1/1/2006
The Plan
The plan was hatched in Donnie Carlson’s storage area.
His house sat at the corner of Boyer and Everett Ave. E. Everett Avenue sloped about 75 yards down to Portage Bay where it dead ended at the remains of a rickety dock surrounded by cattails and Lilly Pads. The dock had been the sidewalk for a houseboat community that was displaced by the building of the 520 viaduct.
Donnie’s house was built on the hillside with the main floor at ground level on one side and the exterior basement door at ground level on the opposite. A deck off of the living room extended over the basement door and the deck supports provided the main framing and footprint for the storage area. The walls were enclosed using translucent corrugated fiberglass panels. Access from outside was through a light wooden door that was held shut with a screen door hook.
The area was used for storing outboard motors, oars, life jackets, seat cushions, fishing poles, reels, nets, tackle boxes, lawn mowers, rakes, garden tools, large mysterious olive drab canvas things of unknown purpose. Interesting artifacts were stacked, slung and hung everywhere in this 8’ x 10’ space and emitted intriguing smells that really got the juices stirring in this young boy. The mingling scents emitted by jars of salmon eggs, cheese bait, vinyl seat cushions, well-aged fishing creels, air-dried kapok life jackets, motor oil, gasoline, dried grass, army surplus pup tents with just a hint of rodent pee filled me with wonder. My God, what a magnificent smell. The light that filtered through the fiberglass paneling played across salmon flashers, trout lures, odd floats and old jackets that were suspended from the rafters. This was a cathedral and any boy who entered was overwhelmed by the possibilities. It was in this temple that Donnie unveiled the prize given to him by his Grandpa.
In his hand he held a green trident spear tip. Four sharp prongs, each finished with a barb, all set into an elongated cap designed to fit over the end of a shaft. He held it out to me and smiled. It was beautiful, dangerous, wicked, perfect! I was transfixed. What more could a boy want? Without any idea of how I would use it I knew that I had to possess one and it had to be soon.
