Marbles and jacks were favorite recess activities at school.  From the first grade, boys began collecting marbles to build their empire.  Girls did jacks with the same passion.  Little kids played funsies and all games would suspend to watch an epic tournament.  "Howard Leftwich is taking on Glen Sumner by the boy's crapper!"

I'd never played for keeps and didn't understand what she meant when Barbara Gallion asked me to play by those rules.  Heck yeah, marbles is marbles!  A good thing I didn't have too many with me.  After she'd won most of mine, I wanted them back to start over.  The foul mouthed bitch told me to get screwed.  I tried to take my marbles by force and she popped me a good one right in the eye.  My very first black eye — a spectacular shiner.  I learned a lot ; playing for keeps is not funsies, not all girls play jacks, and get screwed means losers weepers.

Big-brother Jack spotted me, coming down the alley, and heard me yell after Barbara, "Oh yeah, well huh-uh, sucker!"

He chided me, "Couldn't you think of anything better to call him?"  When he found out it was a girl, he admired my shiner and said, "Wow!"

I renewed my supply of marbles (only two shooters and a sticker had survived) and was going after Barbara when Daddy stopped me.  "What makes you think she won't clean you out and clean your plow again?"

Barb was a champ cob-diver too.  She was the only girl I can remember who wore pants (bib overalls naturally).  This would seem necessary to dive feet-first from a grain elevator into the corn cob pile.  Nina Ryan tied a knot in the hem of her dress so it wouldn't parachute on her.  I once saw Gene Littell and Bob Ryan, on a bet, go off the top of the articulated chute about 50 feet up.  They had to break into the elevator and wind their way up ladders to get there.

Barb was a tomboy a year older than I.  She often wore a red bandanna, pirate-fashion around her head, that made her look like a pretty buccaneer.  Don't burst my bubble — I'm just as happy, remembering Barbara as pretty as I think Margarite was smart.

I can provide complete terminology and strategy for the game of marbles if you need it.  You're on your own for jacks and rope skipping.

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