Tar Bubbles

TAR BUBBLES

July.

Midsummer.

Hot and sticky, especially under your feet when you walk across the street. Those tiny little tar bubbles were everywhere! Shining in the hot sun of afternoon. Soft to the touch of a finger. Sticky and deflating when they were disturbed, leaving a dark, black dot on your fingertip that lasted for days, despite your hard scrubbing. The twelve foot walk across the street left the bottom of your shoes polka-dotted with tar spots that wouldn't allow you in the house until your shoes were left on the back stoop.

Riding your bike down the center of the street on a hot, still, and humid day - you could hear the tiny tar bubbles popping under the tires.

Soft pops . . .

Gooey pops . . .

Slow motion "pup - pup - pups".

Tar bubbles on every street of my childhood. Don't be caught walking barefoot across those streets! Little tender feet with black dotted bottoms and black spotting, wiggling toes. No matter how hard one scrubbed or soaked in the tub, the spots remained for a long time.

But it was fun while it lasted, wasn't it? Feeling those gooey, sticky "pup - pup - pups" beneath your tiny feet.

"Pup - pup - pup - pup - pup. . ."