The Sahara of Tillson....

I was pretty young when we moved from Port Ewen, New York to Tillson, New York, about six years old I think. Along with one boy living next door and the many cats living in my Grandparent's garage, was the sand pit just across the street. This was one of the two places in Tillson where they were getting sand to build the New York State Thruway. For a short time the machine they used was still there to fill the trucks coming each day, and then they were gone and my newest best friend and I had a place to explore and use as our stage for our imagination's. Most of our time was spent throwing dirt bombs at each other or imagining foes who had come out of the past or future to fight the mightiest of foes, namely us! Everyday, when it didn't rain, we used the sands of our Sahara to the best use that we could think of. At the day's end we always took some of that Sahara home with us to share with our Mothers who gladly swept up the dirt that didn't cling to our skin, lodge in our hair and hid in other places too numerous to mention. The sand pits are now invaded by the outside world and hold many homes to new explorers to maybe find some our remains that we left as kids.