logging and trading

when i was real young on garden st., there were two things that i absolutely loved to do: logging and trading. they were complicated systems of play developed by me and my brother and tony misseldine.
logging took place on the creek behind tony's house. it was steep, and the water formed a series of pools like tiers as it flowed into the gully. we would all collect sticks and break them into uniform pieces about the length of a matchstick . one guy would take them to the top and send them down the creek to the next pool. there, another guy would gather them up and perform a process on them, i don't remember just what. like peel the bark off of them, i think. then they were sent down the next leg of the stream to the next pool. here we would all eventually convene to gather up the logs, dry them and place them in designated box. it was maroon, about the size of a big bible. we repeated the process until the box was full. sometimes it took days to do, we were confined by the available hours of play. at that point the logs were discarded, and we would set about gathering a new batch. this activity took place on and off for months, maybe even years. when we were deciding what to do, i always voted for logging. it was a proven system, it was a fucking institution. and it was always rewarding.

my brother eric made up trading and continues to do it to this day, just a little bit different.
it started with us riding bikes by the school. at some point, some contractors had done some work on the big main doors, and left behind a number of what i believe now to be shims. they were "H" shaped flat pieces of metal about an inch tall. there were alot of them scattered about and the more you looked, the more you found. they were called "H's", and immediately became an item to be coveted. we all had our own cache. they were part of our kid wealth, our riches. i kept mine in a bag with other valuable treasures like poker chips, key rings and mysterious tiny things, usually made of metal.
eventually, eric realized that values had been assigned to our collected objects. if not, he would do so himself. the "H's" were good. they were fairly common, but held their value well...
at some point, eric suggested that we could gather in a circle and bid on one another's possessions. deals were made. the same objects changed hands dozens of times over the years. seldom were new ones introduced. some items grew in value. indeed, some became prized. you could get it if you were willing to pay for it. we were little tiny men in control of our worlds for one of the first times.
in the end, i think i squandered most of my stuff on a "snoopy" soap dish. jane misseldine was an avon lady, so tony had a leg up. it had a function and it was real. you can't put your soap on an "H", now, can you?

coming up next: sam's grandpa!