A quote: “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ll start with a story …
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Did you hear? They tore down those old bleachers at Jefferson High. It’s been years since we went there …
Oh, the memories – Friday night football games, the smells of cut grass and charred hot dogs. We always brought a blanket to sit on to save us from splinters. I was dating Steve, our star running back. You caught us one afternoon under those same bleachers.
Stop laughing so hard. I was mortified! But it later turned out for the best. Through weddings, kids, widowhood, it went so fast.
The bleachers are gone … now they’re changing the name, too.
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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license.
Cameron says: I knew they were watching me as once I made a sharp turn into the park. My friend said that when I was looking away, their eyes were on me. I cleared the jumps, handled the ramps like a pro and was definitely in the zone.
All I had to do was this one last trick. Just gotta build up the speed-
“His leg will be in the cast for a few weeks,” the doctor told my dad. “The break was pretty clean.”
That night, dad told me about the stupid things he did to get mom to notice him.
Farty Galore says: I’m so glad you’re embracing diverstiy by posting a photo of two brown girls!
Dupin says: They’re cute, the way girls that age are. Smiling and giggling together for no reason. Where do we lose that…that pure happiness, that spontaneity?
I remember those days. We laughed and smiled at the adults. We thought they had it all together. Times were simpler then…for us.
Now it’s work, bills, and taxes. Lunch breaks are gripe sessions. Nobody’s happy. Except Cheryl, and I don’t understand. Her husband died in a car wreck last year. Single mom…toddler plus an autistic kindergartener. Such a handful. But she’s always cheerful, and so’s her lunch crowd
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Maybe I should join them for lunch.
When I look at the picture, it’s hard to believe the girl on the right is Grandma Miller. In all my memories, she was always wizened and elderly, but there she is in her old-fashioned quad skates, dressed like she just stepped off the set of Happy Days. The other girl is Edith Walker, her best friend, although how they managed to get all the way up there is anybody’s guess.
One thing I do know — Edith is the reason Grandma met Grandpa. You see, the Walkers were super-strict, and would only allow their kids to go out on double dates. Always said it kept kids out of mischief. Anyway, Edith was sweet on the oldest Miller boy and there was a new John Wayne movie at the theater, so she set Grandma up on a date with his younger brother. Edith and the older brother broke up after a few dates, but Grandma and Grandpa hit it right off, and the rest is history.
Navig8r says: Color coordinated skate wheels? I thought you said Grandma and Grandpa were poor.
The skates came first. After that, one color clothing costs about the same as another.
Their real sacrifice was keeping us in good skates on a bus driver’s and secretary’s salaries while we were outgrowing shoes twice a year.
Weren’t you saving for college?
We took business courses at night. We did have our few minutes in the sun on the pro circuit, and then made enough at roller ball to buy the skating rink. It’s as good a living as most of our more educated friends.
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