This Weeks Very Short Story: Chapter 4

This Week's Very Short Story: Chapter Four

My Saturdays when I was young were spent bowling at Oak Park Lanes or at movies in Royal Oak.  Later on it was bowling follow by dance lessons at Jack Barnes. Dance lessons continued until my Bar Mitzvah.  I continued bowling all the way through high school.    

My parents seemed to want us out of the house on Saturdays.  I wonder what they were doing during those times.  Oh…. That is how I ended up with a little brother that was 11 years younger than me.   

One of the best forms of birth control is children.    

By the way my mother yelled my name, I knew something was wrong.  What I had done was to mix some chocolate into the remaining milk in the refrigerator.  My mother was making mashed potatoes and poured the chocolate milk into the potatoes.  What happened next was a run down the stairs to the basement on Greenbriar Street.  Actually, I don’t think I touched the steps.  Behind me came the bowl filled with chocolate milk and potatoes with the speed of a 90 mile an hour pitch.  And yes, I did get to clean it all up.     

Today there are so many things that your children need to take with them when they go to college.  One of the thing that I took to college that I know my children did not take with them was a 2 piece pool cue/stick.  

I never sat with my father and discussed politics.  I don’t know how he voted.  I think I could guess.  He did ask questions and I gave answers. He was the father and I the son.  I learned by his example on how he lead his life   

At lunch during high school, one of my favorite things to eat was an ice cream sandwich from one of the machines.  I would buy one whenever I had enough change.  Once I got the ice cream sandwich, I would break it in half and offer half to a friend of mine, and occasionally even let him have it.  Every day he would eat a corn beef sandwich.  Never did I even get a bite.  

At some point during high school, they finally allowed us to go out to lunch.  The sprint to our cars and the race to our destination made the chases on The Dukes of Hazzard look lame.   

For the road rally, ‘swing out” in high school, we decorated someone’s car with beer cans that we collected.  With today’s standards, we would probably be ready for parole soon.    

I have held many elected offices in many different organizations.  There is one election that I lost and was glad that I did. It was for Secretary of the fraternity that I belonged to.  It was at that time, that I realized that I need to buckle down, study and get ready for the rest of my life.