This will be part 8. I will be bouncing around a bit and tying the loose threads when they finally form a recognizable pattern. I'm in 10th grade and am already an integral part of the gymnastics team line up. John and I are neck and neck. Each one excelling in different areas. Him in flexibility and me in strength. My classes are manageable, I even have an elective. It's ceramics and I love it for some reason. I'm not sure if it's the feel of the clay spinning on the wheel or the ability to make something from nothing, but I really look forward to each class. My life and image are beginning to take shape as the year progresses. This year I qualify for sectionals and just miss out on states. John edges me out an goes to Farmingdale for the New York State High School Championship. Our team is in the top 3 and we have a really great new coach. His name is Ted Nadeau and he will be filling in for Mergardt for at least a year. The amazing thing about Ted is he still trains at a very high level and is a little crazy. The year goes by very smoothly. In June take a trip to new Haven to see a college meet with Southern Connecticut State College and West Point. There are gymnasts here of a caliber that make me dream of a time when I might be as good. I see John Lawler and after the meet he introduces me to the guys on the team. Everyone is very nice and invites me to come train with team whenever I want. Later in the year we go to a clinic hosted there and learn some essential fundamental concepts that direct us to our goals of becoming the best we can. I am trained by a guy on high-bar who when it's my turn says in the strongest Boston accent "Next, o.k. he-is what ya do. Swing yoo-ah bawdy back an foth unda da beh." I am in such shock that I just stnd there looking dumbfounded. Again he says " Ga head Sahwing yoo-ahh bawdy back an foth unda da beh. o.k." Lawler sees what's happening and yells " Yo wit jump yor ass up der rinow fore I kick-it." I do as he says and follow his instructions as best as I can. The guy training me is none other than future olympic medal winner Peter Korman. I always thought it hysterically funny he has so many "R's" in his name. You see he's from a place in Mass. called Braintree and there his accent is normal. It was mentioned to me that New Yorkers shouldn't be commenting on the accents of others given there own inclination in this direction. I bump into Culhane who remembers me and asks how my training is coming. I tell him what I've been working on and he goes off to demonstrate some insanely dangerous dismount off of high-bar. Ted , who drove us to this clinic on his day off, drives us home. On the way home he asks " So what do you guys think you can get from this experience.?" John answers " I think I'll be able to use the stuff I learned on high-bar for next year." I reply " If I want to be doing this in college I need to be working a lot harder than I am now." Ted smiles and continues driving finally he asks " When was the last time Yorktown been beaten?" John and I look at each other and shrug. Ted replies "It's been over 15 years since anyone has even come close. How would you like to be the ones to beat them?" John and I say simultaneously "You say jump and we'll say how high?" Ted smiles and says " I had a feeling that you'd be interested in doing that. Here's the deal. most of the team is graduating this year with the exception of you guys. We need some more bodies in the gym and we need them pronto. This isn't going to happen over night, but if you do what I say I promise you guys will forever be remembered as the Cindrella team that came out of nowhere and took down a giant." I say " A very big bad dressing giant with 2 tone shoes." John says "Jody that's no way to comment on a pimps threads. I like to think of him as Fashionly challenged." Ted and I laugh as John asks " So where do we go to get guys for the team?" Ted answers Rod suggested out in the smoking area. I say " I 'll take that one. Where else?" John suggests " How about caually scanning and checking kids out in the various gym classes and afterschool activities. Ted perks up saying " Do you know what I did before I moved here looking for a coaching job." We shake our heads. Ted answers " Just finished 3 tour of active duty in Vietneam as a platoon leader. When I make a battle plan it works or people die. So when I say this is going to happen , what do you say? " John and I smile and salute saying " Sir yes sir Yortown is our target and Charlie needs to be dethroned Sir." Ted nods and drops us off at the high-school. Before leaving he says " Tomorrow at 0800 there will be an equipment closet left open that holds extra out of date gymnastics equipment that has been sitting there since the 1950's. Your mission is to free up some space in there and distribute that equipment as you see fit. Do you understand me?" We answer " Sir yes sir We will free equipment hostages and make it seem like we were never there." Ted waves goodbye and John and I have goosebumps! I say " How will we get the equipment out of here?" John replies " Got it covered my uncle has a van and is going to be away for the weekend. I have a friend who will drive or us." I say " O.k. my house is huge and has lots of space we can store it there until we decide how to divvy it up." John says "Roger" I look at him strangely and say "Roger? What are we the dirty dufasses?" So with hope in our soul and larceny in our hearts we took the first of many steps to dethrone the tyranical rule of evil tacky Vinny Savastano with the 2 tone shoes. It was around now that John and I temporarily joined forces to defeat our adversaries and feather our own nests. I stayed over at Johns' house and we made the arrangements for the van and driver the following morning. We got up at 5a.m. to begin our prep work. We needed blankets and ropes to transport the equipment. We needed overalls so as not to attract to much unwanted attention. It was Johns' idea to make a phoney invoice for the equipment on his fathers business. Changed and ready to go John just needed to sneak into his sleeping parents room and remove his uncles spare keys which were on his fathers key ring. Johns' father is to say it mildly a badass with a short fuse.. He's a blue collar worker who slaves all day to give his family a better life. If John were to get caught it would not be a pretty sight. I waited by the door for him to complete this stage of the mission. He came out with the keys and we were off. It took us 45 minutes to walk to his uncles house who he neglected to tell me was a cop. John opened the garage and started the 1975 cherry red Chevy van. He motioned for me to get in. I asked "Are you driving?" He answers "Yeah unless you feel like volunteering." I didn't so I kept my mouth closed on the way to school. It was only 7:45am so we pulled over at the roach coach that was run by Vic from the snack bar at the bowling alley. I ordered 2 chocolat yoohoos and a cheese danish. John ordered 3 hotdogs with onions and 2 chocolate yoohoos. John leans to me and whispers " I don't have any money." I say " Don't worry I got us covered" Vic asks "What are you up to when I know neither of you guys are old enough to drive. The state troopers hang around here on Saturday s be cool ." I smile and say " As a cucumber Vic as a cucumber." We hang around for another 15 minutes finishing our food and I pull Vic aside and ask " We're kind of short, can I pay you later." Vic pats me on the shoulder and says " I owe for working so many hours on such short notice. Hell, even my nephew won't lend a hand. Look as long as you want you can eat here free of charge." I ask what about my partner in crime here?" Vic points a John to gwt his attention and says " A long as you are with this guy you eat free here ." John says " Thank you "with a mouth full of hot dog and we get back in the van to do this caper. We pull into the Fox Lane campus and drive over to the middle school gym where I see Ted coming out and tipping his hat to us. He hops in his 1974 blue Dodge Dart and drives away. We go into the gym and find the closet that's been left unlocked. Inside is a : pommel horse from the 1950's , old rubber rings, miniture parallel bars and a bunch of old horse hair mats. We pack the stuff up and drive to my house where we unload it and put it in the garage. We change drive back to Mt . Kisco to leave the van and John goes home. I go to bowling league which is about to start in 15 minutes. As I warm up to bowl I replay the crazy stunt we just pulled with the help of our gymnastics coach. It's going to be an interesting year next season that's for sure. I see Vic nephew Dean who is now a freshman at Fox Lane and think about what Ted said about getting more team members, I approach Dean and explain the offer. He is overjoyed at any chance to escape from being Vics slave labor. So that's another step towards our mission. This summer I am going for 2 weeks to gymnastics camp and then to Europe with my family. Camp turns out to be absolutely the best time I ever had. I jumped up another level in terms of my skill ability and sa first hand what it's like to train the elite level. I see Jim Culhane who show up one night with this loud obnoxious blonde hanging all over him. She's an elite gymnast who has come to take pictures of the best gymnasts. I never meet her , but I hear her name is Diane . Everyone says she is trouble with a capital T. I think to myself poor Jim I hope he knows what he's getting into. I'll give you one guess who that loud obnoxious crazy blond was. That's right none other than Diane Biderman my future partner and wife to be in only 7 years from now. So it appears the dye is being cast. One morning on our 5am 3 mile run we finsh at the oceans edge to find Jim Culhane unconscious in a row boat. Our coach Kenny Haas decides to throw some cold water on him to which Culhane grggily gets up and starts walking to his cabin. On the way there he passes the outdoor high-bar and decides to jump on even though the cables are loose. He kips up and casts into giants. After several giants the high bar looks like it's going to collapse. Jim lets go doing what is called a 1/2 in 1/2 out double somersault to a perfect landing in the grass. The high bar falls down and with out looking back he goes to his cabin. It was at that moment that I realized to be as great as Jim you had to be as insane a risk taker as him. I am nowhere near there yet , but am headed in that general direction. For now my direction is to bed and to fly in my dreams. Thanks and goodnight. Jody
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