Growing Up On Globe #3

During my last visit to Los Angeles in the summer of 2008 I bought some Mexican food from Tito's Taco stand, drove to the top of Globe hill and had lunch just before my flight back to Minnesota. The memories came flooding back
Standing a the top of the hill I recalled the spot on the hill where I fell off of my bike and the kick-stand tore a hole in my right shin. The incident left me with a round shiny scar, somewhat larger than a quarter, a reminder I still carry with me.
I walked past the point where my brother Jimmy and I would typically find an ant-hill. We'd place a roll of caps over the hole in the concrete and with a swing of a hammer we would bring tens thousand ants swarming out of hole holding their little hands over their ears.
I remembered the time my cousin Max was going out of the house, dressed like he had a hot date, I was out on the sidewalk probably blowing up ants. He stopped not only to help me tie my shoes but he stayed there and we repeated the exercise until I could tie them on my own.
Across the street was Eddie Caddow's house. He was a couple of years older than me. He taught me a few things about getting in to trouble and keeping your mouth shut. We did the "You light and I'll throw It" routine with some firecrackers in a vacant lot. We managed to catch the a large area of dry grass in the vacant land on fire. I ran to my Aunt's house to get a hose to wet down the grass. My Aunt didn't need a sixth sense to know that something out of the ordinary was going on. You don't put much over on the mother of eight boys and two girls. Neither she, nor the Fire Department, asked Eddie or me if we were responsible but I did catch a couple of looks from her. We kept our mouths shut and the cause was listed as unknown. Later that day Eddie and I went to some caves that we had dug on Sepulveda (secret away from Globe hideout) and laughed until we cried.
Upon leaving Globe I drove down the block and saw the houses of the DeVoran's, the Coleman's, the O'Briens and I remembered the people across from the Coleman's who put the "Treat" into Trick or Treating. At Halloween, as soon as Mom would let us out of the house to Trick or Treat my brother Jim and I would sprint down the block and stop a the house where they served ice cream bars. They didn't just hand you a bar at the front door. They set up picnic tables set up in the back-yard so you could sit down. This was quite a treat for a 10 yr old and his brother whose house had only an ice-box to keep things cold and having ice-cream meant a trip in the car.
Henry John Hein, June 2009