Fireworks, the dreamweaver and a trip to Hayrock

Hayrock is THE place. It looms large and demands a boy get man nerves if he braves to climb it. When I was 7 or 8 this became my rocket ship. My Spanish galleon. My Lunar hideaway. Of course to reach this heaven you have to get up early, climb a fence posted “NO TRESSPASSING ”, run through that old mans cornfield in high gear, cross the river and THEN ……....climb the mountain. A mans all day challenge. A rite of passage. This no small feat requires essentials like poptarts, peanut butter crackers, sodas for the trek and of course a can of spray paint to immortalize the trip with your initials. Yeah dude…..Im going to come here when Im OLD…...like..45…..…I swear.
The crew is important…….you cant just…..like….stop and turn around…..The Argabright boys are perfect. Literally. All three impress like they really could be presidents …or better…..one day. Their younger sister is already gorgeous and no doubt a danger when she gets older but this quest was not meant for beauties. Now I cant take credit here.

Fly me high through the starry skies
Maybe to an astral plane
Cross the highways of fantasy
Help me to forget today's pain

Covered in sweat…….. we make it. The afternoon is perfect. We take turns passing around the spray paint and mark the rock as our own. We climb up and down and up. The sodas are warm and crackers are gone. But the view at the top ….makes……...you…..….speechless……………….Everything was fine…..until we started setting off the fireworks. From the top of the rock they go……like ..…into orbit. Cool…….the matches pop when you strike them, the fuse hisses like a snake and then…….”HEY WHATS THAT???????” “WHAT?” ………”THAT!!!!!!” I look down the mountain and theres smoke. ………….. “FIIIIIIUUUURRRE!!!!!” ogodogodogodogod…….were running, falling, sliding down the mountain through leaves and dirt. I strip my shirt off and beat the flames and stamp my feet scared out of my mind. Ogodogodogod…….omanomanoman……..finally ……..its out. We never told a soul.
Last year I tried to find them all. The oldest had a brain tumor. The middle one had some rare disease and I find no trace of the youngest or their sister.
Bring it...... Bring it today. It might not be here tomorrow.

Though the dawn may be coming soon
There still may be some time
Fly me away to the bright side of the moon
And meet me on the other side

My son put his initials up last year. Mine are still there….and the Argabrights too.