The Columns (Volume One). Tracy Lorenz

as it was a giant Easter Egg hunt. During recess all kinds of Frisbees, super balls, kick balls, and baseballs would end up on the roof (along with the occasional shoe) and it was all finders-keepers after that. We’d climb up, collect the loot, toss it to the ground, climb down, and walk home like we just came from a Dick’s Sporting Goods shopping spree. The reason we needed to make these weekly excursions was because we had a woman on our block named Mrs. Brock. If we were playing in the street and a ball went into Mrs. Brock’s yard she would run out like a Wimbledon net girl, pick up the ball, and take it into her house like her lawn was all that nice anyway. We never knew what she did with all the balls she acquired but I suspect she sold them back to Lincoln Park so the cycle could begin anew.

      So as Q played I looked at that roof and remembered the feeling of being up there, the feeling of having all your senses heightened at once. Occasionally a janitor would come up and we’d have to scramble (as opposed to St. Francis School where if the nuns heard you they’d position themselves at the exit points and wait you out) but we never really got in trouble. The roof was a bonding point for those brave enough to make the climb. The rewards were worth the effort and if we got caught? Usually the janitor would just let us…slide.