Falling Down (Ch. 6) - Randy Halprin
Randy Halprin
"We tend to see a person in the moment, not as the journey they travelled to get here." Kat Lehmann
Memoirs
FALLING DOWN : PART ONE (1995)
Chapter 6
(by Randy E. Halprin)
A Memoir
Monday morning my phone was working! It was a wonderful feeling to pick up the receiver and hear a dial tone. I made my first call to my dad because I knew he'd be home and I really wanted to hear my little brothers' voices...Kevin, as usual, cracked fart jokes, and Jimmy told me what he was doing at day care. It was always a good feeling to hear their voices.
I got ready for work, cleaned my place up, and headed out. I had a couple of friends who lived in Lexington, and I had yet to contact them. One was a close friend called Emma, who had just graduated from OBI the year before. The other was one of my old teachers from OBI, Mrs K, who we often referred to as “Sergeant Slaughter”. We gave her that name because during middle school, 8th grade specifically, our classroom was inside the Old Gym, and we spent the entire day in that one class room. The teachers would change with each subject, but we were trapped in there all day, so it caused a bit of restlessness in us. More often than not the restlessness would turn into shenanigans, and Mrs K, whilst being a great teacher and very entertaining, was ruthless when it came to misbehaviour! She used the gym to her full advantage and would make us run laps around the basketball court, or run the steps to the bleachers. “Apparently you guys have too much energy! I'll take care of that for you!” She'd scream...
She left OBI during my Freshman year after getting married, and moved to Lexington. So, after work that Monday, I looked in the yellow pages to see if I could find her. There was only one listing with her last name, and I gave it a try. I let the phone ring a few times and then it clicked over to an answering machine, but it was clearly her voice. “Hey, Mrs K. It's me, Randy Halprin, one of your students...I'd like to get in touch with you if possible, as I live in Lexington now.” I left my phone number and then attempted to look Emma up. There were several listings of her last name and I tried all of them when, finally, I heard a familiar voice. “Emma?” I asked.
“Yeah...” She answered.
“It's Randy!”
“Ahhh! Holy shit! What's up?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Well, Kim told me you were kicked out of school, but I don't know where you went.”
“Right here. I'm in Lexington!”
“What??!? Why didn't you call me sooner?”
“I was just getting situated and finding a job, and Tracy just left after spending the weekend. It's been crazy! I don't even know Lexington that well apart from New Circle Road, and the Rupp Arena. Hell, I don't even know the bus line yet. Please tell me you have a car!”
She told me she did, but it wasn't something she took out often because it was in really bad shape, but if I told her where I was she'd come out and meet me. I gave her my address, and that night she drove to my place. We caught up and made plans to hang out. She'd been taking the summer off, but was going to look for a job in the fall. Before she left, we hugged and said how good it was to see each other again.
A couple of days later, Mrs K returned my call. She wanted to meet me, but her husband kept the car all day long and didn't return until evening time. “Do you know where Versaille Road is?”
“No...”
“Rupp Arena?”
“Of course,” I said.
“Meet me at Rupp, and I'll walk you back to our place. We'll have dinner.” She said.
As soon as work ended, I freshened up, changed my clothes, and headed down town to Rupp Arena. It wasn't a long walk from New Circle, maybe a mile and a half, two miles tops. When I reached Rupp Arena I waited for her and suddenly she appeared in shorts, t-shirt and a hip pack. “C'mon! I've got dinner in the oven; we gotta get back!” She barked, ever the drill sergeant!
We crossed a bridge and walked down Versailles, a stretch of road that was mostly apartment buildings. There was a small shopping center with a small grocery store, and some kind of medical clinic. Trees lined the street and in between the apartment buildings – that was something I always loved about Kentucky! Even in the bigger cities, trees were given priority and they were everywhere. We soon reached her apartment and went inside...The smell of dinner cooking in the oven was wonderful! Her husband had actually come home early to meet me, but had to run out and buy a few things, taking their baby daughter with him, and he'd be back soon. Without missing a beat in the conversation, she told me to wash my hands and help her to make a salad. As we prepared the food, we caught up on things and I was telling her bits and pieces – not everything – of what had happened...Fear of judgement held me back a little, and I was caught off guard when she said she never felt Oneida was standing on biblical truth. I really didn't feel like getting into a theological conversation at that time, so I let it go. Soon after that conversation, Mr K came home with a bag of items, and their baby daughter, Bethany. I helped him by taking the baby from his arms, and I began making silly faces at the infant...As if on cue, she began to giggle and make little noises.
Before eating, Mr K wanted to say “Grace” and so I politely bowed my head as he gave the blessing over the meal. When we began to eat he said, “My wife tells me you're Jewish.”
“Yeah...” I said, feeling the hair on my neck begin to rise. I really didn't want to get into this conversation...
“God's chosen people!” He exclaimed. I was relieved, but he added, “Though, the old covenant has been washed away by Jesus' sacrifice...Cleansed by the blood.”
I started to feel uncomfortable, and hadn't realised that Mrs K had married a fundamental Christian. Fortunately, he didn't take it any further than that, and we enjoyed a very nice meal. I played with their daughter a little, and then I had to head back home. “Do you know your way back?” Mrs K asked. “Yeah, I think so...” I replied. Mr K chimed in, “You're going to walk?”
“Yeah.”
“I've got an old bicycle you can use; you might need to get the tire fixed, but it'll get you home. You want it, it's yours!” He told me.
I was moved by the gesture and his kindness, and felt guilty about pre-judging his piousness. I accepted his offer of the bicycle, noting the irony that my whole mess started with a bicycle, but maybe things were turning around for me. With friends in Lexington, and getting back on my feet, things wouldn't be so bad after all. I thanked them, and headed out the door. The bicycle tire was a bit flat, but it held the air until I reached my apartment. I carried it upstairs and inside.
After my first pay cheque from SUBWAY, I opened up a bank account. I wanted to get a better television and some other things, so I headed out to a mall with a Montgomery Wards – their prices were relatively cheap, plus they had everything! Clothing, home appliances, and more. There was a sign offering a store credit card, and after reading the fine print I thought, “hey, I qualify for that,” so I applied. I was told it would arrive in about a week...I was getting this “adult” thing all figured out!
I looked around the store and saw a VCR/TV combo that looked great, but it was out of my price range, so I looked at some TVs as well. But I loved my movies, so the combo thing kept calling my name. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money to buy it, but I decided that once I got my card I could buy it then. In the meantime, I noticed the video section in the store and stocked up on movies I knew I would enjoy once I got my VCR/TV.
One weekend, Tracy had planned to come and see me, and would be in town on Friday evening and could stay until Monday afternoon. I was really excited about it, but told her that on Friday I had to stay and close the SUBWAY after 10pm, so we made plans for her to come into the shop and wait for me to close up. I gave her explicit instructions to cut through the apartment bushes to the SUBWAY, and not to walk around the apartment complex, because I worried about her safety – it wasn't exactly the safest place in the world at night time.
Friday came, and I was excited about the weekend. I was getting paid and my “allowance” from my parents was due on Saturday as well. I had some ideas about what to do over the weekend, one of which was checking out the Fayette Mall – a newer, nice mall in Lexington. Tracy and I were both Disney fans and they had just built a Disney store, so I wanted to take her to see it.
I was a bit surprised when Tracy turned up earlier than planned, and I almost didn't recognise her when she walked through the entrance...I was wiping the counter down when I heard the chime of the door. I looked up and saw a red head, but she wearing clothing A-typical to what Tracy wore – a very tight shirt, a plaid mini skirt, and very white stockings pulled up her legs. I heard my co-worker say, “Damn!” as she entered the store, and in my glance I thought, “Who would come to a SUBWAY dressed as a school girl?” And I went back to wiping the counter down.
The girl walked up to the counter and asked if I was there, and I looked up again and realised it was her! I couldn't believe it! I hadn't had my break yet, so I told my co-worker I was going to take it and to not trip if I was a few minutes late returning. “Don't worry dude, I'll punch you back in,” he told me. I went to the back of the shop, grabbed my work ticket, and punched it in the timer before going on my break.
We walked back to my place, cutting through the bushes to my apartment. “These are the bushes you told me about? I couldn't find them!”
“Please tell me you didn't walk the way I told you not to go!”
“Yeah...”
“In THAT?” I said, pointing to her clothes.
“I just wanted to make you smile.”
We walked upstairs and to my apartment, went inside, and I kissed her hard...I was excited about the evening, but had to get back to work. I kissed her again and she asked me if she could use the phone. “Sure. Don't forget to call the shop for the food order.”
I bolted out the door and ran back to work. I was only a few minutes late and we had a couple of hours work left before closing the shop. It was a slow night, so my co-worker began to put things up and get prepared to close up. The phone rang and I answered, “Subway...Randy speaking.”
“Hey honey.” I heard Tracy say. “Just calling for the food order.”
We talked a couple of minutes and I wrote things down, to make it look like I was taking an order. My co-worker had clued me up on how to get a bunch of “free” food. As employees, we were always entitled to a free meal, but anything extra had to be written off, and that included some extra paperwork. He told me the trick was to get a friend to call in and pick up an order. If that order wasn't picked up, it would have to be thrown away and written off. You could get away with a bigger order of food every couple of weeks. It wasn't anything to be abused, he'd tell me, just whenever you want a little something extra.
I had not done it before, but I made the food and drinks, and put them in a “to go” bag. It sat on the counter for the remainder of the opening hours, then at 10pm I wrote it off as directed. We mopped and cleaned, and dropped the cash takings into a safe built into the ground. Then I headed back to my place.
The next morning, Tracy asked me what I had planned. “I say we get a cab and go to the Fayette Mall. There's something there I want to show you.”
We showered, and she got dressed in the same outfit she arrived in the day before...I put on jeans and a tan shirt, and put my silver loop earring in. “That looks really good on you.” She said. I told her I was thinking of getting my nose pierced, and she liked the idea of that. “We'll see.” I said.
I went out to the mail box to see if my dad's money had arrived, and like clockwork, it was there. I could spend a little extra on the day! Tracy called the cab for us, and it soon arrived. I'd never been to the Fayette Mall before, and whilst not as big as the one I was used to growing up in Arlington, Texas, it was bigger than I expected. We went into the mall and mostly window shopped. I noticed a piano store and made a beeline for it! Tracy could play piano as well; we both won “most outstanding pianist” the same year – my Freshman year, and her Sophomore year. Music was my passion, but acting and writing were hers.
We tinkered around from keyboard to keyboard when I noticed the holy grail of keyboards – a Korg! It called out to me! I'd been wanting to show off a bit anyways, and play Aha's “Take On Me,” something I just taught myself...I switched the keyboard on and it sounded like heaven! It was loaded with all the bells and whistles of technology at the time. The store clerk came over and said, “not too bad,” and then showed me what the keyboard could really do. “How much is it?” I asked.
“$1500,” he said, without blinking an eye.
“Well, it was a nice dream...” I said, and we walked out.
We finally found the Disney store and Tracy ran off in a mad dash towards it. It was nice, but not nearly as big as the one in Arlington. We spent about an hour there and bought some things, then we went for dinner to a Mexican restaurant called, “Chichi's”, and on to a movie called, “9 ½ Months,” starring Hugh Grant. After that, we caught a cab back home.
The following weekend I spent in Louisville...On those particular weekends I'd sleep between a pub and a shop – it was warm at night at the time, and relatively safe. Tracy's parents had let her come back home, and so in the mornings I would shower at her place once her parents left for work, and then we'd head down town to meet her friends, if she didn't have to work. I had a few days off work at this time, so I planned to stay in Louisville for a bit longer. One of these days, I had this idea of doing another 'grand romantic gesture' and I wanted to put little “I love you” post it notes all around her bedroom...I was cheesy like that and couldn't be helped!
So, after riding with her to work, I took the DART city bus back to Bardstown Road, and walked to her street. Sometimes her back patio door was unlocked and I could just walk right in, so I went through the back gate into her back yard where I was greeted by her little dogs, Sara and Spice. They recognised me and began to jump and paw at me excitedly, so I scratched their head and ears, and then went to the back door. It was locked. Well, so much for that, I thought. But wait! I remembered that sometimes the dining room window wasn't closed...The only problem is the window and it's ledge was about five feet above ground. I'd have to grab a lawn chair or something to even get in...I didn't think of the implications of this...I didn't think, “hey, dumb ass, a neighbor might see you going through a window and think someone was breaking into the house." No, I didn't think of any of these things...I was in an impulsive moment – with good intentions – and being the uber romantic!
I grabbed a chair from the back patio and took it to the window. I checked the window to see if it would open, and it did. Then, I raised it as much as I could, and climbed right through. Once inside, I went straight to her room, found some post it notes, and began writing, “I love you” on several stickers and sticking them all over the place...It looked like a post it bomb had gone off! Little yellow squares everywhere! Once done, I climbed back out, played with her dogs for a bit, then caught a DART bus back down town. I still had some time to kill and I decided that enough time had passed since my theft experience at the Galleria, so I thought I'd go to the mall and walk around.
I walked around for about an hour, and then I heard a stern voice call out to me. “You! In the striped shirt! Stop!” I froze in place and when I turned around I found myself staring into the eyes of the exact same police officer who arrested me a couple of months before. My heart began to pound, but I told myself I hadn't done anything wrong this time...I was good.
“I thought I recognised you.” He said.
“Yes, sir?” I said, swallowing a lump in my throat.
“What are you doing here? Banned means banned!”
“I'm sorry...I was just...I was just killing some time before I had to meet my girlfriend.”
“Alright. This is a warning. Next time I see you in here I'll arrest you. You need to leave the area now.”
“Yes, sir”
He followed me to an exit, and I got as far away from the Galleria as I could...And I never returned.
Once Tracy was finished work I went to meet her, but instead of our typical hug and kiss, she screamed at me, “You broke into our home?”
I was confused. Broke in? What the hell was she talking about?
“What are you talking about?”
“My dad! He came home and saw little notes you left all over my room!”
“I didn't break in...I went through the window. It was a surprise for you!” I said, defending myself.
“He said he was going to call the police the next time you were around the house! Why are you always fucking up!?”
Those words hurt. I just thought I was doing something loving and romantic...There was just a couple of weeks left before the school year started, and Tracy had to return to Oneida. We planned one more get-together in Louisville, and then I'd be left alone until the next school break.
Emma got a job at a Hilton, and needed some black dress slacks and shoes, so I offered to help her buy them. We went to Montgomery Ward's in her banana yellow Honda that I referred to as the “death trap” because it would stall out in the middle of a ride, which it did on the way to the store. “We're going to die in this thing,” I'd say whenever it did that. “I really thought I'd live to be at least 18 years old.”
There was a fall clothing sale going on, so I decided to buy some stuff for myself, and hadn't realised that I maxed out the card. There was just enough left for the items that Emma wanted, and a few things for me, but the lady at the cash register warned me, “You really need to pay this thing off.” I hadn't...And I hadn't paid my phone bill off either.
I went back to Louisville to spend a couple of days with Tracy before she left and fortunately, they were incident free. I could hang out at her house, but I was not allowed to go inside which I understood. We spent the Sunday morning she was due to return to school, together, and when she left I headed back to Lexington feeling sad that I wasn't going to be able to join her or my friends back at school. As much as I was upset about being kicked out, there were still a lot of things that I loved about school – especially all of my friends. It would be the first time in several years that I wouldn't be returning to the initial excitement of a new school year...I was determined to get back!