His sister had a double header, and he waited outside the basketball court.

It was a busy day at the Barrington Park District, kids and parents filing in and out.  The crowd was here for basketball, dribbling and running into the courts.  

We had our drawing booth set up next to the vending machines.  We had one long table with four chairs, our banner, and enough paper and pencils for everyone.

I hadn’t really known what to expect when Jerry had told me I’d be going to the Barrington Park District on Saturday.  Many park districts aren’t open on the weekend.  But once I saw the kids in basketball uniforms I understood.  My own niece and nephews are in the throws of their own highly active athletic lives.  My niece spent her birthday weekend at basketball games for herself and her nephew, and my nephew had to leave her birthday party (at a soccer field no less!) for a game of his own.

Older adults will often shake their heads and say “It’s crazy how much sports they make the kids do these days.”  The schedule can certainly seem hectic, especially when you have two or three athletic youngsters in the mix.  But for my niece and nephew anyway it brings out enormous dedication and passion.  The kids I saw that day were excited, talking about plays and strategies as they filed onto the basketball courts.  

Many of them stopped by to draw!  A group of girls drew my girlfriend and I in their signature, WACKY styles.  A man and his daughter sat down.  Like many such duos he was keen for her to draw, knowing that if she could overcome her momentary shyness they’d both have fun.  He drew me with an oversized head, my warm fuzzy hat, and a lightning bolt in each hand.  She followed along, both of them drawing me with colored pencils blue and neon green. He even gave me a few tips on how to juggle!  

One kid kept coming back.  He said his sister had a double header, and he waited outside the basketball court.  He played three sports himself, said that his favorite active basketball player was Lebron James, but that of course the Greatest of All Time was Michael Jordan.

He liked my three erasers, which Jerry has christened This, That, and The Other Thing.  As I practice juggling I enjoy telling people that just jugging This and That is easy.  But when THE OTHER THING gets involved…the three erasers all fall to the ground.  The boy kept drawing pictures of THE OTHER THING, who is a nice fellow if a bit mischievous.  Our rivalry is one for the ages, but mostly for the benefit of the public.  

Before he left, I got the boy to draw a comic.  It was an epic battle, as THAT attained the powers of a god and THE OTHER THING ascended to heaven to do battle with him.  Words quite frankly can’t do it justice.  It was an artwork of mythological scope.

His family appeared.  Time for him to go–and almost time for us to follow them out.  His mom and grandmother wanted to see his artwork.  He told them which ones were his but didn’t want his grandmother to take any home.  She was a bit put out by this, and they all walked out the front door.  Seized by a fit of inspiration I grabbed the comic, that mythological duel for the ages, and darted for where his mom stood filing out of the building.  I told her to give it to his grandma, knowing that such an important masterpiece would be safe in her hands.