Chad Colony was the boy who I wanted to be my best friend. I think sometimes I even got close to being his best friend. Chad was the most popular boy in our class. Normally, I don’t think I could have rated so highly. However, I had some things working for me: 1. We lived less than a mile away from each other and, consequently, 2. We rode the same bus. (I mention these as two separate factors because it was possible to live that close and not ride the same bus. For example, we were the westernmost stop on our route, but there were kids less than a mile west of us who rode a different bus.) 3. We went to the same church. Our other friends were Catholics, but we went to the Methodist church in Tiffin. These factors worked in my favor. The single biggest additional factor was classroom. That year Chad and I were in the same class. But we weren’t in second and fourth grade, and I definitely felt that impact.
Why did we all want to be Chad’s friend? He was the most popular. He was a good athlete. He was smart enough. The girls liked him. Those are all good reasons in first grade, right?
(Note on 05-13-08: Chad still owns all of the solo tackle records at Iowa City West High School.)
Kevin Klein was probably my second closest friend at Clear Creek Elementary. It was a lot easier to be friends with Kevin because he wasn’t as popular as Chad. Indeed, we picked on Kevin more. He was a little smaller than us. He had red hair and freckles. With our childish humor we called him ‘Pinecone’ (because ‘pine’ rhymes with ‘Klein’) or just ‘Pine’. Kevin was also on my bus route.
Jason Rowe was another boy that I clicked with. However, he moved away pretty early on in grade school. Jason was a Minnesota Vikings fan. That made him different. Everyone was a Cowboys fan in those days, except Kevin, who liked the Bears. But when it came time for me to pick a favorite team, I wanted to be different, so I picked the Vikings, like Jason. What a fateful choice that has been. Jason and Kevin were also both big Star Wars fans.
Cory Downs was the other boy who ran closest in our circle. I think I competed most with Cory for Chad’s affection, and I usually felt like I was being inched out. Cory and Kevin went to church together at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Cosgrove, where I was baptized and where my folks were married. Some of the other boys in our circle were Shannon Smith (who pushed Chad most for best athlete), Denny Eckrich, Todd Drake, Damon Shelton, Nathan Pacha, and Chad Osborne.
The number one way in which these friendships panned out was being invited to spend the night. These invitations thrilled us. The very prospect charged our six year old lives. Staying overnight often wasn’t that great. Looking back objectively, it doesn’t seem like that big a deal. If there were multiple attendees, sides usually got drawn up. I was often picked on. It was considered great fun to pick on boys who fell asleep, especially with toothpaste or mustard. In retrospect those are pretty silly things, and no harm done. At the time it never failed to hurt my feelings. I was sensitive then, overly so. I still am today. And I wince when I think of how my children will soon be hurt by these petty insults and slights. Their dad will hurt, too.
