Memories of my Brother : Part 2

Gary and I had many adventures as twins. We were each other's entertainment. One memory which is particularly strong happened when we were around the age of ten. One bright summer morning, I decided it was time for us to explore the world beyond the boundary of our fence and field. So I packed a few goodies in a tablecloth, tied a knot in the ends to make a backpack of sorts and talked Gary into going along with me. Of course, he immediately agreed.

We walked for a very long time. I realized we were pretty much lost. When we came across a railroad track, I had the brilliant idea to walk on the railroad ties, knowing they would surely take us to new and exciting places. We had heard the moanful cry of a train whistle every morning and evening from our house for as long as we could both remember. It called us to the mysteries of the world, as far as I was concerned.

We walked on the track for quite a while before coming upon a trestle crossing over a large creek. We started across, carefully stepping on each tie. We could see the creek bed far below in the spaces between the ties. We had gotten about two thirds of the way across when we heard a train coming. Panic filled my heart with dread. I knew we were in big trouble. I shouted to Gary, who was ahead of me, to run as fast as he could to the end of the trestle. I could feel the trembling of the trestle but did not dare look back for fear I would freeze and be unable to run. We both reached the end of the trestle and rolled down the embankment just as the train rolled past. The engineer was leaning out of the cab shouting and waving his fist.

All we wanted at that point at that point was to go back home. But we did not know which way home was. So we started walking down a gravel road, hoping to see a house or that someone would come by to help us. We were exhausted, hot, hungry, and very thirsty. I had lost our stash of goodies when running across the trestle. We heard a car approaching and turned toward the sound, waving our arms frantically. Then our hearts sank as we realized it was the county sheriff.

The trooper seemed very angry and we knew we were in big trouble. He asked if we were Gary and Judy. We hung our heads and nodded weakly, tears running down both our faces. The trooper put us in his car and took us home. I felt ashamed and wondered what punishment we would receive when I saw our parents standing in the driveway. Mother was crying and my father was read faced and silent. They thought we had been kidnapped again, as we had been when we were babies before they had adopted us.

I explained it was all my idea and that I had practically forced Gary to go along with me. Wonder of wonders, we were not punished. That almost made me feel even worse. I vowed I would never do anything that crazy again. Of course, that promise did not last long.