Youre all probably going...Ok.......What the heck is this?!......I brought one of my small elephants over to the big one so I could display this ELEVEN BALL for the pic. Theres a story behind the pool ball. When I finish this story every single one of you will sit back, and remember in vivid detail your own specific memories and experiences of the topic. Here we go.........It was summer of 1968...We got on a jet plane at Travis AFB in California after driving across the States from Brooklyn, New York. It would be the typical 17 hour or so flight most of us took.... California.....Hawaii.....Midway.....Guam....and finally to Clark AFB in the Philippines. I remember a car took us on the 2 hour ride from Clark to Subic. I sat in the front while Mom....Maura....and Dad sat in the back. I looked out the window and looked in awe as we drove through the Philippines. When we finally got to the back gate of The Subic Bay Naval Base...a Marine guard looked at our papers and we went inside. I remember seeing jungle on both sides of the road as the car climbed up the hill. It was a nice sunny day and the I remember hearing kids laughing and splashing water. I looked to the right and saw the Kalayan Pool....to the left was the Teen Club. I imagined that this would be the pool I used once we got established in quarters. (actually I spent more time at the Cubi pool) We kept on driving and driving further away from that pool.....down a mountain across flat land by the water and then up another mountain at Cubi Point. We pulled in our quarters. For the next 2 years my life would be one adventure after another..... a non-stop rollercoaster ride of wild events....people.....situations....travels...that would be etched in my mind forever. A decade of life lived in a 2 year span....... And then it was time to go....We had shipped Moms car back to the States a few weeks earlier so it would be there waiting for us to drive back across the country again. Dad passed his 57 Chevy on to someone as it had been passed on to us....We had a special services car we used for the last couple of weeks......I had said goodbye to all my friends at the Teen Club the night before....it was now time to head out. I remember some good friends dropping by to say goodbye at our quarters. Truly one of the saddest days of my life. We bid farewell to our maid who had become a member of our family and the driver started us out on the return journey......we were now in Kalayan and heading down the road toward the Teen Club.....this time the pool was on the left and the Teen Club was on the right. I asked if we could stop the car and I could have one last look inside the Teen Club. I went in....not many people there...mostly younger kids. I walked slowly all through the place and then on the way out I reached in a pool pocket and took the ELEVEN BALL. Sorry guys...I wasnt thinking right...I hope there were more sets of pool balls for the club. I went outside......looked over to the pool...got back in the car....and we headed down the hill and out the back gate............ I keep the ELEVEN BALL on the desk next to my computer and pick it up often.....
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:38:34 +0000
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