by Les Sherwood » Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:16 pm
Hi
I am having a little problem in inputing a new post, therefore i am attaching one to another post.
A year or two there were some posts written about Balabam. I have to admit that I was one of his tormentors who enjoyed his reactions of our tormenting of him. This is one of my stories about him.
The time frames was in early 1950’s and I was in 6th or 7th class at St Anthony’s. The picture on website of bus stopped by candy store and Sylvania’s Bike store on Tremont reminded me of Joe M and I being off school on a snowy Tuesday afternoon for religious instruction for public school kids.
We were building an arsenal of snow balls on roof facing Tremont to throw at buses and scare the passengers which usually resulted in some good laughs. Then we saw Balabam’s electrical truck coming toward us from Theriot Ave. and couldn’t resist, and bombarded him. However after being hit by snowballs, he slammed on brakes and saw us and turned around his truck and started to go to Beach Ave. We ran across the roof and jumped on to big ledge and started to run down the hill to street but he was already pulling up in front of lots and getting out of car. We panicked and ran to back of lots but there nowhere to go as there was high wall and only the dead-end small alley in back. We decided to go in alley and hide. Next thing we saw him in front of alley, when I think we peed in our pants when we realized that we were trapped. All we could do was yell as he grabbed both of us and stared to carry us out to the lots. Lucky he slipped on snowy ground and we bolted down the hill and out on to Beach and made a beeline to our apartments on Taylor. Meanwhile he got back in his truck and was following us as we went down Guerlain St. We looked back at Taylor Ave and we saw him gaining on us. Joe got to 1535 first. I was alone as he pulled up to 1523 as I bolted up the stairs to our 2nd floor apartment. As I crashed through door and saw my mother in kitchen and told her that there was a “crazy man” chasing me, as I ran through the foyer/living room and into the bedroom and hid under the big bed. Next thing I know Balabam was telling my mother that what we did almost causing an accident on Tremont. Meanwhile I was yelling to my mother that “don’t let him in the house, he is crazy.” However, my mother was taking him through the living room and she wanted me to apologize him. She would not listen “that the man was crazy” and insisted that I apologize. Of course I had to do what my mother said and I apologized.
Balabam seemed to be a nice man as he talked to my mother. Was it possible that he was not crazy and maybe he was not that bad? I had a hard time to accept that since all the stories I heard and many I participated in tormenting this poor man. In retrospect he may been off center a bit and I understand he saw a lot of action in the first war.