Mike in a candid shot soon after the massacre....
Hokee Dokee .... On this day it's Don Seal and myself ... 7th grade ... 1957 ... Gawd knows where Czewski was ... because the three of us were seldom apart from 7th grade 'til 9th grade.....
Regardless ... and as I said before….It was all Don Seal’s fault…….
Don and I are walking……..and you know?.....'tis truly amazing….because the 3 of us used to walk everywhere… miles and miles per day…… on weekends I’ll bet we would walk 50 to 75 miles……we could cover more territory on foot than Apache Indians……we would literally be all over the town on foot…
….Jennifer…..that's what we were doing that night we ran into you guys……we was jist’ a’ walkin'……looked up…..and EUREKA!!!!.....it's a house full of girls dancing with each other……. and there are none of the hated Seniors here!!!!..... It was like stumbling across the harem while the eunuchs were on coffee break or something!!!!!!
Anyway….I think we were walking from my house on Ave M…..across from Jimmy and Jerry Gay’s house….cause we stopped at Coats' grocery store on the highway……whilst there……we saw and purchased two of those 10 cent waterguns that looked like little Martian ray guns.
And of course…….we are shooting each other and whatnot…shooting at dogs…….and walking. We were proceeding down Clara’s street…..what street did Clara live on…..it was like Ave “C”….or “D”…..anyway...
As we got one house past Clara’s house……she…….by coincidence…..happened to walk out of her house….I am sure it had steps on the front of the house …?
We see her…….she sees us…….and we walked back to the edge of her front yard…….she seemed genuinely happy to see us…walks over…..…and the conversation begins……..”how are you doing……nice to see you…….how is school…….how are your grades…….yaddie yaddie yadda”……..
Remember those cute little glasses Clara used to wear?........they were like cat's eyes with wings……..and Clara made those glasses look so good…..
Sooooooooooooooooooooo…………here we are……talking to one of the most gorgeous girls in Childress County…….and it is a wonderful…..nice…..casual conversation….amongst two dorks and a babe………
I was just to the point of asking Clara to marry me.... when… tragedy beyond reason befell us!!!!!!!!!
What do young boys do when they wish to indicate to a girl how much they like them…? Well .....they torment them…..hit them on the arm……say bad things to them….pull their hair…… and……SOB!!!!......OH!!....the Humanity of it!!!!!......they shoot them with waterguns!!!!!!!!!
I mean…..one minute we are having this nice conversation with The Clara Ann Robinson……and the next instance……….Don Seal shoots Clara with this little bitty itsy bitsy weenie tiny, insignificant, amount of water out of that pathetic little water gun.
If the water had been gasoline……it would not have been enough to power a pissant’s motor scooter to ride around a baseball!!!!!
WELLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!.......it may as well have been a gallon of gasoline thrown onto a raging inferno……..I mean……..I once was flying from Alaska to San Francisco on the day Mt. St. Helens blew up……..we were 100 miles away at 36,000 feet…….and it rocked the 737 I was in….like we were struck by a missile (which almost happened to me once)……'twas of that magnitude…..
Clara’s eyes got as big as saucers behind those cute little glasses…her face clouds over……her eyes then went into a squint……a glare…one eyebrow goes way up…….smoke is starting to pour from her ears…she takes a couple of steps back……and says….something on the order of….”I’ll be back"…….kind of like that Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator movie…..”I’ll be back!”……now that I am remembering it…….it was very much like that…..
The only thing that kept us from being afraid was ignorance and stupidity.
So….she runs into her house……..and we are standing there like D.A.s……and thinking… well….after all….what can she do?......Heck…..she’s only a girl.
Heah com da revenge part……..
We hear the front porch screen door shut……..we look up……and here she comes……..
Remember in football…when the coach had you run up the bleachers…..and then you would come down….with your knees just a’ pump’n…like pistons…..down those bleachers…….making all kinds of racket….
Well…..that was Clara coming down from the porch....flames following behind her…...her legs were jist’ a’pounding down those steps… If you looked up the word intensity…..Clara’s face would be there….and she had something in one hand……and a few very similar thingamabobs clutched to her chest. So ….with military precision…….like a British skirmish line……Don and I raise arms……and prepare to fire (our water pistols)
As Clara got closer….we were finally able to eye spy exactly what Clara was a’carry’n… Gasp!... Holy Cow Kimo Sabe!!!!!!.......she had one baby bottle in her hand……and was clutching three more to her chest….all full of water…….
I want you folks to know……..go look at a world map or a globe…..look North to South……East to West… it is rare if you can find an ocean…..or a sea…..or a river…….or any large body of water that I have not been on the past 45 years. I have sunk many boats……..I had a boat sink right out from under me in the Beaufort Sea offshore Tuktoyaktuk, mouth of the Mackenzie River, Northern Canada. I fell overboard in the Cook Inlet…….I was marooned on a rock for 12 hours offshore Balikpappan, Indonesia for 12 hours……etc….etc…etc.....
But the closest I ever came to drowning……was the instant Clara cut loose with those baby bottles!!!!!!!!!
So…the exchange went like this……squirt squirt squirt…… WHHHHoooooooosh…. squirt…… WHHHHooooooooosh…… WHHHHoooooosh…. WHHHHoooooooosh… ……and by now we are drenched like drowning rats…….and Clara is laughing like a wild banshee..and shooting….. she is without mercy………..
So now……retreat!!!....retreat!!!!... but we are idiots aren’t we?........we don’t have enough sense to separate and go in opposite directions……we are like drenched Robotons……not capable of independent thought……..i.e.……we are in full headless chicken mode….panicked beyond comprehension……
So we are like running…together….in circles…..with this crazy woman on our trail….upon occasion we would turn…..like the bad guys shooing at Roy Rogers…and shoot back over our shoulder…… again……..it was……squirt….squirt………. WHHHHHHooooooooosh……
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzz……..well Thank God……….Clara finally ran out of baby bottles and water……I think we may have thrown down our weapons and thrown ourselves to the ground with our arms outstretched…..
I actually don’t remember much after that…..I just remember Clara laughing…….when I told her this story in Wimberley in 2001?…….she, thankfully, could not remember it………but I am blessed with this detailed memory and a residual fear of water.
Later, in the 9th grade competition……Czewski, Don Seal and I won the $5.00 reward for selling the most cans of peanuts (that we used to buy a bottle of whiskey……and promptly broke, never drank)
Whilst in the downtown hardware store selling peanuts…..in comes Clara Ann Robinson…….She was joining that freshman girls club and she was running around town in this clown’s wig………wild makeup….blacked out teeth……and carrying a bucket…….She looked ridiculous!!!!
I came so close to laughing at her out loud....but...I was afraid she would whup out that baby bottle from that bucket and send me down the river again....I kept my mouth shut except to say .... "Hi Clara!!! Looking good!!!!"
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19 comments:
What you didn't take into account was this: I grew up with two older brothers. I was EXPERIENCED! And even though I don't remember the skirmish, I LOVE the story. It makes me very proud------a part of my foundation----self esteem--- validation----(which is hard to come by when you're in 7th grade wearing coke bottle glasses, which you very kindly described as cute).
So, I guess I owe you and Don Seal a big thanks, Mike Spradley, for laying that brick in my foundation. And, it was very wise of you to keep from laughing at me the day you saw me with the Teen Club bucket. As I recall, it was probably full of raw eggs, lard, and who knows what else. It could have been on your head.
Ah, dear Mike ... you never fail to leave me laughing hysterically. Actually, I almost laughed myself to death (literally) as I was eating a chicken sandwich while reading your story preparatory to posting ... laughing and gasping for breath so hard at one point I almost choked! Fortunately Yahn was able to apply a timely Heimlich Maneuver and then a little mouth-to-mouth (!) until my breathing returned to normal....
You and Seal and Czewski were certainly the Three Mouthketeers ... although now that I use that term, I seem to recall that "Mouthketeers" was the name of one of Darryl's sponsored speech clubs during our Senior year. Several of our classmates were in that club along with me ... Diana (now Dian) Veal, Barry Wakefield, Jack Petty, Johnny Thornton, Darrell Manuel, Charles Crouch, and a lot of others from classes behind ours ... but I digress....
Anyhoo ... your stories are so wonderfully funny ... you do know there's a Writer's Guild strike going on the entertainment industry right now??? Perhaps you could pick up some extra bucks writing "under the table" for some of the late night shows? (Just as a note: Yahn and I were delighted to see Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert return to their shows on Comedy Central last night, sans writers, but still fabulously funny and on point with the issues of the day ... but again I digress....)
Your mention of seeing Clara in the hardware store brought back memories of the simultaneously dreaded and coveted invitation to join the "Teen Club". Your "memory" would have taken place during the summer before Freshman year ... I know ... I was there and in the same condition as Clara. I've previously mentioned the Teen Club in the post "The Zen of Studebaker Maintenance and the Tao of Tuffy Maddox..." (August 30, 2007) but I'll elaborate a bit here.
Each year, previous initiates into the Teen Club (somewhat inappropriately yclept because it never did anything ... no regular meetings, no agenda ... other than visit grief and humiliation for one week on certain members of the incoming Freshman class who were "tapped" by the former year's victims ... Big Sisters ... to join. I have pondered several times since reaching maturity just WHY any of us wanted to be asked to join, much less undergo the initiation rites ... but at the time it seemed VERY VERY important and a mark of social acceptance. Go figure....
Some of the big sisters I remember were Linda and Brenda Evans (Brenda was my BS ... grin ... sorry, Miss Brenda, ma'am), Celia Farha, Joy Schaefer, Jane Vaughn, Judy Rutledge, JoAnn Mitchell, Charlotte Jordan, Paulette Chewning, Rickie Turner, Karen Trosper ... I'm sure I may have forgotten or possibly "misremembered" some.... Perhaps others can fill in the gaps.
My summer of 1959 group of initiates included (as best I recall), in addition to me, Pat Davenport, Linda Kay Bridges, Paula, Linda Sally, Raenell, Pat Harmon, Clara, Dian, Charlene Bierschmidt, Bettye Shahan and perhaps a couple of others whose names are now obscured by the mists of time. Again, if I have forgotten anyone, I assure you it is inadvertent and plead diminished mental capacity ... possibly due to excessive consumption of tobacco juice and raw eggs....
The initiation lasted a week, during which time we had to religiously adhere to a set of really ridiculous and arbitrary rules ... miscreants were punished for any infractions by having to do extra push-ups, air raids ... and take a raw egg for each wrongdoing. I've mentioned before that Paula took the record number of raw eggs ... mostly due to her TOTAL inability to stop talking to boys, excepting brothers and fathers, during the initiation, which was one of the "rules".
Other rules were that we couldn't ride in cars (except to and from the nightly torture sessions ... uh, meetings ..., couldn't sleep in beds, had to crawl through all doorways, couldn't bathe or wash our hair (believe me, that became a huge factor by the end of the week ... particularly after the night the Big Sisters put raw eggs, syrup and cornflakes in our bras!), and had to carry our buckets and baby dolls with us at all times. Any time one of the big sisters screamed "Air Raid" we had to hit the ground FLAT ... and if it was (subjectively) determined that we had "hurt" our baby dolls in hurling ourselves to earth, or were insufficiently enthusiastic in our execution of the maneuver ... yep, another egg.
BTW, Mike, that was NOT a "clown's wig" Clara was wearing when you saw her ... if only! Our Big Sisters had pulled our hair into tight little knots all over our head (those rubber bands hurt, too, and they had to remain in place all week) ... and if you can testify at this late date that Clara was NOT carrying her baby doll along with her bucket, and/or that she responded to your "Looking good!!! salutation, she probably has another egg or two coming....
Nearly every night we had to chew tobacco ... and our Big Sisters were very slooooow in granting permission to "spit" ... into the bucket of course ... where the tobacco juice mixed with all kinds of things like cut-up snakes ... and the up-chucked results of too many eggs and tobacco juice and the strange concoctions we were required to consume. From time to time, while they were thinking up new "activities" for us, the BSs would tell us to sit with our heads between our knees ... faces as far as we could get them into the buckets. Lovely....
One night we had to scrub the sidewalk in front of the Palace Theater with toothbrushes (to the satisfaction of the BSs, which was not easily attained), sell squares of toilet tissue (cleverly called "crap tickets" to passing cars on Main Street ... and we RAN ... and RAN ... all over that town ... and always from the Big Sister's house where that night's meeting was held (somehow a LOT of them lived in the Southeast) to the Dairy Mart, where after additional indignities were inflicted, the meeting always ended. Talk about the INHUMANITY!! Here we were, about to become Freshmen at CHS, and we had to appear in such a state before all the cool Seniors (Hugh Gayle, Moose, John D., Tommy Fleming, Charlie Mashburn and others) who hung out to observe the festivities!!! Death would have been preferable ... except for the perceived "social death" of not being asked to join!!!!
Lo these many (nearly 50) years later, I can still recite the Teen Club Pledge (which made about as much sense as everything else about the club): "Ish Billy Oten Doten, Bo Bo Ba Ditten Dotten, Why Nots and Nots, Das Boom Ba, Teen Club, Teen Club, RAH RAH RAH!!!" We were only given three tries to learn the Pledge, and thereafter could be and were asked to recite it at odd times ... and if we didn't get it EXACTLY right, we had to take an egg!!!
I do recall that we all had VERY good hair that year, though ....
)O(
wow.....after reading this....you two could probably have gone to Survival school with me and wiped out those fake redneck Russians and N. Vietnamese....I think this is why we Americanos can withstand torture so well.......we have practiced from Junior high....
anyway...Clara/Jennifer.....glad you guys liked the story......but now the pressure is on......to come up with another story.....my wife, Ada, wants me to tell the story when, in the 3rd grade, my older brother talked my brother and I.....along with Johnny McConnel.......to run to an intersection close to our house...at night....and run the four corners 10 times.......stark raving naked...(we did it)....on another note.....Clara, how many people remember besides me that you played trombone in the band as a Freshman?....
....anyway....i am thinking of the next story......
Hey Clara......you were and English teacher!!!!!....why dont you write us a story.....
thanks guys
.Sprad
Mike, just to assure you (again) that you are not the only person that I hound (er, ask ... started to say "solicit, but that opens up a whole new can of worms!) for blog material, Clara has promised us a story, and we are awaiting it, with photos as well.
BTW, stay tuned ... Nicki and I have "found" several of our classmates over the past few days (see Carolyn Loter's picture and story in the newly-linked "Show and Tell" yearbook blog), and just last night I spoke with Phillip Tutor, who is pastor of the New Life City Church in Safford, Arizona. Phillip has promised to send something for the blog and I can vouch that he has some great stories to tell. Today, Nicki and I googled Phillip, and found a verrrry interesting photograph, which Nicki has now posted under "The Way We Are"! (Somehow I am reminded of James Claude Holton ....) 2008 is going to be a good year for contact, and the blog, and pictures and ....
Which begs the question: Any photos of your midnight run????
)O(
All of you guys make my life feel so BORING--past and present. I never had a water gun fight, never got to be in the Teen Club ( AHH, drat it) Never ran nekked through town (I wonder why?), Never chewed tobacco, but I did smoke a cigarette once, never had raw eggs and cornflakes in my bra, (Darn it), But--I have gotten to see a picture of Phil Tutor on the Internet-so life is good.
Thanks for sharing and for making us laugh, AGAIN.
Oh, the humiliation of it all! The absolute worst part of it, as Jennifer mentioned, was having to appear in that condition in front of all the senior boys that were like rock stars to us. Sticking my head in that bucket of rotting banana peels, egg shells (I had an even dozen cracked on my forehead that week) and whatever else wasn’t too pleasant. We all became much closer being locked in a car at the drive-in and made to smoke cigars. When we couldn’t breathe any longer, we put our shirts on backwards, got out and paraded through the cars disturbing all the people who actually PAID to watch the movie. I must have missed the memo about spitting the tobacco juice in the bucket, because I swallowed it all and barfed all the first night. My mother was livid, but she knew better than to ask me to reconsider my hard-headed determination to stick it out for the whole week. I’m grateful Marilyn Lambert was a gentle Big Sister!
Jenn, Don Seal always laid claim to nicknaming Charlie Mitchell into “Chicken”…….he said they were in the 3rd grade at that little grade school SW of town….towards the radio station……….there was a cartoon character in comic books….or early days of TV……named Charlie Chicken………..hence…….
And of course…..I can blame it on Don Seal……….
A story on the side……
One night…7th grade…we are all at the football game…Childress playing Paducah…… I come walking around the end zone………and there is Charlie…… casually standing in front of some kid from Paducah……who is all bowed up……fists clenched…… and ready to go on the attack against Charlie…
…I saved this kid’s life………
I am standing there…slurping on my coke………listening to this kid tell Charlie(Chicken)……how he is just about to commence kicking Charlie’s butt………Charlie is so laid back and calm……just so relaxed….
So I thought this poor jerk ought to be aware of his fate….
I very casually said……”Hey……not my business…….but are you aware this is Chicken Mitchell in front of you?”……….
Charlie shushed me………but this kid turned white as a ghost……..and hauled A__.
Like I said….I never saw Charlie get in a fight…..but I am sure that kid thanks me every day….
Jenn/Nicki, Thank you for putting the CHS blog together. It has more significance for me than you may realize. In November of last year, I told our church that 2008 would see things happening at an accelerated rate (the suddenlies of God), and there would be new connections (divine appointments) and reconnections.
I don't want to couch this in Christian-eze but it is the language I use with most of the circles I run in, unless I'm with the biker crowd, politicians, or goat ropers. The blog, no doubt, is and will be a fun thing, but I see a much bigger picture. Over the last three months there have been more connections in my life that have moved me further into my destiny.
Jenn, you asked if I am retired. My answer was no. I feel that I'm just now realizing to a larger extent much of my purpose in life. All the experiences, both good and bad, the places my wife of 42 years and I have traveled, the people that have come into my life, all are coming together so that I might finish this life strong.
I was saddened by the reports of classmates that have died, seemingly prematurely. Most of them were not close friends, just people that I shared space with for a season of my life. Since I do many funerals, the thought always runs through my mind of the inventions, cures, songs, poems, and stories that go to the grave. I guess that is why I continue to wake up every day excited about the challenges of the day and the people I may get to meet. Life is good!
Gee! I didn't mean to get into all this. I actually just wanted to say THANKS! Be Blessed today!
Phil, it's so great to have you join us on the blog. I enjoyed our conversation the other night, and I know our classmates would like to hear more about you, your wife and family, and your ministry ... not only at the Arizona church, but your travels and work in Africa and South America, and elsewhere. I envy your going to Machu Picchu. I always wanted to see it ... although given the wonderful places Yahn and I have been, it would be downright ungrateful to complain. However, given Yahn's respiratory problems and the extreme altitude of the site (and the flights necessary to get there), I think that may have to wait for another life. The upcoming event in Kigali, Rwanda sounds really exciting, Mzungu. Do tell us more when you have a chance.
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LK, do you remember where we all were going (in the Teen Club) ... and why they were allowing us to ride there (perhaps the drive-in?) rather than RUN ... the night Linda Sally fell off the back of (I think) Glen Sander's pickup? I remember it scared us all to death, but fortunately Linda was all right, except for some bruises and abrasions. I seem to recall that she was excused from the other TC activities for that evening ... and we briefly pondered the pros and cons of finding a truck to fall off ourselves....
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Also LK, many thanks ... I think ... for reminding me of the time you 'n' me commandeered Mike Reeves' new little red 'scooter and left him standing all by himself at my grandparents' house while we rode around on it for about two hours. Mike would have been a Freshman then, I think, so we were Juniors. I will NEVER forget sitting behind you on that strange little gas tank (which leaked) while you drove ... and I remember how badly that leaking gasoline absolutely FRIED my teenaged butt. I think when the problem became critical, we were quite a way from the house, and I thought I was gonna DIE before we got back!! We FINALLY got home and returned the scooter to Mike ... or you did, with rather lame apologies, while I ran full-tilt boogie into the house, shucked my clothes as fast as possible and sat in a COLD tub of water for about half an hour before the pain went away.... Talk about getting what's coming to you in the end ... (wry grin and groan)....
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Mike, the "Chicken" story and our earlier e-exchange (Why did that chicken cross the road? Because there was a goal line on the other side???), and our phone conversations and your new cartoon (soon to be published for all to see) have all given me fits of giggles and outright laughter once again! You are SUCH a good friend ... AND contributor!!! (I don't even have to send Bruno around to "persuade" you anymore....)
)O(
Jennifer, I am with you, I just can not get that picture of Mike with waffle coming out of his nose out of my head! I try to speak(write), I see Mikey...and I start laughing and just can't seem to get much further than that. Mike, I am eternally grateful to you for sharing that wonderful moment in your life!
************** Jenn, I like your stars of separation. I am borrowing them from you. ok??
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Clara, I don't know why, but I am getting a feeling that when we meet in LV, you had better NOT turn your back on Mike. He might have a loaded water gun. Maybe you should prepare yourself and carry baby bottle of water or always stand close to a water hose.
Las Vegas is the great city of conventions and off the wall fun. I am hoping that our reunion doesn't turn into a watergun massacre reunion convention! LOL...we will all be drenched! OH!
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Phil Tudor, you sound so full of life, enthusiam and wonderful energy. I hope you make it to the reunion and will take the time to share some of your stories.
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Nicki, as for the Teen Club, I am thinking that missing it was a good thing. However, when I was a freshman and was watching all of my friends "suffer thru" I wanted to bad to be a part of it. Linda Halford was kind enough to indulge me. At this time, all of that awful initiation was over and there wasn't much they could do to make me a part of this highly honored society, so she told me to write a 10 page theme on Jim Dowis whom I just totally was in love with even though he was totally NOT in love with me.
I wrote the 10 page theme using his name at the start of every line..that took up quite a bit of space, misspelled his name, and worst of all, I double spaced my pages! When I gave it to Linda, she took one look at it and said,"This will never do...you can not be a member of the Teen Club...you can't follow orders." That was the end of my illustrious social career and CHS. LOL...Dont think I missed anything except being a part of something wonderful for a 14 year old.
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guess that is all I have to say for now...except that I think Nicki and Jennifer are doing an amazingly bang up incredible job on this blog.
Mike, I keep comparing the picture of you after the watergun massacre and the picture of you on the wonderful vacation ship...Except for your wonderful smile, I really cant tell that you have changed much! Some people just have all the luck!
As we said….it is just so simple for me to do my replies by emailing Jennifer……If I can get her to laugh I know I am in…....great pictures of you girls in the 8th grade [see "Short Notes"]……just hoping those sarongs might have fallen off….
So to Sheila……(and Clara)…..I am a slow learner but once learn I never make the same mistake twice… I will show up unarmed……but wearing a wetsuit on the presumption that the cruel yet beautiful Clara Ann Meek arrives……I will also have a sign on my back that states…..”I am still surrendered!!!...don’t shoot!!”
Now then……last night…my wife Ada is reading the Watergun story………then Heavens knows how she found it... but she come marching in with a picture of me in my all white cheerleader outfit…Xmas……1959!!!!! And we moved to Lubbock the following February...I thought we had been fired before then…....its got to be the only such picture in existence…and she had it…. WOW!!!!!!..unbelievable!!!
She wanted to send it right away………but I just cant get around to committing to that ……it like ….makes it real again instead of some abstract memory……
As always gang…with the fondest of memories for all of you…Sprad
OK, Mike ... you know of course that you have no choice now but to send that picture ... and they say women are such "teasers"...! We will be waiting ... and I still have Bruno on call should it become necessary....
)O(
Jennifer, I told Charles Crouch one time that all the people that I grew up with, no matter what class in school, I consider and still consider all my family and I figure i always will.
I ran around with guys and gals three to four years after our class and four or five years before our class. Believe it or not, I think about all these people regularly. Joe Don has always been a help to others, including myself, many times.
I'm flattered to hear that people ask about me. I really do appreciate that ... and in time I will do something more for the blog....
Jack, it is so good to have you appear with us on the blog. I've known that you are reading all the posts and comments, but it is such a treat to hear your "voice" at last.
I assure you that your name is one of the names that comes up most frequently when I am talking to people. You are indeed well-remembered and many others are going to be as pleased as I am to hear from you.
We'll be looking forward to more from you in the future ... whenever you are so moved. Welcome!!!
)O(
Jack,
It is wonderful to see your name and your comments on the blog! Welcome, Welcome! As I said in an earlier comment that you might be the only person who ever called me "sexy" and actually wrote it in my annual so you know I have a special place for you in my memories! LOL
I believe that everyone who grew up in Childress around the same time we did has a Charles Mitchell story. Not all of them have the humor attached to them as did Mike’s however, I think that all of us who played or watched sports realized what a great athlete Charles Mitchell was. His incredible speed was one thing that set him apart. He ran several 9.5 seconds, one hundred yard dashes in an era when anything under 10.0 was considered outstanding. Of course, he was an all-state tailback in high school, and he received a football scholarship to Texas Tech. A knee injury stopped what we all felt would have been a great college career as well.
Having known and grown up with Charles, I could tell many stories of his amazing talents, but an event that happened when we were 12 years old in little league baseball stands out. What jogged my memory was the fact that my grandson, Jordie, is a 12 year old pitcher, (and an outstanding one if Granddad must say so himself!) There is now and there was then a rule that limits the number of innings a pitcher can pitch in little league. I am not sure exactly, but I think it was because Charles had been injured and that we had several games rained out that Charles pitched back to back games that July day 50 years ago.
What made this so unbelievable was that Charles pitched a no run, no hit game in game one. In game two the opponents got two or three hits, but no runs. That feat in itself is outstanding, but what makes it border on incredible is the fact that Charles pitched the first game left-handed (he is a natural lefty), but he pitched the second game right handed! I was the catcher for both games.
I’ve always felt that Charles could have been a major leaguer if we had had high school baseball and the opportunities had been there. I feel blessed to have grown up and witnessed Charles’ abilities, and of course, I am proud that he was a Childress Bobcat.
I have really enjoyed the Childress Blog...really brings back loads of memories.
I have not talked to [band director] Norman Hemphill since about 1974 when he asked me to clinic the Childress High School band. Have not seen or heard of him since that time. Where is he and is he in good health?
Just got the phone with Ronnie Day [also CHS Class of 1962]...talked about an hour and half. I did mention the blog site.
Hey JIm......I rmember when Charlie did that pitching feat.....do you also remember that he had an uncle that had won ...either a major league batting title.......or maybe it was MVP......in the pros....
Charlie was telling me about it in his front yard as he casually destroyed my left hand playing a game of "burn out".......he finally took pity on me and started throwing with his other hand.....I lasted about another 5 pitches.......Jeeeeeeeeeeeeez....to have caught for him in two games.....must havae affected your golf game somehow.....?....
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