Comic Book

The Comic Book

          Recently I was touring the local antique emporium and ran across a display of old comic books.  Brought back the memories of ancient days when I loved to read and trade comic books.  Probably how I learned to read, was the comics.  Always loved looking at the pictures, all the great heroes and villains.  Don’t believe I ever threw a comic book away.  Always had a stack of well used books.  I reread them many times and would trade with other kids to get now books. 

          I looked up the orgins of the comic book and I was surprised to see that it had its beginnings back in the early 1800’s and evolved over the years.  There were ongoing characters, serial characters and genres that would match today’s characters.   The funny books that lots of the Disney stories were refer to or Tom and Jerry.  There were the detectives, the romantic heroines and there were cowboys.   Later came the superheroes, Superman, Captain Marvel a Mighty Mouse…. Etc. 

          Some of these heroes survived from the early 1920’s into today, most notably, Superman and Batman.  I loved their books and I liked the Rich duck and his nephew with the Beegle gang.  Then there were others, like the Lone Ranger, Green Lantern, Archie and many more. 

          When these characters made to the little screen, it brought my imagination to life.  Seldom was I disappointed by what I saw on TV and what I had in my imagination. 

          I fueled the imagination even more.  The neighborhood boys would get together and trade comic books and talk about who was the best hero.  We all had our favorites and we would play cowboys and Indians.  Can’t ever remember there being any Indians, it was just us chasing each other around being our favorite comic book cowboy.  We had our cap guns and the whole town to run in.  We had forts, hiding places and the nooks and crannies of empty lots.  There was no plot, we just had fun popping at each other.  Eventually we would run out of caps and that was all folks. 

          The comic book is still around but has been replaced by the digital age of electronic games.  There are no longer empty lots to build forts in, go screaming down the street on our bike cap gun in hand.  It is now sitting in the living room, spreading blood and guts all over the screen. 

          Then books in general don’t generate the interest like they used to.  The imagination is now in Hollywood, writing scripts or in Silicon Valley writing code for the latest digital fantasy.  The illustrator now draws for the silver screen.  Oh the comic book characters are still around just a different package. 

Hugo Ponds

One of many small ponds.  On down the hill the overflow goes to the next pond. 

The small ponds stretch out along the gully
, till they sink into the sand.

The Ponds

Of

Hugo

            Stretching out along a low ridge are scores of springs.  Sometimes it no more than a muddy spot along the rise, other times it is small gurglers.  Water flows along the gullies, creating tiny streams that only disappear back into the sandy soil.  Streams that are but a trickle, a few gush along, tumbling down the hill.  Rivulets to streams over 4 feet wide and almost a foot deep.  On the high plains, most see a desert, so when these little springs roll along most people stare in disbelief.

            Years ago this was great land for grazing cattle.  Here there was good grass and water for the livestock.  The ranchers built dams along the gullies to capture these small amounts of water.  Small ponds formed behind these dams, expanding the habitat for wildlife, providing small oasis on a parched land.  Many of these little streams would be dammed more than once, forming a series of ponds as the water flowed down the hill. 

            This band of streams stretches along a ridge about 10 miles long and 5 miles wide.  Most of the springs are on private land but some years ago, the state was able to acquire a small portion of these spring and streams.  The State Wildlife Area of Hugo Ponds came into existence. With the ponds now being on state land, the wildlife folks began keeping them stocked with fish.  Even when the drought rolled over the land a few years ago, the springs maintained their flow. 

            The ponds are an open area of land, with no improvements, bouncy rutted road, winds out across the buffalo grassland.  Gullies and ponds breaking up the emptiness of the prairie.  There are the few that venture out for fishing, some hunters roam during the seasons and occasionally a walker leaves foot prints. 

            It is a place of peace, tranquility, where one can sit in quietness and meditate.  Sit there and watch the water shimmer, the occasional circle on a mirror surface.  Watch the vastness of land dwarf the soul, let the mind paint the picture of its desires.  

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The small stream tumbles down the hill forming ponds until it disappears into the sandy soil.  To the left can be seen another small stream flowing off the neighbors pasture to join the little ponds.