The Blessing of "Aloneness" ...

[cyclonefence]

6. Oh the memories you have evoked!

I was a tree-climber. I could sit up there, silent, not really watching the world go by, just sitting and thinking.

Closer to the ground, I built fairy houses out of twigs I wedged between low branches of trees.

How lucky are kids who have access to trees and being left alone!

Edited to add: Most mornings (except for when I was at school) neither of my parents had any idea of where I was or what I was doing. I got up earlier than anyone else (my father's job hours ended late at night, so my parents slept late), fixed myself a hard-boiled egg in this little aluminum gadget we had, and took off in the wee hours, exploring. I climbed trees, investigated old dog-hole coal mines up the hill (dangerous as hell, I'm sure) saw a lot of snakes groggy because it was too cold for them early in the morning. I followed people who were called "gypsies" who dragged big cloth bags behind them and went through people's garbage--I bet no one else in our neighborhood even knew they existed!

When I was older, I roamed alone at night. One magic night, I stopped outside a house where a barbershop quartet was practicing!