A Drowning Hungry
A Drowning Hungry
When I finally had the courage to open my eyes, which didn’t take long, I knew I was about to drown, right there is that brown, Kiwi shoe polish looking water, not even a mile away from my house! I couldn’t believe it, but there I was. My turn in the window I thought… not now!!! The police and news crews would eventfully show up, and there I would be… The Star of the 6pm Local News, maybe even a National mention. Floating down that stinking, brown, polluted Rouge River…. I was terrified!! When I first hit the water, it was SO much colder than what I had thought it would be. It was April, early April and me being a seasoned Mid-Western boy, so I thought should have known better! I had taken the bet or a commission to swing across the widest part of the Rouge River, which ran through this heavily wooded area in my city/suburban town West of Detroit, MI. The river was pretty tame in that area for the most part, although the current was still pretty strong even through the river always appeared to be moving really slowly. It was where the river bent to the South just a little, which gave the area a nice size bank where folks use to hangout and do all the things that kids and young adults aren’t supposed to be doing. One guy that use to hangout at The Bank, that’s what the locals called it, name was Mike! Crazy Mike that is… not in the sense of being institutionalized, I don’t think; but him hanging out with kids my age kids or even younger was a concern to some! See, I was only 10 at the time and this guy who we called Crazy Mike was probably around 16 or so. He didn’t really look that old, so no one ever said anything to him. And because everyone knew he was a little off, people with any type of common sense used to just avoid him altogether. He was always in the neighbor, not locked up or anything like that, so we thought if he was not in jail or at the local mental Hospital, Eloise D Block, that he was OK. Mike always had lots of CASH, so people use to hang around him for that. He was basically harmless I thought, outside of when he got to talking to himself, then watch out. But other than that, he was kind of funny. Mike used to hang out at The Bank everyday looking for someone to get a cheap laugh from. The Bank was the widest point of the River in that area as I said; it was also the best and fastest way to cross the river. There was two ways at The Bank to cross that locals had built, my contribution was clearing leaves and bushes. One was via a deliberately placed tree bridge used to crawl across, and the other a make shift swing with several knots that hung high above the sometimes swiftly moving Rouge. The rope was replaced yearly to try and ensure the safety of those brave enough to try and swing from one muddy bank to the other. Mike also used the swing to entice young kids to do dangerous things that so far had not gotten anyone seriously injured. If you didn't cross at The Bank, folks mostly kids and thugs had to make the nearly 2 mile hike due West toward Middlebelt Rd. to cross at the closest pedestrian and traffic bridge.
