Chapter 9 "Beyond the Band"

The 1010 lived on in spirit embodied by those of us that experienced our youthful first fruits.  We touched many lives invigorated by the love and passion we first knew in the 1010.  To this day when the clock reads ten minutes after ten, many people recall the spirit of the 1010. 

Bill Garvey is one of those people.  In the afterglow of the 1010, it was common to find many of us assembled making music, singing, and enjoying the company of friends.  One memorable night a number of us were together in my basement bedroom enjoying music and fellowship when the doorbell rang.  I went to the door to greet Bill Garvey.  Bill and Al were classmates at the newly established college of DuPage.  Or as Al liked to refer to it…. The college of "do pah shay".  Bill was here to deliver a term paper to Al that he helped him write.

Faced with the unexpected appearance of Bill Garvey at my door, I briefly wondered if I should simply receive his delivery or invite him to join my friends in my room.

Though I didn’t know him well, Bill Garvey was my age and attended Hinsdale High School.  He was a big guy who tried his best to fit in.  He was adopted by a wealthy Hinsdale family and I felt sorry for him that he didn’t grow up with his birth parents.  Bill appeared at my door dressed conservatively wearing slacks, and oxford shirt, and trench coat.  

I quickly invited Bill downstairs to join the others having confidence that my loving friends would graciously welcome him to their fellowship. 

“Hi Bill”, come on in.”  I said as I led Bill to my room where he was warmly welcomed with hardy handshakes and smiles from all those present. 

My heart was warmed by the way my friends quite predictably welcomed Bill Garvey.  That night, something wonderful happened that changed Bill Garvey forever.  He was accepted into a circle of loving peers he had previously admired only from a distance.  His confidence was bolstered and he soon became an irreplaceable fixture in the growing landscape of the friends of the 1010.

Another example of the infectious love these guys had was their effect on Pete Sip.  Pete was a few year older than we were and seemed to be socially displaced, floating around without a “home”.  A skinny, little guy with a twitch in his left eye, half a generation removed, Pete proudly displayed his sole identity to “hipness” in the form of a Peter, Paul, and Mary button pinned to his red and black checked wool coat.

Pete wandered into our lives and was instantly received with the sincere hardy handshake of 1010 fellowship wherein he flourished.  He was soon transformed into a confident, fun loving, bicyclist where his slight form and love of mechanics soon brought him employment at the Hartly Bicycle Shop. 

Time after time I witnessed similar examples of people greatly encouraged when encountering the loving fellowship of these guys.  The spirit of the 1010 had a life of it’s own and remains infectious to this day. 

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