January 14, 2012
FROM THE HURRICANE FENCE TO THE PAVEMENT WITH THE TREE AND A HYDRANT IN PLAY (self-reference alert):
When the Fire Hydrant Was the End Zone (THOMAS R. PRYOR, 1/11/12, NY Times)For two months, all went well. Then, one Saturday, we were in the middle of a goal line stance. As the play started, the front door burst open. Mrs. Peters was back early. Jamie picked up the needed yards on a right end sweep and dove over two defenders, passing within inches of his mother's head. She screamed at Mr. Peters until his arms hung slack at his sides. The beating was brutal and a double loss because big mouth Steve had told his parents about our game after we moved it to the Peterses'.As you can see from the photo below, our elementary school (K-8th) was almost entirely asphalted, but there used to be a patch of grass over on the right-hand side. It was bound by a high fence on one side, to keep us out of the creek and off the railroad tracks, and by asphalt on the three others. There was a big old tree in the middle and a fire hydrant along the fence. That's where we played Kill the Guy with the Football. If you spray the hydrant with luminol you'll find proof. Meanwhile, there were no boundaries for the game that took over later, Get Whitey.
Dejected and out of a playing field again, we sat on parked cars on the street.
"What's the difference between linoleum and sidewalk concrete?" Steve finally asked.
"Let me cut a sample from each and smack you in the head," Artie said.
"Really, if we load up on sweatshirts, put a few pair of shorts over our dungarees and wear pads, do you think it's any worse than the linoleum?"
And that was how York Avenue from 81st to 82nd Street became our new football field. Everything on the sidewalk was in bounds: fire hydrants, trees, phone booths, mailboxes, light poles, signs and meters. We did our best to accommodate pedestrians, but if the game was tight, we'd use a lady carrying a few brown bags as a blocker.
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Posted by Orrin Judd at January 14, 2012 8:49 AM
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