Bull sessions endure from ’30s to today

Frequenting many fast food restaurants in my retirement years, I see the same faces in the same seats day in and day out .

We had no such dining facilities in the Great Depression, but did have open-air meeting places for “corner gangs.” In the summertime, we had heated discussions about baseball between two factions of die-hard fans, those who rooted for the New York Yankees and those who cheered for the Cleveland Indians.

Many years later, Major League Baseball is still a main topic of conversation. In the old days, our debating groups consisted mainly of teenagers; today it is an “over-the-hill” (but not yet under-the-hill) gang.

As an Indians fan, my idol was Rapid Robert Feller, while some of my buddies held Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio as the pinnacle baseball player. In my opinion they are two of the greatest ball players I have ever seen or known about.

Hot spot on East Side

Our gang met daily, except for inclement weather, at the corner of Oak and North Jackson streets, at the Christman Bakery on the East Side during the ’30s. At times these bull sessions could prove rewarding. I learned one of my favorite slogans there and still abide by it: “Action speaks louder than words.”

As jobless teenagers, this was a good way to pass the time and stay out of trouble. Like today, we tried to solve our world problems with words. That was our ammunition, repeating the same thoughts, day in and day out.

One of the main methods I used in my safety communications program when I was Commercial Intertech’s Corporate Safety and Security director was the repetition technique. It must have paid off. Our company won a prestigious safety communications award, the Seastrom Safety Award of the American Metal Stamping Association, in 1980 and 1984.

There is another senior citizens’ meeting place I visit regularly. It is our neighborhood Mill Creek Deli, where Lenny is the friendly proprietor. I don’t join in the discussions there, but play Ohio’s legal lottery. It’s a sophisticated version of our simple illegal lottery of the Depression days, “The Bug.”

XMichael Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree and an inductee of the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.