"When I Was a Child, There Was This Game We Used to Play" by Brent Edward Farrell

When I was a child, there was this game we used to play.

All of us would pick the animal we wanted to be. My cousin Danny was always a tiger, my brother Chuck a bear, my friends Gary, Jason, Julie, and Jen were badger, bobcat, eagle, and koala, and I was always a black panther.

We would climb trees and lay on the branches baking in the sun or shade, creating habitats and waging battles with sticks, black walnuts, and any other form of weaponry on hand.

The last time I remember playing we were throwing the end-of-the-season vegetables form our garden and my cousin tried to stand up and throw a rotting cucumber. As he pulled his arm back, there was a loud crack and the branch he was on snapped. He and it hit the ground with another crack, which happened to be his arm. Life is a jungle!