I get up, shower, down a cup of coffee, drive my Younger Daughter to school, and follow the school bus down the Eisenhower, across Austin Avenue and up Lake Street to Oak Park High School. I'm in a daze from lack of sleep, but as soon as I enter the old field house, I perk up. Something about me and sports.
I hang around George Jackson. His daughter runs the 800. Nice guy. I did a double take first time he told me his name. I wondered if his parents named him for the Soledad prisoner immortalized by Dylan ("Sometimes I think this whole world is a big prison yard, some of us are prisoners, the rest of us are guards"). But he was born before that George Jackson was famous.
I enjoy watching the meet with him. We talk to the girls as they run past. Give them advice. Like, don't go out too fast. Or, now's the time to make your kick. Not that anyone can hear us. We're mostly saying it to ourselves.
After an hour, he's got to go and I'm by myself. I scan the crowd for my buddies -- Ray, Bill, Daddy Dee. They're not here. I'm a little disappointed. Half the fun of going to these meets is talking to my friends.
I head over to Coach Caldow. But he's deeply focused on tracking the times. So I start talking to this random dude at the scorers table. I'm not sure who he is -- coach, parent, volunteer? He doesn't say anything, so it becomes a game: How much do I have to talk before he responds? I got time -- it's a track meet. They go all day.
Pointing to an article in today's paper, I tell him it's amazing that so many people are seeing "Friday the 13th."
"It's the number one movie in the country -- did like $47 million. I thought it was a Depression. How can people have enough money to see Friday the 13th?"
Silence.
"How many "Friday the 13th"s have there been? Eight, nine -- ten? You'd think they'd run out of plots...."
The girls line up for the 800.
"The girl to watch is Raena Rhone. She's the tall girl in -- I think it's the third lane. She's an amazing runner -- watch her...."
The gun sounds. Raena shoots out to the lead. It's like she doesn't really run so much as glides around the track -- makes it look so easy as she wins going away.
"I told you -- that's the girl," I say to the guy. "Remember her name. Raena Rhone. Years from now you can tell everyone that you saw her run way back when. You can even say you discovered her. You don't even have to give me credit...."
I get a half smile from him when I say that.
On the way home, I nearly fall asleep at the wheel. We're waiting for a red light at the intersection of Pulaski and Irving. A car horn blasts me awake.
I get home and head upstairs to my bedroom. I open a novel -- "Water for Elephants." It's about this veterinarian school dropout who runs away with the circus. I glance at the clock -- 2:45.
I open the book....
I snap awake. The book's lying across my face. I sit up and look at the clock -- 4:45. Damn, two hours!
I try to get up, but my head's still foggy. I told you, those sleepless nights will haunt you all day.
Silence.
"How many "Friday the 13th"s have there been? Eight, nine -- ten? You'd think they'd run out of plots...."
The girls line up for the 800.
"The girl to watch is Raena Rhone. She's the tall girl in -- I think it's the third lane. She's an amazing runner -- watch her...."
The gun sounds. Raena shoots out to the lead. It's like she doesn't really run so much as glides around the track -- makes it look so easy as she wins going away.
"I told you -- that's the girl," I say to the guy. "Remember her name. Raena Rhone. Years from now you can tell everyone that you saw her run way back when. You can even say you discovered her. You don't even have to give me credit...."
I get a half smile from him when I say that.
On the way home, I nearly fall asleep at the wheel. We're waiting for a red light at the intersection of Pulaski and Irving. A car horn blasts me awake.
I get home and head upstairs to my bedroom. I open a novel -- "Water for Elephants." It's about this veterinarian school dropout who runs away with the circus. I glance at the clock -- 2:45.
I open the book....
I snap awake. The book's lying across my face. I sit up and look at the clock -- 4:45. Damn, two hours!
I try to get up, but my head's still foggy. I told you, those sleepless nights will haunt you all day.
