I couldn't help but notice the vocalizations that intermittently interrupted the Saturday conversation I was having with my mother this past weekend. The megaphone-like shouts seemed to be rising and settling again on the western corner of the 0.8 sq/mile footprint of Lincoln Heights. After a while, my mother became agitated enough to want to investigate! Was it a local fair we hadn't heard about? A school pep rally?
The crowd that she convinced to "go check things out with her", continued to grow as she sparked the interests of every family member within her immediate sight. In the end, my mother, my uncle, my two sisters, myself, (and almost a very large-toothed mastiff terrier mix) all arrived at the source of the madness. We found a mass of people lining the street and into the backyard of the infamous and historic "Our Corner" candy store. Like the threshold of a happening LA nightclub, you couldn't get into whatever WAS happening inside. The event came complete with bouncers and a cover-charge! The sounds we had been hearing, were the speaker-system-amplified voices of the the local hood personalities, shouting over the thumping soundtracks of hood tunes. I think I heard the occasional public service announcement to register to vote.
After paying the cover-charge, I finally arrived at the earthen-precipice of a kids pool, filled with a viscous mud solution and women of various ages, and body types, tussling in their respective bathing suits. Much to the chagrin of the spectators, even the store's seasoned owner, Mabel Redman, had donned her version of a swimsuit to playfully slither around with her youthful opponents.
The crowd that she convinced to "go check things out with her", continued to grow as she sparked the interests of every family member within her immediate sight. In the end, my mother, my uncle, my two sisters, myself, (and almost a very large-toothed mastiff terrier mix) all arrived at the source of the madness. We found a mass of people lining the street and into the backyard of the infamous and historic "Our Corner" candy store. Like the threshold of a happening LA nightclub, you couldn't get into whatever WAS happening inside. The event came complete with bouncers and a cover-charge! The sounds we had been hearing, were the speaker-system-amplified voices of the the local hood personalities, shouting over the thumping soundtracks of hood tunes. I think I heard the occasional public service announcement to register to vote.
"Our Corner" store owener, Mabel R.dons bathing suit for mud-wresting event.
After paying the cover-charge, I finally arrived at the earthen-precipice of a kids pool, filled with a viscous mud solution and women of various ages, and body types, tussling in their respective bathing suits. Much to the chagrin of the spectators, even the store's seasoned owner, Mabel Redman, had donned her version of a swimsuit to playfully slither around with her youthful opponents.
While I have yet to fully understand the purpose of the event, one thing was apparent...people were healthily happy. In the wake of wave-after-wave of violence hitting the tiny village in recent months, the event brought some much-needed smiles and good, "clean" fun! If for no other purpose than that, the mud wrestling fun is a testament to the traditionally-resilient spirit of Zone-15!
