"Thick as Thieves" 
By Van Wagner   June –02

 He left for Baltimore when he was just a kid
 That’s where I met him in the fall of 36.
 In a smoky pool hall on 89th and spruce
 We knew he was a country boy by the size of his boots.
 With a home-made pool stick he began to show his stuff
 I lost 3 packs of cigarettes and I had seen enough.
 Bet tobacco and dungarees
 But when the winter wind blows again we’ll  be thick as thieves.

 We became the best of friends me and Sam
 Shot pool all over town and rambled through the land.
 Hobo-ed on freighters, on the B&O tracks
 Took nothing with them but the shirts on their backs.
 Dodging railroad bulls in almost every town
 Most nights our pillow was a stone on the ground.
 Living off cabbage and black eyed peas
 But when the winter wind blows again we’ll  be thick as thieves.

 Got split by draft cards in the spring of 44
 I got shipped to Iceland to a cold ocean shore.
 Sam got sent to Italy and on to the front
 I lost touch with him after a month.
 But I listened to the headlines on the BBC
 Thought about my good friend and where he might be.
 I often wondered was he alive like me
 But when the winter wind blows again we’ll  be thick as thieves.

 Now 50 years later I’m an old man
 I help with the church choir and little league when I can.
 I rarely think about those years of the war
 And old Sam’s memory is faded and worn.
 I moved on with life, married and settled down
 I’m far from that kid in Baltimore town.
 Now we’re different Sam and me
 But when the winter wind blows again we’ll  be thick as thieves.

 I looked at my grandkids this memorial day
 And it took me back to those Baltimore days.
 At 5 O’clock the telephone rang
 There was quiet, then a voice did say
 “Hey kid are you up for a game
 dust off your cue stick the rules are still the same
 I’m at the pool hall, just cigarettes and me
 when the winter wind blows again we’ll  be thick as thieves.”