ROTTEN TOMATOES

ROTTEN TOMATOES

    Happy Halloween

If recollection serves me, it was Halloween Eve in 1960 when I went along with my two older brothers on my first adventure of Halloween mischief.  Only eight years old, not sure how and why I was allowed as I hardly ever was included in their adventures.  I was the look-out. 

Meriline Avenue was a sleepy little street with lots of homes spaced closely together.  Like most neighborhoods back then, ours was fairly close-knit and everyone living on the street knew the Brown Boys.  We were an active bunch and we had parents who allowed us to be boys.  That meant that we could get dirty playing outside.  Not all the kids on the block were allowed such freedom. 

Every neighborhood has one and Meriline Avenue was no exception.  Grumpy old men who forgot long ago what it was like to be a young man wanting to have fun and looking for ways to express it.  Our neighborhood had such a man and his name was Mr. Webb.  Unfortunately for the Brown Boys, he lived only two houses down from ours.  Mr. Webb was always put out by the loud and active behavior coming from two houses up from his.  Basketball playing all hours of the day and long into the evening. 

Our backyard was a basketball court and everyone played, even Mom sometimes.  She always reminded us of her glory days at Ohio Northern University.  She would tell us how she was always pushed toward the foul line when one of her teammates was fouled.  She was a very good free-throw shooter.  Mr. Webb would complain loudly to the father of the Brown Boys about the basketball playing and all the activity that would be going on in our backyard.  Dad listened but also recognized that his boys were not doing any harm.  He would only remind us to try our best not to let the basketball go over into Mr. Webb's yard.  Mr. Webb didn't like that.  I can remember my brothers being pretty annoyed with Mr. Webb and his continual complaints to Dad.  That's what made Mr. Webb a good target at Halloween time. 

I was putting together my costume for Halloween when I overheard Jim and Bob, my older brothers, scheming about their planned attack on Mr. Webb's house.  I was always dressing up as a hobo, a popular costume for a young boy who didn't have all the options of dress-up that kids have today.  Now that I remember, I'm pretty sure I was only allowed to participate in the adventure because I overheard their planning.  Otherwise, I'm sure I would have been left behind. 

Jim made it clear to me that I was to stay near the street with a clear vision of both sides of Mr. Webb's house.  He and Bob had the soap and they would be soaping his windows that were on either side of the front door.  I was encouraged to throw feed corn at the house once they were done soaping the windows.  Sure enough, Jim and Bob made their way onto Mr. Webb's porch and started soaping the windows.  I think they were using Ivory Soap which was my Mom's preferred product. 

Everything was going as planned until a deep, dark voice boomed out, "having fun there, Jim".  Jim thought it was his brother Bob who was speaking to him.  He was wrong.  Grumpy old Mr. Webb had sneaked around his house without me seeing him.  Mr. Webb started throwing rotten tomatoes at Jim and Bob and all three of us ran away defeated and waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

As it turned out, Mr. Webb didn't report the news to Dad as Jim and Bob beat him to the punch.  Needless to say, the Brown Boys had to do some cleaning up.  For me, it was a great Halloween as I still got to go trick or treating the next night and for one night, I was along on a great adventure with my two big brothers. 

New Leather Jacket...Never Quite The Right One.

  

For years now I have been on the annual quest to purchase a good leather jacket.  Each year I always came up empty because there was always something about the ones I looked at that didn't quite meet my expectations.  Maybe it was the color, the style or sometimes it was the actual cost.  At the same time, I was never really confident that a leather jacket would suit my personality.  There was always some reason that kept me from purchasing one. 

That all changed a week ago when my son, Tim, mentioned to me that Joseph A. Banks had a sale going on and everything was on sale.  I decided to take a look and much to my surprise, there it was.   Hanging prominently as you first walk in the store.  It was the style I had been looking for.  It was definitely the right color and texture of leather.  Taking off my Under Armour fleece jacket and draping it over the other jackets, I reached to pull the jacket off the rack. 

As I put one arm in, it seemed awfully heavy to me.  Fortunately, the salesman stopped over and unlocked the chain that was attached to it.  Unbeknownst to me, the leather jackets were all strapped in with heavy cable and locks.  I  guess being so close to the front door, they don't have much choice.  Once the lock was opened, the jacket wasn't nearly as heavy. 

Slipping it on, God, it felt great.  I started walking to the full length mirror full of anticipation.  Immediately, I liked the look and especially how it looked on me.  I stood there admiring myself.  I soon realized I hadn't looked at the price yet and now I was sure I would once more be disappointed in one of the key reasons I had never purchased one before. 

Sure enough, $700.  Wow!  I was thinking maybe $450.  The sale was 50% off so I was thinking I might walk out of the store with a new jacket and the billfold $250 light.  A bit resigned as I took it off,  the salesman asked what I thought.  I told him that I liked it a lot but I needed to take a look at a couple of other stores.  He indicated that he wanted to check on a special offer that was available. 

Once at the sales counter, he started looking through some kind of book.  "That's what I thought", he said.  "What's that?, I asked.  "I can do that jacket at 70% off".  "I'll take it", was my quick response.  Finally, I walked out of a store with a new leather jacket that I knew I would be happy with and it only set me back $228.00 including tax. 

Later in the day I had to take it out of its plastic bag and share it with Tim who told me of the sale.  He really liked it.  I told him I really liked it too.  It was the right color, the right style, the right texture and best of all, the right price.  There's something else about it too I mentioned but I wasn't quite sure what it was. 

As Tim put the jacket on and admired himself in the car window, he sniffed at the jacket.  "Wow, I love that smell", he said to me.  "Smells like my baseball glove".  That was it.  I knew it immediately then.  My long-love for my best baseball glove of years gone by.  My jacket smelled just like my old baseball glove, affectionately referred to as "Brownie" by me and all my friends.  My father bought me that oversized Rawlings glove when I was ten years old.  I used it well into my twenties, even when I played for the First Army team.  I will now have three great memories every time I put my leather jacket on.  My father, my glove Brownie and my son, Tim.