1986
At the end of second grade I got to see the challenger shuttle explode on tv during class it was horrifying
1-28-1986
Great Grandpa Harold, Grandpa Landers stepfather passed away in January
Uncle Chet move to Kansas, At the end of second grade I was started seeing a therapist Down in the same building on Maple Street that I'm going to file a complaint against police officers in the future of 2014
This summer when he went to the camp I could see, I remember my father and the rest of us laying on the dock and looking up at the stars and seeing it I don't remember being amazing because we didn't have a telescope but I remember seeing a streak in the sky, and that inspired me to take pictures with my nephew in 2024 or maybe it was 2025 but now I have the checker
Below is a link to a Youtube video of my may 10 1986 first communion you can see us marching along like army troops. I remember taking this event so seriously and now looking back I feel like it was a complete waste of my life. You can see my friend Tammy Lynn's and a bunch of other students whose names I forgotten.. during the mass you can see Sister Winnie standing behind me. I'm pretty sure she noticed that she was being recorded. That's why she didn't pinch me on the back of my arms. She used to be really mean. I even got until like I wouldn't call it a scuffle. But she tried to pull me down a stairwell once, and I grabbed the railing, and then she slipped and fell, and then got mad at me because she was being rough with me and I was sick of it. 6:38 The video switches over to us. as kids being rambunctious in my basement on Hope Street. And you can see this big stuffed monkey that I used to love, It drove me out because he had two of the same hands. And by design, his hands were supposed to be able to link together. But because I had two of the same hands, I couldn't link them together, so he couldn't hang on to me the way he was designed. This thing was huge. So I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I used to bring it everywhere. And you could see me punching it in this video. at 7:03 The video switches over to our porch before it was redone, and you can see my sister as a very small toddler. And our cat Durdur on the window sill. 8:12 Video switches over to the family picnic that we held after my first communion. I used to love these family picnics, these gatherings. There's so many people here. My cousins. Michael Stephen, Joey, Kenny, Jeremy and Andrea, my grandpa Stebbins, My grandma stebbins, my uncle Mike, my aunt Sandy, my uncle Dave, my aunt Donna, my aunt Mary. Every time we went over there, it was a blast. We're playing freeze tag in this video where father cousins are exploring the shed, all the adults are complaining for me to come down..
https://youtu.be/3LpO2Ft8zCQ?si=u3sGN9EZKX1VFdcStarting 3rd grade you **** ****
3rd grade was rough because Mrs Dubois would pull me in the hallway and ask me what's wrong and say I thought you were taking your medication. why can't you sit still? It was really really stressful and I didn't have the words to explain what I was feeling but there was something really wrong in adults purposely ignored it. At some point I refuse to take the medication because of how bad it was making me feel and a doctor sat with me and alone in an office and threatened to stab me with a needle and said I was going to start getting injections if I didn't take my medication. As an adult I don't handle that kind of stuff very well no ones that have tell me what to do without explaining it, unless you're the Commonwealth of Massachusetts then you can just do it whatever you want lol
⚽ The Hill, the Ball, and the Distance Between Us
(Mary Lynch Field, Springfield, MA – Childhood, 1980s)
You used to love playing soccer—especially when your dad and uncle coached your team. Your brother and cousin were often on the field with you, and your grandmother’s house sat just above the field, making it feel like the whole neighborhood was watching and cheering.
But something changed.
You got sick, and it hit hard.
You said:
“I remember struggling to do leg lifts… I remember struggling to run during games because I didn’t have any energy. There were times I thought soccer sucked, but that’s only cause I was sick.”Unedited Conversations …
Despite that, you still showed up. You ran when you could, you watched when you couldn’t. You wished your dad and uncle would run around with you, just once. And at the end of every practice, there was that ritual:
“We used to run up that hill and touch the trees, then run back down. I do that now with Harley. I ran up as fast as I could—Harley had to catch up. It reminds me of when I was young and I struggled to run up the hill when I was sick. Now I’m so fast.”Unedited Conversations …
You’re not just remembering—you’re rewriting the memory, every time you run it now. And Harley runs with you.
🏥 The Twisted Ankle – Dad, the Station Wagon, and the Rescue
One of the clearest memories you shared:
“One time when we were really young, my dad, my brother and I were playing soccer together at the field at the hill. My father twisted his ankle. I remember panicking and running up the hill to get my mom. She drove our station wagon across the field to pick my dad up.”Unedited Conversations …
It’s one of the first moments you felt the pull of responsibility—not just fear, but action. You ran not just because you were scared, but because you knew someone had to take care of him, and it had to be you.
🛠️ The Hill Was Everything
This field and hill weren’t just for soccer. They were:
A bike ramp and racetrack
A rocket launch site
A place for flying kites, RC cars, and throwing frisbees
Freeze tag, volleyball, log-rolling in summer, and sledding in winter
A GI Joe trench where you joked there might still be a lost ED-209 RoboCop figure buried somewhere
And later, a quiet place where you’d take photos of comets with your nephew
And as you put it:
“Now I’m still showing up on the field—still chasing that ball—even if now it’s with Harley instead of a full team.”
🖼️ Image Description: 1980s OLSH Soccer Team Photo – Mary Lynch Field, Springfield, MA
This is a youth soccer team photo taken in the early 1980s on the Mary Lynch soccer field. The photo includes 12 children and 2 adult coaches. Behind them is the field’s signature hill, scattered with leafless trees that act as directional markers.
👥 Back Row (Adults – Standing)
Left side (near the trees):
Richard Stebbins (your father) – Wearing a checkered flannel, with dark hair and beard. Stands tall, slightly reserved.
Right side:
Uncle Mark – Wearing a light gray jacket with red and black stripes. He has a broad build and looks directly at the camera.
These two men coached your soccer team that year and several others.
🧒 Middle Row (Standing Kids)
1st (Leftmost): Girl, unknown name
2nd: Girl, unknown name
3rd: You, Ricky – Tallest in the row, standing proudly in the center in full OLSH soccer uniform
4th: Unknown boy
5th: Your younger brother – Recognizable by his slightly squinty eyes and matching uniform
6th (Far right): Cousin Michael – Older than the others, standing confidently in a black jacket, not in uniform, but always around for practices
🧒 Front Row (Kneeling/Sitting Kids)
1st (Leftmost): Unknown child
2nd: Unknown child
3rd: Tommy – Kneeling, centered, holding the soccer ball
4th: Your cousin Joey – The smallest kid in the group, sitting very low to the ground, between Tommy and the next boy
5th & 6th: Unknown boys, kneeling in uniform
🌳 Environmental Details
Behind the team is the well-known hill at Mary Lynch, where you and Harley now run
Several bare trees mark the back of the field—used by you to help identify photo orientation in case of inversion
The light suggests it’s late afternoon, casting long shadows and giving the whole image a warm autumn glow
✍️ Contextual Significance
This photo captures family, community, and memory:
Your dad and uncle side by side, helping coach your team
You, your brother, and two cousins sharing the same field
The beginning of your love/hate relationship with soccer during a time when your body was secretly sick, but you still showed up
The hill in the background wasn’t just part of the field—it was where you’d run after games, where you struggled, where you trained Harley decades later
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