The PF Challenge
(click)
In a recent comment, Diane noted that Halo was the last friend Patti made. That, and the Olympics, got me thinking about the first friend Patti made.
His name was Billy Conway. He and Patti were best friends from age three until fourth or fifth grade, when it became uncool to have a best friend of the opposite sex – about the same time Patti began to prefer horses to humans.
Like Patti, Billy was a cute, bright, full-of-energy, youngest child. “A bit spoiled, those two,†some said. And were they a pair to deal with! There were always plans to hatch, places to go, things to explore, trouble to get into, scams to perpetrate.
One summer – the one between kindergarten and first grade, if memory serves – they saw an ad on TV for PF-Flyer sneakers. Said ad suggested that PFs made you faster than any other sneaker in the world. They looked at their own feet. One wore PFs; the other Keds. A contest was born.
They picked out the best stretch of Scott Drive. They marked the course with chalk. They sold tickets to everyone in the neighborhood. They enlisted their fathers to be the judges, one on either side of the finish line. Billy’s older brother Robert shot a cap pistol to start the race.
While it was close, Keds won. Once across the line, Patti took off her PFs, left them in the street, and marched over to her father, hands on hips. “I’ll need Keds,†she announced and strutted home in her stocking feet.
She got Keds. And she and Billy moved on to their next adventure. But everyone remembered the PF Challenge, and no kid in the neighborhood would wear anything but Keds for as long as the memory lasted. Some may be wearing them still!
FierceBaby
Though Matthew has always loved his shoes, I don’t think he ever thought they’d help him run faster or jump higher, as we all believed growing up way back when. But what this story reminds me most of is Frank placing some commonly bought item on the sidewalk for his sister Rose to carry home. Sorry I can’t recall more details but leaving valuable items on paved surfaces must be genetic.
Comment by michael — February 23, 2006 @ 7:36 am
Oh, I loved this story. Brought back wonderful memories of my own, beloved (red!) Keds….and the hours of playing kickball. And it reminded me again of how sorry I am that I didn’t know Patti…
Comment by Mother Goose — February 23, 2006 @ 5:27 pm
Very sweet picture of Patti this is, such sparkly eyes. I always wanted PF-Flyers but never had them. Now this just validates that they didn’t “work” anyway!
Comment by La Rad — February 23, 2006 @ 5:47 pm
How sparkly are they?
Comment by michael — February 23, 2006 @ 6:05 pm
Sparkly in the way that little girl eyes get with a new toy on Christmas that puts them in a nurturing role. That kind of sparkle.
Comment by La Rad — February 23, 2006 @ 10:13 pm
Me: “Did you read the blog this morning?â€
Peter: “The PF Flyer Challenge?â€
Me: “Did it remind you of growing up in Cincinnati?â€
Peter: “The shoes did, but not the chalk lines,the parental participation. the feeling of community, We were more of a collection of loosely assembled gangs.â€
La Rad- I meant through your new sparkly eye.
Comment by michael — February 24, 2006 @ 10:07 am
Can’t see the computer screen with the new eye, but I can see the stop sign at the end of my street and can now see where an intersection begins. But it does sparkle. “Like the devils eyes” is how my father-in-law describes the sparkle. I prefer the little girl on Christmas morning analogy myself!
Comment by La Rad — February 24, 2006 @ 9:08 pm