SAFE HOUSE chapter 45

There was a safe house only half a block from the north side of Central High. We would exit by the gym and head down a steep hill, cut into the alley and walk right up to Betty’s place.

I have no idea how Gene and I ever got started walking to her place after school, but it happened often. I suspect Gene and I began as a means of waiting out the fights and other problems out the west door of the school. On the other hand, we made have done it just because we had all become good friends and it was something to do after school.

Betty was the one who drew me into Youth for Christ. I convinced Gene to come with us to the Saturday night YFC rallies. Gene folded right into the larger group of friends, but he was my best friend. He loved all the activities the group did and had access to a car before I did.

I remember a time Gene was driving with Betty and I in the car and we were very far north on 30^th Street. Why, I don’t know. Betty yelled some comment out the window as a response to a car that had made some threatening comments. A few blocks later they were joined by another car with six boys looking for a fight. The first car was behind us and the car full of boys was on our left side trying to push us to the curb. Gene took off as fast as he could drive through red lights as we all prayed for a cop. There was none to be found. When he finally got far enough ahead and into an area where he was familiar he made some quick turns left and right and right and left and finally pulled into an alley and then up in his own back yard. We sat there awhile slinked down and breathing heavy until we were sure we were safe. The wait was long.

In warm weather we often sat at the top of the steps leading to Betty’s place from 19^th Street. We talked. About what, I could never speculate at this point in life. I suppose it was just about life, maybe our problems (of course teens have problems even if they are only their own mind), definitely school, our friends, what to do, where to go. We may have gone bowling. I don’t think we ever when bowling after school, but there was a bowling alley a short distance down the hill from Betty’s house, and we did bowl. Betty really liked beating the boys, which she did often.

After high school I joined a bowling league with some of the salesmen from Kenny Shoes. I would love to report I bowled a perfect game, but about the closest I ever got was about a 220, maybe 240.

I remember a time when there had been a murder reported on the campus of Creighton University. Since Gene and I usually walked through their campus to get home, there were many nights after events when we ran through the campus. The whole thing seems funny now. Yes, there had been a murder, but it wasn’t random. Besides, like we would say, why would anyone want to kill silly high school boys? We never stopped cutting through the campus and only felt somewhat secure after we passed St. John’s Cathedral. We never saw anything, but we heard enough noises to scare the wits out of us. 

This is St. John's Cathedral as it looked in the late 50's when Gene and I were running down 30th Street as fast as we could (not that fast). I got to see the campus a few years back. It is beautiful and their school of dentistry sits where my house use to sit and some of their student housing sits where Gene once lived. By the way, Gene went on to become a dentist and we only had contact once more and that was only a few years before he passed away.