Show Me the Place, 17

“Show me the place.”

Duke Senior in As You Like It (2.1)

18: The Hiram School Gym & Stage & Dance Floor, 1956–62

The Hiram Gym was very small—

Not room for many fans at all.

On just one side were bleacher seats,

Where fans could watch athletic feats.

And I played basketball—a lot—

Though I can’t claim I was too hot.

But, oh, the game days’ many thrills—

The hope, the loss, the leaps, the spills.

And at one end—the school stage—

Where, for a while, I felt the rage

To walk those boards, to be in shows,

To hear applause—feel afterglows.

Up there I sang and acted, too—

Or so I thought. (One point-of-view!)

Mikado—Trial by Jury—and

Some shows not known across the land.

But all were fun—and meant so much

To all of us—we’re still in touch!

I used what I had learned those days—

Directing shows—all sorts of plays.

We also used that floor to dance—

The Twist, the Pony (we could prance!).

We fell in love out on that floor—

Fell out again—then fell once more.

And gym class! Oh, the memories

Of dodgeball, knocked down to my knees.

Oh, what a place! A palace grand!

In ways, a perfect fairyland.