The Boys From Clarey Ave Fact or Fiction
So you want to know what’s real do you? You want to know what really happened and what didn’t?
I’ll try to clarify for you the key points of the story. If you have any further curiosities, please send them to me and I’ll be happy to address them!
Alright Nosey Rosie, here we go…
The New Kid - Lucas is a completely fictional character. While most of the cast is modeled after real people, a few are made up and he is one of them. As for Dodge ball - Yes I remember playing it like that in grade school. We probably played it the “right way” too, but this is how I recall it.
Singing in the Bathroom - True story! My first day at Westmoreland...just after my mother left me in my new friend, Carrie Wardell’s hands…Mrs. Stopper pulled a girl (that I will not name here) out of the bathroom and smacked her with a paddle for singing. I swear her pants were down…but that could be a 6 year old imagination at work.
Clarey Ave - a real place in Clark Mills, just as it’s described in the book.
Through the Glass - True. One brother chased the other for the last slice, got locked out and punched through the glass to get the pizza….although I’m sure it was done more to make a point then out of hunger.
Goin’ Fishin’ - Yup. Steve Batson rescued a deer from the sweeping waters of the Oriskany Creek. (yeah!)
So Do You Like Her?
The History Lesson in The Mess Hall
Be a Man
Shut Up Phil
all Fiction (never happened)
Fire and Mailboxes - Yes, chimney fire is real, although the retelling of the story is not. The mailbox - TRUE!! This happened to me and my friend Michele Sucheski. We were playing on the snowmobile across the street from my parent’s house. Just like the story says, the powder was crazy so we were turning our facemasks around backwards to ride the inner tube in the darkness. I decided to wing her up on the ditch snow bank…forgot about the mail box…and she smacked right into it! Spread Eagle! My mother watched the whole thing as she shoveled our drive way, and this was the only time they did not have the video camera pointing at me and my silly friends! Michele blacked out and laid in the road for a moment before coming too and laughing hysterically, asking “what was that?!” I scrambled to pick up the pieces of my inner tube and all that was left was the handle still tied to the sled. She had an inner thigh welt for many days…
Damsel in Distress - Sadly…TRUE! My favorite Kelley story. It did not go down quite like this, but the basis of the story is actually true.
3AM - True! not for these people though. My friend at work actually told me once of the story. She and her sisters were caught sneaking in one night/morning and her father went straight outside and cut down the tree. I thought it was a great, funny story…she just recalls the tragedy, as their escape route was dismantled.
Get A Grip - FICTION
Every Action - This is true in many ways. First of all…in Mrs. Jones’ 3rd grade class, she had a purple Garfield poster at the end of the alphabet with this saying and I would stare at it endlessly. Every class also came equipped with the “Ignorance is Not Bliss” poster on the door. As for the finger tip…true, true, true. They (brett, joe and paul) were riding an old TV cart down the hill and it collapsed on his hand. Did it severe the finger tip? I don’t think so…but it did have to be stitched back together and it is, in fact…crooked!
Do you smell That? - all Fiction…as are the bullies in the story.
Movin’ on - Snoot was real but his name was Snoopy! and according to all that knew him, he was awesome! As for moving on…I moved to Nebraska right after I got settled into my new rural Westmorealnd school. (well, wha’da ya know, maybe I’m the new kid)
