It’s twenty degrees this morning and the wind is blowing making it feel a lot colder. I am giving thanks for the warmth of my home as I sit and look out the window knowing that many years ago under these same conditions I would be headed to the river. Unless it was a wet cold that’s what I did.
My mom would be warning me to stay away from the water because in her mind she visualized me falling into the river and drowning or freezing to death. She didn’t need to worry because the area of the river below the Mayan Ranch bridge where I was hanging out was shallow. The elements never deterred me. It was the call of the wild and I just felt the need to be there.
From the area behind The Longhorn Steakhouse all the way to the dam at the river intersection with the Hondo highway everything was accessible to everyone who wanted to enjoy it. As kids we enjoyed it to the max. Unlike today it was a feeling that the river belonged to everyone in the community and not just those who happened to own the property along the banks.
Riding a tube from the bridge leading up to The Mayan Ranch downstream to where the faster moving water stopped at Dripping Springs was a lot more doable back in the day after the 50’s drought had passed. My memories of that dry period are spotty as I recall the smell of the stagnant water and dead fish along with my mom’s warning about the risk of getting polio if I dared to go near the dry river bed.
The fear of polio at that time was a real thing and my mom took full advantage by using it to make her point about everything pertaining to health and safety in our young lives. “Be sure to wash behind your ears or else you are gonna get polio!” “Eat some of that spinach so you don’t get polio!”
I think back to those days and remember The March of Dimes that was created to support research for the eradication of polio and everyone was given a little card to collect dimes. Dimes were pretty scarce back in the 50’s as I recall. At least around our house they were along with all those other coins. Bottle deposit was only two cents at that time so it took five beer or soda bottles to fill one dime slot on that card. Bubble gum and root beer barrel candies were only a penny at McGroarty”s Store so you can image the struggles with guilt that were going on in my young mind.
Looking back to those earlier Growing Up In Bandera times I realize how stressful it must have been for the adults in our lives. Comparing the hardships we face in modern times makes me wish we had some of those adults from that era to guide us along our journey through these troubled times. We have too many soft people leading the way and making decisions who have never known real hardship.
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