Mickey Z

Cool Observer

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Our game plan was far from clever

to Storytelling Saturday

Once upon a time...

I was 14...looking for trouble with the other members of the Fearsome Foursome (I know, not very original): Bobby “Capo” Caposio, Tommy “Buse” Buccellato, and Mario “Boch” Gallo. Our target that night was the candy and stationery store owned by a rotund fellow named Tobin. It was almost always closed but we’d yell up to where poor old Tobin lived above the store. Our youthful voices would turn sweet as we assured Tobin that his good friends needed to browse his establishment. He always relented. (Tobin was known as “slow.” That’s the word they used back then.)

Long Island City

Our game plan was far from clever...but deceiving Tobin didn’t require much thought. One of us, his good friends, would talk with him while the other three pillaged his rather pitiful shop: comic books, penknives, and other trivial booty. It wasn’t what we stole, just that we stole. We’re talking thrill as its own reward.

That night we steered clear of penknives. Just a few short weeks ago, Capo and I sold our purloined blades to the younger hooligans in our Catholic school. They were more than happy to part with their lunch money to buy cool weapons from the school heroes...and we procured enough cash for a nickel bag. We certainly didn’t plan on the little criminals staging knife fights in full view of teachers. They sang like birdies when caught...and we barely managed to talk our way out of that jam.

After bidding Tobin a fond farewell, the herb we’d inhaled earlier had us laughing. So much time on our hands...what next? We could steal ripe tomatoes from the fruit stand and toss them at the train passing on the el. A good chase always got the blood flowing. Toss a rock at a passing yellow cab and take off knowing that the driver could never find us when we knew our turf inside and out. If we got hungry, we’d stand in front of the fast food joint and wait patiently for a young lad to emerge with his family’s dinner. It didn’t take much to convince him to share. Back then...the possibilities seemed endless and all so attractive.

(Speaking of the old days, Dito Montiel, a guy I knew—a little—has hit it big).

Who else wants to spin a yarn?