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Idaho Enterprise

Grandparents Only

Apr 12, 2023 03:48PM ● By Gramma Dot

Last Sunday was Easter, which means last Saturday was “Climb-the-M-Day.”  It was what every kid did back in the day.  That was when parents could turn their kids loose with a backpack lunch and a pile of friends to face the mountain.  They didn’t even worry about the rattlesnakes.  “Send those kids up to romp on the rocks, look down over the whole valley and eat a hot dog.”  The mountain was always lively, and you ran into lots of friends.  What a way to spend a Saturday.  Life was good.

Over the years, our friends developed a competition between the boys and the girls.  You were victorious if you summited the mountain first.  The reward was chucking rocks down at the slow-pokes making their way to the top. It was the Wild West at its best.  We were careful to just stir up the dust, no one ever got hit.  That wasn’t the point.

On the Friday night before Easter the girls stayed at Marie’s.  I think it was the best sleepover of the year for Mary Lou, Marie’s mom, because we wanted to get to sleep early.  We were all out like lights before “Nightmare” was over.  (I still remember the shaky “NiiiiiiightMaaaare” before the movie started. That scared me to death.)  We were awake at the crack of dawn racing up that mountain.  After we reached the top, roasted our hot dogs and chucked a few rocks, we headed down for the annual American Legion Auxiliary Fashion Show.  That was Malad’s answer to the Paris Runway.  Anyone who wanted could be involved.

That is my point…involvement!  We climbed mountains and participated in Fashion Shows all in the same day.  Small Town America…that is what makes for the Good Life.