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Dead Man’s Bubble
I guess growing up about 400 feet from the ocean, the beach was a normal part of everyday life for me. Not a sandy swimming beach mind you, though it was more sandy than some. Random Island is like two separate sections from the beach perspective (at least on the Smith Sound side), up in Apsey Brook and Snook’s Harbour its mainly granite sand, and worn pebbles, while down in Britannia it was mainly slate and shale.
I loved to spend time down there, sitting on “Big Rock” when the tide was out, making messes in the mud, looking for brannistickles, , trying to grab a trout under the old bridge, and of course skipping stones. Skipping stones was harder though when there were very few flat stones. The slate and shale was better for that I guess! But I know we still managed, and if you got the throw just right, you could manage with a rounder stone too.
One thing we did try to do was make a Dead Man’s Bubble. Whats that? Well if you throw a nice fairly round stone way up high and nearly straight up, it would fall down into the water with a “bloop” sound making a bubble of air rather than a splash. It was tricky to get right, but I’m sure I spent hours attempting it!
I can see me now down on the beach below Aunt Mary’s throwing rocks up into the air, and hoping to hear that elusive “bloop”.
Raised in outport Newfoundland in a town of 65 people, I pursued a post secondary diploma in Information Technology right out of High School.
I’ve always been a geek at heart, but yet I love the rural life I grew up with. Fishing, hunting, camping and the great outdoors are still loves of mine, even if I don’t pursue them as often as I once did. Sports were always a big part of our lives, and I played many (badly) and loved them all.
Da worst ting about smokin fish…. Ah A Good Old Double Double
Nickels on the train trackThe Bonavista Branch line stopped running in 1986 from what I can see, though had been reduced in service prior to that. Most of the young people now can’t remember the joys (some sarcasm may be included here) of stopping for the train at the bar hill, in Shoal Harbour, …
Troutin’ with da byesI’m not sure what year it was, or even many of the details now, but one summer many moons ago, there were tales of huge sea-trout coming up the brooks and rivers of southern Newfoundland. Always up for trouting, and also for a chance to explore more of our great …
Ew… Goulash Day!When the “new” school opened up on Random Island, it had a cafeteria for hot lunches. For those of us who had bussed it to Shoal Harbour before this was something new, we had only had the lunch can before that. Those who had gone to school in their local …