MY FIRST ONE...
CLOVIS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
There was, I reckon, along about the spring
of 1948, just east of Clovis Junior High,
maybe 100 feet and on the blacktop---
a very popular little cafe, called I think.
"Johnny's Drive In."
Kids attending the school in those days had
no cafeteria at the school; thus you rode
your bike home for lunch, or sat in the
bleachers at Junior High Gym, and had
a sandwich and an apple, on stormy days...
Now then, as you may guess---there were
some kids who always had money...and they
let on that the burgers at Johnny"s were "to die
for.!"
No, I never had but one...it was on that fateful
late spring day in 1948...and thereby hangs
the tale of the mustard-colored sport coat!
Here's how it all went down, as I attempt to
recover the story from the mists of time...
After school that day, for some reason, a good
friend and I (was the "friend" Jack Murphy?)
sat at the counter, on stools, at Johnny's
drinking a coke...it was a warm afternoon...
We all knew Johnny, and he himself walked up
to us...and surprised us with: "How'd you
boys, like to work an hour or so for a free burger
and a chocolate shake?"
We 'bout fell off our stools, and said with humor:
"When do we start?"
"Right now...my old white garage back there
behind the cafe... needs to be cleaned
out, swept good and proper, and a stack of debris
piled up to be carted off."
We tackled it...with vigor...all the while sneezing
from the dust...and salivating from thoughts
of the hamburgers.
Oh, there was detritus galore back there...for
awhile I couldn't even spot Murphy, in the
murk...we had to check with Johnny coupla
times, on items...
Now, the times were hard...and I had never
owned a sport coat...and I was about fourteen.
And there, hanging on a ten penny nail, on
the south wall (and visualize it bathed in a
miraculous golden light) was a beautiful (to me)
mustard-colored sport coat, with years of
dust settled on. it..
Glory..ah..glory..ah!!! (He said: "Get rid of stuff.")
I tried it on (sneeze, sneeze)---a little big! Sleeves.
frayed, moth eaten, and a bit long!
I nearly ran up to the cafe. "Johnny, there is an
old moth-eaten (I was showing acting skills
that would be evident later in school plays)
sport coat, a' hangin' on a nail in your garage:
think I could take it home?"
"I'd be happy never to see it again," he laughed!
Murphy and I got our burgers and shakes...and
Mother about flipped out when I got home
with that dirty, dusty, sport coat..."Er, Mom, reckon
we could get this dry-cleaned? For me?"
Seems like we shortened the frayed sleeve edges
and maybe fixed some moth holes...and I
know I wore that mustard-colored sport coat,
my very first, with a necktie, to the Boys'
Debating Club banquet, held at El Monterrey.
a year later. in the spring of 1949.
Johnny was okay.
*****************
BY MIL
10/19/16
No comments:
Post a Comment