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Michael Kelly
Folks that small pool where on Saturdays I collected the money from the other Newspaper Boys was on Indian School Road, North side and east of 36th Street. Yes, Harley Breedlove was our Manager. DeWitt I remember Shannon Ivers, and Cliff Greenland and Dennis Manning, I called him "Red" because he was redheaded. Rusty Box (your going to think I made the name up) who I remember his parents both rode Black Harley Motorcycles. The frist paperstation I remember was a gasoline station on the south side if Indian School Road, and I think it was at 32nd Street. Back then we could get a Coke out of the Machine and also Peanuts and so we would get a Coke in a Bottle and put the Peanuts in the Bottle with the Coke. Funny how simple stuff was so satisfying, nowadays people would probably about Peanut Allergies if you did that.
The paper route I had came with a sort of Heritage, for want of a better word, the guy who had it just before me was a Chinese fellow, and he had gotten Straight A's and then a Scholarship to Harvard, and the paper Carrier that preceded him was a High School Wrestling Champ and he did not ride a Bike to deliver the Newspapers, he would carry the papers by using the two bags and put his head through the Hole in the Center, and not wear a T-Shirt while Running, yes, I said Running the Route that I had. So I got this route, and I was not any good at Math at all like the Chinese guy, and I was getting tall but I had no muscle to speak of, and so I couldn't wrestle and carrying the papers on my back and front with my head stuck through the Holie in the Middle was not going to work, I even tried it once and the canvas of the bag made my shooulders get chafed and pretty red even half way before my Routes were finished. That was not my path to Fame or Notoriety at all.
I struggled in School, I pretty much cared more about playing Baseball than just about anything else.One class I do remember was with the Latin Teacher, who reminded me of that Movie "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" about a teacher. Our Latin teacher was always wearing Sweaters, and he would wipe his Nose and so he Always had White Chalk smudges on his Nose. He was a good Latin teacher, and taught me how to use Latin pretty well.
Coats I remember taking swimming classes at Dick Smith's Swim Gym so that I could learn how not to drown. I was afraid of the water, and my Coach finally got tired of me being so much of a coward, and so he said to us that if would could swim all the way across the pool then we would Pass and our Lessons would be over. We swam from one end of the Pool to the other, and so my turn came and I started and swam felt toe first rope, went under it, felt the second rope, went under it but then it seemed like the Pool had gotten longer and longer and longer and I was bagged out for more air, so I figured Ill just give up, and if I drown then its been a good life so far and I have tried my best. So, I quit swimming and thought I won't touch the bottom of the Pool and this will be it, and then my feet hit toe bottom. I stood up and I was at the shallow end of the Pool and the Instructor was behind me and he started laughing at me. He said you looking for the Rope, and he was holding it up out of the water so I wouldn't feel it. We did have to dive off the High Board but that was easier for me since I had learned that I wasnt going to Drown. In retrospect, the Swimming lessons were good, because when I took Lessons to get Qualified for Scuba Diving I had no problems, and So I got PADI Certified in a short period of time. One friend does Diving in Caves that are in the Pacific and you have to get an additional Cerficiation for that. They use those irridescent Balls of String to find their way back out and you have to gauge your time so that you leave yourself enough time to back trace your way in. My attitude about that is the same as the popular saying "Whi would I want to Dive out of a Perfectly Safe Airplace at 15 thousand feet just to say I have done it"
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