The Pipe
When I was nine years old and lived in the Arabian Nights Trailer Park in Indio we had a large field of tomatoes out back. We were forbidden access to play in the field, mostly because we loved green tomato fights and the green tomato owners did not. Beyond the field ran the All American Canal which fed vital water to the whole Coachella Valley. An effluent pipe from the canal to a ditch made for a year round swimming hole for us. And every beast in the Sonoran Desert. Including the Sonoran Sidewinder Rattlesnake who seemed to enjoy a late morning warming on the rocks. One thing about the Sidewinders is that they are very fast. Another thing is that they are a bit ill-tempered. Especially when we would sneak up on them, grab them by the tail and quickly toss them, usually towards our companions, always if our companions were of the feminine persuasion. The snakes hated it. The girls hated it. We loved it.
