A Man to Walk the Past and Present

Strange title ,isn't it ? I have just spent a week visiting my eight-seven year old father's house . I hadn't being to Elizabeth City since October, 2008,so I was very anxious to see him and my step-mother of almost ten years. What I loved about the week was coming to understand the wealth of information my father has about past and current events. He told me about going to the old Washington Senators ballpark when he was seventeen on a school outing and getting to see Joe DiMaggio play centerfield in that game. He said it was his first big league game he had ever attented. He also talked about going to the DABP in Durham where he grew up and played high school ball. He told me a story about a neighbor who had an old roadster with the rumble seats.It was topless as the canvas had long rotted that covered the top. Well, it so happened that Daddy's American Legion team was supposed to go see the Durham Bulls play one night. However, my granddaddy had to work late and Daddy and four of his buddies were late getting to the game. The people at the park wouldn't let them since they didn't come with the team,so Daddy and one of his buddies climbed the thirty foot tall center field billboard and sat up there and watched the game. Daddy said an old drunk decided to join them and barely made it up to the top. Daddy said he and friend spent the rest of the game waiting for the drunk to fall off the billboard, but he didn't. After the game , Daddy and his buddies needed a ride home. Daddy saw his neighbor exiting the ballpark and asked him for rides for him and his friends. His neigbor told him he was in no condition to drive but if Daddy would drive, he could take them all home in his roadster. Daddy said ,"Mr._______,I don't have a licence." His neigbor reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill and said,"This should cover the fine and you can have the change(remember-this is around 1937-8)."The neighbor clasped Daddy on the shoulder and said,"Besides, the police said if they caught me driving drunk again, they'd kill me." So Daddy gets in the driver's seat with his neighbor next to him and one of his friends beside him. The other three boys pile into the rumble seat at the back of the roadster. Daddy says the six of them rode through town as big as life with him scared to death since he had never driven in a city before. Granddaddy had bought an old truck for Daddy to drive my Granmother to the store and back but as he said you didn't see "three cars in a week on those old roads." Daddy said he sure would like to have a picture of all them riding in that old roadster. Of course , Daddy got everyone home safely and went to show Grandma his well earned twenty dollars . Daddy said,"Mama made me give the money back to Mr. ____. That was a lot of money in those days,"he concluded laughing.