The Big Pinecone Kick

I crawled out from under the coffee table and pushed through the screen door into the morning light. Right in the middle of the rough asphalt driveway was a fat, prickly pinecone. I took three big stomping steps back, sprinted forward, and booted it with the toe of my sneaker. THWACK! The pinecone went tumbling end over end across the bumpy ground. I ran after it as fast as my legs could go and gave it another hard kick. It ricocheted off the heavy plastic wheel of the recycling bin and landed right in the green weeds.