When I was a little boy, there was this spooky, scary looking house just down the street.It was on stilts with one of those big walk around porches.
The house sat where the road curved and turned towards town. It was on the edge of my neighborhood, where the rest of the world began.
It was also, between me and the local candy store. That wonderful place where nothing could go wrong except perhaps arriving without any money.
I had to pass that house each way on my bicycle. And there was something weird about this place, something that scared me. There was a strange looking thing under the porch. A stocky, other worldly face, with deep crevices. It looked like it was carved into a tree trunk size block, and was kind of tilted, which made it look old and menacing.
I wasn't actually sure what it was. It was kind of dark and always in the shadows, but it looked like an idol or totem or something. All I knew is that it also looked eerily alive, and I didn't want to get too close to it.
I always rode by that house as fast as I could (both ways), trying not to look at it. Trying not to get its attention.
But sometimes, my curiosity would get the better of me and I would look. And I always saw the same thing, a bad, evil thing under the house, waiting for me to get too close and fall into it's trap.
Sometimes, the owner was around. A white haired man with a nice face. I often wondered if he knew what was lurking under his porch.
That place haunted me, from the first time I rode by when I was 6, until I moved away at 9.
About a month before I moved, I decided that I had to face this fear. I had to see exactly what this thing was. I had to prove to myself that it couldn't hurt me.
So one day, I did something I never did. I stopped in front of the house. I got off my bike and slowly walked towards it. I was scared. It was getting bigger and more menacing, but I forced myself to move forward.
As I got close to the porch, it started to change. It began to lose its evil face. Its horns receded. It's fangs seemed to melt away. And I was finally able to face my enemy, my tormenter for all these years.
I could just make out the front... "Scotts Turf Builder"
The house sat where the road curved and turned towards town. It was on the edge of my neighborhood, where the rest of the world began.
It was also, between me and the local candy store. That wonderful place where nothing could go wrong except perhaps arriving without any money.
I had to pass that house each way on my bicycle. And there was something weird about this place, something that scared me. There was a strange looking thing under the porch. A stocky, other worldly face, with deep crevices. It looked like it was carved into a tree trunk size block, and was kind of tilted, which made it look old and menacing.
I wasn't actually sure what it was. It was kind of dark and always in the shadows, but it looked like an idol or totem or something. All I knew is that it also looked eerily alive, and I didn't want to get too close to it.
I always rode by that house as fast as I could (both ways), trying not to look at it. Trying not to get its attention.
But sometimes, my curiosity would get the better of me and I would look. And I always saw the same thing, a bad, evil thing under the house, waiting for me to get too close and fall into it's trap.
Sometimes, the owner was around. A white haired man with a nice face. I often wondered if he knew what was lurking under his porch.
That place haunted me, from the first time I rode by when I was 6, until I moved away at 9.
About a month before I moved, I decided that I had to face this fear. I had to see exactly what this thing was. I had to prove to myself that it couldn't hurt me.
So one day, I did something I never did. I stopped in front of the house. I got off my bike and slowly walked towards it. I was scared. It was getting bigger and more menacing, but I forced myself to move forward.
As I got close to the porch, it started to change. It began to lose its evil face. Its horns receded. It's fangs seemed to melt away. And I was finally able to face my enemy, my tormenter for all these years.
I could just make out the front... "Scotts Turf Builder"
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