The Fort Story - Building a fort with the neightborhood

We as kids had a lot of fun on our block, whether we were playing sports, video games, or trading cards, we always had a good time. One summer, some new townhouses were being built on the lot next to our block. Since we were curious, we would jump the fence and play on the dirt hills and partially built houses when the builders were not there.

They happened to have a lot of spare wood and nails lying around and this got us thinking. Maybe we could use this extra wood and nails to build something of our own. We had tools so we decided to build a fort. Surprisingly, one of the kid's parents allowed us to build it in their back yard. We had the green light!

So like ants, we methodically began bringing planks of wood and 2x4's from the build site, over to our friend's back yard. All the kids on the block were involved. We were out there with our hammers, nailing wood together as we constructed our fort. It was a serious project that took several weeks of daily work to complete.

By the time we were done we had a nice sturdy structure with 3 small rooms, and a 2nd level. We even got carpet in there and a small couch! We were so proud of our accomplishment. We would hang out there and play in the fort every day.

It lasted a long time. I remember when winter came along it was still there. One day I came home from school and forgot my key, so I couldn't get in for about a hour until my mom came home. I was able to use the fort as shelter that day.

Over the months, the fort started to deteriorate. Nails were starting to stick out and it became dangerous. Also, someone must have complained about it to the police so we were instructed to take it down because we didn't have a building permit.

We took it apart and disposed of the wood. All that was left was an area of dead grass and mud in the middle of our neighbor's back yard. Eventually it grew in and all traces of the fort were gone but the memories of the fort will not be forgotten!