Chicken Fight

by Alan Delery

It’s approaching summer and I’m looking forward to having fun with some outdoor water activities. I’ve been taking special effort to get my pool ready for family and friends. It reminds me of a game that I used to play growing up. We called it Chicken Fight.  You’ve probably heard of it or played it yourself. One team member gets on the shoulders of his/her teammate and the object is to knock a person off of the shoulders of their team member. You can have as many teams as the pool has room for. The last team with the partner on their shoulders is considered the winner.

There were occasional scratches and bruises as people tried to knock one another over.

In most of these experiences, I can remember the shoulder and neck pain I would feel the next morning after an evening of Chicken Fighting especially when I spent most of my time as the bottom person.

I have many memories of Chicken Fighting over the years, but today’s story is from when I was a young adult playing in a river during a camping trip. I had my nephew on my shoulders and to this day he likes to recall what transpired. — Without going into all of the details, let’s just say that I almost died. He was being knocked over but refused to release his legs from around me. I ended up being pulled underwater and unable to lift myself up while he continued to wrestle with an opposing team member.

While he was refusing to release himself from my shoulders, I managed to get my head up for a brief couple of seconds long enough to say, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” I don’t know how I got loose after that, but my response seemed to amuse him for some reason. I was angry with him for not letting go sooner and he thought it was funny.

I guess it’s a matter of perspective.

The moral of today’s story is have fun this summer, be safe and make memories that you can talk about years later. Most of all, remember, sometimes it’s good to let go.

Stay peaceful