Beam Me Up Part Two

One of the greatest things about Kennedy Park was the huge cement drinking fountain that sent a healthy shot of cold water constantly into the air. The fountain was gigantic and round and the part that you drank from, the bubler, was as thick as a garden hose. Even the biggest kid in the neighborhood could get his fill in about 20 seconds. And it was cold wonderful Lake Michigan water.

The fountain also served as a meeting place for groups of guys and girls. As I glanced toward the fountain, I thought about a couple summers back. My buddy, Tom “the Pope” Adams posed a big question right there to Susie O'Halloran in a boy-girl gathering on a warm summer night. Tom had said in a hushed tone as he took Susie to one side, “Can you find out if Renee Smith would consider hanging out.” This move took a lot of guts since Tom was a pimply 5'5” and Rene was a sleek blond of 5'9". Tom was my best friend at the time. Although he was small, he was one of those fearless guys who would fight anyone at the drop of a hat so his stature among the guys was greater than his size would have suggested.

Susie and the conference of girls climbed up a tree like a group of monkeys, as was their custom. Up in the tree they were free to discuss the match for over an hour. The boys always had a softball and bat in hand, so we went over to a field to play ball while waiting. Susie came back to announce that Rene liked Tom, but not "that way." They did bring news of another girl who was interested in him, Peggy Leary who was more of a physical match. Of course, as is always the case in these circumstances, Tom had no interest in Peggy. Much to my surprise, they also came to ask me if I liked Trish O'Neal. At the time, I wanted no part of Trish because she was a big girl who looked more like someone’s mom than a seventh grader.

Not far from the fountain was an ancient swing set with huge wooden plank seats that hold more memories. The swings served as the setting for a series of photographs my mom had taken of my three older sisters as they were growing up. My three sisters were all very beautiful in those photographs. When they were very young they were sitting on the swings in their pure white underwear in post World War II black and white. As they got older they were pictured with pretty colored ribbons and checked dresses. By the time I came along, they had graduated from swings to boys.

Copyright Sporting Chance Press

This story is taken from The Brown and White.