Inktober 22: #Scratchy
In which we discuss Warner Robins Georgia's main waterway
A wet-weather weather creek winds through Warner Robins. Its official name is Bay Gall Creek, but everybody called it The Ditch. It was a main artery for storm-water drainage; much of The Ditch was lined with #scratchy sand bags to prevent erosion. The Ditch formed the boundary of our back yard; for the kids who lived along its course, it was one of the main places we played.
When the ditch was dry, we dug in the sand, built castles, and acted out various scenarios. When it was wet, we waded and raced boats. Sometimes it flowed in a torrent, and we had to play elsewhere (though I heard of people riding rafts down the Bay Gall). Sometimes it overflowed, making it possible for us to play in its waters without leaving our yards. My cousin Chad has a story about a long-distance swim he made in The Ditch. I hope he'll tell it in the comments.
The Ditch was also a thoroughfare for juvenile delinquents, ne'er-do-wells, and anybody else who wanted or needed to get across town without being seen on the streets. Once, when I strayed farther than usual, a fuzz-stachioed youth offered to sell me marijuana in The Ditch. Being about ten years old, I was short on cash, so the transaction didn't happen. I decided to stick more closely to my part of The Ditch.
This passage from the Keep Warner Robins Beautiful webpage nicely captures the aesthetic of the The Ditch and brings back memories: "On most occasions, Bay Gall Creek is a dry bed, but in the years when rain is heavy volunteers get to wade into the waters to clean out debris swept through the channel. This year volunteers pulled items ranging from benches, basketballs, roller-skates, all the way to car fenders out of the creek." .
In 1994 came the big flood everybody had been half-expecting. The Ditch overflowed and made uninhabitable many of the houses along its course, including the house on Spruce Street where I grew up.