A Piece Of Our Teenage History Has Been Paved Over On Highway 136

Part of growing up is taking incredible risks, and living to tell the tale. Proving to the world, that for a singular moment in time you stood outside the boundaries of what is considered rational; and conquered fate.

I'm talking about the bump on 136 that is no longer there. A piece of our history has been paved over.

Death Defying Motorized Acrobatics

Every town has that one spot. It's where you go to test the steel that your nerves are supposedly made of. It's a place where adrenaline and madness reign as king and queen.

In one small town I lived in, it was Devil's Hill. It was the steepest hill any of us have ever seen, and a rite of passage was riding your bike at break neck speeds down the intense incline.

Another spot was an old railroad crossing in western Oklahoma. The tracks crossed over the old dirt road on top of a small hill. If you hit it at the right speed and angle, you would literally go flying over the tracks.

Mess it up, and you had a long walk back to town ahead of you...at best. Which leads me to "The Bump of 136."

The Bump On Highway 136

I've been asking around about the bump, and have received multiple accounts of testing one's fortitude on 136. Other accounts are just hilarious attempts and giving your friends a good shock in the back seat.

While I understand the necessity of keeping our roads safe, and I get that things like a Devil's Hill or Bump can cause more problems than they solve; I do hate to see them go.

If you're on 136 near Alibates and Fritch, just know you're not crazy for not noticing the bump. It's been paved over.

 A Bonus Story

Note From The Editor: I, myself have a 'bump' of my youth. There was a "bump"--or dip, really--out in River Road on Caddo street.

Back in high school, I would go out there to pick up my friends who lived a block away from the other, Ricky and Boner. I'd pick up Ricky first, then we would head to Caddo street to get Boner. Once we had everyone in the car, I'd floor it up to 50 or 60 mph and hit that bump.

My little Volvo station wagon could fly, and I mean FLY!

The boys were always in the back screaming, cussing me out, flip flopping because they never wore seat belts. But any time I was out there, we hit that bump.

Ten years later, as fate would have it, I ended up coming out to pick up Ricky at the same house. As soon as he got in my car, I took a right on Caddo street and floored it to hit the bump.

Ricky started screaming, I started whooping....and nothing. They had paved over the bump!

It's a sad day indeed when you lose a bump.