08-15-2021, 08:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-25-2021, 10:31 PM by Terry Bentley.)
Chapter 84
We finally make it over to the the Lay-a-way department, then piled up everything on the counter. After she totaled it up, I was in shock. I didnt expect it to be so much. Dude I am sorry. I didnt realize it was going to cost this much. Guess we got carried away.
Huh? What is the problem? I am not paying for it all today. Isnt that why you suggested to put it in lay-a-way?
Well yes, but I didnt realize it would be so much money. Can you afford all of this?
Yea Terry, I got it covered. Just didnt bring that much with me today. Mom told me whatever I needed, just to let her know. But dont waste a bunch of money buying things I dont really have use for.
If I put $20 on the lay-away, that leaves enough left over to buy lunch for you guys helping me out today. I never would have been able to figure what to do without the help from both of you.
As we walked out of the Sears store, I was still in shock. This kid dropped more money today than I have ever had in my pocket at any one time. Well anytime I didnt have a reason to save that much.
OK guys, we can eat at the Wyatts Cafeteria, that pizza place over there, or ride back down to the Dairyette. Which one do you want? I am sort of hungry. Sure hope you are too. I hate eating by myself all the time.
How about we hit the Dairyette? Dont you ride your bike down Oats Drive to get back home?
Yea Terry, that makes sense. But Gus Thomasson or Oates will get be back home about the same time. So it doesnt matter to me. But a root beer float is awfully tempting. How about cheeseburgers, tater tots and the floats? Sound good to you guys?
Do the tater tots come with melted cheese on top? Steve asked with a really big guilty grin. That could be a deal breaker if they dont. Tater tots are good. But tater tots with cheese are awesome.
Its my treat Steve. Whatever you guys want. Besides I always get them with cheese too. They are awesome with cheese. But I think pizza would have to be just a little bit more awesome, if I had to make a choice between them. You know just saying. But I do eat way too much pizza.
We raced back down Ferguson to the Dairyette. Not nearly as much traffic going back this way. We arrived at the Dariyette and headed for one of the outside tables. All the time I have eaten here, it has either been in a car or outside on a table. I dont recall ever going inside to eat. I dont even know what it looks like inside.
Hey, why dont we eat inside today? I have never even been in there before. We moved our bikes up close to the entrance and piled thru the door. There was a row of booths against the front windows. Somebody pick a booth. I dont want to sit on stools up at the counter.
After sitting down, the waitress came over with three glasses of water and ready to take our order. Topher asked if everyone was on the same page with what we decided earlier. Sounds good to me, Steve replied.
We need three cheeseburgers, all the way with grilled onions, a super size tater tot with cheese and three root beer floats. Dont hold back on that ice cream either.
Mam, can I get change please? Topher handed her a dollar bill. Then she promptly reached down to her coin changer clicking off and handing back a stack of dimes and nickles. Thank you very much, mam.
Topher hopped up and went over to the Rock-ola jukebox on the far wall and crammed it full of dimes. Then came back and sat down. I didnt know what you guys like, so tried to cover all the bases. We got some Hank Williams, Buddy Holley and Elvis. Oh and that new song from Jimmy Dean.
For the next hour we just made small talk. I was surprised that Topher didnt completely run out of steam with him going non stop about everything. He even managed a whole conversation while eating his cheeseburger.
It didnt take long to figure out that Topher was extremely intelligent and very perceptive. I remember Steve mentioning that Topher was anything but stupid. It was sort of hard to figure that out at first, since he doesnt really know much about how anything actually works.
But I could tell those gears in his head were working in overdrive as I went into detail about the kart engines, and what we had been doing trying all this stuff to get faster. This kid is like a dry sponge, as my grandfather would always use explaining how some people could absorb all kinds of information and process it.
But then went on with just the opposite when some people could absorb some things coming in one ear then go sailing right out the other one. My grandfather whistled wind sounds and making a curlycue with his finger with his explanation. This time, I am certain Topher was absorbing everything we talked about and it stayed inside that noggin of his for future reference.
Some people can recite what others have said, but not understand a single word. More like parroting what they hear from someone. I think Topher has a full grasp on just about everything we have talked about so far.
Its like explaining something new to a person then showing them a picture to further illustrate it. Thats when everything falls in to place and makes complete sense. When he sees an engine torn down into pieces, then a lot of stuff we talked about will come to make sense to him almost immediately.
We did find out Topher is 12 years old. Actually just turned 12 one month earlier, if that makes any difference. It seemed to make some difference to him. Even with the nonstop chatter from him, he still listened to every word when me and Steve were able to get one in.
He had attended a high end private school before his parents got a divorce, but now enrolled in 7th grade public school this year where he lives with his mom. He is on the track and swim team. But not all that interested in either of them.
We have been listening to him talk about some of the places he has been to. One in particular I found very hilarious. Well more like unbelievable. But I am starting to figure out that Topher is an anomaly.
At the 1961 Indy 500 race, the very one me and Steve both watched on separate televisions while discussing the race in detail over the phone, Topher was actually there. Like there, as in person.
His dad likes to go to the bigger races, including Daytona. He had been to so many places I have only heard about. Those bigger than life institutions that I only find out watching the Wide World of Sports and sometimes in the news. Or if real lucky watch live coverage on television.
Topher was there watching the race in real time close to the start finish line. He went into a lot more detail on many of the wrecks and incidents than were covered on TV. He was even involved in one incident and got a big kick out of telling us it actually included one of the Indy 500 drivers.
His dad had secured pit passes and even had access to the garages for them. Since he had some business to attend to, left Topher there alone to go exploring the track for the day. It is amazing what a kid can find out if he just happens to keep his eyes open and stays in the shadows with his mouth shut.
Trying to picture Topher with his mouth shut for any length of time seemed a little far fetched and way out of character for him, but I went with it. He had gone around the pits and managed to acquire a lot of autographs from many of the better known drivers.
Topher has a way of starting up conversations with complete strangers. Without any trouble at doing so. That does fit his personality. Maybe this is why I am here right now eating a cheeseburger with him. He is really fun to be around and loves talking about racing.
He had managed to get the autograph of Eddie Sachs. It is one he had missed several times at previous races, He went on how exciting it was to finally have that autograph. He has a lot of them from other drivers, but this one had been evading him for a long time.
So I was running for all it was worth heading back to our seats. Dad had returned and was up watching the days events. Nothing real exciting that day, just practice and later in the afternoon more time trials.
I made it up the stairwell and around the corner heading up to the next level of seats. There wasnt a lot of traffic so not really paying attention to who was around. But I ended up slamming into a man making the corner just then. I knocked some guy right on his butt. I mean slammed him and he went down hard. I bounced off and landed on my butt too.
After apologizing, I turned and looked up to see my dad above on the next level standing there staring down at me. Dad was stunned at what had just taken place for some reason. Dad, dad look what I got. I got it! Finally I got his autograph. Eddie Sachs signed my race program! I cant believe it. He signed it. I have his autograph!
Topher then went on explaining how his dad reacted. Dads mouth was covered with his hand and he was pointing to the man I knocked down. Yea dad, I know. I apologized to him. He said it was alright. No harm done.
But dad kept his mouth covered shaking his head back and forth. He finally just covered his face and looked down to the ground. Just like someone would do when completely overcome about something.
Dad I got his autograph. Isnt that awesome? But dad kept pointing to the man I knocked down. I finally stopped talking and looked at the man still sitting there on his butt. He finally picked himself up. So you got Eddies autograph? Pretty impressive, I dont even have that one.
Then this man reached out and grabbed the Indy 500 cap off my head. He pulled a marker from his shirt pocket and wrote something on my hat. Hey kid, here is another one for you. Just in case you dont have it yet. The man just smiled and put the hat back on my head.
I was still completely lost just then, still focused on my latest acquisition. I had been trying forever and now its mine. That is when I took an up and close look at the man I had crashed into and knocked on his butt. That is when something clicked in my head. How could I be so blind?
My jaw opened wide and I couldnt breathe. I swore my heart stopped beating for a whole minute. There was a burning sensation passing over my face too. It was so strong I felt it all the way down to my toes. This was followed by my heart kick starting up again and going into hyper speed.
The man patted me on my back and finally started to walk off. Enjoy the race son. But watch that speed in the turns.
OK, with this much of his story already told, me and Steve were completely hooked on every word. But why did he stop right there? Then he took the last bite of his cheeseburger and washed it down with a large gulp from the root beer float.
Topher sure wasnt holding back on telling the story. He sure wasnt being discreet either. When he is excited, the word quiet never plays into the equation.
I looked around the Dairyette and everyone in the place was staring right at us. Or should I say staring at Topher. It seems he managed to have everyone elses attention at the moment too. Not just mine and Steves.
Chris stayed there quietly chewing and finally sawllowing the last of his cheeseburger. After another gulp of the root beer float, he exhaled and just stopped moving for a moment. He looked back up at both of us again.
You are not going to believe this guys. I mean you wont believe me. I still cant believe it happened. Sometimes I might get too carried away with things. I wanted his autograph for so long and finally I had it right there in my hand too. My race program had his autograph! Eddie Sachs!
I looked at that man, and tried to say something. But it was hard for me to even breathe. Then finally I managed to choke out something. OH I am so sorry! I am such an idiot for not looking where I was going!
Then for some reason I held out my race program. Uh, sir, You can have it. I am so sorry. That is when he turned back around and spoke. It is quite alright, his autograph is worth more to you that it is to me. You go ahead keep it. But thanks for the offer. You take care. Then he was gone. Just like that the whole world had stopped for those few seconds.
I shook out of my trance and the world started back up again. I was in total disbelief of what I saw. It couldnt be. No way. What an idiot I am. How stupid can I be? Was it really him? No way that was not possible.
By now the whole place was completely quiet. Well except for Topher. He is actually very good at telling a story. I figured this aint his first rodeo in front of a crowd. He must be drawing this out for the dramatic effect.
Topher takes this time to stop talking and cram a couple of tater tots in his mouth. Then washing them down with the glass of water the waitress had brought us when we first took our seats.
OK guys, I finally removed the hat from my head and looked at what that man had written on it. Are you ready for this?
"To the fastest kid I have ever run up against A J Foyt"
That is the honest to gosh truth guys. I told you it was unbelievable. I still cant believe it happened. But it did happen. Just the way I said too. I have that hat sitting at home right now. I have AJ FOYTS autograph TOO!
The whole place had been totally silent. Then the clapping started up. Not like when one person starts then the rest follows in. The whole place was immediately a loud non stop clatter of applause from everyone in there.
Well, that is one story hard to beat. I sure wasnt going to try to top it either. Not that I had anything even close to tell about anyway. About this time I realized we should have eaten outside by ourselves. I dont do so well around lots of people.
When things went back down to normal, the music was now replacing the attention from the others here. We got back to a much quieter conversation about nothing in particular. It is odd to see Chris not talking about something. But his lack of conversation was being supplemented by slurping on his root beer float.
You had mentioned something about how you got your name Topher. But didnt give any real details at the track when I asked about it.
Well its not that exciting. It is really sort of embarrassing now thinking about it. I was not very old, like six. I had just started school and we were outside playing during recess with some of the older students.
Two of the guys were picking teams for a basketball game. I didnt know any of them at the time. One guy asked what my name was. I sort of was not paying attention just then, But I blurted out Chris ttttopher. It must have sounded like like my full name to him I guess.
OK Topher, can you play basket ball? I nodded my head up and down. But really never played before. I had been to see the Globetrotters and a Celtics game. So sort of knew how the game was played.
Good enough then, Topher you play left guard, kay? He told me this while pointing over to the far side of the court. For my first game, I just passed the ball and tried not to get in the way. I had never shot baskets before, but did a decent job passing the ball around.
Fortunately I didnt make any major mistakes during that game. The team captain told me "Good job there Topher". Next time you can be on my team again. Got it? I thanked him for picking me and felt good for the rest of the day. After school I practiced all afternoon trying to shoot baskets.
I sucked at first. But later when a guy came by to shoot baskets, I sat there watching him drop one in after another. He finally asked if I wanted to trade shots. I told him I wasnt very good. He said that he wasnt either not too long ago. You dont get any good by not ever trying.
So we shot baskets for a while. He explained to me how to make some different types of shots. By the time we finished I was getting the hang of it. Hey my name is Jeremy, what is yours. Without even thinking, I just spit out Topher. It just sort of stuck after that.
But that is not even the first time when I got the name. When I was even younger, everyone always called me Chris. I didnt know any different. Only my name was Chris because that is what everyone called me. Sometimes when mom was mad about something she would call me Chris-topher. You know sounding like my full name. But I didnt know my full name because nobody ever called me by it.
Since mom would call dad by two names when he did something wrong, I thought Chris Topher must be both of my names. It just slipped that time in school. I was nervous about playing with the older kids that day. Then later when shooting baskets with the other guy. It was stuck in my head and slipped out.
It wasnt until much later did I finally realize I had three full names and shared the last one with my family. When I was really young, why would I know any different until someone explained it to me. Does that make any sense of just sound like I was really stupid?
Wow I had never thought about it that way. It makes a whole lot of sense now after your story. Something that has always been assumed to be one way. Why would anybody really know differently?
Something so basic as your name and unless it was explained, you could only make an assumption based on what you have heard until knowing enough to realize what it actually is.
This got me to thinking about how many things in life are assumed. It may be years before you ever find out. But a lot of things are not so important that it would even matter. But what about those things that really do matter?
We finally make it over to the the Lay-a-way department, then piled up everything on the counter. After she totaled it up, I was in shock. I didnt expect it to be so much. Dude I am sorry. I didnt realize it was going to cost this much. Guess we got carried away.
Huh? What is the problem? I am not paying for it all today. Isnt that why you suggested to put it in lay-a-way?
Well yes, but I didnt realize it would be so much money. Can you afford all of this?
Yea Terry, I got it covered. Just didnt bring that much with me today. Mom told me whatever I needed, just to let her know. But dont waste a bunch of money buying things I dont really have use for.
If I put $20 on the lay-away, that leaves enough left over to buy lunch for you guys helping me out today. I never would have been able to figure what to do without the help from both of you.
As we walked out of the Sears store, I was still in shock. This kid dropped more money today than I have ever had in my pocket at any one time. Well anytime I didnt have a reason to save that much.
OK guys, we can eat at the Wyatts Cafeteria, that pizza place over there, or ride back down to the Dairyette. Which one do you want? I am sort of hungry. Sure hope you are too. I hate eating by myself all the time.
How about we hit the Dairyette? Dont you ride your bike down Oats Drive to get back home?
Yea Terry, that makes sense. But Gus Thomasson or Oates will get be back home about the same time. So it doesnt matter to me. But a root beer float is awfully tempting. How about cheeseburgers, tater tots and the floats? Sound good to you guys?
Do the tater tots come with melted cheese on top? Steve asked with a really big guilty grin. That could be a deal breaker if they dont. Tater tots are good. But tater tots with cheese are awesome.
Its my treat Steve. Whatever you guys want. Besides I always get them with cheese too. They are awesome with cheese. But I think pizza would have to be just a little bit more awesome, if I had to make a choice between them. You know just saying. But I do eat way too much pizza.
We raced back down Ferguson to the Dairyette. Not nearly as much traffic going back this way. We arrived at the Dariyette and headed for one of the outside tables. All the time I have eaten here, it has either been in a car or outside on a table. I dont recall ever going inside to eat. I dont even know what it looks like inside.
Hey, why dont we eat inside today? I have never even been in there before. We moved our bikes up close to the entrance and piled thru the door. There was a row of booths against the front windows. Somebody pick a booth. I dont want to sit on stools up at the counter.
After sitting down, the waitress came over with three glasses of water and ready to take our order. Topher asked if everyone was on the same page with what we decided earlier. Sounds good to me, Steve replied.
We need three cheeseburgers, all the way with grilled onions, a super size tater tot with cheese and three root beer floats. Dont hold back on that ice cream either.
Mam, can I get change please? Topher handed her a dollar bill. Then she promptly reached down to her coin changer clicking off and handing back a stack of dimes and nickles. Thank you very much, mam.
Topher hopped up and went over to the Rock-ola jukebox on the far wall and crammed it full of dimes. Then came back and sat down. I didnt know what you guys like, so tried to cover all the bases. We got some Hank Williams, Buddy Holley and Elvis. Oh and that new song from Jimmy Dean.
For the next hour we just made small talk. I was surprised that Topher didnt completely run out of steam with him going non stop about everything. He even managed a whole conversation while eating his cheeseburger.
It didnt take long to figure out that Topher was extremely intelligent and very perceptive. I remember Steve mentioning that Topher was anything but stupid. It was sort of hard to figure that out at first, since he doesnt really know much about how anything actually works.
But I could tell those gears in his head were working in overdrive as I went into detail about the kart engines, and what we had been doing trying all this stuff to get faster. This kid is like a dry sponge, as my grandfather would always use explaining how some people could absorb all kinds of information and process it.
But then went on with just the opposite when some people could absorb some things coming in one ear then go sailing right out the other one. My grandfather whistled wind sounds and making a curlycue with his finger with his explanation. This time, I am certain Topher was absorbing everything we talked about and it stayed inside that noggin of his for future reference.
Some people can recite what others have said, but not understand a single word. More like parroting what they hear from someone. I think Topher has a full grasp on just about everything we have talked about so far.
Its like explaining something new to a person then showing them a picture to further illustrate it. Thats when everything falls in to place and makes complete sense. When he sees an engine torn down into pieces, then a lot of stuff we talked about will come to make sense to him almost immediately.
We did find out Topher is 12 years old. Actually just turned 12 one month earlier, if that makes any difference. It seemed to make some difference to him. Even with the nonstop chatter from him, he still listened to every word when me and Steve were able to get one in.
He had attended a high end private school before his parents got a divorce, but now enrolled in 7th grade public school this year where he lives with his mom. He is on the track and swim team. But not all that interested in either of them.
We have been listening to him talk about some of the places he has been to. One in particular I found very hilarious. Well more like unbelievable. But I am starting to figure out that Topher is an anomaly.
At the 1961 Indy 500 race, the very one me and Steve both watched on separate televisions while discussing the race in detail over the phone, Topher was actually there. Like there, as in person.
His dad likes to go to the bigger races, including Daytona. He had been to so many places I have only heard about. Those bigger than life institutions that I only find out watching the Wide World of Sports and sometimes in the news. Or if real lucky watch live coverage on television.
Topher was there watching the race in real time close to the start finish line. He went into a lot more detail on many of the wrecks and incidents than were covered on TV. He was even involved in one incident and got a big kick out of telling us it actually included one of the Indy 500 drivers.
His dad had secured pit passes and even had access to the garages for them. Since he had some business to attend to, left Topher there alone to go exploring the track for the day. It is amazing what a kid can find out if he just happens to keep his eyes open and stays in the shadows with his mouth shut.
Trying to picture Topher with his mouth shut for any length of time seemed a little far fetched and way out of character for him, but I went with it. He had gone around the pits and managed to acquire a lot of autographs from many of the better known drivers.
Topher has a way of starting up conversations with complete strangers. Without any trouble at doing so. That does fit his personality. Maybe this is why I am here right now eating a cheeseburger with him. He is really fun to be around and loves talking about racing.
He had managed to get the autograph of Eddie Sachs. It is one he had missed several times at previous races, He went on how exciting it was to finally have that autograph. He has a lot of them from other drivers, but this one had been evading him for a long time.
So I was running for all it was worth heading back to our seats. Dad had returned and was up watching the days events. Nothing real exciting that day, just practice and later in the afternoon more time trials.
I made it up the stairwell and around the corner heading up to the next level of seats. There wasnt a lot of traffic so not really paying attention to who was around. But I ended up slamming into a man making the corner just then. I knocked some guy right on his butt. I mean slammed him and he went down hard. I bounced off and landed on my butt too.
After apologizing, I turned and looked up to see my dad above on the next level standing there staring down at me. Dad was stunned at what had just taken place for some reason. Dad, dad look what I got. I got it! Finally I got his autograph. Eddie Sachs signed my race program! I cant believe it. He signed it. I have his autograph!
Topher then went on explaining how his dad reacted. Dads mouth was covered with his hand and he was pointing to the man I knocked down. Yea dad, I know. I apologized to him. He said it was alright. No harm done.
But dad kept his mouth covered shaking his head back and forth. He finally just covered his face and looked down to the ground. Just like someone would do when completely overcome about something.
Dad I got his autograph. Isnt that awesome? But dad kept pointing to the man I knocked down. I finally stopped talking and looked at the man still sitting there on his butt. He finally picked himself up. So you got Eddies autograph? Pretty impressive, I dont even have that one.
Then this man reached out and grabbed the Indy 500 cap off my head. He pulled a marker from his shirt pocket and wrote something on my hat. Hey kid, here is another one for you. Just in case you dont have it yet. The man just smiled and put the hat back on my head.
I was still completely lost just then, still focused on my latest acquisition. I had been trying forever and now its mine. That is when I took an up and close look at the man I had crashed into and knocked on his butt. That is when something clicked in my head. How could I be so blind?
My jaw opened wide and I couldnt breathe. I swore my heart stopped beating for a whole minute. There was a burning sensation passing over my face too. It was so strong I felt it all the way down to my toes. This was followed by my heart kick starting up again and going into hyper speed.
The man patted me on my back and finally started to walk off. Enjoy the race son. But watch that speed in the turns.
OK, with this much of his story already told, me and Steve were completely hooked on every word. But why did he stop right there? Then he took the last bite of his cheeseburger and washed it down with a large gulp from the root beer float.
Topher sure wasnt holding back on telling the story. He sure wasnt being discreet either. When he is excited, the word quiet never plays into the equation.
I looked around the Dairyette and everyone in the place was staring right at us. Or should I say staring at Topher. It seems he managed to have everyone elses attention at the moment too. Not just mine and Steves.
Chris stayed there quietly chewing and finally sawllowing the last of his cheeseburger. After another gulp of the root beer float, he exhaled and just stopped moving for a moment. He looked back up at both of us again.
You are not going to believe this guys. I mean you wont believe me. I still cant believe it happened. Sometimes I might get too carried away with things. I wanted his autograph for so long and finally I had it right there in my hand too. My race program had his autograph! Eddie Sachs!
I looked at that man, and tried to say something. But it was hard for me to even breathe. Then finally I managed to choke out something. OH I am so sorry! I am such an idiot for not looking where I was going!
Then for some reason I held out my race program. Uh, sir, You can have it. I am so sorry. That is when he turned back around and spoke. It is quite alright, his autograph is worth more to you that it is to me. You go ahead keep it. But thanks for the offer. You take care. Then he was gone. Just like that the whole world had stopped for those few seconds.
I shook out of my trance and the world started back up again. I was in total disbelief of what I saw. It couldnt be. No way. What an idiot I am. How stupid can I be? Was it really him? No way that was not possible.
By now the whole place was completely quiet. Well except for Topher. He is actually very good at telling a story. I figured this aint his first rodeo in front of a crowd. He must be drawing this out for the dramatic effect.
Topher takes this time to stop talking and cram a couple of tater tots in his mouth. Then washing them down with the glass of water the waitress had brought us when we first took our seats.
OK guys, I finally removed the hat from my head and looked at what that man had written on it. Are you ready for this?
"To the fastest kid I have ever run up against A J Foyt"
That is the honest to gosh truth guys. I told you it was unbelievable. I still cant believe it happened. But it did happen. Just the way I said too. I have that hat sitting at home right now. I have AJ FOYTS autograph TOO!
The whole place had been totally silent. Then the clapping started up. Not like when one person starts then the rest follows in. The whole place was immediately a loud non stop clatter of applause from everyone in there.
Well, that is one story hard to beat. I sure wasnt going to try to top it either. Not that I had anything even close to tell about anyway. About this time I realized we should have eaten outside by ourselves. I dont do so well around lots of people.
When things went back down to normal, the music was now replacing the attention from the others here. We got back to a much quieter conversation about nothing in particular. It is odd to see Chris not talking about something. But his lack of conversation was being supplemented by slurping on his root beer float.
You had mentioned something about how you got your name Topher. But didnt give any real details at the track when I asked about it.
Well its not that exciting. It is really sort of embarrassing now thinking about it. I was not very old, like six. I had just started school and we were outside playing during recess with some of the older students.
Two of the guys were picking teams for a basketball game. I didnt know any of them at the time. One guy asked what my name was. I sort of was not paying attention just then, But I blurted out Chris ttttopher. It must have sounded like like my full name to him I guess.
OK Topher, can you play basket ball? I nodded my head up and down. But really never played before. I had been to see the Globetrotters and a Celtics game. So sort of knew how the game was played.
Good enough then, Topher you play left guard, kay? He told me this while pointing over to the far side of the court. For my first game, I just passed the ball and tried not to get in the way. I had never shot baskets before, but did a decent job passing the ball around.
Fortunately I didnt make any major mistakes during that game. The team captain told me "Good job there Topher". Next time you can be on my team again. Got it? I thanked him for picking me and felt good for the rest of the day. After school I practiced all afternoon trying to shoot baskets.
I sucked at first. But later when a guy came by to shoot baskets, I sat there watching him drop one in after another. He finally asked if I wanted to trade shots. I told him I wasnt very good. He said that he wasnt either not too long ago. You dont get any good by not ever trying.
So we shot baskets for a while. He explained to me how to make some different types of shots. By the time we finished I was getting the hang of it. Hey my name is Jeremy, what is yours. Without even thinking, I just spit out Topher. It just sort of stuck after that.
But that is not even the first time when I got the name. When I was even younger, everyone always called me Chris. I didnt know any different. Only my name was Chris because that is what everyone called me. Sometimes when mom was mad about something she would call me Chris-topher. You know sounding like my full name. But I didnt know my full name because nobody ever called me by it.
Since mom would call dad by two names when he did something wrong, I thought Chris Topher must be both of my names. It just slipped that time in school. I was nervous about playing with the older kids that day. Then later when shooting baskets with the other guy. It was stuck in my head and slipped out.
It wasnt until much later did I finally realize I had three full names and shared the last one with my family. When I was really young, why would I know any different until someone explained it to me. Does that make any sense of just sound like I was really stupid?
Wow I had never thought about it that way. It makes a whole lot of sense now after your story. Something that has always been assumed to be one way. Why would anybody really know differently?
Something so basic as your name and unless it was explained, you could only make an assumption based on what you have heard until knowing enough to realize what it actually is.
This got me to thinking about how many things in life are assumed. It may be years before you ever find out. But a lot of things are not so important that it would even matter. But what about those things that really do matter?