Heavenly Target Practice

I’m quite sure many of you have been to the old-fashioned bizarre/carnivals with all their little games. You know the ones: toss a bean bag, knock down three sand-filled dolls, and win a prize; throw three darts, break three balloons, and win a stuffed animal; toss three rings around empty glass bottles, and win a prize. So many games, so few winners.

One of my favorites was their little shooting gallery. You know the one: a group of animals that sat on a hinge was set on a ring. You picked up a rifle with a cork plug, aimed and hoped you could knock down three animals to win. Naturally, the more animals you knocked down, the bigger the prize. It’s not as easy as it sounds. There had been many times, even as a teen, I was sure many of those hinges didn’t work. And yet, again, many contestants, very few winners. But we all tried.

Even though I would walk up and down the aisles with my friends as we tried our luck with the various games, thankfully, most games only cost a quarter to play, I kept hoping they’d all decide to stop and return to the “shooting gallery.”

For some reason, I was always fascinated with guns. No, we never had any. My family came from Brooklyn, New York and there was never any reason at that time to own any kind of firearm. Dad was a carpenter and mom was a teacher. With my brother in college, my sister, in high school, that left me to go to work to help support the family. But that was later on. In the fifties, things were even calmer and quieter.

We lived on a street where the houses ranged from single-family-homes, to 3-family walk-ups, to six family-apartment houses. Yes, the street was divided in thirds – with a public school at the end.

Family life was strict for the children. We all had a curfew that our parents strictly enforced. During the school year, it was rise early, have a good breakfast, go to school, after school, play for one hour, do homework, eat dinner, family time for about an hour, then on to bed to begin another day, the next day.

During the summer, we were allowed to sleep a little later, have breakfast, then outside to play until lunch. Then outside again until dinner. Our curfew now was regulated by the time the streetlights turned on, which was usually around nine at night.

As we got older, our sources of amusement changed. Preteens and early teens normally attended dances on the weekend. There were high school sports games during the week. Some of us were lucky enough to join the school band or glee club. And yes, there were our weekend bizarre-type carnivals. Once in our teens, our parents would usually give us a few dollars and send us on our way with our friends. Normally, our group consisted of about 6-8 teenagers. Our parents rarely worried since we were never alone.

Yes, we always enjoyed the night while trying out best to win a prize, even if that prize was a very cheaply made stuffed animal. At least, we could say we won something.

I don’t go to bizarres any longer. Most of all, we don’t usually find them down here in Florida. I think the days of the traveling bizarre/carnivals are long gone. Now, we have garage sales. Also, I don’t need to go on one of those rides that steal your breath way. I just need to drive on a Florida highway. As for the games that were more scams than games, all I need to do now is pick up the phone and listen to the lates robocall.

Yes, those were the innocent days and those bizarres were definitely childhood experiences to be remembered and I was reminded of that not long ago.

Being older and more interested in other things, I love cloud watching. You’d be surprised at what you’ll see in the sky if you only look up – only I would advise you to be either sitting (no driving here please) or standing still (you need to watch where you’re walking lest you trip).

Watching the clouds, I’ve seen Angels, animals, faces, and a variety of other shapes. Just the other day, I saw a cloud that resembled one of those target practice wheels from the old bizarres. On the wheel was a dog and a duck. The rest was covered by the remaining cloud.

Made me smile wondering if perhaps the angels are having weekend of fun at a heavenly bizarre.

What an interesting concept! Huh! Sometimes, I wonder how my brain works and what puts these weird thoughts into it. Then again, if it didn’t work in such mysterious ways, I’d probably have nothing to write about.