by Kevin Lamb

Created on: January 06, 2011

Each year when the first snowfall arrived the most anticipated event came to life: the snowball fight. We loved having our snowball fights in the wintertime of course, but we also planned ahead for the coming months.

As soon as the snow had accumulated we’d quickly make our way out to the garage for the wheelbarrow. This device was used to transport all of our snowballs to the big freezer in the basement. Snowball fights were great in the winter months, but they were even better in the summer.

Most of the time during the winter months you might expect to get nailed by a snowball; but you usually never expected one during the summer months. This is what made these snowball fights so ingenious.

Our favorite snowball enemies were usually the “ditch people.” These people were our neighbors who lived on the other side of the ditch in our backyard. This little ditch in our eyes was like the mighty pacific as we lived and played out our many adventures throughout the childhood years.

To keep our edge on the ditch people we’d put leaves in the fence to disguise exactly when the anticipated event would begin. Once the summer snowball fight began we’d blast as many across the ditch as we could. Of course we also got plastered by some snowballs in return, but in the heat of the summer they usually didn’t last too long.

Although most of these fights were with the ditch people, we also saved a few for the unsuspecting bicycle rider coming down the street. We use to love the look of surprise as a snowball plastered an unsuspecting pedestrian.

Of course we did nail a few cars and trucks with summertime snowballs; although this was usually stopped as soon as our parents got news of this activity. The beauty of this plan was that all of the evidence quickly melted soon after the attack began.  We just loved that part.

Each winter my mind goes back to the good ole days as a child. Snowball fights, igloos, and snowmen. So, if you’re ever in my neighborhood, and get plastered by a snowball in July don’t come knocking at my door. More than likely it was the ditch people not me.    

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