The Legend of the Gravel Babies

In 1982, we had come back to Placerville from our year at Powell.
I was substitute teaching not having been smart enough to merely take a leave of absence. Also, my alcoholism was coming to a head and it was not a good time. One bright spot in those troubled days, though, was the coming to Somerset of the Lopez ladies.

Margie, Xochitl and Rosa came to live with us from Galt and stayed for about six months until they were able to move into our old house (that dad Coop now owned) on Adams Way. It was such fun having more little ones around and there were uproarious times, campfire hot dog roasts and Smore-making events. Many trips to swim at the Consumnes and general kid playing made the Sandridge Road place come alive.

The Gravel Babies were born, though, during the move from Galt to Somerset. We had rented a U-Haul truck in Placerville and I drove it down to Galt. We met my step-brother Mark Fischer there and he helped us load it up with all the household and kid stuff that Margie wanted to take back with her. It was a pretty full truck as I remember.
Driving back by way of Ione was no problem and we got to Sandridge Road and took some stuff into the house for immediate use. The vast majority of items were large and while not needed right away, would be later. I therefore backed the truck down to our barn at the lower end of the property and we unloaded it the rest of the way.

Our barn was situated a bit lower than the grade of the road, the floor being more the height of a loading dock. Therefore the truck was in a sort of swale. Starting up to get back to Placerville to return it proved problematical, however, since the back tires would only spin and not get traction. Looking back on it I think that long cheat-grass stalks made the traction slippery. The truck was light and the tires could just not get a good grip. Thoughts turned to getting the van with a chain to pull the truck when Dad Coop had a brainstorm. He quietly got the four children; Cece, Dan, Xochitl and Rosa (Becca being an infant was in Kate’s arms) to get gravel from the road and toss it under the rear dual wheels of the truck on the driver’s side. Back and forth and back and forth went the little work crew with fistfuls of gravel until it was deemed worth another attempt.

Voila! The truck just pulled right up to the road, the happy tires gripping the gravel much better than before. As the truck crested to the road, all of the kids erupted in spontaneous cheering and waving of arms. Dad Coop was so taken with this that he dubbed them the Gravel Babies and the legend was born. Later, Margie created little Gravel Baby T-shirts to commemorate the event. This elite cadre has remained very close over the years, special bonds being forged in their time spent together. Innumerable wacky and demented stunts have ensued. Even now, when the combined (insane) laughter of Cece, Xochitl, Rosa, Dan and Becca comes into my hearing, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in fear of yet another of their nefarious doings being perpetrated on an unsuspecting victim…me!


9-14-2010