176 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Robin Shores.

It’s a photo I treasure – me standing in front of 176 Johnson Street in Brooklyn. It only took 40 years to get there, and the Tudor factory I had dreamed about for so many years, was long gone. Two decades gone to be exact. But I was finally there.

Capturing the moment was my wife. It was March of 2009, and we were in New York City celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We had taken the F-train from Rockefeller Center to Jay Street, then walked across Flatbush Avenue on a brisk and sunny Saturday morning. Back on our wedding day, I know my wife never imagined that 25 years later she’d be standing in Brooklyn taking photos of an old factory. But here she was – willingly at that.    

*          *          *

Electric football carries differing degrees of importance to us. And that importance sometimes varies, ranging from casual to intense. This variability affects more than just ourselves, as most of us have spouses and families. 

Another thing to consider is that many of us have rediscovered electric football, meaning that our spouse or significant other may have met us during a “dormant” phase. Electric football wasn’t really part of the person we were ten or twenty years ago. Then, often with the delicacy of a volcano eruption, electric football comes back to us.

And think about it, this must take SOME readjustment on the family’s part. This perfectly “normal” person you thought you knew is now fixated on an obnoxious buzzing board populated by miniature moving figures. It certainly requires some understanding and dedication to come to terms with SEFOS (Sudden Electric Football Obsession Syndrome). There might even be universities doing research on it… 

*          *          *

I brought up the Tudor factory side trip in a slightly embarrassed and off-handed way. To my surprise, my wife thought  it was a wonderful idea. She’s worked as my editor since day One of my writing, and it turned out that after all these years of reading about Tudor, she wanted to see the factory too. So off we went.

That’s dedication. And as our anniversary approaches this year we’d like to send a giant “Thank You” to all the other dedicated spouses and significant others who have to put up with us — and electric football. 

Earl