My Friend Deke
I first met my friend Deke when I was 10 years old. His family moved into my subdivision. At first, I made friends with his brother Ray, because both were shorter than average. Ray abandoned my friendship when he discovered we were two grades apart.
But he sent his brother up the street to see if I wanted to be friends. I did. Deke was funny, on the shorter side, with brown hair and a constant edge of excitement in his voice.
The last time I saw Ray was when he stormed my basement when Deke and I were playing with my Lionel Trains. He decided it would be fun to crash them together. I uninvited him and my mother backed me up.
Deke and I had real fun together because we found the same things funny. We sent matching letters to Officer Joe Bolton, the host of the Three Stooges Half-hour on Channel 11. We got a postcard back addressed to Deke Brien Lee. Why waste two cards?
Deke and I made up our own satire on TV shows, “The Cowboy Bill and Bob Show”. Bill was a cowboy, Bill was just some guy I guess. we had a theme song we’d sing before the show started, usually in his parent's bedroom.
Zeke Moves Out of State
Turns out, Deke’s family was always moving as his father climbed a large…
