Soapweed
Well-known member
My journal entry for Wednesday, January 24, 1968
What a day! It was neither all bad nor all good, but a strange mixture of the two. I got up at 6:00 and argued from then until after 7:00. Dad got it into his head that I was not doing my patriotic duty in school, by not going out for basketball. My points against it were: time consuming, ties a guy down, you miss out on what is going on at home, away games are usually clear to heck and gone and you get home about 3:00 in the morning, and also it's hard to keep your school work going very well. Dad's points for it were: help the five-man team out a little, gain coordination, be a little more "in " with the guys (which I couldn't care less about), have a little fun (ha, ha!), and a few other relatively minor reasons. I had the argument won and my mind made up not to do it. Then I said, "Are you going to be mad if I don't?" Dad replied, "Not really mad, but disappointed." I had a choice but really no choice, as who wants to lose their birthright over basketball? (I don't.)
We went to school and I went to typing class. As I walked in the door, Ken (who fouled out in the first half last night) said, "Boy, we sure could have used you last night!" I said, "Well, I've got news for you. I am as of now going out for basketball." The whole sophomore class cheered long and hard, which made me feel some better. Within five minutes, the whole school knew about it, and a few guys came in to congratulate me.
School was pretty routine. For dinner we had scalloped potatoes, spam, buns, and peaches. Even Maggie Harner (the cook) came up and patted me on the back, encouraging me by saying that all my muscles would be sore for the first week, anyway. In English class, Mrs. Jess complimented me and said that this was one of the most "noble" things I'd done this year. (I didn't tell her I was "suckered" into it.) McKay took a couple girls out driving for Driver's Ed, so we had study hall. Everyone was making quite a bit of noise, so Mr. Card had to calm us down twice. He was "peeved" the second time and asked who all was busy. Everyone had some stuff to do and ad-libbed if they didn't. Ken and I evidently didn't come up with quite as much to do, so Card had us go to the stage to dismantle props from the play. He came in to check up on us once, and asked if we needed John's help. Our simultaneous reply was, "You bet!" John was recruited, but griped quite a little as he had quite a bit of studying to do. He told Card to send down Ernie on his next trip upstairs. All four of us finished taking down the props and then went back to study hall.
Phys ed came along then (at 1:45). The coach was gone, so we goofed around shooting free shots and scrimmaging a little. (Boy, I hate that basketball lingo.) Bill Marrs helped me to assemble a suit of basketball clothes. School was out and basketball practice started. Mr. Tarsitano acted as substitute coach. He is a rough guy to break in a new-comer such as myself. He is so rough that even some of the "regulars" didn't come out because he would work them too hard. Basketball practice ended at 5:30, so I picked up the girls at Grandma's, getting a sandwich in the deal. We got the mail and groceries and came on home.
When we arrived home from school, I changed my duds and helped Dad do chores. He was painting on the saddle room, which is getting to be a pretty fancy place. It is bright red on the outside and varnished natural wood on the inside. I fed the bulls and stopped by the bunkhouse to ask Lloyd McNare, who had just returned from Valentine, if he wanted any supper. He didn't, but gave me a guided tour through the bunkhouse showing me a new television he had purchased today.
We had supper and watched TV for a while. I'm still not too crazy about basketball, but I guess it's too late to do anything different now. If it wasn't for the "appreciation" everyone showed me, I guarantee I wouldn't try it again tomorrow.
What a day! It was neither all bad nor all good, but a strange mixture of the two. I got up at 6:00 and argued from then until after 7:00. Dad got it into his head that I was not doing my patriotic duty in school, by not going out for basketball. My points against it were: time consuming, ties a guy down, you miss out on what is going on at home, away games are usually clear to heck and gone and you get home about 3:00 in the morning, and also it's hard to keep your school work going very well. Dad's points for it were: help the five-man team out a little, gain coordination, be a little more "in " with the guys (which I couldn't care less about), have a little fun (ha, ha!), and a few other relatively minor reasons. I had the argument won and my mind made up not to do it. Then I said, "Are you going to be mad if I don't?" Dad replied, "Not really mad, but disappointed." I had a choice but really no choice, as who wants to lose their birthright over basketball? (I don't.)
We went to school and I went to typing class. As I walked in the door, Ken (who fouled out in the first half last night) said, "Boy, we sure could have used you last night!" I said, "Well, I've got news for you. I am as of now going out for basketball." The whole sophomore class cheered long and hard, which made me feel some better. Within five minutes, the whole school knew about it, and a few guys came in to congratulate me.
School was pretty routine. For dinner we had scalloped potatoes, spam, buns, and peaches. Even Maggie Harner (the cook) came up and patted me on the back, encouraging me by saying that all my muscles would be sore for the first week, anyway. In English class, Mrs. Jess complimented me and said that this was one of the most "noble" things I'd done this year. (I didn't tell her I was "suckered" into it.) McKay took a couple girls out driving for Driver's Ed, so we had study hall. Everyone was making quite a bit of noise, so Mr. Card had to calm us down twice. He was "peeved" the second time and asked who all was busy. Everyone had some stuff to do and ad-libbed if they didn't. Ken and I evidently didn't come up with quite as much to do, so Card had us go to the stage to dismantle props from the play. He came in to check up on us once, and asked if we needed John's help. Our simultaneous reply was, "You bet!" John was recruited, but griped quite a little as he had quite a bit of studying to do. He told Card to send down Ernie on his next trip upstairs. All four of us finished taking down the props and then went back to study hall.
Phys ed came along then (at 1:45). The coach was gone, so we goofed around shooting free shots and scrimmaging a little. (Boy, I hate that basketball lingo.) Bill Marrs helped me to assemble a suit of basketball clothes. School was out and basketball practice started. Mr. Tarsitano acted as substitute coach. He is a rough guy to break in a new-comer such as myself. He is so rough that even some of the "regulars" didn't come out because he would work them too hard. Basketball practice ended at 5:30, so I picked up the girls at Grandma's, getting a sandwich in the deal. We got the mail and groceries and came on home.
When we arrived home from school, I changed my duds and helped Dad do chores. He was painting on the saddle room, which is getting to be a pretty fancy place. It is bright red on the outside and varnished natural wood on the inside. I fed the bulls and stopped by the bunkhouse to ask Lloyd McNare, who had just returned from Valentine, if he wanted any supper. He didn't, but gave me a guided tour through the bunkhouse showing me a new television he had purchased today.
We had supper and watched TV for a while. I'm still not too crazy about basketball, but I guess it's too late to do anything different now. If it wasn't for the "appreciation" everyone showed me, I guarantee I wouldn't try it again tomorrow.