Learning to know better.
My dad had always taught me and Lowell to be "straight up" and honest kids. Lying was not tolerated. My old mans philosophy was that good liars were seldom good at anything else. My mom also adhered to that rule so it was pretty much cast in stone as the saying goes. In my life time I've tried to follow that rule but have found that being "brutally honest" has its draw backs.
I guess it was an age thing that caused Danny Williams and me to start pushing the envelope just a "wee" bit. Our little brothers tended to stay around the neighborhood but Dan and me were always up to something. Maybe we were just growing up.
There was a really beautiful fountain in Avalon. It was located at the point where the arriving tourist came off the steam ship. The fountain was constructed of hand cut white marble. It was round with a spire in the center that supported marble figures of fish. Water spayed from the fish and filled a small basin that in turn flowed into the larger base. Very much like the fountains in Rome. Time and custom had made the fountain a "wishing well". New arrivals to Catalina would stop at the fountain and toss some change into the fountain and make a wish. Dan and I noticed that a lot of change was in that fountain by the end of the day. Temptation was great but we knew better.
One of our pass times during the tourist season, if we weren't working for Hector, was to meet the incoming boat. You could always pick up a dollar or three by carrying luggage or giving directions to different points of interest. Another "stunt" of ours was to get into the water along side the pier and have the tourist throw change into the water. We would dive to the bottom and retrieve the money.
On one particular day the Shriners came to Catalina for a week end get together. Me and Dan hurried to get Hectors job done and still have time to get to the pier in time to dive for some change. The Shriners were always very generous with their money. There was a lot of kids diving so the take was pretty small except for the fact that we each discovered that among our nickles and dimes we had a couple of silver dollars. Not a common thing at all.
Back on shore after our diving adventure, Dan and I hung around hoping to earn some more money. Nothing much happened so we went into one of the stores and bought a couple of neat water pistols. Water pistols were for some reason a "Hot" item that summer. Fifty cents would buy you the top of the line hundred shot beauty. We spent the money. We were living large. All we needed was some water and we'd be all set.
The nearest source of water was the fountain. The water level in the fountain was such that Dan and me could just barely reach it by hanging over the edge and holding the pistol submerged long enough to fill it. As luck would have it, Dan dropped his water gun into the fountain pool. He had to climb over the rim of the fountain and into the pool to get it back. That's when we both noticed that the fountain pool was full of silver dollars. Old Dan started scooping up them dollars and me not to be out done jumped right in along side of him. We should have known better but this was the "Mother Lode" and temptation was in the drivers seat. Alas, times like these are short lived. A very familiar voice demanded to know what we thought we were doing. It was the police chief and we was caught. Needless to say we exited the fountain and waited for what ever fate would dump on us. I flirted with the notion of telling a lie but opted just to come clean. Dan never let on, just stood there quite as a mouse. Our punishment was swift and on the spot. The chief made us throw all our loose change into fountain. He told us that next it happened he'd lock us up and call our parents. Quite a crowd of on lookers had gathered around the fountain. I was very embarrassed. Dan kept quite. I muttered I was sorry and it wouldn't happen again. The chief said alright, I'll take your word. He turned to the crowd and told them that we were just local kids doing what kids do. Dan and me walked away. I felt awful, Dan didn't say a word. Once out of sight of everyone, Dan pulled me to one side and showed me the four silver dollars he'd hidden in his mouth. Said he had nearly choked on the things . He gave me two and he kept two. We decided to let it go at that. No need to wake a sleeping dog. We agreed that we'd know better next time.
I guess it was an age thing that caused Danny Williams and me to start pushing the envelope just a "wee" bit. Our little brothers tended to stay around the neighborhood but Dan and me were always up to something. Maybe we were just growing up.
There was a really beautiful fountain in Avalon. It was located at the point where the arriving tourist came off the steam ship. The fountain was constructed of hand cut white marble. It was round with a spire in the center that supported marble figures of fish. Water spayed from the fish and filled a small basin that in turn flowed into the larger base. Very much like the fountains in Rome. Time and custom had made the fountain a "wishing well". New arrivals to Catalina would stop at the fountain and toss some change into the fountain and make a wish. Dan and I noticed that a lot of change was in that fountain by the end of the day. Temptation was great but we knew better.
One of our pass times during the tourist season, if we weren't working for Hector, was to meet the incoming boat. You could always pick up a dollar or three by carrying luggage or giving directions to different points of interest. Another "stunt" of ours was to get into the water along side the pier and have the tourist throw change into the water. We would dive to the bottom and retrieve the money.
On one particular day the Shriners came to Catalina for a week end get together. Me and Dan hurried to get Hectors job done and still have time to get to the pier in time to dive for some change. The Shriners were always very generous with their money. There was a lot of kids diving so the take was pretty small except for the fact that we each discovered that among our nickles and dimes we had a couple of silver dollars. Not a common thing at all.
Back on shore after our diving adventure, Dan and I hung around hoping to earn some more money. Nothing much happened so we went into one of the stores and bought a couple of neat water pistols. Water pistols were for some reason a "Hot" item that summer. Fifty cents would buy you the top of the line hundred shot beauty. We spent the money. We were living large. All we needed was some water and we'd be all set.
The nearest source of water was the fountain. The water level in the fountain was such that Dan and me could just barely reach it by hanging over the edge and holding the pistol submerged long enough to fill it. As luck would have it, Dan dropped his water gun into the fountain pool. He had to climb over the rim of the fountain and into the pool to get it back. That's when we both noticed that the fountain pool was full of silver dollars. Old Dan started scooping up them dollars and me not to be out done jumped right in along side of him. We should have known better but this was the "Mother Lode" and temptation was in the drivers seat. Alas, times like these are short lived. A very familiar voice demanded to know what we thought we were doing. It was the police chief and we was caught. Needless to say we exited the fountain and waited for what ever fate would dump on us. I flirted with the notion of telling a lie but opted just to come clean. Dan never let on, just stood there quite as a mouse. Our punishment was swift and on the spot. The chief made us throw all our loose change into fountain. He told us that next it happened he'd lock us up and call our parents. Quite a crowd of on lookers had gathered around the fountain. I was very embarrassed. Dan kept quite. I muttered I was sorry and it wouldn't happen again. The chief said alright, I'll take your word. He turned to the crowd and told them that we were just local kids doing what kids do. Dan and me walked away. I felt awful, Dan didn't say a word. Once out of sight of everyone, Dan pulled me to one side and showed me the four silver dollars he'd hidden in his mouth. Said he had nearly choked on the things . He gave me two and he kept two. We decided to let it go at that. No need to wake a sleeping dog. We agreed that we'd know better next time.
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