Linda Hebert Todd

Author - Westlake, Louisiana

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Contact

The Bag Swing on Carlin Drive

November 20, 2017 By Linda H. Todd Leave a Comment

Once upon a time there was a bag swing on Carlin Drive in Westlake. What, you might ask, is a bag swing? A long rope was attached to the top branch of a tree—undoubtedly a cypress—on the edge of the swamp at the north end of Carlin Drive. The tree was a lofty one—fifty or sixty feet—and about halfway up someone’s father, or maybe some of the neighborhood boys, had built a small wooden platform just large enough to hold two Junior High kids.

Linda Hebert Todd, Author - Westlake, LA

Said kids got to the platform by climbing up a series of wooden slats nailed to the tree at twelve to fifteen inch intervals. Did I mention this platform was twenty-five feet or so  off the ground? At the bottom end of the rope a ten-pound flour sack filled with sand had been tied.

The object was to straddle the bag and swing out over the swamp—cypress knees, water moccasins, and everything else the swamp nourished. That wasn’t too dangerous. Junior High kids don’t weigh that much. Trouble was—it got boring with just one person flying out over the murky water. Why not see how many could jump on every time it made a pass back to the platform? I think six was our limit. The last two to jump on were hanging on by their fingernails (pardon the cliche.) Did I mention we were twenty-five feet above the swamp? Oh, that’s right. I did.

I’ll dispense with calling out names here to protect the guilty, but I remember those Saturday and Sunday summer afternoons when we could experience the freedom of the birds—when for a brief moment we could defy gravity and soar with the eagles. Dangerous? Not that bunch. After all, we were twelve years old. We were going to live forever. I guess some things never change.

Filed Under: blog

Subscribe by email

* indicates required

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Linda

Linda Hebert ToddLinda has completed her novel—Wild Justice, a crime story with a revenge theme, and has started another one set in Labrador and Louisiana. She writes all her stories in longhand, bringing to life the beautiful bayous of south Louisiana. Read more...

Email Subscribe

Want to receive my blog posts, info on book releases and other news? Click here to subscribe!

Buy Now!

Linda Hebert Todd, Author, Westlake, LA - Mystery Novel
Mystery Novel

Wild Justice

By Linda Hebert Todd

Keeley Chesson, a crime reporter for a city newspaper, is orphaned at age fourteen, courtesy of a sheriff's deputy who killed her parents and got away with it. Now, fourteen years later, the deaths of her parents still a mystery and the deputy now her town's police chief, tragedy again rocks her…

View Book

Now Available!

Short Stories

Sidonie and the Loup-Garou and Other Stories from the Bayou

By Linda Hebert Todd

The short fiction in this book introduces the reader to an interesting assortment of characters. The lead story—Sidonie and the Loup-Garou—features a high school girl who learns it is a good idea to heed the warnings of her Cajun grandparents. The final tale—The Ghost and Sadie Stackpoole– solves…

View Book

Featured Posts

IT’S HERE AT LAST!

September 27, 2019 By Web Admin Leave a Comment

From The Bayou To The Big League: The Odyssey Of … [Read More...]

Hebert Gives Padres Split

November 19, 2018 By Linda H. Todd Leave a Comment

Update Update on From the Bayou to the Big … [Read More...]

Wally Hebert Shuts Out Seraphs, 5-0

October 22, 2018 By Linda H. Todd Leave a Comment

A quick update on my dad's book. I'm nearly … [Read More...]

The Missing Angel

October 1, 2018 By Linda H. Todd Leave a Comment

I'm coming along on schedule with From the Bayou … [Read More...]

Copyright © 2023 Linda Hebert Todd · Log in · Privacy Policy · An Oxblaze Media Website