Bobby Crocker
Getting to grandmas one way or another!
My name is Bobby Dale Crocker. When I was two and a half years old, I lived on Lake St. In Bakersfield,Ca. Right off MT Vernon. Geraldine Gregory was my grandmother which I loved with all my heart and wanted to spend all my time with. So one morning when my mother was still sleeping I took my sisters tricycle, the red,blue and yellow one with the power break handle on the side and I pushed it thru a hole in the corner of the fenced locked yard where I squeezed out from. On my way to grandmas house! I remember pushing the tricycle up the bridge over pass all the way to the first set of stairs. My original plan was to go down the side that Edison hyw. Was on so I wouldn't have to deal with the busy street corner. I started down the first stair well but noticed after about five steps that I was on the wrong side of the train tracks still. So I pulled the tryck back up the stairs. I walked to the second set and thought about climbing down, kind of scared of how steep the bridge was but decided after the trouble I had pulling the tryck down the few stairs before that it would be easier to ride it down the sidewalk .So I did . It was speeding down so quick that as I got to the bottom there was a little side road that cut back to Edison by way of passing Peabody bookshop/ record store. I grabbed the break handle and pulled as hard as I could it locked the back wheels up and caused me to spin three times before stopping! Lucky no cars were turning there cause I didn't stop till I was centered in the street. I quickly turned it around toward the stop light at California/Brundage and rode to the corner. I got off the tryck, pushed the crosswalk button and waited to see the green man to go. But every time it did I would grab the tryck and start to cross but cars would be turning there so I'd step back and wait again .I must have done that 10 times before the station attendant seen me and came to find out who I was, where I was going ,and why I was all by myself. I told him that I was going to my grandma's. He tried to find out if I knew our phone # but I didn't .He thought about calling the police but since I seemed like I knew where I was going he'd try that first . It was coming up on his break so I waited with him as he attended customers. He bought me a grape Crush soda out of a machine with bottles that laid sideways in the trays. He sat me up on the register which was at the end of the full service pump islands. Where he filled gas up in a car then reset the pump with a big key after the customer paid . I remember this all like it was yesterday but it was back in 77/or78. He had me put the tryck in his trunk of Faded green ford galaxy 500 that had a big dent in the drivers door , like someone kicked it in. He buckled me up in the back seat and proceeded to drive the way I pointed out one street over and half way up the block to the house with the tallest pine tree in the front yard. He wasn't sure at my age that truly knew where I was going so he told me to stay in the car till it was confirmed that wasn't grandmothers. It was still fairly early in the morning and she may still be asleep. But as soon as the door opened I jumped out and ran to hug her. She thanked the attendant for helping he got my tryck out and went back to work. As I entered her house my mom was calling frantic that I was missing .my Grandma assured her I was there and safe but knew I was in trouble. She hid me behind a recliner by her kitchen table and told me to stay put till she calmed my mother down but as my mom came in I peeked around the chair and she snatched me up and blistered my but. But at two and a half years old I made it to Grandmas house.
