Chapter 17

As the day went on I found out I had friends I never knew. I was polite to everyone but remembered something a slightly drunk Elvis had told me at the Coronado Del Rey.

“Kid they are all sincere. They all want just a little piece of you. You give enough little pieces away there won’t be any you left.”

So I was polite to everyone but kept them at arm’s length. If they still wanted to be friends in several weeks we would see.

Coach Stone stopped me in the hall.

“Rick I hear you could be interested in playing golf.”

“Coach, I have never played but I am looking for a sport. My body type doesn’t seem to fit for football, but Coach Crowley thought I might be a golfer.”

“Well, tall and lean makes you a human lever. Do you have any plans for this Saturday?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I have around with the country club pro out at the Bellefontaine Country Club on Saturday. Why don’t you meet me here at school at the front door at eight o’clock? We will loan you the equipment and see how it works on the practice tees. Our tee time is at nine-thirty so we will have enough time to see how it goes.”

“Okay Coach, I would like that.”

I also thought having an English mum who had tea all the time should help me, though for the life of me I didn’t see the connection between tea and golf.

I walked home with Tom and Bill, now that they had heard my whole story they were almost in awe of me. We had only met when I moved to this neighborhood, so they didn’t know what to make of me.

At dinner I told my parents about dropping out of football, and what Coach Crowley had recommended. They were okay with me meeting Coach Stone on Saturday. I asked what tea had to do with golf. After some confusion, I found out what a golf tee was.

I am glad I had asked my parents. It could have been really embarrassing on Saturday. Maybe my parents knew more than I thought.

Dad told me he had to work the third trick on Friday night, but that he would like to take me with him back to the old house on Saturday afternoon to see what had to be done to rent it out.

After dinner, I rode my bike to my scout meeting. I handed my merit badge card to Mr. Geist. He said he would turn it into the Council in Springfield, but it would be after the first of the year till we could hold the Eagle ceremony.

There were elections that night, and I was stepping down from Patrol Leader. I was now on the golf team and couldn’t make the meetings till November and I would even have to skip the camporee. No one got excited, in Scouts someone was always moving on, and others stepping up.

When I got home even Denny and Eddie hadn’t been fighting, so I knew we were all tired. It was an early night at the Jackson house.

After a good night’s sleep, my morning exercises, a brisk run, and a full breakfast, I felt like a new person. I took my shower. Even toweling my hair as dry as I could get it still got me, “You will catch your death if you go out with wet hair.”

I really had to figure something out. The shower was so easy and refreshing in the morning. It was a shame that the shower head was in the ceiling and pointed straight down. If I didn’t have to stand directly under it, I could wash up and not get my hair wet.

It was like a light bulb went on. Why were shower heads built into the ceiling, why not into the wall?

I thought about the shower construction as I walked to school. None of the other kids were walking this morning which was odd. Some would ride with their parents some days or be late, but neither Tom nor Bill was walking today. I saw Eleanor run out of her house and get in a car with an older boy, so much for those romantic hopes.

Since I was early to school I stopped into the shop and asked Mr. Donaldson why showers were made to just dump down on the person. He thought for a moment.

“I guess that is the way they have always made them. The first showers were just buckets with small holes in them which were suspended over the top of the tub. Why do you ask?”

“We have a shower at home and I have to get my hair wet every time I use the shower.”