MEMORIES OF THE OLD RED BARN

 It had just stopped raining when I parked my car on Grand River near McGraw in Detroit. It was a typical fall day in September 1987. All the leaves were turning vibrant colors, with some of them floating to the ground. I turned on the windshield wipers to clean the last residual rain off my windshield and looked out. There it was, Olympia Stadium, which had been my second home for years. How majestic she looked against the breaking gray clouds. How I wished I could go inside one more time and smell the stale beer, popcorn and cigarette smoke. Shutting my eyes I could almost hear the shouts from the fans when the Red Wings scored. I saw all the great ones play there, Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr, Stan Mikita and Maurice (The Rocket) Richard. The list goes…