Allen takes a strange route to his roots
LONDON - The side of the road wasn't familiar, nor was the location of the driver's seat in the rental car. Using a stick shift made an already tough two-hour drive even more difficult.
But Celtics guard Ray Allen braved the peculiar British driving conditions Sunday morning because he was determined to get "closure" by seeing one of his many childhood homes in Saxmundham, England. Tonight, Allen and the Celtics play the Timberwolves in a preseason contest that will complete their NBA Europe Live trip, which began in Rome.
"I was driving on the other side of the road and I was driving a stick shift," said Allen, 32, after practice at the O2 Arena yesterday morning. "Any time I got ready to shift, I was going with my right hand on the steering wheel and my left hand on my side, but the door was there [to the right]. I always had to catch myself.
"Also, when I was pulling out into the street, I'm used to pulling out wide, going into the right lane. I had to pull out tight and go into the left lane. You have to pay attention more.
"It was interesting for me, because in the United States, we get so used to driving. Sometimes you can drive to and from work and not realize that you drove because you're doing the same things over and over again. But this time when I drove, I really had to pay attention to what I was doing."
Walter Ray Allen was born on July 20, 1975, in Merced, Calif. Since his father was an Air Force mechanic, his family moved around, living in Germany; Altus, Okla.; England; and Rosamond, Calif., by the time he was 14 years old. He recalls his family living in Saxmundham from 1982-85, where they ate "fish and chips on the regular."
Of all the places Allen lived as a boy, he said his fondest memories are of Saxmundham, a historic market town at the center of the Heritage Coastal region in Suffolk. Allen's visit back was his first since his family moved from there. He took a picture of his old home, which he said is "much smaller than I imagined," and enjoyed driving around his old stomping grounds. He didn't see anyone familiar.
"I started playing sports, really, when I was here," Allen said. "Just all the things I did running around as a kid with my brother, sister, friends, places I went to school, everything I did . . .
"It was a good trip for me, because when you grow up in the military, you just pick up and leave. You don't really knock on the next-door neighbor's house and say you're leaving. You just go.
"So in my life, there has been a lot of lack of closure. To be able to come back gave me closure."
Being an Air Force brat, Allen had to constantly adapt to a new way of life. He had to make new friends over and over, often riding his bicycle around the neighborhood to do it.
He acknowledged that it was hard at the time.
"There were parts of me that said, 'I'm looking forward to moving to the next place,' " Allen said. "But then at the same time, I would say, 'I wish I could stay sometimes because I had friends that I'll probably never, ever see again.' That was the case a lot of times because a lot of people I never saw again.
"It's interesting. Sometimes I'll travel across the country during the NBA season and I run into people that I went to school in the second and third grade with. They'll be at the game. I'll sit there and chat with them. And it always gives me closure because you wonder what happened to them in our lifetime or how they're living."
Tonight's game showcases ex-Wolves star Kevin Garnett against a Minnesota squad with seven ex-Celtics. Garnett was a 10-time All-Star with the Wolves, and ex-Celtic Al Jefferson isn't putting pressure on himself to get fans to forget Garnett in Minneapolis. "That's big shoes to fill," said Jefferson. "That's a beast right there. I just want to come in and do what I did this past [season in Boston] and continue to get better." . . . Ex-Boston College star Craig Smith said he'll be a game-time decision for the Timberwolves because of a left ankle injury. When asked about the difference between him now and as a rookie, Smith said, "I'm a little bit more confident going into this situation having a year under my belt, 82 games. I think that's the biggest key for me. I got to gain so much experience and gain from one of the best basketball players ever [Garnett]."
Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com
