Hickey Theology

As I shared in my post yesterday the Davidsons gave me a family, but it was everything that I experienced on Dewberry that cause me in my later years to realize that God was present in my life even if I could not feel God. When the Hickey family left Corpus Christi on that August day in 1962, I wasn’t just leaving a city I was leaving what felt like my life behind.

I cried as our U-Haul pulled out of the driveway at 137 Fannin Street. There to wave good-bye was my best friend in the whole world, Mary Weigelt. I was no longer going to be able to sit with my grandfather on their back porch nor take walks on Moravian Drive with him. It felt like I was losing everything, but now I can see I gained far more than I lost, I found God.

When we moved into 2103 Dewberry Lane there were so many kids. Once I made friends with Gary Davidson it was like God open the flood gates and kids came pouring through. Soon Chris, Tim and I were sitting in the living of our newfound friends Randy and Jeri Stano listening to 45’s on their record player. Next thing I know we are playing hide & go seek and Army with 15-20 neighborhood kids in front of Steve Speer’s house. Steve lived in the middle of Dewberry! When it was time to come home you could the moms and dads calling their child’s name from the end of their driveway.

Depending what sport season it was, there was always a game of football, baseball, or basketball going on. We rode our bicycles all over Pasadena, did death defying things like jumping over ditches or go up kid made ramps. My memories are made of such joyful times. Times we played baseball all day long at Strawberry Park and then went swimming at the pool. The times we piled into our old green Pontiac and our mom took the Dewberry Gang to watch a movie at the Capitan Theater on a rainy day.

The Dewberry Gang did so much together. Through the years I have remained friends with several of the gang. There are several who, I am sad to say, have passed away. Although I have such joyful memories, there is one memory that brings me a deep sadness. There is one friend I cannot forget and that is Martha Wentzel. I had guy friends, but she was my one girl friend.

Martha and I played together often, we talked more than anything. Martha and I were in the 4th grade together, so we walk to and from school with each other. We took the long way so that I could drop her off at her house. I lived on one end of Dewberry she lived on the other end. I didn’t want her to have to walk alone.

Martha would joke sometimes and say, “when we get married” and we would laugh. Martha had a tragic life. Martha’s mom was killed just months after her birth, two blocks away in an accident. Linda, her sister, was shot by her father, because he dropped his gun in the garage preparing to clean it.

Martha had a wonderful smile and a laugh that made you want to get her laugh all the time, but that all came to an end one day. Martha was riding on the back of a bicycle and fell off and hit her head. Martha would never wake up and I had lost my dearest friend. I was in shock, for the first time in my life I had lost someone I cared deeply about, a child, friend! My grief was unconsolable! I did not want to go back to school. I went to her funeral and simple sat and cried. When we walked by her casket my mom had to hold me up.

You may ask, ” Shane, where is God in this tragedy” and I would say everywhere. God was in all my Dewberry friends who check on me daily. They would sit and talked with me. They would come get me out of the house and made sure I stayed connected with them. I felt like they were trying to take on my grief. I know we were kids, but all they knew was one of their friend’s was sad and they wanted that friend to know that he wasn’t alone.

Final note, I would ride my bike down to Martha’s house almost every day. I saw Martha’s dad in the front year, and he would wave. One day I rode my bike to Martha’s house and there was her dad was, seating in a lawn chair on the driveway. But, to my surprise there were two chairs. I stopped and he asked me to come sit with him. We sat there is silence and then he asked me, “do you miss her?” I started to cry.

He put his arm around me and said, “so do I, but I thank God for the time he gave to me to have her in my life” and then he said, ” thank you for coming to see me, because every time I see you, I see Martha and that lets me know she is near and God isn’t very far away”.

Until next time Grace and Peace