Mardell Manor Part One

It's the year 2022 and the people of Earth have yet to begin wearing silver suits or traveling by spaceship as promised in the TV programs I watched as a boy. In fact, The lifestyles depicted in Fireball XL-5 and The Jetson's are still far, far away in the future. However, the men of our modest planet can now give birth to children and we have researched and successfully created a deadly virus. This virus was theoretically developed to control population and perhaps extinguish generations with established and conflicting political points of view. Does This sound like an episode of the Twilight Zone?

Unfortunately, the plan backfired and the virus out grew the laboratories and spread around the entire globe killing millions of innocent lives including their own. Thriving economies were forced to come to a grinding halt and citizens of the planet were told to wear protective masks and keep at least 6 feet away from each other. Better yet, DO NOT Leave your homes. Schools were shut down and many lost their jobs. On the bright side, one man won athlete of the year in women's swimming. No baby as of yet.

Needing a break from our current reality, my wife and I decided to take a long walk though the subdivision where I grew up including the surrounding woods. It reminded me of simpler times, better days. It also reminded me of how much things have changed in the world since those days of innocence. But were they really innocent? After all, It had only been 11 months since President Kennedy had been assassinated when my parents moved into that house in Mardell Manor.

Our walk began at the Gas station on Airport Road where in the 60's before DAYS WERE PSYCHEDELIC, a hard working man named ERINE owned and operated a two pump filling station that stood on this same site. As we passed the station, I remembered the story of the quest of the Bell Air cigarettes.

Back in our childhood, before computers and cell phones, there was a thing called imagination. Many of us had one and most of us used this thing called imagination in a land called, the outdoors. In the outdoors, there were clouds and sunshine, woods and trails and many places to run and hide. We loved the outdoors. One morning, My Mother decided to send me and one of the older boys on a magical quest. A quest to find, buy and return with a pack of Bell Air Cigarettes.

The journey was not that difficult.... only about three miles in total. A mile and a half each way. We were to take the scared dollar bill and place a trade with Sir Ernie at the for-mentioned gas station. A dollar bill for a pack of cigarettes and don't forget to bring back the change!!!! There was only one golden rule.....I could not travel the two lane highway that led to the station of smoke. We would need to follow the paths in the woods that led from our house in the village to the station. Curt was the elder boy so he would guide us.

In many ways, Curt was like Gandalf since he was much older and wiser. I was Bilbo the Hobbit. We began our journey before the clock struck 9. I remember the sunlight shining through the forrest as we made our way down the steep hill that began at the rear of the grade school parking lot. Things were going smoothly and before long, we found ourselves at the bottom of the woods in a clear opening. The trail would lead us into another tunnel of shade.... but before we could make it into the next wooded entrance, our journey stopped cold! Our path was blocked by what looked like several dozen insects surrounding a large mound of clay. I seem to remember they were black and brown. Curt immediately froze and appeared to be shaken and confused. He seemed frightened as he explained our dire situation. We were in the presence of a swarm of COW ANTS and one bite could send us to the hospital or worse!!! perhaps to our own GRAVES!!!! Holy Cow!!! I thought. COW ANTS????? I'd never heard of them. The thought of me risking my life so my mother could smoke her cigarettes which would contribute to her own death at some point.....just did not make sense to me. What should we do?

Gandalf, I mean Curt suggested our only other option was to immediately turn around and travel the two lane highway to contune our quest. This was out of the question as I replayed my mother's voice in my head warning me of the two lane traffic. Unfortunatly, we had run out of options....we backtracked and continued our journey down the forbidden road. Time was getting away from us and I knew my mother would be asking why it took so long. I needed an alibi. She would never believe the COW ANT story even though that was the truth. I was beginning to believe it less and less myself.

On our way home, I had tried my best to come up with a better story to explain our late return. Flying Monkeys? Forrest fires, perhaps a gas station hold up? Nothing sounded any better that being terrified of a hill of COW ANTS!! So...that was going to have to do. In the end, I don't think she even asked what took us so long. I worried about nothing. That was a lesson that I was to use later in life...Don't worry about things that haven't happened..

But there was still one nagging question I needed to know? WHAT THE FUCK WAS A COW ANT????

That would need to be answered another day. When Days Were Psychedelic.