The Red Bench

Today I was standing in line at the Starbucks at Ralph’s waiting for my first iced coffee of the summer. One of the store employees was waiting next to me and we started small talking about the recent improvements in the shopping center and in Ralph’s. We got to talking about the red bench out in front of the martial arts school.

I said that we are not sure what will be done with it in regard to the current renovations. He shared with me that he has  sentiments and memories of that bench. That they celebrated one of his friend’s birthdays on that bench. They walked over from Morse High School after school and all went to get boba at Boba Bee. His birthday friend punched the straw through and it went all the way through the bottom of his cup.

He said I am just one person and there are thousands of people who have memories of that bench. I mentioned the homeless that would be out there on the bench sleeping when GMO opened the school Saturday mornings. And I shared with him that sadly one night a homeless person had died on that bench.

Our conversation about the bench talked about how he has lived in the area for 12 years and likes to walk around the center and was wishing there were more places to sit. The young man said his name was Isaac and when he has kids he will definitely bring them to Sidekicks.

The Red Bench is host to a wider array of stories and memories for many locals in the Sidekicks neighborhood. It has since been removed from the premises. Now just an empty space which holds a lot of personal memories for so many locals in the Sidekicks neighborhood.