Westword, Volume II

WESTWOOD – Wow, we are coming to the end of Season Ten!
 

Yes, I know this is only the second issue of this publication – I’ll explain about Season Ten later. Before that, however, it is fitting and appropriate that we begin by honoring legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, recognizing the anniversary of his death in June of 2010, at the age of 99. Wooden, known as “The Wizard of Westwood,” holds the record for the most championships in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball history, with ten – twice as many as the next coach on the list, the recently retired Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.
 

Wooden was born in 1910 in the small town of Hall, Indiana, to parents who certainly would have never…what? What’s that you say? Oh, oh, I got it! UCLA is in Westwood, California! Wrong Westwood!
 

I am joking, of course. Hey, do you know when the host of a show comes out and tells some extremely corny jokes and the audience feels compelled to laugh along in that forced, stilted guffaw? Well…I sure don’t!
 

*Tap Tap* Hello? Is this thing on?
 

Anyway…welcome to another month of Westwood Living, and welcome to June. Oh June, how I love thee! The sun is high and everything is green, the final furlong in spring’s sprint. Recitals, graduation gowns, vacation plans. There is something about this time of year that brings me back in time, and makes me want to go to parties and play music on cassette or CD, instead of Spotify. But don’t worry, I probably won’t show up anywhere carrying an old boom box. Probably.
 

It is quite true, though, that memories of my school-age years crowd out other things I should remember – things like our new exit number off Route 128…the location of my laptop…every password I have ever used online or offline…stuff like that.
 

As you may know, I grew up here and I do believe that seeing it all again, through my kids’ eyes, only adds to the nostalgia. I remember that glorious feeling June delivered each year – waking up one morning and realizing that there would be no more teachers, no more books, FOREVER!
 

Of course it’s not forever. It’s only 75 days or so. But it sure as hell feels like forever when you’re a kid at the end of June, right?
 

So, another year comes to an end in the 0-2-0-9-0. In TV terms, another season has wrapped. For me and The Gem, this was Season Ten of a show that is scripted for sixteen. We’ll have a Westwood High sophomore and a TMS seventh-grader come September. As the expression goes, the days are long but the years are short. Some of my best friends will be at graduation ceremonies this month, watching their seniors complete their final childhood season. Those graduates are siblings of my kids’ friends, and we once referred to them as the “older kids” – you know, because they were already in SECOND GRADE!
 

June finds me awash in old memories, while at once making new ones. The sun is high now, but soon it will descend. Soon, we’ll pick apples again. Then, kids from one to 92 will roast chestnuts again. Then, we’ll fill out basketball brackets and root for UCL…um, I mean we’ll root for our favorite teams. And then soon enough, we’ll be right back here at the end of Season Eleven.
 

Westwood Living? No…thank YOU for living in Westwood. See you next month, and I look forward to hearing from you any time at jayresha@comcast.net.