Saturday, October 1, 2011

It's Hammer Time Again!

The Cubs season is officially over, after being realistically over for about 5 months.  Not much good came out of this season, but I did have some fun at the old ball park anyway.
One of the best times was with my old buddy Tom Skalski, one of my first friends ever.  As I have detailed here before, Tom and I went to grade school and high school together.  He was a great friend, through good times and bad.
We drifted apart shortly after I moved to the north side.  Work, business and other such silliness got in the way and sadly, I wasn't proactive in keeping contact.  We ran into each other once at a Hawks game and once at our old church's summer festival, but that was all and that shouldn't have been enough for two old friends.
A couple years ago, we regained contact.  There was a call here, an email there and even some texts.  We hooked up for a Cubs game last year (another Cubs loss) and a Hawks game this year (a win!).
A few weeks back, Tom came up and we saw the Cubs lose to the Braves.  Oh sure, we would have loved to see a Cubs win, but it didn't ruin our day.
I had a great time laughing about the old days, our other friends and good times.  It was like being back in time.  We are already planning a Hawks game or even a Mt. Carmel game.  Great laughs shouldn't be spaced that far apart!
Sometime this summer, Tom's sister Karen told me her boys check out this site.  Boys, if you are reading this, I want you to know that your mom, Tom and the rest of the family always treated me like family.  They are all special and I have wonderful memories with and because of them.
Tom Skalski and me in Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL-August 2011.

3 comments:

Anthony Hughes said...

A nice story, always good to meet up with old friends.

Jean Parker said...

Great pic! Thank goodness for email and facebook to bring us all back together with old friends!

Karen Oaks said...

John you were family then and you still are no matter how much time slipped by! If you are near the old neighborhood today, you should stop by and surprise the family--we'll be celebrating my twins birthday and watching the Bears game!