Good morning. We hope all are well this morning, and thanks for stopping by!
My “ole stompin buddy,” Kevin is coming down to eat lunch with Deb and I today. His wife, mother and sister are coming too. This is probably a good thing though, because I’m not so sure Deb can keep Kevin and I straight, by herself anyway!
Years ago she kept us about half in line, and as good as she likes Kevin, she probably liked seeing him leave just as much.
Kevin’s real intent for coming though is he’s who I “lifted,” I mean swapped and bartered with, for that set of Civil War books I just received. They were Kevin’s, and he’s here to pick up his end of the bargain. Lunch on top of this…priceless.
I’ve known Kevin since 7th grade. He was my best friend then, and still is today, and you could sit down with the two of us listening to our tales, and probably get offended pretty quick, but remember…this was back in the day.
We never went to school together, he lived one street over from us, and this was the boundary of a different school district. I went to Apopka, he to Lochart, and Edgewater.
After school Kevin went to college, and I went to raisin’ a family, but back then was raisin’ much more cain than anything else, I regret to say today.
Kevin ended up moving to New York City, Daryl, a buddy of his from college, and their goal was stardom!
Daryl landed a role as part of the Saturday Night Live cast for several years. Daryl was the great impersonator of then President Clinton. He portrayed Clinton numerous times.
Kevin did some acting, still does, and then got into writing as well. Kevin the last ten years or so has done really well for himself, and I’m proud for him!
He married his wife I believe three years ago, his and her first marriage, but the way time flies it could have been four years now. But what a beautiful voice she has. We heard her sing Amazing Grace at Kevin’s Dad’s funeral, and honestly, my jaws dropped. I knew right then why Kevin didn’t work a regular job!!
Kevin and I hung out all the time, and I remember back in junior high I was mowing our yard. It was maybe 1 or two o’clock in the afternoon on a weekday during summer vacation.
Well, I look up and here comes Kevin on his bike pedaling faster than anyone I’d ever seen on a bike in my life. On this particular day, at this particular time…Lance Armstrong would not have stood a chance!
I holler, “hey Kevin,” but he doesn’t even look in my direction. This was really very odd as Kevin ALWAYS stopped to shoot the, I mean talk. But again, today he didn’t attempt to look at me. He was one focused young-un, pedaling that bike as fast as he possibly could, and then some.
The expression on his face was total concentration…getting from point A to point B as quickly as he could. It was almost as if he had blinders on! I can see him now!
Well, what Mr. Kevin had done after talking with him the next day, it was pretty obvious his hurry. We had a neighbor that lived maybe a half mile down the road. They had two daughters and a son. The oldest daughter looked pretty good, and what was even better was the simple fact…she really liked boys!
Looking back now, dern if we don’t still appreciate that fact! She may even be brought up in one of Kevin and my conversations today, but most assuredly not in front of Deb or Kevin’s wife either! There was never anything going on, and it was only that Kevin and I felt sorry for her…building her confidence was how Kev and I looked at this!
Anyway, her Dad was a real jerk, honestly. He moaned and groaned constantly about something, and didn’t particularly care for either Kevin or myself, which is in itself hard to understand as hard as we worked so hard at trying to help her build her confidence level.
On top of his daughter…they had a swimming pool!! There weren’t many of these in Florida at the time, not in our neighborhood anyway, and at times, especially on the really hot “dog days of August,” we enjoyed the pool MUCH more than the daughter!
They had a stucco wall built around the pool a little over head high, and when we got ready for a dip, shoot, we’d just hop over the wall. They had a gate, but it was always locked, so once again, up and over!
So see, her Dad worked during the day, and this meant, both the pool and the daughter were home alone, except for her little brother and sister, and shoot, they weren’t nothing a couple candy bars wouldn’t take care of.
So, Kevin had decided he’d go down the street, take a dip in the pool, and see if she might need any help with anything while he was there.
Well, Kevin was out of the pool, laying in a lounge chair, “chillin” may be the appropriate word here, and he hears the glass sliding door open.
Well, he looks up, expecting the daughter to be coming back outside, but instead…it’s her Dad, none too happy with Kev piled up in HIS chair, beside HIS pool, at HIS house, with HIS number one daughter. The man had come home early, and Kevin was had! No wonder he went pedaling by me like a rocket ship!
Kevin said that man came out of his house and was mad as a hornet! Kevin said he kept apologizing, but her Dad was having nothing at all to do with…I’m sorry! He kept coming towards Kevin, and was beginning to frighten him.
After backing up against the wall, and him steady comin’ at Kevin, this called for drastic action… and Kevin was just the guy to provide it!
You see, not long before, Kevin had gotten a very special gift, and I mean he literally treasured it, carried it everywhere…a starter’s pistol!
Looks, feels, and sounds just like a real pistol, and once he got backed into a corner back behind the pool…he snatched it out of his pants, pointed it at her Dad, and told him, “Stop…or I’ll shoot!”
He said you should have seen the expression change on that man’s face! He told us that it was two things, dramatic, and INSTANT! From lion to mouse…NOW!
The dad stopped, then came towards Kevin once more, and Kevin “unloaded” all 5 rounds from the starter pistol with the pistol pointed right at him.
He said the man stopped, went to looking at his chest, and Kevin hopped the wall, jumped on his bike, and that’s when he passed by our house, lickety-split!
Oh was he in trouble over that little escapade! He lost his prized starter pistol…forever, and it was a while before he was able to hang out with “the boys” again. But from my standpoint, it must have been worth it, because I sure enjoyed hearin’ about it time after time!
Yes, Kevin and I sure had good times as kids, and 95% of what all we did do, we simply can’t talk about! He was and is still my best friend, and Deb and I both are looking forward to seeing them all again today!
We sure appreciate you guys droppin’ in to visit with us again, and why don’t you stop, take a minute and step back every once in a while, and remember your own, “back in the day,” experiences.
Youth was a wonderful thing, and sadly today, most kids really don’t know what it is, simply to just have fun. Maybe this tale this morning wasn’t the best example of just having fun, but it sure is STILL funny!
God Bless you guys, and as Deb says, “Keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!”
Dub and Deb