School Story:
Sorry, I had to go back to pre SFA.
.Mrs. Clark's Kindergarten. Stanley and Merry Melony's mom.
.The Travis Elementary Wildcats years - marbles in the school yard; Jessie Faye Glover stabbing a #2 pencil in my hand...I still have the lead mark of the wound. Or was it Zan Colson? Or was it June Eubanks?; playing jacks with the girls under the oak trees and a bird crapped on my head, followed by humiliation from the girls; duck and cover drills; should have thought of that drill when the bird crapped on my head; bicycle to school and bicycle everywhere; 1st grade teacher Mrs Holder breaking my heart by getting "in the family way". Never saw her again And Una Jane Spiegal...where did you go? Tormented ever since-ache to this day!; School trip on the train to Houston to see Spartacus; Piano lessons at my Aunt Maudell's across the street from the playground. My Aunt told my Mom she was wasting her money.
.Baseball - Little League the Pirates. Coached by Fort McDonald.
.Bob Bond. Will never forget him. Good friend, used to spend Fri nights together and watch the Sat morning cowboy shows. He liked the Cisco Kid and Zorro. Me too. My dad and brother were part of the group that found them in a slew out by the race track before there was a race track. They broke into Oliver's sporting goods and took a boat and motor to go search for them. I remember to this day the excitement I had when my brother came in about midnight on that Sunday night and said "we found them". I said "good ... where is he ... I want to go talk to him." It was then they took me aside and I learned about death. It broke my heart. I was blessed with the the opportunity to talk to his mother a few times before she passed last year. I couldn't talk to her without tearing up. She would assure me it was ok. She understood. Take a look at his picture in the obit section. Great guy. Great friend. Can't wait to see him again.
.Population: 12,000 in Bryan; 4,000 in College Station, included the Ags.
.Bear Bryant. John David Crow. I remember seeing him walking out of Kyle one Sunday afternoon (they'd let you play football on the field) with his wife and son on his shoulders. It somehow made an impression on me I guess because I only knew his football side. I later met his son outside Spokane, WA. He managed a dog track on the Interstate between Spokane and Coeur D'Alene, Id.
.The Lamar Bulldogs years - we were the first class at the new Lamar; Texas History & visit to San Jacinto battlefield; undefeated Bulldogs & coaches Stub Davis and Harry "popitto'em popitto'em" Bond & laps around the backstops, cleats picking up mud and must have weighed 50 lbs each; throwing up during practice...Mr. Bond told me to stop drinking milk at lunch to stop it from curdling...cured the throw ups. Practice was much harder than the games. Offense: Porter left. Porter right. Porter up the middle! Undefeated, riding on the shoulders of Porter.
.Baseball - Babe Ruth league Woodchoppers. My brother coached us. He created a crafty lefty named Phil Cox. His first ever pitch went over the backstop and hit the concession stand. From that pitch on nobody wanted to dig in against Phil, for fear of being drilled, and he was one of the best pitchers in the league. Joe Frank Stratta slid into third as I applied the tag and he broke my thumb. Today, that left thumb tells me when a norther in coming thru.
.That was pre-air conditioning. Sleeping with the windows up and at 6am you could hear the Aggie Band practicing. The War Hymn was my alarm clock. My blood turned maroon.
.Manning Smith's Dancing Class. Screw up and you had to dance with that old lady. She and I did many a "toe heel, toe heel, aback forward" together.
.The SFA years - Cigs in your t-shirt sleeve, whether you smoked or not (I didn't, but I was cool); duck tails and all that butch wax to hold them down; shotguns and rifles in your truck's gun rack; Conrad Mahon...scared hellfire out of me. I would walk around the building to avoid Conrad Mahon; Senora Vincent's espanol class. I can make it around in a Mexican taxi thanks to her; Typing Class; book raids. I never knew a soul who participated. I promise. (Heh heh).
.Reuben Bond's Louisville Slugger with the holes drilled in. One lick. No more talking in p.e.
.Jim Austin and the acapella choir...the Madrigal Singers (what was a Madrigal?)-still remember some of those songs. The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Sa Le Tay. All-State sing-off in Waco-Mr. Austin got a speeding ticket on the way; And that song about Jessie's Root growing, Mr. A - I finally figured out what that meant; I just couldn't figure out why a rose was 'ere blooming because some guy named Jessie had a member that was growing; Why would we celebrate that in song? Either I didn't learn that in Sunday School or my head was in the gutter! Probably the former.
Baseball: Connie Mack League ????. Can't remember the name of the team. Coached by Billy Arhos.
.Alan Shepherd's shot into space in Senora Vincent's class. I later befriended him in business.
.Mr. Peacock's Shipley Donut shop. Give me a Shipley Special - two burgers open face smothered in cheese, a boatload of fries, a bottle of Dr. Pepper, a squeeze bottle full of ketcup on top of the cheese and fries, a shaker of pepper on top of the ketcup, and B5 on the juke box;
.Junior year basketball: playoffs against Austin McCallum and we beat them and their Joe Hardwick but there was controversy. I remember Joe's mom hitting Squealer Thompson with her purse over and over again. On to State and we opened with Dallas Thomas Jefferson. Coach called time after about 4 minutes and the score was something like 36-2. We exited state about as quickly as we entered it;
.Junior and Senior football-why did we wear helmets that were yellow drab?
.What ever happened to David MacEndorffer?
.I never knew that Coach Ohlendorf was a member of the Junction boys until recently;
.I've Got a Secret, Your Hit Parade, Andy Griffith Show. The Great Barney Fife. Elvis singing to that Basset Hound on Ed Sullivan Show. I watched it at Butch and Jim Allen's house.
.Marlin Perkins "I'll go safely hide behind that rock while Laddie goes over and carefully places his head in the alligator's mouth."
.Deer lease, deer hunts with Jarvis and the Olivers, opening day, closing day, and South Tex quail hunts with our dogs and dads; Man...The best bird dog ever. You had to shake his paw for about 20 minutes before he'd move aside and let you in the back door. He got locked inside the Cunningham's house by the workers when they were building it. There he was in the picture window on that 3 inch shag white carpet with his paw in the air. Mr. Cunningham wasn't a happy camper when Daddy called him to come let his dog off of his white shag carpet!
.You guys still in Bryan sure messed up some good deer country with your housing developments and golf courses and mega churches; Have you no shame? We can't even leave our sacred grounds to you?
.The Skyway Drive In Theater. Greatness.
.1963 Pontiac LeMans aqua marine with white buckets. Would love a do over with that one.
.And one year later, 1964 ... Porter's bachleor party. Me, Marvin and Boyce Oliver at the Dairy King. We were about to be shocked!
.This is an add on. I've had a great time going back in time. I must say that, considering what loomed before us as we moved into the mid 60's, growing up in a town like Bryan Texas was the best home town we could have grown up in. I firmly believe that the post WWII era was the best time ever to grow up in as little boys and girls, and young men and women, and we were just fortunate enough to be raised in the finest area by the best group of parents in parental history. God bless them, God bless Bryan, and God bless all of you guys and gals.
.Texan by birth. Bryan Texan by the grace of God
