It was the middle of an Iowa summer... hot... humid... and the annoying buzz of locusts filled the air. Bruce and I were in the backyard. We had two large walnut trees with a single plank of wood wedged between them forming a bench. A homemade swing hung from a sturdy branch.
Under the canopy of branches and leaves from the large and mature trees, we set about making a fort out of the moving boxes. We cut out windows to allow air into our corrugated construction and carved passage ways into the tubular boxes that became hallways to other sections. It took us hours to complete.
As we sat in the cramped quarters wondering what to do next, our thoughts were interrupted by a barrage of rocks pelting our humble abode. We were under attack! Who had launched this assault? Was it my mom? Couldn't be. She couldn't throw... I mean... she couldn't chuck rocks with that sort of velocity and accuracy.
Turns out that the offensive was Sam Smiley's way of welcoming us to the neighborhood. The Smiley's lived next door. Five kids. Two boys and three girls.
The Smiley boys, Sam and Rod, became my first friends in Iowa. They were as different as night and day.
Rod was quiet. A very nice kid. Very low-key and shy. Stable and guarded. He didn't seem to be too wrapped up in popularity, fashion, sports or the opposite sex. He loved to get up at a ridiculously early hour on Saturday mornings to watch hours of "carntoons" as he called them. His daily uniform was jeans and a white t-shirt that was a size too small. He kept life simple.
Sam, on the other hand, was loud, energetic and impulsive. The rock thrower! Sam was the funniest kid that I had ever met. It wasn't as if he was attempting to be a comedian, he was just naturally funny. Sometimes, we would be in the street playing football or tag and I would look down and notice that Sam was wearing rubber baseball cleats. The cleats just happened to be near him when he got the impulse to play outside. So he slipped them on and away he went. And talk about an enviable talent, he could burp the entire alphabet in a single belch. What kid wouldn't like a guy like that? If you didn't grow up with a "Sam Smiley" in your neighborhood, then you missed out.
As an adult, I have learned that many who entertain us with their comedic genius, have an unpleasant history or grew up in some tough circumstances. Not all funny people share this background but many, many do. It makes me wonder about Sam and it conjures up some memories that held little significance as they unfolded more than 40 years ago but give me pause today.
It makes me think of that wintery Saturday morning when we woke up to a deep, blanket of snow on the ground...
No comments:
Post a Comment