Mary P. Myers
Tucson, Arizona, USA

Childhood Games

When we first moved into our new home, I was struck by the large magnolia in the yard. We used the tree's cones for grenades in our war games, snapping the stems like we were pulling pins.

It was the year that we had to bring canned goods and extra underwear to the school's basement because there was a bay with pigs in it. In the schoolyard we played games like "One Potato, Two Potato" and "Ring-a-Round the Rosie" although we didn't know the deeper meaning of those games.

If I wasn't at school when the plaza alarm sounded, I was to run home into our basement and huddle against the appropriate wall. They were all the same red color and I could never remember which one, northeast, southwest, northwest, or southeast. But Mom would be there.

in the cellar
we teach the dog
to play dead