pushing my sister along in a big black inner
tube, my toes in heightened aware of any edges.
we were maybe 4 and 6 years old, and could not
swim, though my sister was a lot braver and
less fearful than i.  she kept urging me to
push her farther and faster...


and then i stepped off a ledge.  i think helen
jumped out of the inner tube to "save" me.  i
can remember coming to the top and yelling for
daddy, who was not even there, and then i was either
scooped out of the water, or somehow made my way
to the inner tube.  


helen does not even remember this traumatic event,
but it has been a vivid memory for me for the past
5 decades.  

i was disappointed to see that the farnham dam area has not been taken care of....it is all brambles and weeds where picnic areas used to be.  my children and i used to go there to pick violets in the spring, to look for frogs, collect  leaves and rocks in the fall, and, of course, to wade in the shallow water in the summer.
i never would allow them to go very far....