Loving The Game. Pete Hines

said one of the policemen, looking around at the other businesses that surrounded the diner, the only building on the whole block with a fresh coat of paint.

      Charles just nodded, respectfully. As Charles was climbing the stairs heading into the diner, the officers headed back to their cruiser. Ralph was curious and pulled the sunroof back and popped up for a look. He greeted the two officers, “Good morning, Officers Lauritsen and Murphy.”

      Surprised, the two officers turned and looked to see who knew their names.

      “What are you?” demanded Officer Lauritsen.

      “My name is Ralph. I’m a portable computer programmed with human qualities.”

      “How do you know our names?” asked Officer Murphy.

      “I saw your names on your badges.”

      The officers looked at each other. “What else do you know about us?” asked Murphy.

      “Well, Murphy, you’ve been on the police force for 30 years and received an accommodation for bravery. And you, Officer Lauritsen have been on the police force for 20 years and were given citations for doing your job well above the call of duty.”

      Lauritsen replied that Murphy was only on the police force for 29 years.

      “Well,” said Ralph, “In two weeks, it will be 30 years.”

       Murphy agreed. “You’re right. How did you know that?”

      “I have access to a lot of information,” Ralph replied.

      Just then, the officers received a call for backup help. As they turned to leave, Murphy said they would later conduct their own investigation on Ralph.

      After the officers left, Ralph saw some boys dribbling a basketball down the street. They noticed Ralph peering above the rooftop of the Porsche and asked him who (or what) he was.

      “My name’s Ralph.”

      The boys pointed at Ralph’s funny appearance. They passed the ball back and forth as their curiosity mounted. Finally, Ralph asked if they would like him to play some music.

      Without hesitation, one of the boys said, “Sure.” So, Ralph offered up some James Brown and also produced a picture of James Brown in the form of a hologram. The boys couldn’t believe how it really looked like James Brown in person. They also couldn’t believe that Ralph could do all of that with the music and the picture. After going through some of their cool dance moves, one of them spoke up and said, “Let’s get something to eat.” Taking two diner steps at a time, they stopped and turned when they reached the door. They laughed when they could still see that very realistic image of James Brown.

      Meanwhile, Charles was settling in with Samuel Jacobsen. Charles always liked visiting with Samuel, a general building contractor. Unfortunately, Samuel was having some financial problems due to a company named Cybertex that had refused to pay him for past services. Charles liked Samuel and considered him an honest businessman and good dining companion.

      While Charles and Samuel were enjoying their meal, the boys entered the diner. As they sat down in a corner booth, they stared at Charles and Samuel. One of them said loudly, “What are these guys doing in this neighborhood?” Charles glanced toward them and responded, “Hey, how are you all doing?” The boys ignored the question and turned their attention to the waitress who was waiting to take their order.

      Charles could overhear their conversation. They had decided to play a game of pickup basketball after they ate. Just a short time later, they gave

      Charles and Samuel long stares as they walked by on the way to pay their bill. Samuel had paid no attention to the boys as he continued telling Charles the story of his financial woes. Charles listened while watching the boys. Samuel had now paused and was looking at Charles.“I’ll check into the matter for you,” Charles replied.

      The boys were now by the cash register. They dug deep into their pockets and Charles could see the waitress shake her head, as if this was a familiar scenario. They were exactly $2.35 short of what they needed. The waitress folded her arms across her chest. She looked overworked and tired, but still there was a slight look of bemusement towards the boys.

      At the same time, Charles was ready to pay for Samuel’s and his sandwiches and coffee. He rose and made his way towards the cash register where he stood by the boys. Then without saying a word, he counted out another $2.35 for their ticket. Charles put the money on the counter. “I’ll get theirs,” he told the waitress.

      The boys were surprised by Charles’ gesture. They backed away and a couple of them mumbled “thanks” as they made their way out of the diner. No one had done anything like this before, especially a white guy with a weird robot in his car. What other luck could the day bring?

      Charles was pleased, and it felt good to help the boys – even if it was in such a small way. He chuckled, remembering how the boys had devoured their burgers and fries.

      Getting into his Porsche, Charles started driving home (still listening to the Mamas and Papas and even singing along), but it wasn’t late and he didn’t feel like calling it a day. He turned down an unfamiliar street a few blocks from the diner and he immediately noticed a dilapidated building. As he drove by, he began to wonder what used to be in that building. It may have been a courthouse or maybe a gym.

      Then as if he had a flash into the future, he knew that it was a gym that he saw. It was an almost eerie feeling, realizing there was a reason why he had turned down 99th Street. He drove to the next corner and turned around.

      “Where are we going?” asked practical Ralph.

      “Back to that gym.”

      “Why?”

      “Well, I don’t really know,” admitted Charles.

      Some questions started forming in Charles’ mind. If it was a gym, what teams played there? Were the teams and players famous? He knew instinctively that at one point, the building had been full of activity. Although he usually wasn’t like this, being more methodical about things, for some reason he felt drawn to the building. He felt for some odd reason that he should go inside.

      Next, he was steering into the deserted parking lot. It was a sad sight – trash and weeds littered the side of the lot. A rusty can blew in the slight breeze. He pulled beside and stopped by a rusty 1960 Chevy Biscayne. It looked like it hadn’t moved for years. A tattered sheet of plastic replaced the missing windshield and was flapping in the breeze. Weeds with purple flowers grew through the pavement cracks. A basketball hoop was still standing, with a few strands of the net dangling below the rim. This definitely had been a gymnasium.

      Charles decided to get out and see if he could get inside the old gym. He didn’t see any doors on the side, but there was an old drainpipe that ran up to a ledge near one of the windows. Before he could consider the possible consequences of his actions, Charles had grabbed the drainpipe and shimmied up the short three feet until he could place his knees on the ledge and peer inside. (All of that tennis was helping to keep him in shape.) From this view he couldn’t see much, but he did manage to make out the gym floor and a section of the bleachers. He imagined people sitting on those bleachers and cheering. He imagined cheerleaders in the front twirling colorful pompoms, their hair tied up in ponytails with long ribbons.

      It now occurred to him that he was trespassing. What would Ralph think? He chuckled at the thought. He felt he should leave but something held him there, perched in that awkward spot. That old gym intrigued him.

      Suddenly, he began to relive his own basketball memories. He visualized the basketball hoop attached to the front of the garage. He remembered shooting baskets and practicing free throws for hours when school was done for the summer.

      In spite of all his practice, he had been one of the first boys to get cut when he tried out for the high school basketball team. However, his love of the game resulted in many long hours