We met in our fort off Hasbrook St. and Magee St. as we discussed our next football opponent. We were 8 guy’s and five girl’s and our corner was Magee St and Oakley St in Northeast Philadelphia to discuss our next opponent. We were surrounded by four large recreation centers where we played tackle football, and they were Lawncrest, Fox Chase, Jardel, and Max Myers. Each one of these recreation centers had the capacity to pull from a large pool of players when we played them. Our nucleus had 8 guys, consisting of 8 guys from  Magee & Oakley, and we filled in with some other guy’s from other close neighborhoods as well. We were a scruffy but talented team that believed that we could win against all others even though we had to play both way’s most of the time. We had our girls by our side who have always been loyal, and there were five of them, and they were our moral support that got us through many games. Back then, it was common for neighborhoods to compete with each other with their own football equipment. 

Our tenacious  work ethic has always helped us pursue,  though each of the three recreational centers piling up victory after victory setting us up with a showdown with Lawncrest Recreation Center where we knew we were going to out manned by 30 to our 11. Lawncreast was considered the measuring stick; they were the cream of the crop. They had many more players to pull from and better equipment than us, but we were known as a hard hitting team with fortitude and grit in our bones with our girls by our side we were ready for battle. We knew as we met in our fort that we built with our own hands that this would be our ultimate test. When we were about 16, sometimes we would get together and pitch tents in one of our group’s houses yard. The guy’s and the girls would have our own tents. Then, at one in the morning in the morning, we would all get up to explore our surroundings on bikes and appreciate the serenity and peacefulness of the night as we explored the area. We observed milkman delivering on their routes, time-old practice of delivering bottles of milk to people’s homes which has become a memory of the past. We also saw  bakeries delivering their rolls to delis in the area. This is the neighborhood business of the night. 

Then we sat on our bikes and watch the sun coming up over the fields at Hasbrook and Magee with awe and watched with inspiration and meaning as the sun came up. Than we would go back to our tents to get some sleep.  It was the day that we faced Lawncrest, and our football game was about to begin. The eleven of us knew we had to reach back and go with in ourselves to get the very best in order to beat this team. As we prepared for kick off, there was a Spiritual Presence among us; we knew this spiritual presence gave us the strength, the confidence, and the courage to play both ways with eleven players against a well-represented team with the best equipment. As the game went on,  and we were ahead in the score, battling them with all our might, when we noticed that they were bringing in older guy’s off the street, suiting them up and putting them in the game hoping they would make a difference. 

As the game went on so did our wounds pile up but thank God we had our girls who were ready to bandage us up to keep us going so we could prevail against an opponent and win the game with conviction and fearlessness. After the game, we confided with ourselves and realized that it was the presence of our own minds working together collectively that helped us overcome such a formable foe. We all knew as a whole to gather at the corner of  Magee St and Oakley St Corner at the end of the day to collaborate and meet and enjoy each other’s company. This was our meeting place for quite some time, but it attracted the irritation of a particular patrol police car and Officer Murphy. He didn’t like us hanging on the corner although we were a peaceful group not bothering anyone. Never the less, he went on a mission to disrupt us. He would for no reason, gather some of us up and charge us with a misdemeanor of disorderly conduct which the judge throughout because it was meritless.  

We got tired of his antics so we devised a plan to get back at him.  About five of the guy’s had a secret meeting and we were fortunate that there was snow on the ground, and we waited for his patrol car to pass our corner and as his patrol car passed our corner we unleashed a fury of snowballs at his patrol car. We heard the crackling noise of snowballs hitting the metal of the side of the patrol car as we ran because we knew all the paths and short cuts between the houses on Magee St. In our hearts, we knew there was no way he could catch us. We all met at our fort afterwards for high fives and much group laughter as we collectively had a sigh of relief that our plan went well. As Christmas time neared the girls prepared our fort which was pretty spacious and decorated it for our annual Christmas gathering. The girls took pride in putting up the Christmas decorations that made our fort very festive over the holidays. At our Christmas gathering, much merriment was expressed for another joyful Holiday. We were aware of our gratitude for each other as another year came to a close. Six of us guy’s decided to cross the tracks to go into the top fields of Cheltenham Township where they had a football field available to us to practice on as we needed. As we were practicing, one of the members of the group went searching into the woods looking for the football that had gotten away. As he looked for the football, he fell into a different dimension. The other members of the group got tired of waiting for him and went looking for him. Just as we found his prescription glasses on the ground. We also fell into this other dimension and it wasn’t too long before the six of us were united in this other dimension.  

This other dimension had a sinister feel to it, and it looked unnatural look to us as well.  As we were making our way down the path, when suddenly, a dark transparent cloud confronted us impeding us from walking.  As we stood before this dark transparent cloud wondering what it was, it spoke to us. “I know who you are, but do you know who I am?  Your triumphant ways of winning are no match for the Prince Of Darkness or should say the Anti-Christ but you may know me best as Satan.  A spokesperson from the group took a step forward towards the evil dark energy cloud and said, “ l think I can speak for all of us and say that as long as God is with us, there is no power that can stand against us.”  “You insolent bastards, do you know how powerful I am”?  We responded “Here’s what we do know, you’re going to have a front row seat to us getting out of here.” Back at the fort, the girls noticed that we didn’t come back from practice and went to look us at top field. So the girls went to the top field and started to look for the guy’s and all they found was there jackets and duffel bags but no guy’s and they started to worry. As the girls sat together, wondering  where might be the guy’s?, a bright light with wings appeared in front of them and said “ Do not be afraid, for I am Arch Angel Gabriel and I have come to inform you that your friends are in trouble and need your prayers. Your friends fell into an evil dimension and are battling Satan as we speak. You need to figure out how to re-open the gate to the dimension to help your friends come home. 

This is your job. Before I leave you, I will show you where they were before they fell into the evil dimension. Good luck, and let’s move forward with love and purpose for God is always with you.” While the girl’s prayed, Satan’s evil energy cloud started to break apart and go after the individual members of the group of the guy’s. To the alarm of the guy’s, this evil insidious energy entered them and started to come up their legs. It was an awful terrible feeling and the guy’s got the impression that this evil energy was after our hearts to kill us. We decided for the time being we should disburse. As we traveled down the path ahead of us. As they ran down the path, Satan mocked us, “How dare you disrespect me, now you will pay dearly and bowl before me” The guy’s continued down the path as evil energy worked its way up their bodies.  We came across a separation in the path, which was a very drastic steep certain drop to your death. The only way to cross it was to take a running start and leap over it and that’s what we did collectively. As we all landed on the other side of the separated path, one of the guy’s fell short and was barely hanging on by a tree root from the side of the cliff. 

We rushed to his aid and helped him to his feet and we all sighed with relief that we were on the other side of the path, but, never the less, the evil energy clouds were still in us trying to work their way up through our bodies so they could strangle our hearts.  “ You can’t run from what I sent into you, for I am an expert at human anatomy for what I sent into you will eventual suffocate your heart and extinguish your life” .” Satan said.  “ The guy’s continued down the path until we came across a cave where we found refuge. We cautiously entered the cave and explored our surroundings and we came across a stone made alter that must have been made by previous travelers who got trapped in this evil dimension. On top of this stone alter was a horizontal slate of stone with the Lord’s Crucifix chiseled into the slate.  We were very moved and inspired by this discovery. Still Feeling the effect of the evil energy clouds as it moves deeper into our bodies. We decided to look for more clues, so we started to look around and found behind the alter an old leather scroll. We unraveled the scroll, and found information about the lost teachings of Zoroaster who was a forward thinking Priest of his time and had a great influence on Cyrus the Great , a Persian King who liberated the Jews from Babylonian captivity to resettle and rebuild in Jerusalem, and  earning him an honored place in Judaism about 900 BC. Meanwhile, the girls went home to do research on other dimensions and how to access them. They knew the essence of time was at hand. 

They found on the internet interesting information on parallel universes that could exist in another dimension. They discovered that the theory of string theory, which is subatomic particles are different notes on a tiny, vibrating string, which explains why it’s possible to have multi dimensions. The harmonies of string theory correspond to the laws of physics. This according to physicist  Michio Kaku.  

With this information at hand, the girls ran back to the top field and looked for the entry point to the evil dimension that Arch Angel Gabriel told them about. As we read these ancient scrolls, it enlightens us on the teachings of Zoroaster who was a Persian Priest who believed in contemplation, reflection, and meditation on God’s work and personal spiritual growth. We learned through these scrolls that the battle of good and evil is necessary so man can achieve goodness through battling evil. We also learned that astrology which is like a blueprint of a person’s life is a part of the understanding of the Priest Zoroaster who was an influential preacher of his time. We have come to understand that maybe it was our destiny to battle Satan. Together, we gathered and prayed at the stone alter The Lord’s Prayer. One of us remembered one of Jesus’s quotes which he said “If you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, – move and it will move from here to there. Nothing will be impossible to you! This really inspired us.” 

Than we made a prayer to our God for protection and strength, to propel us forward to do his will in his honor.  After our prayer, we stood up and one of us spoke for all of us and said to Satan, “Satan, you do not scare us with your bag of tricks, for there is one Divine True Power that is Omni and Supreme and it gives us eternal hope and strength to help us conquer all our obstacles.”  As we concluded our thoughts, we felt a Divine Grace descend on us that helped us remove the evil dark energy clouds that were attempting to suffocate our hearts. We left the cave empowered with God’s strength.  Satan spoke to us as we left the cave “How dare you rise up against me”?  We responded, “We’re going to find a way home, either you get out of our way, or you’ll  be run over .” The six of us continued back the same way we came. Meanwhile, the girls had set up a vigil at the gate that marked the entry to the dimension. As they decided to play music in the hopes it would act as a beacon to guide us back to home.  As the boy’s navigated down the path, they started to hear the music and realized the girls were trying to help them get home, and we started to follow the music. The five of us finally found the door and gateway to our other dimension which is our home thanks to the girls. As we walked through the dimension to home, the last person through turned around and said to “Satan, from the beginning of time to the end of time, and throughout all the generations, there will always be One God, One Power and One Law Forever and Ever! For you have witnessed the power of God  where God is beyond all boundaries.” Than all the boys were home and greeted by the girls and lots of group hugs and smiles ensued as the eleven of them gathered to celebrate their friendship.