Boys in the Mud
Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that we remember most fondly. Maybe it was the first time you rode a bike, or saw a ladybug on your hand. Perhaps it was you and the boys in the mud together. Admittedly, that is exactly what happened to Hawthorne native Rick Salisbury. He details exactly how it went down back in 1968:
I just thought I would tell a story about when the parking lot was being built at the Cockatoo Inn. I was just a little guy while all of the construction of the parking lot, and the Lococo’s home was being built. As a little kid, I walked through all of them after the workers went home. The parking lot was a large construction site, between Acacia and Birch. I have known Jeff Fautt and Mike Webster (HH class of 75) since we were all 4 to 5 years old. The three of us were walking through the construction site right after a good rainy week. There was mud and puddles everywhere. We were about 9 yrs old at the time, and loved to splash in puddles like all kids do. As we were walking through the construction site, we all went to splash in a big puddle, when we found out the hard way, it was a footing for the columns. We all disappeared instantly.
About 10′ x 10′ x 10′ swimming pool’s would have described it better than a puddle. We were laughing so hard we almost drowned. Have you ever been laughing so hard, you couldn’t help yourself? Let alone your friend who was clawing on a straight up and down muddy slippery bank, trying to pull ourselves out of a muddy pool? It happened so fast we didn’t care what our mothers would say when we got home, covered in mud. Life was so simple, when all we had to do was, not drown, and get home in time for dinner.
We love this boys in the mud story. This site is all about preserving special moments with the Lococos and the Cockatoo Inn. Memories that would be lost forever otherwise. Thanks to Rick in Washington for that carefree story!
Admin note: This memory came from the late John Baker’s Cougartown site. John was an alumnus of Hawthorne High and did a masterful job of capturing and preserving memories of Hawthorne back in the day. As a reminder, CockatooInn.com does not edit (for meaning) nor endorse the content of these posts.
Do you have a photograph or memory of the visiting the Cockatoo Inn that you’d like to share? Send it to friends@cockatooinn.com!
