Janie, back in the neighborhood where I grew up the summers were great. We used to link together several garden hoses at our house and stretch about half-way up the next-door yard, and the friend across the street next to the park would do the same, and we'd meet in the middle with garden hoses and have a great water fight. We lived on a privileged, quiet, one-way street, so traffic was usually neighbors who knew us and who slowed and we moved out of the way, then continued the fight. We also played hide-and-seek a lot through the large landscaped yards (lots of evergreen hedges and small trees). Barefoot. And yes, the Pacific Northwest is known for it's large slugs. So often after our barefoot games, we'd go home and soak feet and scrub the slug slime off. Par for the course.

Amos and Rapaire, I was actually thrilled to see where you guys went with that little volatile thought I threw in, but the shit kicking boots just seemed to fit the occasion after a dozen philosophical outbursts. Know what I mean? Yin and Yang.