Very interesting week in my life just occurred! I played in my first organized basketball game in over 20 years. Not only that but I even had the nerve to actually ride my fix 8 miles to the game. Got there at halftime, played but didn’t quite make the impression I intended. My body reminded me that this was full court. No scoring (only took 2 shots) but grabbed a couple of rebounds and even gave up my body for a charge! Oh yeah, we won by 3 points. Not bad for a 62 year old man diagnosed with cancer. Take that cancer! So afterward I take a walk through the neighborhood where I grew up. Wow! This is where my heading kicks in “Stranger in a strange land”. As I traversed the steps of my youth I saw so many people and so many places that were not anymore. Being around that area put me in a nostalgic mood. To see how everything has changed over the years was a real eye opener. So much so that I started feeling weird. I felt like I was a kid again. When I passed by my old elementary school (P.S. 96) I saw where I used to climb a tree that was no longer there. I saw my older brother (Geno… may God rest your soul) breaking his nose in that same missing tree. All the stores, all the people, everything gone. Nobody knows my name. I’m invisible. A ghost. What happened? Here I am. Someone… anyone, please recognize me. Remember me! Please! Oh well, that’s life. Hearing my name breaks me from my reverie. Finally. Someone can see me. Just a very old friend. At least one person remembered me! We talked for about 30 minutes catching up on who’s still around. So we end our conversation and part. I thank God for giving me the strength to endure. So many of my family and friends are gone now. But I’m still here. There must be a reason for this. Only God knows. Peace and blessings!
(l to r) Clarence, my brother, me and Rod after the game.