Lately, I have been hearing our President and many other politicians talking about "kicking the can down the road". I am wondering just what does that mean? I know in my youth it was an activity.
When I was young in Grapevine, Texas, as kids we usually walked where ever we wanted to go. Main St was the location of the Drug Store, Dime Store, Wilhoite's Filling Station, the Picture Show and THE Snow Cone stand and one was always the destination. Some kids would kick a can as they walked along the road. Sometimes a small group would take turns kicking the same can. Once you reached your destination, you would leave the can at the curb and kick it home on the return trip. In any case, our "kicking the can down the road" had a purpose. Entertainment! Competition
It was an inexpensive form of entertainment. All you needed was to find a empty can in some one's trash. Well, at my Grandfather's house on the corner of Worth and Dooley was an old Bois d arc tree.
At some point in time Mother Nature had caused that tree's trunk to lay on the ground and turn up toward the sky at it's end. The bois d arc tree grew an inedible fruit that we called a "hedge apple" or "horse apple". These hedge apples were about the size of a grapefruit. They were perfect substitutes for "the can". It was a simply ritual. Go outside, pick out one already on the ground and start "kicking it down the road" They rolled very well. Only problem was after repeated kicks they emitted a sticky white substance that got on your shoes or feet if you didn't have any shoes. Since they were biodegradable, they could be left anywhere.
In rural America in the fifties, kicking the can down the road entertained pre teen kids. After three or four years we out grew that activity and moved on to more sophisticated diversions. I hope this country can out grow "Kicking the Can" and move on to more sophisticated activities in 2012
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