THE GREEN SIDEWALK

When I was about 8 years old, we moved to Richmond, BC just outside Vancouver. At that time there were ditches of varying sizes that ran down each side of the roads, where the sidewalks would have been. Because we are below sea level, they served as resevoirs when the water levels rose. Each house would then have a bridge of some sort that allowed a car access to the driveway. Some bridges were solid and paved, others were rickety and made of old, rotting, waterlogged wood.

Before moving here, I'd never seen a ditch before. The ditch in front of our house at the time, had a solid, soft green blanket of moss that lay carefully on top of the water. In fact, unless you knew what you were looking at, you couldn't even tell that there was water under that moss covering.

One day, I was kicking a soccer ball in the front yard with my brother, Mike, when the ball went over my head and landed gently upon the mossy "green sidewalk." It didn't break the surface, it didn't bob in reaction to the impact with the water, it certainly didn't make a splash. So without giving any thought to what might be lurking under the green sidewalk, I yelled playfully, "I'll get it" as I leapt from the edge of the yard down to the moss. Imagine my surprise when I splashed through the soft green fuzz and was up to my arm pits in ditch water. We're talkin sewage, bacteria, and lots of creatures. Rats, frogs, and Lord only knows what else. To say I was shocked is an understatement, and as I began to climb out of the ditch, my brother caringly reminded me to get the ball while I was in there.

The funny thing about it was that my biggest worry at the time, was that I got my new socks dirty. My parents did not care about such things, and yet I thought I would be in trouble for staining my new socks. When they arrived home, I was standing in the shower with all my clothes on, crying my little eyes out trying to rinse some of the sludge off before I disrobed. My sister and two brothers told my mom and dad what had happened, and they both came into the bathroom laughing.

To this day my dad refers to the green sidewalk and my I always think of myself unknowingly leaping with glee into a ditch full of sewage. It's a little humbling.