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Dirt Roads: Just Plain Fun!

I'd pulled off to the side of the road because I'd missed my turnoff. The area was unfamiliar, and I wanted to actually see the home for myself before I funded the loan. As I was looking at my map, a schoolbus pulled off the road behind me, and seven or eight children piled out, laughing and having a good old time.

The parents must take turns picking up the kids, driving them from the highway, down this dirt road and dropping each of them off at their homes. This time, there were just too many. The oldest kids hopped right up on the back of the car and waited for the littler ones to pack in and close the doors. Then they started waving.

I got this shot following the car down the road. I like the reflection of the children in the hood of my Explorer. I like the teenager who's waving. I like the reflection of a time about thirty-five years ago, when the world wasn't so politically correct, when people didn't feel like they had to call 911 to report what someone else was doing. I like the dirt road, and especially the mother who gives her time to get someone else's kids home.

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.

Think of me as your local expert.

Posted by Mike Jones on 03/29/2008 01:34 AM

Comments (25)

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25 Comments on Dirt Roads: Just Plain Fun!

I remember them too! My family often went on day trips out in the "boonies" way outside of Tucson...nice dirt road trip down memory lane, thanks Mike!

03/29/2008 01:43 AM

by Deborah Burns ~ Seattle Real Estate Agent (BRIO Realty)

Hi Mike - me, too! We lived about a mile down a dirt road when the kids were little, sometimes my husband would pick them up on the riding mower if he was out in the yard. Thanks.

03/29/2008 01:46 AM

by Virginia Hepp - Mesquite NV Real Estate (Mesquite GMAC Real Estate)

Virginia,

That's great! The picture in my mind made me laugh.

Deborah,

Thanks for being the first to comment! This was ten miles west of Oracle Junction.

Mike in Tucson

03/29/2008 01:48 AM

by Mike Jones (Tucson Mortgage Company, LLC)

Awwww. My mother made us walk home; however, we were living out in the country back when it was pretty safe to walk home and you could even ride your horses in the woods - - the scariest things you encountered were gigantic spiders.

03/29/2008 02:24 AM

by Susie Blackmon NC Realtor, Maggie Valley, Waynesville (COLDWELL BANKER)

Yes I had to walk home down the dirt road as well. Sometimes my Mom would pick us up, but fore the most part, I had to walk.This wasnt until I was around 14 or so. I grew up in the city when I was younger and my Mom actually drove the school bus!

Thanks for the memories!

Susan

03/29/2008 03:03 AM

by Susan Davis, Van Buren ~ Fort Smith Real Estate ~ (Exit Realty Fort Smith)

We lived on a dirt road too. Thanks for the waking up those memories. Life sure was different then.

03/29/2008 05:04 AM

by Lynchburg, Bedford County and Campbell County Homes for Sale Nannette Saunders (Professional Realty Group)

Never lived anywhere near a dirt road but this looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully my kids can have this experience. Being a city kid is not all it's cracked up to be!

03/29/2008 05:18 AM

by Todd & Danielle Millar (Glenn Simon Inc.)

A daily walk on the dirt road I lived on was a method of relaxation for me as a child. Sure do miss it!

03/29/2008 07:09 AM

by Lissa Uder, Your Lebanon MO Real Estate Agent (A Helper Premier GMAC Real Estate)

Ahhhh, yes - the simple life! Good reminder of how different it is for kids growing up in idfferent parts of the country.

03/29/2008 07:33 AM

by Margaret Woda, Maryland REALTOR (RE/MAX VISION)

Mike,

Great picture...And I like the same things you like!!! Thanks, Fran

03/29/2008 08:03 AM

by Fran 'The Title Man' Gaspari Title Insurance-PA & NJ (Patriot Land Transfer, Inc.)

An afternoon spent on dirt roads makes my truck happy. It is easier to appreciate the little things--the truly important things, when I spend a little time playing in the dirt.

03/29/2008 08:16 AM

by Kent Simpson REALTOR®, e-Certified®, AHS® (with The Pepper Group™ Diversified Real Estate)

Mike - Those were the days when children really had fun. Today everything is so planned it is impossible for the young to really dream and be truly creative. Thanks for sharing that shot.

03/29/2008 08:20 AM

by Jennifer Fivelsdal,ABR,GRI,SRES (Keller Williams Realty)

Oh dear. I have been in the Los Angeles property business way too long. The first thing I see is an accident waiting to happen. :-(

If all those kids on the trunk are the children of the car's driver, OK, then maybe's it's only child abuse. If one of the kids is a neighbor kid.... and the car hits a bump .... and the neighbor kid falls off and breaks an arm .... It's Lawyer Time in Lawsuit City. Sigh.

03/29/2008 09:14 AM

by Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

Love it!

Yesterday a client and I were looking at homes and the selling office had a golf cart, so I got the listing agent to drive us around and we sat backwards on the rear seat, some days are just fun!

Your Friend in Charlottesville, Virginia!

03/29/2008 09:40 AM

by Charles McDonald / Your Trusted Agent for Charlottesville Real Estate (RE/MAX Assured Properties)

Escellent picture Mike - and you definitely have an eye for great shots!

03/29/2008 09:43 AM

by Sharon Paxson (Prudential California Realty)

Great Tucson Picture Mike as usual....hey what is a placemat?

Anne

03/29/2008 11:24 AM

by Tucson Real Estate Experts Anne and Eddie McKechnie (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)

It is a trip down memory lane and how casual people get in the county allowing the kids to ride on the trunk. We did it also but probably not the safest adventure. Thanks for the photo.

03/29/2008 02:44 PM

by Terry Westbrook ~ Realtor(R) Grand Rapids Mi Real Estate Ada/Cascade (Five Star Real Estate, LLC Grand Rapids , MI)

Mike: Great shot, I love it! Brought back memories for me. I grew up in the Midwest and dirt roads and danger were part of everyday life.

03/29/2008 03:44 PM

by Caryn Webb Virtual Assistance by an e-PRO (CD WEBB DESIGN)

Mike - I love this post. The photo captures it all, and the story is touching. Thanks.

03/29/2008 03:54 PM

by Tom Plant - Murrieta Real Estate Expert - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)

That picture brings back a lot of memories for me. I miss the simple life so much!!!

As teenagers we would place a mattress on top of the car and then get on top of it and hold on for dear life. The first sharp curve would send us and the mattress flying off the car and onto the dirt road. It was fun!!! Of course our parents probably would not have been too happy if they knew we were doing that.

03/29/2008 04:10 PM

by Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc

What a great shot and awesome post. A pretty cool moment! :)

03/29/2008 04:24 PM

by Shannon Lefevre Naples, Florida CRS (John R. Wood REALTORS Inc.)

better put a ~~placemat~~ oops! placeholder... LOL

This is just a place I can come back to when I have time to reply to all the great comments you wonderful people leave (so I don't end up having to reply 32 times in a single comment.

Mike in Tucson

03/29/2008 04:48 PM

by Mike Jones (Tucson Mortgage Company, LLC)

This is a makes-you-feel-good post. I too like kids outside playing and being relaxed rather than in front of a computer game.

03/29/2008 05:24 PM

by Barbara S. Duncan ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO Searcy AR (RE/MAX Advantage)

Mike: Sadly, in the city, that mother would be in the papers as though she had murdered her children!! This reminds me of childhood times riding in the lap of my father, learning how to drive a straight drive on winding dirt roads before I could get to the main roads when I had enough age and experience to do so! I love the photo also!