BILL CADY Word Count: 149,227 - At My Friend's Place

Bill Cady, The Early Years … by Bill Cady 32
I have no idea why she ever married Al. Of course, being a kid, I never knew the
man socially. He worked at Oldsmobile, on the line. One of the homeliest guys I ever
met, even now. Uglier than the north end of a southbound dog.
Sonny was an Adonis. He never had any problems getting girls. Never. He
eventually married a pretty woman named Penny, although I saw him at other times with
girls I thought were prettier. He took after his mother.
Barb and Richard looked a bit like their Dad. Nuff said.
Linda looked a lot like her Mom, and became my first official girlfriend. It was in
fourth grade. I can testify, she was a rotten kisser. I know, because I was, too. However,
as poorly as we did it, we liked it a lot. I think the reason we broke up is because I‟d
rather play than sit around and hold hands. You can check with Linda to verify, if you
choose.
I had a friend who lived on the next street west, Lansing Avenue. A good quarter
mile away, plus walking the long uphill block on Cross Street to reach Lansing. His
name was Tommy Franklin. He had a sister, Sharon, a year or two younger than we
were. Tommy was the poster boy for the Skinny Campaign. Your first reaction seeing
him was to get him a sandwich. The kid looked like he hadn‟t eaten in days, ever after a
full meal.
They moved when he and I were about twelve. The new house was halfway to
the school we both went to, Holy Cross. His family was Catholic, too, although they
weren‟t excommunicated like we were. (I‟ll get to that in a bit).
There were a few memorable things about Tommy that stuck with me. For one,
his legal first name was the same as mine, but it was also his dad‟s name. So, they called
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