Gibson Avenue House In Fort Edward
I used to know the name but I had to use
MapQuest
to find it now.
I have a vague memory of living in a white house that
I believe was in the village of Fort Edward or between there and Hudson Falls.
There was an old garage attached to the house. I
remember it smelled of mold and rotten wood but there were a lot of interesting
things to look at when we were allowed in there.
There was a rusty can of something green and blue. It
left interesting patterns where it was spilled. Mom put it way up high where we
couldn't reach it and never let us go in the garage without her or Dad with us.
She said it was poison. I think it was something called Paris acid. That's what
the word sounded like. I mostly remember the color. I could have got the name
wrong.
Mom called it Paris Green and I looked up to find and image of the can
exactly like the one I'd seen in shed.
I used to go outdoors and play with a little boy in
the neighborhood. One morning it was foggy and I went out on my own without
telling anyone to play with him. We walked for some time and went behind some
old lady's house and he told me to crawl inside the white dog house and we'd
play a game. I was young and stupid and I did it. He said we were going to play
"Hansel and Gretel". I had to stay inside the "cage" while he poked in to see if
I was fat enough yet. I had to hold a stick out through the hole and he would
feel of the stick to see if it got bigger. The game took a long time and then he
wasn't there anymore and I was alone and afraid to come out. I confess, I cried.
Still, I didn't leave the dog house. I was scared but I don't know why. I think
I thought it was real and the witch would get me.
My mom was going nuts because she couldn't find me.
She was asking all the neighbors if they'd seen me. The old lady said she saw me
and a little boy in her back yard. Mom found me and I got a spanking. I never
saw the little boy again.