The Boys Recall Street Hockey
The boys were at their usual table in the diner. Customer’s tables edged closer to hear the loud, humorous, heated exchanges between the men seated nearby.
“The notches on that hockey puck were like blades. Once it went into my shin and nearly found bone.”
“Football was worse. We had no helmets or shoulder pads.”
“Don’t you remember that cement wall Max was crushed into when he was tackled in the Crotona Park P.S.A.L. field? He was a bloody mess.”
“I only remember that game because Sonny was running through our line as if we weren’t there. Then I tackled him. He went up in the air and came down on his head. That ended the game.”
“Hey waitress, we have a hero here.”
“This hero and none of you ordered. Are you going to sit here and keep my tipping customers from ordering?”
“Sausage and eggs over for me.”
“I’ll have scrambled eggs with a bagel.”
“Make mine yogurt with apples and flaxseed.”
“Yogurt? Flaxseed? What are you? A nursing mother?”
“Don’t be a wise guy. Let’s get back to the street hockey.”
“The clamps that held my skates tore the soles off my shoes.”
“That’s no surprise. You wore those cardboard Thom McAn shoes. The cheapest money can buy. With my G.O. discount book, I bought stylish Adler shoes. They were never torn apart.”
“Big deal. What about the shirts you wore to school? The sleeves hung down to your fly.”
“They were my brother’s shirts, but they weren’t torn apart.”
“What kind of roller skates did you have?”
“I had what most of us had, Union Hardware roller skates.”
”The wheels on those skates boxed after a few games. I had solid-wheeled Chicago Racers.”
“Hey guys. We have a big shot here with long sleeves and skates with solid wheels.”
“I’ll bet you borrowed a skate key to tighten your skates because you were too cheap to buy a 2 cents skate key.”
“So what? I was always ready for a game. I hate to admit it, but you were the best.”
“Why do you hate to admit it?”
“Because it’s you.”
“Hate it or not, no one could keep up with me. I was the best.”
“I just said that.”
“How did we make that hockey puck?”
“We took the square ends of a wooden Breakstones’ cream cheese box and nailed them together. It was their notched ends that shredded our shins.”
“And what about the goals? There were always arguments as to whether the puck went over the sewer lid.”
“Jerry’s father made us a pair of very nice goals. No more sewer lids, no more arguments.”
“Do you remember the day a howling wind sent the goals three blocks down to Jennings Street Market then smashed them against a fruit stand?”
“All that was left was the fabric.”
“What about the hockey sticks? Where did we get them?”
“There was a store on Bathgate Avenue that sold them for a quarter.”
“A quarter? You wouldn’t spend a quarter for a hockey stick. You wouldn’t even spend two cents for a skate key. Did you make your hockey stick from an orange box?”
“So, we have a big shot here with Chicago Racers and his own hockey stick. You still had long sleeves.”
“I’m ready to go home.”
What’s the matter? Did the yogurt give you heartburn?”
“No. You did.”