Got referees and everything for the holidays

May your free throws always go in [READER]( Monday night bowling, a few days before Thanksgiving . . . On the TV, my beloved Bulls are getting blown out by the Pacers. By the fourth quarter, the benchwarmers are playing, including Marko Simonović and Devon Dotson, making their first appearances of the season. [[Illustration of Ben Joravsky]]( a quicksilver guard, breaks for the hoop and lays the ball off the glass. It’s set to fall through the basket for two points, when . . . Marko, just a little too eager, stuffs the ball through the hoop. It’s a clear case of offensive interference, which means the basket—Dotson’s first of the season—is wiped away by the refs. Immediately, I blast back in time to the winter of 1970. Freshman year of high school. Playing basketball in a Saturday morning rec league at the Evanston YMCA. Got referees and everything. In my mind, I’m like my hero, Norm Van Lier, guard for the Bulls. In reality, I’m slow and short and incapable of dribbling with my left hand. Other than that, just like Van Lier! I get fouled and go to the line to shoot two free throws. Miss the first. Hit the second. That’s right, I scored a point. My first of the season. I’m so happy, I want to jump up and down, when . . . The ref waves it off! Yes, the ref—who was probably all of 18—waved it off. Claimed that Josh, a kid on my team, had stepped into the lane before my shot went in, making it a lane violation. Meaning my free throw went the way of Devon Dotson’s basket. I can’t adequately explain how upset I was. You had to see me. This pudgy little dot of a boy who looked like he was ten. All red in the face. To make it worse, the aforementioned Josh was my best friend. We walked to and from school together just about every day. Josh was a fine young scholar, but as a basketball player? Well, put it this way . . . We were locked in a bitter battle to see who could be less bad. With my free throw, I had shot ahead in that competition because I had now outscored him one to nothing for the season. But thanks to his lane violation, we were still tied at zero. On the way home from the Y, we had something like the following exchange . . . Me: You stepped in that lane on purpose! Josh: Benny, I swear—I didn’t even know about that rule! Me: Yes, you did. You didn’t want me to score one more point than you! Josh: That’s a damnable lie! He didn’t actually say that last line. That’s something that Senator Tom Eagleton said to a reporter back in 1972, when . . . Oh, forget why Eagleton said it. The point is he said it and I’ve been looking for any excuse to use that line ever since. Not sure what Josh said. But our debate probably ended with me tackling him and the two of us rolling around on the ground in a fight. Then we made up. Like we always did. Probably headed over to Giordano’s in downtown Evanston for a slice or two of sausage pizza. Followed by a Suzi Q for dessert. Ah, yes—a breakfast of champions. Back to the Bulls . . . They got blown out. But Dotson seemed to have forgiven Marko for his transgressions. As I did with Josh. Still a dear friend. Even if he, you know . . . did step over that line on purpose. Anyway, to all my friends, new and old, have the happiest of Thanksgivings. And may your free throws always go in. [Ben Joravsky [signature]]( Save the date! Join us in the spirit of giving next week during Giving Tuesday on November 30th! Our goal is to raise $10,000 to keep up free and freaky! Thanks to a generous donor, every donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Every gift will help keep the Reader publishing as we shift to a nonprofit newsroom. [Donate]( Joshua Ferris—A Calling for Charlie Barnes. Funny novel about a nutty guy. [Dahleen Glanton]( on the Rittenhouse decision. Best thing I’ve read about it. [Ben Joravsky]( on the park district burying evidence of sexual abuse [Rummana Hussain]( the Rittenhouse verdict comes in [Bennett Johnson]( man who’s seen it all [Monroe Anderson and Henry Davis Jr.]( the exoneration of two men who were falsely imprisoned for murdering Malcolm X [The Ben Joravsky Show]( [Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show]( We've wrapped up season one of CQN! Listen back on all ten episodes [here]( or wherever you get your podcasts. [The 27th Black Harvest Film Festival has something for everyone]( After last year’s postponed and virtual programming, the 2021 hybrid festival brings a wealth of new and underappreciated films. by [Dmitry Samarov]( [Muscle and mortality in RE/TURN]( Hubbard Street Dance Chicago comes alive again at the Harris. by [Irene Hsiao]( [Olivia Block’s latest album is a psychedelic vision of a hurting world]( by [Bill Meyer]( [Chicago rockers Kirby Grip explore low earth orbit on Portrait of Bliss]( by [Leor Galil]( [Issue of Nov 11 - Nov 24, 2021 Vol. 51, No. 3]( [Download Issue]( (PDF) 1971 Chicagoans have relied on the Reader for trusted alternative coverage of our city. The Chicago Reader is now a 501c3 nonprofit organization which means our survival is in your hands. In order to continue to be your trusted alternative voice of Chicago, we need your help. If you can donate just $5 today, we can show the world that community funded, independent journalism is the future. 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