Starting the 6th grade, I decided I was going to play marbles. Seemed to be a lot safer, and I was pretty good at it. Anyway, when one the bigger boys played, I’d just lose a few marbles instead of my scalp.
And more important, this was the year I met Silvia.
Remember those little pieces of paper that said “I like you. Do you like me?” Please check the box ---yes or no. So we wrote notes to each other. Well that settled that, we were girlfriend and boyfriend. Well that meant I had to do the manly thing and steal one of my Moms’ older rings, so I could make it official. This Was Not A Good Idea! I had to lie about it. And I got caught.
Like I said, this was Not a good idea!
The 6th grade is the year in a young boys’ life that a lot of changes start taking place. You know, on the inside? The year, that no matter how many baths you took, you still stunk. And things were happening that we didn’t know was supposed to. That was the year that I thought I’d better go ahead and make my mark.
Us Texacans weren’t no back-woods boys, so I made my mark by throwing pennies in the field. How cool is that? We got money, wasn’t no hick in me. Well it did cut down drastically on Silvia’s’ Christmas present. But it did make a good impression on the other guys.
I must’ve been a man now. A 12 year old man. How was I to know? I had man things going on in me. Had that “stinking thing” going on, peach fuzz growing on my chest, but still can’t remember if I’d ever had my first kiss. Come heck or high water, though I was going to prove that I had it in me. Don’t think I ever kissed Silvia, don’t even remember what happened to her- well actually I recall some sorta fight and I came out on the losing end of. Ok, ok I got beat up by a girl- there I said it.
Well, let me tell you about 7th grade. That was the year we got to change classes, instead of just having one teacher, we had four. This was pretty neat. This meant we were just about growed up. We didn’t have to stay in any one place for more than an hour or so at a time.
I started growing up, and I don’t mean maturity, I mean height. I must have growed a foot or more taller that year. In fact, I was in the 7th grade, but was taller than all the 8th graders. Which meant I didn’t have to be picked on any longer? Which kinda was like being “King Of The Mountain”. Hey, I’m liking this. But, it also meant I was sorta forced to play basketball. This did mean that I was finally on the top of the food chain.
Now, my family was a lot of things, probably most of them good, but athletes we were not.
In fact most of the time if I had to do any running my ankles was black and blue. My line of expertise was in the thinking arena.
Not really saying I was a scholar, I just directed my energy to figuring things out. Anyway when it comes to sports, I’d try, but truth is; I’d be doing a good job to stay on my feet just trying to walk. But I did play basketball, might’ve even made 6 or 8 points even in a couple of the games but no all-star athlete that’s for sure.