In the Memory Glass: A Boy From Madison
The young doctor who lived across the streets, Robert Schilling, followed Richard's tennis career in the newspaper and became a medical mentor and lifelong friend. His wife, the theater teacher at West High, directed the school play -- what else but "Our Town"?
I liked hearing of the eccentrics. Gerta, the neighborhood radical. The cantankerous economist next door, Walter Morton, who called President Eisenhower "Eisenhoover." Uncle Herb, who took Richard on fruitless fishing trips.
One day, a photographer stopped by the tennis courts and asked, "You kids want your picture in Life magazine?"
Several teens rode over to the UW Arboretum and climbed a tree spread over Lake Wingra. Some dived from the treetop. Richard was hanging onto a branch before jumping in.
The 1948 Life cover picture was by the famed photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt: "The Good Life in Madison, Wisconsin."
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The author may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, please visit creators.com.
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