Playing war
Chapter 14 from Bill Owens' upcoming book "Chicken Heads"
One day in Dad’s shed, I found a bag of fence staples. I decided to build a super-powerful slingshot using surgical tubing to shoot a staple the length of a football field. With the slingshot, I sank half a dozen staples into the side of the barn. I had to use pliers to remove the staples from the wood.
This slingshot, using staples, was so dangerous that only once did I take a random shot at a neighborhood kid. I soon shot and lost all the staples and went back to shooting rocks and marbles.
Next, I was visiting a neighborhood kid who, on his birthday, received a bow and arrow. I took his bow and shot an arrow straight up into the air. A moment later, I realized this was a big mistake as the arrow had turned and was now coming straight down. We threw ourselves onto the ground, and the arrow hit about five feet away.
I once made a giant crossbow using the inner tube from a bicycle to launch the arrows. The arrows were made from wooden roof shingles. Using an ax, I would split a shingle to make three arrows. Using a pocketknife, I carved the thick end of the shingle into an arrowhead and the thin end shaped like a feather. The problem was that the giant crossbow could shoot an arrow out of sight, and I couldn’t find where it landed.
The giant crossbow was never used when playing war with the neighborhood kids. We played war with rocks, marbles, and dirt clods.
Bill Owens' Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Visit my websites
Support Bill’s Archive & subscribe to Substack
Bill Owens’ Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. “Friends of Bill” will get a print and access to the full interactive book “The Delco Years.” Monthly and Annual subscribers will get special content and my thanks.
Thanks for another great story, Bill!