On The Fly

In this episode - Misfits at Halloween . . . It’s autumn, and Halloween is approaching - how do you capture the experience, the smells, the rustling sounds of multicolored falling leaves, the quiet, peaceful feeling, the solitude of life in a small town? News flash, I’m here to tell you it’s not always as tranquil as sentimental storytellers like to depict it. Admittedly, like all agrarian communities, Cuba had its pranksters. Thankfully, though, in our small, rural farming community of the late 1960s and early 70s, I’m happy to report there was no teen violence, no gang shootings, and no serious vandalism. Well, ok, we did torment the local policeman, who we dubbed Barney Fife (I don’t remember his name). In the fall, most families would have harvested their gardens by Halloween, but inevitably, there would be leftovers. A group of us would hide behind Jim Welch’s garden fence on Main Street and hurl the leftover, soft, rotten tomatoes at Barney’s squad car as he patrolled the town. F...

We were 12 years old at the time in sixth grade, pranksters.  My good friends Perry Marlette, Nathan Robertson, and I were the adolescent boys who “terrorized" the town of Cuba, Illinois with pranks that drove our local cop batty. After our adventures we would retreat back to Perry’s house and his mother would refuel us with Hostess Twinkies and 7up. I guess you had to grow up in the 1960s to realize that snacks weren’t always healthy fresh fruits, and whole grain products. Of course, we devoured crackers and cheese, nuts, and a variety of munchies but what sticks in my mind was the sugar rush from Twinkies and 7up. Maybe it’s because it was not something my mother would buy for our family. It was a luxury! I can hear you asking, “What in the world reminded you of this?”  Our high school class of 1974 has a Facebook page with 46 members. It’s a closed group that friends only seem to post when someone from our graduating class dies. In our small town we came to k...