‘O.K. Everybody. Gather around me. I’m making myself Captain of our gang. How many here have whistles with lanyards?’ Five of the six raise their hands. Only Fred doesn’t. ‘Don’t worry, Fred, I have an extra one,’ Roz calls out. ‘You can use it.’ I continue. ‘What we are going to do is attack Gil’s group. We’re gonna make them stay off our block from Walnut to Pulaski. How many are with me? All six blow their whistles.
Jerome, the oldest and tallest of us, pipes up. ‘And how are we gonna do that, Oh mighty Boss?’ I am on the spot. ‘I’ll tell you, Jerome. You are now appointed our Captain and will have to draw up the plan, present it to me and I’ll look it over.’ Jerome thinks he’s a big shot now and salutes me, tells everyone to follow him.
‘I’m going to ask my mother if we can have our meetings in our basement.’ I compliment him on his first plan and we end up in his cellar that smells sour and has only two low watt bulbs down there. One is at the outside door and the other over the wooden stairs to the kitchen. Jerome’s last name is Friedenbaum, a real mouthful of letters. Mrs. Whatever calls down, ‘Anybody want some lemonade?’ All six plus myself yell,’ Yes.’ In a few minutes she comes clopping down the steps with a small glass pitcher, looks at all of us and retreats. ‘I’ll be back soon. I have to make some more.’
We wait and plan. Jerome suggests we hit the Elmo Club about four in the afternoon. ‘ It won’t be so sunny then and the Elmos usually go inside for supper about five. That will give us enough time to ring their doorbells and get them all outside to play a game of wall ball. Gil will love to play, beat the pants off of us again but we aren’t going to let them. Right?’ Good plan. We drink our lemonade.
Roz calls out, ‘And how are we gonna beat‘m, Jerome? They are better than we are and besides that, they cheat.’ ‘I haven’t figured it out yet.
Anybody have an idea? Lois is eight years old and has a crazy suggestion. ‘When they go up to hit, I can be where they will see me and I can take my panties off. Once Gil asked me to do that but I wouldn’t. I bet all the Elmos will be looking at me instead of the wall and the ball bouncing. ‘ I ask the question. ‘Anybody like that stupid idea?’ No hands go up. Sharyn is upset. If you do that, I’m telling your mother Lois. She’ll give you the whippin’ of your life!
Again Roz has something to say. ‘Let’s tell them we have a dozen pinkie balls and will put them in our battle. Before we meet them, we can rub them in dirt and stones, then shine them and their hits will all go no place.’ ‘Not bad, Roz,’ I say, ‘but we will have to use the same ones so our shots won’t be good either.’
The next suggestion is from Sharyn. It might work and nobody will be hurt. ‘Let’s set up next Saturday to a play off of Monopoly. We can make it for one or even two hours. The team with the most money, most property when the time is up will be the winner and will control Pulaski to Elmwood and can come and go without the other team starting a fight. No stealing or spitting will be allowed.’ Our group agrees.
Jerome and I take charge. Together we will go to Tommy’s house and give him our plan. We ring the bell and Tommy comes out. ‘Whatta ya want,’ he snarls. I explain. At first Tommy thinks this is a good idea, thinks a little more and slams his fist into the front door. He sounds like a baby crying ‘Ouch, ouch! I hurt my hand.’ The next thing he says causes trouble. ‘Yeah and whose Monopoly set will we use?’ I suggest we cut cards for it, highest card wins.’ ‘Oh yeah, and whose cards will we use, Dumbness?’
Friedenbaum says he’ll ask the family rabbi to lend us a deck of brand new cards. ‘No way, Jerome, we would have to ask our pastor and he doesn’t like gambling.’
One at a time the Elmos are called in to dinner and nothing is settled yet. Just the same, our gang triumphantly blows all of our whistles at the same time and run back to our street.
Tomorrow will be another day!
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