Category Archives: Betheboy summer blogging

Trying to get a few more summer blog posts in before Labor Day; Summer Blogging = stories in 100 words or less.  You can read them all by clicking the Be The Boy Summer Blogging Tag at the bottom of this post.

In the weeks leading up to the move I was upset. My mother chalked this up to teen angst; I was almost 15 and about to change schools.  This was not what bothered me.  I was upset because I had amassed a pornography collection that kept me in the attic more than Anne Frank and there was no way to move it to the new house without getting caught, so I hid it all under the floorboards and vowed to come back for it.  Every time I’m in my hometown I’m tempted to knock on that door.

Be the Boy is still observing Summer Blogging hours.  Details about this can be found here.  Here’s another story in 100 words or less.

On summer days when I was 11 I dealt with stress by waking up early, drinking coffee, then riding my bike while smoking a cigarette.  Afterward, I’d throw Wiffle Balls into the broken fence until it got too hot to continue and then break for cereal and escapism.

I no longer smoke and haven’t played Wiffle Ball in years but as I drank coffee this morning I could feel the phantom ache of a thousand sliders and curve-balls in my shoulder.  This is either a sign I need a break from something or I’m dying.  Let’s hope for the former.

FYI – You can read all of the summer posts by clicking the “Betheboy Summer Blogging” link below.

Be the Boy has moved to Summer Blogging hours.  Details about this can be found here.  Here’s another story in 100 words or less.

Rock and Roll You Have Terrific Penmanship

When I was 12 my father had an amazing stereo.  I wasn’t allowed to use it but if I wanted a copy of a record I’d borrowed from a friend or of something he owned, I just had to ask.  I’d leave a blank tape and I’d get it back neatly labeled with the tabs pulled out.  Over the years I’ve lost those tapes but whenever I hear certain songs I think of my dad’s handwriting on the inserts, teaching me what he knew about music one precise letter at a time.

FYI – You can read all of the summer posts by clicking the “Betheboy Summer Blogging” link below.

Be the Boy has moved to Summer Blogging hours.  Details about this can be found here.  Here’s another story in 100 words or less.

June 1992

I had spent my morning going through a thrift store record bin before catching the train home. It was only an eight minute ride but it felt like an eternity because I knew I had found something important. In a paper bag held tightly to my side I held two records.  It was June 1992: that was the month I turned 18, went to the prom and graduated high school but the best thing that happened was finding Patti Smith Group’s Horses and Elvis Costello’s – My Aim Is True for 50 cents each.

Horses (Live)

Miracle Man

Be the Boy has moved to Summer Blogging hours.  Details about this can be found here.  Here’s another story in 100 words or less.

I don’t remember this but when I was still in the crib my parents would put on a Bob Dylan record, plug in the big 70’s headphones and lay them next to me so I could hear it as I went to sleep. Apparently in the 70’s it was common for parent to fill the crib with cords and electronics to make kids go to sleep. Since I’m not an only child I guess this was pretty effective.  While it may be suggested memory I think this is the first song I ever knew.

Be the Boy has moved to Summer Blogging hours.  Details about this can be found here.  Here’s another story in 100 words or less.

Recovery Process

The doctors could correct the problem but not remove the fear that I’d never keep up.

On a spring day after surgery, braces and physical therapy allowed me to put one foot in front of the other like almost anyone else could, I made my way to where the kids played soccer at recess for the biggest step in the healing process. I threw my jacket to the ground and ran towards the ball for the first time in the eight years of my life.

The belief I was broken was replaced with the feeling I could fly.

Be the Boy has moved to Summer Blogging hours.  Details about this can be found here.  Here’s another post in 100 words or less.

Last night I was sitting on the couch reading when I spotted my wife doing something unusual at the sink.  I stopped reading and asked:

Honey, what are you doing over there?

-I’m pouring whiskey into this soda can.

Don’t we own glasses?

-Yeah but this way I can have a drink without having to wash a glass.

Clearly I married someone smarter than me.