Goodbye to my Robin Hood

Back when the heat and humidity of the Ozark summers didn’t faze us, when life was nothing more than an unending game of hide and seek, when we lived our lives outside, when we took off our shoes and went barefoot to feel the mud between our toes and stood by the creek motionless and watched as the bitter cold water immersed our muddied feet, and  washed them clean, back when we ran through the old pastures and felt the tickle of the tall prairie grass on our legs… back in the misty haze of my memory…there was you, my knight in shining armor, my Robin Hood.

Every year we went to the farm.  When I was little, time seemed to pass so slowly there.  And as kids, we had mastered the art of living in the present…which as I look back as an adult, made time pass a little differently if not more slowly, now that we live in a world of constant expectations and comparisons to the past…  But, I digress… the farm:  I remember we were surrounded by nothing except woods filled with ancient oak and hickory trees, moss covered rocks jutting out of the hillside, (reminding us that we were in fact, in mountains, of sorts), and an horizon that stretched out past the flower dotted prairie fields, past the woods, to infinity.  The old, white farm house sat on top a range of hills in the Missouri Ozarks.  I felt on top of the world when we looked out on those fiery sunsets from the safety of the trampoline, just the two of us.  Those were some of the best summers of my life, when we left behind our everyday lives and the family made the trip to that old rustic farm in the country, and you and me had 200 acres of playground to ourselves. 

Sometimes, I thought you hated it there, so far away from urbanization – you would even pack up your Nintendo and play it in that old worn down farm house.  And, even though all I wanted to do was be outside, I would sit with you in that sunken living room with the wood paneling and watch you play video games.   But, eventually, even you couldn’t escape the adventures that waited outside the front doorstep. 

We spent most of those long hot summer days just outside the front door where Dad and Grandpa Cliff had built a huge wooden swing set that was more structurally fit than the house.  It was complete with a slide, at least two-stories of look-out platforms and even a zip-line.  An ancient oak tree sat next to the play-set and seemed to watch over us when we played.    

On one particular day, Mom and Dad had decided to cover the entire jungle gym with sheets….I remember, we were transformed into a land of thieves, knights, and maids and for that afternoon, Chris and Molly no longer existed, we were Robin Hood and Maid Marian, and Chris ran the show.  Dad was immediately drawn into the action and from there, deemed King John.  Grandpa Cliff sat in a lawn chair with a beer under the shade of the tree and watched us play, as usual, heckling Dad from the sidelines and subbing as Friar Tuck or Little John when necessary.  Mom sat in a lawn chair by Grandpa and occasionally jumped into the scene when Maid Marian needed saving from King John or Robin Hood became too “physical” with the wooden sword crafted by Robin Hood’s friend and ally, Friar Tuck (or Grandpa Cliff). 

Since leaving Illinois my mind has often wandered back to that time, that place…and I can’t help but think how often if at all yours made the journey back to that time in our lives…

It was hot and the air was thick and sweet.  Cicadas buzzed and birds chirped, filling the air with the familiar chorus of summer.  I giggled uncontrollably as I blasted down the slide shrouded in old sheets, you yelled with glee after me while passionately swinging a wooden sword “Run maid Marian, I’ll take care of things up here!” and I ran wildly around the swing-set, knowing my big brother was there to protect me from any impeding foe.   I hoped that day would never end.    The sun was setting; mom declared it was time to come in…the swing set was  abandoned, the wooden sword tossed aside and we walked together, brother and sister back to the house as day gave way to night.

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