One particular day my dad would routinely park outside of the campus and sat to read the news paper and I would go out on the campus and roam around killing time. This particular day, however, was different. My dad had to park far away from the campus because there was something going on. I noticed that there were a lot of people in the front of the campus and it was corded off to where no one could enter. As I walked around the outside of the campus on 37th street I noticed trucks and equipment, and what really caught my eye was a familiar emblem on one of the trucks, hmmmm... I said to my self, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck! The emblem was of Warner Brothers and I curiously continued my walk trying to get into the campus.
Since I was familiar with the campus, I went around the back area going through a wooded area that led to a steep hill, there I spent many of days scanning the area for tennis balls and any other scavengous type things. Reaching the top of the hill led me to the familiar site were I hung around waiting for my mom. That day I found a tennis ball that was a "Spalding" brand and gray in color. I noticed it was weathered, probably has been there since last summer.
As I reached the top of the hill where the tennis courts are I noticed things out of the ordinary, very different. The tennis court nets were in place and it looked like someone had really spent sometime cleaning the area which was most of the time left unattended. Even more, I noticed camera equipment and weird looking umbrellas, with an ensemble of lights, lamps, cranes and booms as well as people everywhere, which was unusual. I kept hearing distorted screeching voices from some type of speaker constantly going off. I saw students with tennis outfits underneath long heavy winter coats standing around shivering consuming their hot beverages. I walked around just gazing at the unusual environment that had developed in this cold and over cast day.
The cafeteria building was next to the tennis courts and I was walking around bouncing my newly found tennis ball off the ground and the building walls. I kept hearing this voice screeching sounds from this speaker which was beginning to be an annoyance, but I continued my disregardful demeanor playing with my tennis ball. It was at one moment that I decided to try to understand what was being said over this loud speaker. Now picture me, this scrawny little, sniffy nosed, pencil neck kid with a buzz hair cut, wearing a stripped long sleeve pullover fleece with "high water" pants with white socks clashily protruding from the bottom of my straight legged pants wearing my PF Flyer sneakers and a PF Flyer Magic ring. I was one that wasn't into making any fashion statement as a 10 year old.
Well, subsequently at that time I took a moment to really listen to this voice from the speaker and I heard the voice say "Get that goddamn kid out of there!" I stood there and looked around and behind me for a moment wondering who he was talking about, then it hit me, as I got this "deer in the headlights" look, that he meant me! I was the only kid there and at that same time I looked over and see this guy who had badges hanging from his neck approaching me briskly. Now this was something new to me since day in and day out I would wander the campus freely going around unnoticed, for the exception and on occasion when girl students would call me over just to pinch my chin, nose and cheeks and revel over the fact that there was a kid meandering around campus. Other than that, I really thought I was invisible to everyone else.
As the guy with the badges was approaching, I noticed these groups of people had their attention on me, and the guy said "hey kid, you gotta scram or I'll call campus security". Now to me, the word "Security" pressed a button, (Which is another blog) it meant "run for your life!" I turned and began to spin my wheels kicking mud up trying like hell to get the heck out of there, my arms were clumsily frailing and swinging as I tried to keep my balance and not hit the ground. I was about 20 feet from the cafeteria building doors, which seemed a mile away.
As this was all happening I could hear the laughter from all the people that where witnessing my recklessly brash, "Keystone Cop" departure. As I reached the door I swung it open and began to haul my skinny rear end down two flights of stairs occasionally missing a step or two only catching and anchoring my underarm with the hand railing. These stairs led me to the student cafeteria. I don't know how I made it down those stairs without busting my head open, but in my mind it was "do or die". As I got to my mothers work area she noticed me over the food counter as I gasped for air, asked me, Que paso? Out of breath and wiping my snotty nose with the sleeves of my shirt I managed to get out, that I was chased out of the tennis court area. My mother just chuckled, as she usually would when I got into mischief. She said, "estan haciendo un pelicula muy fea aqui (They're making a very bad and ugly movie here), and she sent me to the dinning area to sit down and wait for her.
I sat down patiently catching my breath glaring at the stairs I just flew down from, looking for anyone that resembled security coming to get me. After a while I noticed I didn't have my tennis ball anymore, it must of flown somewhere in my frantic escape. As I sat there I was grateful I still had my magic ring and grateful that my PF Flyers help me get out of that mess. I realized that I had to clean them off before my dad saw them and have cerebral embolism.
Years later I realized that I had stumbled across onto a film shoot set of The Exorcist, this was on or around October/November 1972, it was the scene that took place about an hour into the film, right after the introduction of Lee J. Cobb's character, Lt. William Kinderman, he and Jason Miller (Father Damien Karras) are discussing the mysterious death of the character Burke Dennings, while walking along the tennis court. Behind them, as a backdrop, were the students are playing tennis.
In that scene they had couples playing tennis in their summer tennis outfits in the dead of cold. That created a trivial discrepancy since the characters, Lt. Kinderman was in a long coat with a hat and scarf and Father Karras was in sweats and a towel around his neck. No Georgetown Preps would be playing tennis outdoors in the cold weather with indoor courts available in that complex.
I would have loved to think that the people laughing at my frenzied escape, were legendary silver screen actor Lee J. Cobb and Broadway actor Jason Miller. And also the guy on the bull horn speaker yelling was Director William Friedkin. I would also love to think that I caused disruption in that filming and that's why he was yelling. I'll never know.
The movie debut was on December 26, 1973 in the USA after many pitched a fit over the original date that was going to be on December 25th. I didn't see it until the summer of 1976 at the Aspen Hill movie theater in Wheaton, Maryland. I was 14 years old and I got the wits scared out of me for years to come.
PF Flyers
View on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Q8WLdbFr4
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