WHERE WAS I, OH YES NOW I REMEMBER

The cement plant location, as I said was with in ear shot of the Baptist Church. It also was just a block or so away from where a very precocious brunette lived. She would in a year or so become a majorette and trust me she had what it took to do this. She was very agile, talented and beautiful. We had a fleeting run a couple of times, I think that age may have played a part as well as I think her step-father was possibly overly protective. She, Mary Lou Clark (Crawford) married a boy that had been in my Cub Scout Troop, Arles Howell. I was sorry to hear from her sister Betty Jane that Mary Lou had passed on. She was quite a girl.

The local theater was owned by Joe Wills. Now Joe was a good guy and I for one liked him a lot. I must admit that I had several reason for liking Joe, I got along with his brother-in-law Buddy Green, even though I thought Buddy to be lazy, which really worked in my favor. Joe would call me when his regular checker wasn't available, so I would get paid dollars and tickets to the movies.

So what you say? Well it lead to another plot by the perpetrator's of the watermelon caper. Only this time is was directed exactly at the law. It was not the intention to harm any one or their property. It was more a misguided insurrection against what was mostly a misunderstanding between the three culprits and the town marshal, Polo Pinada (sec). He had stopped each of us during a long weekend and falsely, falsely mind you, accused us of driving infractions. We of course felt that if guilt was there so was a ticket, which was not forthcoming. So what became a token of extreme (extreme for those days) revenge resulted in a bit of laughter for many and frustration for Polo.

We drove around the plaza several times, we would pull in and park and then quickly leave, only to repeat the act again. We did this until the beginning of the next show. Parking the car and loudly laughing walked across the street to enter the movie. Polo had watched us from the seat of his new police car. We entered the theater, courtesy mind you , of Joe Wells. I also retrieved a package I had left there earlier. During the show one of us would check to see if Polo was still parked at the plaza. Near the end of show two of us left by way of the emergency taking my package with us. After completing the maneuver intended we returned to the show the same way we left.

Three loud boys getting in the car and starting the engine and revving it up a bit was a way to get Polo's attention. We could see him settle into a starting position, we revved the engine again. Backing out quickly and then pulling forward rapidly, we rounded two corners of the plaza placing us nearly opposite of Polo, but with an obstructed view due to shrubbery. We hear the engine try to start, and again the starter engaging the flywheel, a loud bang, smoke from the exhaust pipe, and another softer bang. Polo came out of the car like a shot out of a gun , Polo was angry. Not really sure if the smoke was from the exhaust pipe or from of Polo's proficiencies language.

I did not know exactly what a potato up an exhaust pipe would do, but what it was is as follows.
Shoving the potato up the pipe caused enough back pressure to keep the engine from starting, and at the same time as Polo continued to try starting, the pressure increased until expulsion (of the potato) and the combustion of volatile fuel occurred virtually simultaneously, the potato left the tail pipe with a bang, smoke from exhaust arose in a cloud, and a soft bang as the potato splattered on the wall by Edward"s Finer Foods.

The recriminations for this act were to be meted out at some time in the future, that is after Polo took his relative new car to the dealership to determine if in fact there was a blown head gasket. I don't recall having any further association with that particular act and or punishment there of. I am sure that there must have been something just can't recall, honestly can't.