Saturday In The Park

Saturday In the park,
I think it was the forth of July
Saturday In the park,
I think it was the forth of July

People dancing,
people laughing,
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs,
Eicay vare, eise narde
Can you dig it, yes I can
And I've been waiting such a long time
For Saturday

Another day In the park, I think it was the forth of July
Another day In the park, I think it was the forth of July
People talking, really smiling, a man playing guitar
Singing to us all,
Will you help him change the world?
Can you dig it, yes I can
And I've been waiting such a long time
For today

These are some lyrics from a popular song by the group Chicago, released in the early seventies.  When I think about those days and the times we had getting together with friends at the local parks this song always comes to mind.

I reluctantly write this next story due to it's sensitive nature and the closeness of the persons involved.  My dredging up of old memories has been painful and I seriously considered omitting it from my written testimony.  As you have already noticed I have made a concerted effort to be vague with certain details in my two previous writings, and will continue to do so.  I choose to leave out names of persons, places and locations for a few specific reasons: first of all, it's not that important to the message I am trying to convey, that God is forever faithful, even when we're not.  Next, I don't want any individual or neighborhood to be credited with some act of machismo, as if any of the events that I've been describing were in any way positive.  And lastly, I want to protect the privacy of the individuals and families of the victims and even the perpetrators involved.  I know that by telling the stories this way makes them a little more difficult to follow, but I feel this is best for the reasons given.

Again, to God be the glory for his protection over me through those turbulent times of my youth, and no less for today and all of life's present challenges. 

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

"Saturday In The Park"

It was a Friday night and some of the local girls decided to have a small get together at their apartment.  They invited some friends, both from our hometown and some from a neighboring city to the north of us.

Sometime during the evening, after a few beers and a few joints, a fight broke out and eventually all the guys were involved.  When all the dust settled the guys from my town were jumping in their cars leaving in a big hurry, and some of the other guys were bleeding from stab wounds suffered in the melee, the worst one with multiple wounds, laying in the bath tub.

It was early spring 1976 and life was good.  We were having large get-togethers on a regular basis.  There was one particular park we would gather at to play softball or flag football.  We would listen to music, cruise the park, bar-b-q, and party - good friends, good food, good times.

We all were looking forward to the next gathering, it had been planned for a couple of weeks and the day was finally here, it was the Sunday after the stabbings.

Dozens of people showed up, cruising in their lowriders through the park to the selected spot.  Lining up the cars as if it were a car show, doors wide open, music blaring, everybody greeting one another.  Let the party begin!

We arrived in the 65 LeMans as usual, and parked alongside everyone else, got out and said our hellos.  It was a beautiful day, a perfect day for a ball game and bar-b-q.  The guys were unloading the food and drinks from the trunks of the cars and the girls were setting up the tables and chairs in a spot in the shade.  It had the makings of a great day.

Everyone was standing around talking, joking, telling stories.  A group of guys and girls starting playing softball while others fired up the bar-b-Q's.  The rest just sat around listening to music and enjoyed the quiet peaceful day.  At that moment in time life was good.  What more could you ask for?  More beer!  Four of us got into the LeMans to make a trip to the liquor store .

Sometime during the day, unknown to us, a group of guys had entered the park undetected by anyone from our group and parked in the area that was known as the circle.  At this particular park there were two main roads that meandered through its length, both meeting at the far end making a circle in which the cars had to travel through to proceed in the opposite direction.

We learned later that someone had tipped off these guys that we were all going to be there, they were the homeboys of the stabbing victims from two nights before.

They had entered by the road furthest from us and went right to the circle, parked and waited.  They knew that eventually someone from our group would have to come through, and they would be ready to dole out some payback.

In the late afternoon, not too long after we had left to the store, one of my good friends decided it was time to leave.   He gathered up his stuff, his girlfriend, and his little brother, got into his car and headed out in the direction of the circle.  He decided he was going cruise to the end of the road, go through the loop and cruise by one last time before exiting the park.  That decision proved to be a deadly mistake.

As he entered the circle the other group of guys, who had been waiting most of the day, were ready for him.  They came out from between the cars that were parked on the side of the road, and surrounded his vehicle.  His only possible way of escape was to put the car in reverse and try to back out, but the road was to narrow and he backed into a car that was parked on the side behind him, he was trapped.  Thus, the attack began.

The guys that surrounded his car were all carrying some type of weapon or object to be used as a weapon.  One of the attackers swung something at the driver's side, breaking through the window and into the head of my friend knocking him out.  He was placed face down on the asphalt road and someone shot him multiple time in the back of the head.

When the shooting began we were cruising back into the park, not yet aware of what had just taken place.  What we saw as we passed our picnic spot was people running in all directions.  Our intentions were to cruise through the circle and then come back and park with the rest of our party.  As we passed, one of our friends was waving and yelling for us to go back.

It was at that point that additional gunshots rang out.  The shooter, standing over the body began firing in our direction when he saw some of us had begun to run toward him.  Meanwhile, the rest of his group was scrambling to get out of there.  Realizing that they also were trapped now, one of them moved the lifeless body of my good friend, while another got into and moved his car, which was blocking their escape.

Just minutes earlier, when we had been told to go back, we had pulled over and exited our vehicle and began to run to the aid of our fallen friend.  As the shots were now directed at us we hit the ground and tried to find cover.  Next, we saw the cars of the shooter and his group coming out of the circle and racing for the park exit.

A few of us got up and ran back to our car.  We took off after them trying to catch them before they reached the street.  We failed.  We turned the car around and went back to where our group of friends were.  What I saw was heart wrenching, up until that moment I really didn't know all that had happened.  I saw, on the ground crying, one of my homeboys holding our friend in his lap, face up, holding the back of his head in his hand.  By this time most of our group were now there, watching in horror and disbelief, the result of this brutal and senseless attack.

Eventually the Fire Dept. arrived along with an EMT vehicle and an ambulance.  A second ambulance went over to the bleachers at the nearby softball field where an off-duty police officer was hit by a stray bullet while watching his daughter play softball.

CPR was started on my friend and he was loaded into the ambulance.  We returned to our car once again and made our way to the hospital.  By the time I arrived at the hospital he had already been taken into the emergency room area where we could not enter.  When we inquired about his condition we were told that no information could be given until his mother arrived and she was already on her way.  By the somber looks on their faces and the response given, I knew in my heart that he hadn't made it.

We were all enraged; we wanted to hit back fast and hard.  We started making our plans for retaliation right there in the hospital waiting area.  When his mom came out from seeing her son, she saw the anger in our eyes, she heard the plotting whispers, and she told us "Please don't do anything.  Please don't go and get in trouble.  Don't go and hurt someone else, it's not going to bring my son back."  We didn't want to hear that.  We didn't listen.

We went for the guns and went for revenge.  We were a few cars, loaded with angry young men ready to kill.  Ready to react in the same senseless way that these other angry young men had reacted.   They had reacted to the assault on their friends just two nights before at a little get together held at the apartment of some girls they knew.  We drove that other town, up and down, in and out, street after street until it got dark.  We saw no one, thank God we saw no one.  Finally, we decided to go home.  We said we would pick up the search tomorrow, but the next day the streets were so hot with cops we didn't go back.    

 "The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.  The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore."  Psalm 121:7-8

I thank the Lord each and every day for His gift of life to me.  For my family and friends.  Those things we so often take for granted.  Those things that could have been taken away or never realized if I had lost my life or had taken another's during that time of my life.

"Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name."  Hebrews 13:15

This will be the last story of this chapter of my life.  It has been difficult, not only for me but for my wife as I write and she reads and we relive some of these memories.  I realize now there was a reason it has taken thirty five years for these stories to be told.  But, I do so in the hopes that someone out there will be blessed and know that no matter how tough the job, God can change any persons life that is surrendered to Him.


God Bless and Press On
Larry

There are many more episodes to tell, but I need to move on to the next chapter.   In 1981 I moved to Humboldt County California and had some very unique farming experiences, a few of them I'd like to share with you in the coming weeks.  Stayed Tuned... Your comments about this blog are always welcomed, let me know if it is benefiting you in any way.  Or not.   
Thank you, and once again, May the Lord richly bless you.