Don’t Worry Parents of Jerk Kids, Darren Wicks Gives You Hope!
We all had that friend growing up. The one we all knew was a bit of a colorful character. He was not a bad guy but if you went home with a black eye, your folks would assume you scrapped with him… again. Since we are not supposed to call our friends bad names, I will avoid it here. But we all know who we are, heck I may have been that friend for some people.
We became friends because of geography. There was always 10-15 kids on our block and we always played together. Hockey in winter, baseball in summer, maybe some exotic sport someone discovered on vacation but we were not a complex bunch.
Darren came from a great family. He had the beautiful older sister Dana, we all had a crush on. The cool older brother David, who was a hockey star. The sweetest mother Grace, who loved to argue politics. Finally, his dad Lorne always greeted me with a teasing smile and later a glass of scotch, but only on the rocks. Yeah the Wickies were one of my favorite families despite Darren.
Darren was one of the closest in age to me and he was a pain in the butt. We had many similar interests but the Cresent only offered limited interests. We killed many hours playing street hockey. Unfortunately, many of our hours playing street hockey involved arguments and fights.
Me: My goal
Darren: No I deflected it
Me: No way
Darren: Well you tripped me first
Me: You fell
Darren: I did not, you fell on me.
We could argue for hours and we did. Playing on nets with rocks for goal posts or baseball diamonds with wood for bases, there was no detail we could not discuss and debate. Rarely did we take it too far but I remember one game ended with Darren chasing Lloyd with his stick raised above his head. Lloyd threw his gloves at Darren as he sprinted. Darren picked up the gloves and threatened to soak them in water… Still not sure why cleaning them would hurt but we were who we were.
Darren was also a Hab's fan. Suffering through the 70s with a Hab's fan was tough. Of course he might claim the same about suffering through the 80s with an Oiler's fan. In the 80s, Darren’s ice hockey talents greatly surpassed mine and Lloyd’s. We would still play on the street but life became busier. As I developed a greater passion for basketball, Darren and Lloyd would also play. Unfortunately other commitments kept them from playing on the high school team. Todd Osmond would always tell me Darren had the greatest vision he had seen in a player. I would only tell Darren that under the influence of alcohol as to not inflate his ego.
Lad lie or exaggerate… Master Wicks was the Master.
Me: That Gretzky is some player.
Darren: My uncle is his father.
Me: Your Uncle is Walter Gretzky?
Darren: No, he had an affair with Gretzky’s mom. I am not supposed to tell anyone.
University brought different directions and fun summers. While Lloyd and I studied at the University of New Brunswick, Darren got his papers in Saint FX. I ended up in Antigonish several times during my degree and each call to Darren was met with a place to crash and a cold beer. Back in Port aux Basques, we discovered tennis and beers after tennis and the Port Club. Still able to argue about anything and often ending the night stumbling home.
Oh yeah, Darren was cheap too. Not friendship threatening cheap, just cheap enough that we could make fun of him for it. He loved Lambs Amber Rum, I assumed it was the cheapest in the Liquor store or it was what his dad would buy so it was free for him. If we were going to a house party, he would show up with a bag of assorted beers, either left by us or beers his dad had left over. Also, walking home helped sober us up but it also saved him his share of 5 bucks for a taxi.
Darren had a love-hate relationship with a lot of us. I felt he always had my back but when we went head to head he always wanted to win. He was always friendly with my parents but if we saw a girl we both were interested in, game on. (I rarely won that game.) Darren was also the guy the school would call to supply teach for me and the students would give me the, “You could have been sick longer.” line when I returned.
So with those faults and annoyances, I had to read about Darren playing the good guy in California. Long-story made short, the opposition was reduced to 7 players and there would be serious ramifications if they had to forfeit. Darren stepped up and did the uber classy right thing and it sounds like a moment that teaches athletes great life lessons through sports. After reading the article I had two thoughts:
- I am so proud of my friend.
- Did he choose his kid with his first pick?
https://cabinradio.ca/13326/news/sports/yk-team-rescues-california-rivals-at-hockey-tournament/?fbclid=IwAR26x5nlrcrV3fVgjFgsmj4ATG4dJFNNSNU00_ZDsFHcNwSvVRWpn483Hfg
