Part 2 of 4
Freshman Year
The weeks passed by and it seemed each day I became more at ease. I made new friends and school seemed to be less the fearsome thing it had appeared before. I remember lunch and sitting at the table with Buddy Bunch, Randall Davis and a few other guys. Buddy was the first person to introduce me to putting potato chips on my bologna sandwich, something I still do to this very day. Randall tried to talk me into sipping my milk thru my nose…although he never tried it himself.
Football came and went (thankfully for our not-so-talented squad) and basketball took over. And with that came my first meeting with Coach Curtis. To this day I still remember his staccato-like responses to questions/teachings on the court. He was a demanding, yet somewhat kind person, but expected “the best” from you each time. Make a mistake once, and he seemed calm, twice he “gently” reminded you…a third time meant you did some time running to help you remember.
What was worse for me is that he was friends with Coach Michael, and would sometimes stop by Coach Michael’s General Science class during basketball season. I started to believe at some point it was to chide both Donnie Hannah and myself…but one visit wasn’t so nice.
Remember the broken window I talked about earlier? The one in Speech Class/Homeroom?
Funny thing about Coaches…..they are a clan, and they keep tabs on their students back then. My seat end was still smarting from the day before and my visit to Coach Shepherd’s office for my swat after breaking the window. The bell had rung and normally class started immediately, but not today. In looking back now I should have known something was coming by the look on Coach Michael’s face. He had that grin, that one that always told you he knew something you didn’t and it wasn’t ever going to turn out well for you.
“Mr. Kilgore” I heard him say….”you have a visitor who would like to speak with you.”
I turned to look….it was Coach Curtis wielding Coach’s Michael's paddle.
“Mr. Kilgore, would you like to step out into the hallway so we can speak about a certain incident from yesterday”.
At that point the lump in my throat felt like I had tried to swallow a golf ball and sweat was pouring out of me like I was under cross examination by the IRS. I hesitated…hoping.
“Come on Mr. Kilgore…if I have to ask again the wind sprints you did last night will seem like a walk in the park compared to what you will be doing during practice this afternoon.”
I got up and walked out to a chorus of “ooh’s and ahh’s” and of course Donnie Hannah telling me “it was good to know you Mark.”
I stepped into the hallway with my knees shaking, pondering what was coming next. Little did I know that I was going to be part of a ruse. When we were out of sight of the classroom Coach Curtis handed me a thick history book and told me to hold my hands flat as he placed it on them. He told me to make sure not to move that it wouldn’t hurt if I just kept my hands flat and solid. Coach Michael was standing at the door to the classroom, “witnessing” the incident. Coach Curtis then said in a loud voice, "this is what happens when one of my players gets sent to Coach Shepherds office for a behavior issue."
And with that he came down hard on the book…making a very loud “smack’ that brought a chorus of shock from the General Science class, sure that I wasn’t going to be able to sit. Coach Michael even made a facial expression that enhanced the shock for everyone.
Coach Michael left the doorway and joined Coach Curtis right near me. For the next couple of minutes they talked with me quietly about what had happened the day before. They both explained they knew the circumstances and understood what I had been trying to do, but that I should have used common sense and not taken the course I did. They expected more of me….and wouldn’t tolerate anything like that happening again. And with that Coach Curtis turned to leave…turned back around and said, “we’ll discuss this more tonight at practice”.
I looked at Coach Michael, he smiled and then said:
“Let’s stay here for a moment for effect….let people think about it a little more”
That day I got the message….and so did a couple of other people.
Oh….and as for the admonition that Coach Curtis gave me before leaving? I found out what it was like to run the stairs in the Lewis Junior High School gym while the rest of the team was practicing.
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The only other time I got to visit Coach Shepherd’s office that year wasn’t my fault. Really, it wasn’t. The story is too embarrassing to tell. Maybe if I see you at the reunion I will tell you.
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The rest of the year seemed to fly by.
Basketball came and went. Spring came and I had hoped to play baseball, but alas Freshmen weren’t allowed to play on the Varsity in those days. So I needed something to fill my spare time and got roped into doing the Freshman play, “Up The Down Staircase”.
Being in Ms. Reeves Speech Class in 6th hour, we weren’t really given a choice whether we wanted to try out or not. It was part of our grade in class….not the play, trying out. If you gave it a half-hearted attempt you were going to get marked down , and it could affect your overall grade.
I had been in several plays in grade school, never really more than background characters. I remember once in grade school one of the teachers wanted to do a play about “bad boys” who wouldn’t learn. I was one of the “bad boys” who came to learn that “school was cool”. Luckily the play closed after one night. I also remember a “serio-comedy” that Randy and I got chosen to do during the Spring Play only because the play was about brothers. In the play, Randy was the character playing the serious Romeo, and my character was the younger brother who, due to the illness of the lead female character who was to play Juliet, was forced to ad-lib Juliet’s lines. It was great…and a shame we never did something like that again….Randy was always a great “straight guy” to my comedian.
But back to the story at hand…..I remember my audition. I swear I wasn’t really even trying to get the part. I knew if I did I would take a ribbing by my jock friends for being in the play. But yet….no matter how much I downplayed it, I got the part of Dr. Bester, the codger of a Principal for the school. And boy, was I right about the ribbing….everything from “is it fun to wear make-up” to “you know, that gray looks good on you, even at this age”.
The odd part about that play….once we started rehearsal, I really enjoyed my role. The stodgy, stuffy, Dr. Bester was perfect for me. Not many lines, a character you loved to hate, and a guy who with no real reason to, thought he was charming to the lady teachers. (I think in reality I felt just like him, because when it came to ladies, I had all the savior-faire of a bull moose in a china shop)
There were a lot of great memories from that year of making new friends.
And there were a few mischievous things too. Anyone remember tormenting Mr. Bowman when we would hum during his English Class.
I remember a Secret Admirer….and secretly admiring someone(s). And my first experience of having an “out of town” girlfriend.
I remember going to the High School Football games on Friday night and walking around with the rest of the jocks, only occasionally sitting down long enough to chat for a few minutes before getting up to “cruise” to see who else was there.
I remember how, during basketball season when we had away games, a bunch of us would pool our money and go to the A&P grocery to pick up stuff to take with us to eat after the game.
And I remember in the Spring during baseball season, instead of riding the bus home, I would grab a hamburger wherever I could and head to Siloam Field. I would sit on the ground on the top of the hill and watch the HS baseball team play, wistfully wishing I could be out there on the field. When I was young, and even in Jr. High/High School, baseball was my escape….and it was my first love. I bet I bugged Coach Michael a thousand times in class just to let me just practice with them. And he would smile and say….wait your turn will come.
It was a year of making new friends, and drifting away from some of those I had grown up with.
I had just been lucky enough to be interviewed to appear for the school newspaper, Tiger Tales. While I saw it as pretty cool, I took a lot of good-natured ribbing for my “not really all that cool” answers to the “hard hitting’ questions. (It wasn’t the reporter’s fault….she had decent questions, I just had the “not so cool” answers)
I remember for some reason, not disciplinary, I was sitting in class talking to Coach Michael. We were talking just general topics, mostly about whether or not I had enjoyed my first year at Excelsior Springs. I told him that although it had it’s up and down moments , it wasn’t scary as I thought it was going to be. And that I really enjoyed all the new set of friends I had made….but, there was this one thing.
Puzzled, Coach Michael looked at me and asked….”so what was it that you didn’t really like.”
I said…”you know Coach, while I love watching football, playing it didn’t really seem to be as much fun as I thought. I wasn’t really all that good, and seeing the guys on Varsity who are much bigger than me, I am sure I will get killed. I just want to play basketball and baseball next year.”
I remember it distinctly…..he had been leaning back in his chair taking it all in. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees and said…
“ Mark….if you really didn’t enjoy football all that much then don’t play. But can I tell you something…I think it’s a big mistake. I could tell you all the things coaches normally tell you about playing sports and being in shape all year. I could tell you that you’re still just a Freshman and that with a little work in the summer, you could get enough muscle to be able to hold your own.”
“But that’s not the real reasons you should play. You love playing sports….and being part of a team. And that’s where you made most of your friends this year. And you will regret it if you don’t.”
And he was right….for all the fun I had that year, the one thing that defined me becoming who I was, it was sports. I wasn’t all that great at football my Freshman year but I had fun….I finally learned how to dribble a basketball without having to look at it….I actually even learned (somewhat weakly) how to do a right handed layup.
But what I learned more than anything else that year was that I loved playing sports….being on a team, win or lose, and trying my best. I made friendships that lasted for years….they produced great memories….and playing sports helped me to understand the concept of Team, not the individual.
And more than anything… football produced the one thing that has lasted a lifetime for me.
My 15 minutes of Fame… and the beloved nickname that has followed me all my life.
Next up:
Part 3….The Legend of Golden Toe
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