Early Slim

Once upon a time...there was a young boy named Patrick Farrell...Slim was his knickname...a rambunctious wirey tall young lad...from 84th Street...who enjoyed all his sports to the fullest...I'm sure he thought he was gonna be the next Roger Staubach, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys...throwing that deep, Hail Mary bomb...to wide receiver, Drew Pierson...

And certainly don't rule out, Slim, dreaming with the idea of taking over for Ron Santo at 3rd Base, of the Cubs, someday, either, or even taking over for his idol, Tony Esposito in the nets for the Hawks...truly one of his greatest passions...And if you hung with Slim, inevitably, you were gonna be having lots of fun...that was just a given....

Slim, you see, was very much, his own man, from an early age...While most of us were true, blue White Sox fans...Slim was the absolute biggest Cubs fan...And yes, the Dallas Cowboys, were the team for Slim, completely...How could you not wanna root for them Cowboys...???...if you hung around with Slim......way back when we were 8 or 9 or 10 years old...

If you entered Slim's house back in the day...you were usually met by Slim's Mom, who was simply a joy to be around...She did treat all of Slim's friends like we were truly something special, when we all knew, we were, nothing but a bunch of budding little monsters...

And then, all of Slim's sisters, would pop up around each and every corner...Katie, Colleen, Mary, Maureen, Jenny & Betty...all at various ages...all happy, little go-getter, girls...so very Irish looking...all just like their Mother...who teased and tattled on Slim...endlessly...

I know Slim must have looked up to his Dad, rather woefully, on more than one occassion, and asked his dear Dad, why did you have to have so many girls...???...

How I did dread Slim's situation, because he above all others, had a deliciously mischeivious side to him...and in the early years...his little madcap hijinx...took quite a few hits...as it wasn't uncommon to hear one of Slim's sisters to call out...

Mom...Pat is doing this again...!!!...Mom...Pat is doing that, again...!!!...

It certainly drove him crazy...being the only boy, amidst all those girls...but he was undaunted...just plowing ahead...and doing completely funny & crazy stuff...and worrying about the damning consequences, later...

To take you back to early Slim, you'd see him...shuttle us past his sisters, in his neat bi-level deluxe home, as quickly as possible, down to his room...where he knew it was safe...to conduct his private hobbies & endeavors...

He'd shut his door...but not before one of his sister's would yell out...

Mom, Pat has friends in the house...!!!...And their shoes are all muddy...!!!...

Slim did slam that door behind him...and the only one who could enter was his dear dog...Blue...

Blue, was an odd mutt...if there ever was one...a black & silvery & even blue, Scottish Terrier, I'm guessing...and he'd just maul anyone...for attention...until you had to beg Slim, to get his crazy mutt...off of us...

There, within his room...Slim would reveal his brand new baseball cards and then later on, look around, very slowly, as if the C.I.A. may be watching, then pull out his Parley Cards...once he thought the room was absolutely safe...and the coast was clear.

What are Parley Cards...???

See, Slim ran a gambling operation amidst us 5th & 6th Graders...getting his Parley Cards from a neighbor kid...a local bookie...who I'm guessing...actually did have ties to the mob...I know it sounds silly but it really was quite fun...and when its all said and done, Slim got a nice piece of the pie...from his efforts...

See...Parley Cards, had a breakdown of the odds...for every NFL & many college football games that week...And all of Slim's buddies, including me, were hooked immediately...We took great pride on slapping down our $3-$5...for a chance at beating the odds...and circling our various choices, for each week...

Damn...we all thought we were Jimmy the Greek, back then...taking a stab...at winning...a nice big chunk of change..for us youngsters...We'd grab ahold of those tiny sheets of paper, embosesed with the teams and the odds...rabidly and quickly, buckling down...

We'd be measuring each possible bet, with a tremendous flair of reasoning...in which we felt...was gonna get us that jackpot...every time...and sure...I won a few...myself...

Slim took great pride, in keeping his little gambling venture secret...and in true Slim style, never got caught by anyone...That young Slim was a slickster, thru and thru...Like I said, we'd be down in his room...and you'd clearly see his Dallas Cowboys bed-spread and garbage can...Cubs & Bears & Blackhawk stuff...all about...and baseball mitts and bats and hockey stuff & trophies...in every corner...Truly, he was a mega-sports-junkie...(as most of us...his friends were...too...)...

I'll let you slide back, right now...slip back to one of those typical Slim adventures...as we rode our bikes, like hell on wheels, up to the funky, skunky little paradise lost...known as The B....near my house...which had this very high chain-link fence...to keep trespassers out...like us...

Suddenly, Slim, would jump off his bike and make a mad dash to the fence...He just remembered, that he had a new windbreaker coat on...and getting over that fence...may be a little tricky...No matter, Slim...ascended the fence...getting to the very top...Well, that seemed easy, enough, then...laughing at all of us...up at the top...

Rrrrrrippppppppp...!!!...

There was suddenly a giant rip in Slim's new coat...so suddenly...so completely, ruining the damn thing, cuz' it got stuck on some little barb wire thingie at the top...You could see that look in Slim's eyes, almost able to hear his sister's screams...

Mom, Pat's got a giant rip in his coat...!!!...

Or...

Mom, look at Slim's coat, he's gonna need a new one...!!!...

Slim slid back down, no longer in a jovial mood...just staring at this giant tear...just hanging down, rendering the coat, useless...ready for the bottom of his Cowboys trash can...in his room...

But oh no...the story, does not end there...For about a week later...we cruised aimlessly and shamelessly, back up to, where else, The B...again...And again, Slim, got to the top, with a reckless abandon...and damn...it happened once again...Call it Deja vu'...call it what you will...

Rrrrripppppppppp....!!!...

Egad...Slim...don't look down...I believe you did it again...You ruined another brand new windbreaker. Slim, at this point was a bit mortified...saying...

My Mom & Dad are really gonna kill me...this time...!!!...

Oh yes...Slim knew the doghouse...not only awaited Blue...sometimes...He too...was there, quite a bit, also, from time to time....himself...unfortunately...But just chalk this one up as one of Slim's more dubious moments...Surely, he was pretty darn smooth...and he took it all in stride...

But who can forget...Just that funny, funny look of horror, which came across Slim's face, hearing that..Rrrrippppppppppp...!!!!..

Oh yeah, that happened, in some way, to all us kids, back then...always crashing & bashing forward...so recklessly, never thinking, we could be stopped...until something beyond mystifyingly, crazy would happen...that would end our reign of terror...for that day...

Most definitely, I could go...on and on...cuz' Slim was the enigmatic, elite master of hi-jinx...who made it almost a nightly ritual to sneak out, crawling out of his window of his room...into his backyard...late at night...to wander all about...looking for trouble...

He'd always try to grab Eddie B or the Murphy Boys or Davey Scalise...out with him...into the danger zone...playing well past curfew...having as good a time...as any little crazy fool could have had back then, and surely enough...Slim never got caught...so, so much of the time...

The one and only, Patrick Slim Farrell...A bit of a rascal...a bit of a daredevil...and a bit of the crazy man...who would grow up along side me...and along side of all of my crazy buddies...for some mad-cap adventures...that are truly hilarious, truly unique...and sometimes truly unbelieveable...

And yes...for all of you...to enjoy...only a few pages away....into the Twilight Zone...So do stay tuned...

(On a side note....I spoke to Slim and he said Blue his dog was actaully an Irish Kerry Blue Terrier, not a Scottish Terrier...Murph's, a block away, had an Irish Kerry Blue Terrier too...one more, rather amusing side note...Jim O'leary had a penchant for selecting CLEMSON every week on my football Parley Card...and it covered its points...every single time...which baffled Slim to no end...Of course, I had no idea, that Clemson even existed...I just always liked to cling to something, bizarre and off the wall...that defied logic...to some extreme...I still follow those bizarre hunches, that make no sense to others...I just fly that way...When it works, you look like a genius...and if it doesn't...it's something to laugh about...A win-win to me...no doubt...)