Boy's Market

  When I was ten years old, my best friend at the time, Peter Bishop, and I walked from where we lived, to a rural store about a mile from our sub-division called Boys Market.  He told me a joke while we were walking back that had caught me so unprepared, that it made root beer foam spew out my noses when I laughed. It burned so bad, to this day I can still vividly recall that moment. I saw stars skyrocket behind my eyes when that happened.  I choked on life...I was liberated from anything but that tsunami of foamy laughter gushing out my nostrils.  It wasn't the last time something would catch me so unaware.

   As the years collected, the unexpected continued to perform hi- jinks on my order of the universe.  I was often left feeling embarrassed for not seeing the change coming until after it was obvious.  It continued to feel humiliating; I felt naked, dull witted and quite ordinary. 

   I saw Pete Bishop at our thirtieth year High School reunion. The discussions lingered on revisited antics of our way-back-then’s, or floundered on our real-now cloudy issues of present living.  We were solemn when we were told about whom in our class had died. I would close my eyes and try to remember what they looked like, I wasn't too successful.  Then I thought, you know....when its Pete Bishop's turn, and I happen to be the one still around, I'm going to try and make someone laugh; yeah, someone whose drinking root beer too; to try and make foam come out their nose ~ as a tribute.  Because of all the lessons I've learned and have forgotten, as painful as some had been, I found out something I didn't want to ever forget.

If you're lucky, life will give you plenty of chances for you to laugh so hard you can't get it all out with trying. Peter helped me that day by delivering quality of laughter like there was nothing more important.

I have never laughed so hard since. 

Post note:  The photograph is nothing like the market I referred to in my tale, I'm not that old.  Even when I feel ancient, I'm still from the age of automobiles.