American Football and my Classmate, AA.
I grew up Ufa, which is a large city in Ural Mountains, Russia. I had a wonderful time growing up! This is the story about watermelons and late summer in Ufa, about 1973 timeframe. August was very hot, and this was the time when watermelons became available in stores. Normally they brought those in trucks and unloaded them all on the ground, where they were sold to thirsty August crowds, right there, from the ground, for cash. Some of them were crack-opened in the process, but what the hell. Watermelons were cheap.
There was a store selling watermelons right where I lived. As I was passing by, I saw my classmate, AA, in action. To give you some context, he was about 12 years old, not very tall, had puffy cheeks and just a bit chubby. He had a small watermelon of a size of a volleyball ball in his hands. As it stands, he stole this watermelon from the pile and was running away from the angry crowd! The scene was unforgettable. I could see the mixture of excitement, fear, happiness and determination on his face. He was also going at an incredible speed for a 12-year old chubby person. And he had a puffy round face, similar to a watermelon, which, by the way, he was squeezing tight in his hands.
I do not believe he needed this watermelon at all, as his parents were well off. However, what an excitement it was! I do not know what happened after this. Perhaps he was caught, or, the other way around (which is more probable) , he was able to run away.
Many years later, he became a hero of the war in Afghanistan. I do not know what happened to him after the war has ended; he may have become a successful businessman of the new Russia -- Or, as many American veterans, could not fit in--- I do not know. He always was a trouble maker and had a good imagination, as I remember from the school-- we studied together through the 8th grade.
Perhaps you are wondering, what does the American football have to do with it. Well, whenever I see an American football player running for the touchdown, holding the egg-shaped ball, squeezing it tight, I always think of AA.