Picture of the day - April 19, 2008

"Into the woods..."

Photo courtesy of Petr Kratochvil. Today's picture by photographer Petr Kratochvil brings back some of the most wonderful memories of my childhood. As a youngster I spent countless hours playing in the woods just outside our southwestern Virginia home. My nephew Chris and I would pretend to be Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett as we "blazed a trail" through the thick underbrush and then spent several days riding our bikes up and down it until we wore a "slick path" along the crooked route. Other times we would pretend to be cowboys and Indians, hiding amongst the pines, oaks and poplars while trying to win the "battle" for control of the "wilderness". Those were good times, well before the advent of video games and all the other modern toys that consume so much of today's youngsters' time. And you know what? We were quite happy playing outside in God's playground, even though we often used sticks as both our "gun" and our "horse". Back then the real game was in our minds, and it was fueled by the imaginations and dreams of two little boys who were very happy just to be able to go outside and play instead of being holed up in the house on a pretty day. The vast majority of today's children will never know what it's like to have to "make do" with toys that we made out of sticks, rocks, and whatever other goodies we could get our hands on. Half the fun was in the planning...the other half was just in being together. Chris and I grew up more like brothers than uncle and nephew, and no matter what happens with our individual lives he will always be an important part of who I am and where I came from. And I'll always remember the times we played in the woods out behind our little house "up in the holler".     Visitor Comments... Name: Phyllis Helton Town: Bristol, VA Truly nostalgic. We too, spent our childhood playing with our imagination and sticks, stones and moss. I'm afraid those days are long gone. Thank you for printing that picture.   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!                                 Place the "Picture of the Day" on your website, for free! Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"