Shallow Lakes

By Judith Bakkensen

We were laying side by side looking at the clouds reflected in the clear, still water.  First Ronny Ramsey took a sip from the surface of the water, then I took a long drink from the surface.  His head popped up.  He yelled, "Car coming."  We shrieked, jumped up and ran to the center of the triangle of grass. 

After the car left, we ran back to the water.  It was cloudy with mud.  We patiently waited for the surface to clear for another sip of water.  This big puddle was our favorite puddle.  We could fish in it.  We could drink from it. We could wade in it.  We could sit in it.  It was that best puddle in the whole trailer park.  The big kids rode their bicycles through the puddle after school back and forth.

After big rains, we would put on our rubber boots and splash the water as high as we could.  It would fill our boots.

This puddle love hasn't receded since I was four years old.  I taught my sons and grandsons to stomp in puddles and look at the clouds reflected in the beautiful still waters.  I omitted the sipping out of puddles. 

Today, as I am driving, I make sure I splash through every big puddle.  When I find a good one, I'll drive through it at least twice, sometimes dozens of times.  The US Bank in Florence, OR has a parking lot that floods really easily.  The water goes clear over the top of the van.  Now that's hours of fun!