This will be part 3 in the Fox Lane series. Almost immediately I was enthralled with gymnastics. The fact that such a diverse group could mutually train together and compete with other schools spawned a desire in me to be part of it. The probationary week went by quickly. John and I spent our lunch hours trying to conquer the peg board. So far the best we could do is 10 holes. Take into consideration the fear factor added by height. At 10 holes we were high enough to fall and do some real bone breaking damage. Each day at practice we piece together the puzzle that holds the key to our success. We almost could do a kip, muscle up or back handspring. This elusive quality of it being just out of our reach was maddening. Each day the time grew nearer for us to prove ourselves. Before we knew it the day was upon us and we felt no closer to conquering the necessary skills needed to make the team. So at the end of practice everyone gathered around. One by one demonstrating what they had accomplished that week. The studs : Lawler,Drews,Oliva,Smith,Murphy,Sobasinski,Weldon and Reed each took a turn doing an entire 10 skill routine or some new trick they had mastered during the week. Our turn came and John went first he did a a ring routine that I had never seen him do before. It included inlocates and dislocates finishing with a straddle dismount. John smirked and sat down. I had no idea what to try. Weldon came behind me and said show them your basic swing and try the drop kip I showed you. I walked up to the parallel bars and placed my hands on the inside of them, when I hear Weldon coughing for my attention. He mimes chalking up by rubbing his hands together. I quickly jump down hold my finger up for Mergardt to wait while I run to chalk the palms of my hands. I jog back and grab the inside of the bars. I jump and fall back collapsing in my hips with my legs straight as I begin to feel the centrifugal force pulling on my hands. As I reach the front part of the underbar swing I open and quickly recompress my legs to my face and ride the energy of the swing to above the bars and finally to a full straight arm support. I burst out "Holy shit I did it I did it!! " Suddenly realizing I'm not alone I shut up and demonstrate the swing technique Mark Weldon had taught me. Jumping down I put my arms up like the other guys do and shrug. Weldon yells " Way to go 1/4 wit. You actually did a kip" Mergardt smiles and says " Welcome aboard guys go into the other gym for your ceremony. I nudge John with my elbow saying " Wow , we get a ceremony. How about that?" We enter the gym and there are red balls all over the floor. John turns around and tries to go back to the other gym , but the doors are locked. All the team guys pick up a ball and start smiling. I say " John what are they doing?" He says " Remember elementary school when the big kids had the balls and you didn't?" I say " Oh shit!" John echoes that emotion and start running to grab a ball when Sobisinski side arms the ball at Johns' legs before he can reach it. Johns' legs get swept out from under him landng him with a loud thud on the wooden floor. "Oooooff" My chest is collapsed by a rocketing red projectile pushing me on my ass. Then all hell broke loose when balls from every angle start pummeling us. Each time I try to get up another ball hits me and I go down again. John is getting mad and charges of all people the biggest toughest guy Drews and unleashes a ball hitting him in the side of the head. Drews' head snaps sideways and he sees John. Smiling he call to Reed '" Whooa, Reed bring out dessert." Reed runs to the equipment closet and wheels out a basket full of tennis balls. If you think getting hit with dodge balls hurt, try tennis balls. John tries valiently to fight back. By doing this he effectively draws all the fire upon himself. Seeing him getting peppered with these balls, I decide to stand by my friend and try to talk some sense in to him. Seeing me run to him elects me to be the new target. I catch a few balls to the back and face before I duck and cover up. I yell "John, just crouch down, cover up and surrender." He replies " Never these asshole got to pay." He continues fighting until they get bored and leave for the locker room. John starts after them . I grab him and say "Yo, it's over man. Just cut the shit. It's an initiation," John pouts and says " Screw this. I quit." He marches out and leaves in his gym clothes through the outside door. I sit down for a minute, scratching the welts from the balls that are starting to itch. I take a moment to revel in the fact that my journey has begun. I go down to the locker room and the Reed laughs and says "Yo man, that was the best one ever . I mean you should have seen mine. My brother set me up with that ceremony line. Your friend took his licks today. Whooa" Lawler already changed and reaching in his P-coat for a pack of camels walks up to me and just stands there. Finally he says "Whooa wit, nice kip today. Get your scrawny ass over to rings tomorrow. Unless you want to play a friendly game of dodge ball instead." The entire locker room cracks up. I change and go catch my bus happier than I've been in a while. Time falls into a rhythm in each persons life. This weekend marked a change in mine. It was my birthday, I went bowling, had chinese food and then went to "Friendlys" for dessert. I had plans to meet my girlfriend so unc and my parents went home. Making this an exception to the no hanging out at the bowling alley rule. I went to Barkers department store to meet her. She didn't see me ,but I saw her having a tickle fight with one of the older managers there. Something suddenly made me feel sick inside. I waited on the curb until they came out together and saw me. It went like this: Patty breaks from the sideways embrace they're in and runs to me in a skipping fashion saying " Jody, I want you to meet the funniest guy in the whole store David. He keeps us all laughing, so the day goes by really fast." I walk up to him and know he's been with Patty. I say " Hey David I would love to get to know you. Why don't you stop by the bowling alley some time and we cans shoot the shit." Nodding in a condescending way he answers "I don't have time to play games. Have a nice birthday pal." The snideness in his voice makes me want to explode. I swallow it and Patty and I leave. She says "Why did you have to be that way? I like him. Don't act all jealous. Come on I have a surprise for your birthday." We walked through the woods to the bowling alley and do what teenagers have been known to do there. After arriving she says " You know Jody I don't think I'm going in. Let me give you your birthday present out here, now." She hands me a box unwrapped and says "Well open it." I do and it's some religious medallion. Looking at it I shrug and say "What is this?" She replies "It's a St Christophers medal. Here let me put it on you. David helped me pick it out." Now there's a moment in everyones life when their heartbreaks. These following moments changed me forever. I just didn't know it then. So where were we ? Right I'm about to get my heart ripped out of my chest and kicked to the curb. She is still trying to put the medal on me when I say " Patty stop for a moment. What's going on here? One minute you say you love me and I'm the most important person in your life. Then we come out of the woods and your..I don't know what." Patty backs away and says " Yeah I know I should have told you sooner. But David thought it would be better after your birthday." I reply " Should have told me what?" She starts crying and says " Don't make me say it ." I say " You know! How about you just tell me the truth." In an angry torrent she yells " You want the truth? You can't handle the truth. I was trying to let you down gently, but now forget it. I don't love you, probably never did. I mean look at you you're just a kid. David's a man for gods' sake and a Christian." He in my church. I went to him because you wouldn't .. well wouldn't... you know." At this point time slows down and there is a roaring in my ears. I drop to my knees and puke up all the chinese food. Still feeling sicker than I ever had before I get up. She's still talking but I can't hear the words. Just the tone and it's of a small child blaming others for their mess. I come to a little bit and say "Well that hurts a lot more than they say it does." She says "Look, I'm meeting David for dinner. The St. Christopher's is the patron saint of travelers. So enjoy it, it cost me a weeks salary." I toss it to her and say "Not interested, not a Christian and not going to be alright " I step out into the street and a car slams on its brakes screeches to a stop within inches of me. I stand there watching disinterested. The guy gets out screaming waving his arms and I just stand there. I can hear Patty's voice yelling and crying. I continue across to the next lane where the car swerves to just miss me and jumps the curb on to the grass median. I keep walking as if in a trance for 10 miles ignoring all the blaring horns and people yelling to me from their windows along the way. You see , I ain't stopping and I definitely ain't alright. I feel like I'm trapped inside myself. I walk up my driveway and in the garage entrance to find unc. I keep walking as I hear his voice and feel him touching me. I ignore him and go past my mother and father up to my room and lock the door. I sit on my bed staring at a spot in the wall waiting to die. My mother knocks and tries to talk to me.I'm all cried out and not feeling anything. I mean I don't feel like I'm alive anymore. The next day unc kicks the door down pulls a chair swings it around backwards and straddles it. Leaning his forearms on the back of the chair he stares at me. Then he slaps me so hard the side of my face goes numb. I know in the deepest recess of what is left of me he is doing this because he's scared and loves me. He talks for longer than I think I ever head him talk. I don't hear a word. I keep staring at the spot on the wall ,wanting to disappear into it. I'm almost there. Finally I stop being and slip into that dot. No one can get me here. Nothing can harm me anymore. I must have fallen asleep because I was dreaming. In this dream everything was alright Patty and me were holding hands and walking down by the lake. All of a sudden that guy David appears and Patty runs to him. I smile and wish them the very best. But this is not what I'm feeling. In fact I'm shaking mad. But keep it to myself letting it build. Finally I walkover to the happy couple and knock David out in one punch. Patty goes to run to him , I grab her kicking and screaming. Now this next part may get me committed but believe me it was very liberating. I put Patty down and all of a suden a wood chipper appears. She trys to run but I grab her arm pick her up again and toss her into the wood chipper. It was as real as anything I ever did in reality . After this, I toss David. After the carnage the neighbors come running and I see unc. He grabs me saying " Boy I've had enough of this foolishness. Go get cleaned up and lets eat breakfast." You see unc woke me up from this nightmare. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I jump into unc's arms and he justs holds me like I was a baby again. He carries me down to the kitchen and gently places me in a chair. Hearing the familiar "Kikiki" sound unc then says " Boy you was having what they calls nightsweats. Almost like being there, but nothing good ever comes from them kinds of dreams. Have had a few of those in my day woooowe! Leave you feeling like you been to the otherside ." Staring at unc I am in shock that he understands this so completely. My hunger returning he places a huge plate of blueberry pancakes in front of me with tons of bacon. Unc frowns saying "Oh no you don't they's not all for you. Move over and let the poor cook eat with you." We stuff ourselves and the world slowly seems lighter and brighter. I ask " Unc how come you never warned me about this thing?" Laughing he puts his hand on me and says "Jody, would you've done anything different if I had?" I think about it and say " No probably not. I would have done it exactly the same." So you knew this was going to happen?" Unc rests his fork on his plate leans over to me and says " Believe it or not I wasn't always the mean ass nigger you see before you." Holding up his hand for me to be quiet he continues " I had a heart and had it broke more than once. I thought it was dead until you come along and wake it up wider than it was when I was a young buck. I don't know if you old enough to understand what I just said, but hold on to it for it's the lords truth. Now let's eat this food before it gets cold." It had been 3 days since I walked into that room. A boy with a man size pain and nothing but time and a dream to heal it. Of course talking with unc got me back on the horse and riding. The pommel horse that is. That's it for tonight thanks for reading. Jody
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