Letter 04 Reply: Football & Siren Song - John to Dan

Dear Dan,

Being the most sought after goalie for soccer makes you a genuine athlete. But the best part is all the fun you have doing your team proud. There isn’t anything more rewarding than being an essential part of a team. Most great accomplishments are not done individually but as part of a group effort. And you are learning what teamwork is all about. That lesson will serve you well as you get older.

Me, I’m on the football team. However, I’m a third string. I get to go to games out of town. And that is great fun. As third string players we scrimmage after the real game is over. But I don’t feel at all bad. Just learning the ins and outs of football is a blast.

And then coach gave me a magnificent confidence builder the other day. He marked a spot on the field and told me to stand there. He instructed me not to budge an inch while a player much bigger than me crashed into me. We were wearing pads of course. So this huge behemoth hit me with all he had. I gave as good as I got. And I didn’t budge and inch from the mark coach made in the turf for me. This went on for several minutes. It just goes to show that will power can overcome even size when getting bashed by Goliath. When the hitting was over I felt like a million bucks.

On the bus home from a game one of the cheerleaders got all sweet with me. But I made it clear I wasn’t ready for that sort of thing. Though another player said she could teach me about the birds and bees. My resistance was strong as those ancient Greek sailors who tied themselves to the mast of the boat with the sirens singing.

Glad you learned about your state and corn husking. I love learning things like that way more than math. But I’ll need to know math when I get older for whatever I do. That’s what my teacher said. Enjoy your fall my friend.

Your friend,
 

John 

Letter John is replying to:

Letter 04 - Dan-To-John; Soccer And Such

Letter 01: Ice Age Territory - John to Dan Reply

Dear Dan,

Well I finally made it out of Natchez for a trip. My grandparents took me all the way to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. So we were near your neck of the woods. This was the furthest west I’ve ever been. And when we crossed into Kansas from Missouri there was a sunflower forest! There was a sign saying this area was covered by glaciers in the ice age. And at one time bison roamed those parts.

It would have been great to see you out there in the windblown plains. Something about the Great Plains with their wide open skies makes me want to sing cowboy songs under the stars. But I’ll make it out there. You and me will ride bikes in the big sky country. When I think of those men hunting Wooly Mammoths in the Arctic frost my heart is filled with wonder.

I hope you get that bike of your spiffied up like you want. I know you will. God those sand burrs sure would make me keep my shoes on. Here in the south we have black stinging caterpillars. They fall from the trees and crawl all over the yard. Stepping on them barefoot is asking for some big hurt.

Those pioneer books are a great find. Living in your little bitty town sounds good for the soul. Hey I wrote a poem about going to Kansas. Here it is:

My First Trip West

Saffron sunflower forests rose
Under turquoise vault of heaven
Welcomed me to pelagic plains
On the edge of an ice age land
Where bison once roamed free

Your Friend,
 

John  

Letter John is replying to:

Letter One - Moving To Genoa

Letter 03 - John's Reply To Dan

Dear Dan,

That Powwow sounded better than any TV show. We have one here in Natchez every year in March. They let the spectators dance with the Indians. The event is held at a historic Native American site by some Indian mounds. It may sound strange but though it’s in March it ushers in the year for me. The drumming and songs are like church but in a different way. Once I stood atop a mound and looked down on the circle of dancers. I imagined it was hundreds of years ago when the tribe lived there. But hey sometimes I let my imagination run wild. The kids don't call me space cadet for nothing. Ha ha!

But that was back in spring. This past weekend my grandparents took me to our house by the bayou in Louisiana. We took my friend Jeff along. He is part Choctaw but for some reason doesn’t talk about it. He doesn't speak the language. But Jeff and I paddled the boat across the bayou. Boy did I nearly get in trouble. I didn’t notice that I was about to step on a cottonmouth. That snake was sunning on some tree roots. Jeff yelled at me to stand still. Then he went back to the boat for a paddle. Jeff hacked that ole snake to pieces. He probably saved my life. We weren’t anywhere near a hospital. No telling what would have become of me if he'd gotten his fangs in me. I hear them cottonmouths got some powerful venom.

That evening Jeff and I camped out in the tent by the bayou. A fierce thunderstorm passed over but we weren’t afraid. We just talked while those thunderbolts crashed down. It was a great way to end the summer.

Glad you made it to the pool. That is a real chuckle about what the Indians called your little brother he sure was brave but foolhardy to take on a high school kid at his young age. Well grandma is calling me for dinner. Keep in touch.

Your friend,

John

Letter 03 that John is replying to Link

Letter 02 - John's Reply To Dan

Dear Dan,

Wow! You saw the moon landing live! I saw it on playback. But that is great that your classmates didn’t cut up. I think I want to be an astronaut when I grow up. Those guys jumping around on the moon look like they had barrels of fun. But right now I’m enjoying life on earth. You know I think this girl is serious about me. I got me a girlfriend. I never thought that would happen. I must be crazy at my age to go steady. Being with a girl feels stranger than walking on the moon. But boy it beats watching TV. And for the first time I feel romantic. What a weird notion for a freshman. But here it is and real as can be.

Her name is Tracy and for Halloween she wrapped me in sheet strips as a mummy. I got butterflies in my stomach as I’d never been that close to a girl before. But she is so cute that I really enjoyed it. If I ever get married it would be to her. So I thought she just liked me as her guy pal. Boy was I mistaken.

Here’s how it all started. She was climbing out of the pool when she asked if I liked her. I said as a friend. She smiled and said “I think more than that.” So she told me to meet her at the skating rink on Saturday night. She seems kind of bossy for a girl. But I kind of liked it. Pretty soon we were going steady.

At the rink my best friend Keith had me and Tracy wrap our arms around each other so close that I could smell her perfume. She was kind of nervous and said she’d never been like this with a boy. So my heart did flip flops. But Tracy seemed to enjoy it as she held me there long enough for me to catch my breath.

Tracy had some mighty funny questions for me. She asked me “John if Brigitte Bardot were to want you for her own would you leave me?” Tracy is such a kidder. But this time she wasn’t joking. So I told her, “You’re prettier without makeup than Brigitte all dolled up.” Tracy had a smile like she’d won a jackpot in Las Vegas. So then she pulled an even bigger one out of her hat. She said, “If a kidnapper were to say, ‘It’s either you or the girl’ what would you say?” So I told her “What any gentleman would do.” Tracy hopped like a girl in a game show.

God that girl is sweet on me. It feels like true love. I got a crush on that girl. Now if only I could get back to my arithmetic. Mom thinks I’m girl crazy.
 
Your friend,
John 

Letter 02 that John is replying to Link