tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72517846638896129172024-02-08T00:15:55.999-05:00Goodbye, 1960goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-44733541725392402972023-01-25T16:56:00.000-05:002023-01-25T16:56:41.584-05:00Sophomore Football Season Comes to a Close<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After the Capital victory, our next game was on the road against the Caldwell Cougars. I remember one big play in the game, and that play has a funny twist. The Canyon County team gave us a bigger battle than Capital. Since there was no clock on the field the officials had to inform both sidelines when there were two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, we were behind 13-12. With bout thirty seconds to go, I called a pass play in which Bob Griffin was to be the main receiver. I'm not sure how far we were from the goal line, but I think it was at least 50 yards. I dropped back to pass, spotted Bob going deep, and then threw it as far as I could. I went down to the ground, tackled by a Caldwell defender. When I got up our guys were jumping up and down and I saw that Bob had crossed the goal line. We won the game 18-14.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was the first and only time in my life that I remember being involved in the scoring in a game where I successfully helped "snatch victory from the jaws of defeat." If the pass had been unsuccessful, we would have lost. But...I didn't realize it at the time. Let me explain.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A few weeks later we were into basketball season. Coach Hill was preparing us for Caldwell, the team that we had barely beaten in the game I just described. At some point as he was speaking to us for the upcoming game, he mentioned how we would have lost our football game to them if we hadn't scored a touchdown in the last minute. My eyes got wide and I blurted out, "What? You mean we were behind?" It's true. I told you earlier that we trailed 13-12 with less than a minute to go. But I didn't actually know that at the time. I thought we were tied. Later when I had time to think about it I realized that I may not have responded the same if I had known we were losing and that if the pass failed we would lose the game. There's a definite difference from attempting a pass that would lead to a loss if it failed and making a pass that, even if failed, we would at least have a tie and not a loss. That is what I thought the situation was at the time. I will never know. But it was still a "W". </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We now had two games to go. The second time around we beat Capital a little more easily, 26-13. I tossed my third touchdown pass of the season, a play in which the Statesman stated that I "rifled" the pass to Ron Harris. Actually, Ron was so wide open that I threw him about as soft of a pass as I could so that I wouldn't mess it up.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The final game of the season was played at Boise against the Braves. They had beaten Capital once during the year so, if we lost to them we would end up tied for first. We played hard and got the victory, completing the undefeated season. As I recall it was 7-7 at halftime and we went on to win, 19-7. After the game, as was his custom, Coach Hill told us to, "Remain humble." I remember thinking, 'hey, we're the undefeated champs so we don't have to be humble anymore.' Apparently I actually said it out loud because after the game Coach Conley mentioned it to my parents.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After the game we grabbed Coach Hill, Coach Conley, and Coach Tom Olsen and threw them fully-clothed into shower. Celebration. It was a sweet ending to a competitive season.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-36637480452927011122023-01-19T16:50:00.002-05:002023-01-19T16:50:26.293-05:00Bob's Season Ends. Mine Begins.<p style="text-align: center;"> The first time Bob Nowierski and I hung out together was on a Saturday during the football season in 1966. I can't remember for certain but we may have been helping decorate for the homecoming dance -- or pretending to help. I drove a blue Volkswagen bug but I think we were driving around in his, which I think was a lighter shade of blue. The guy was full of energy all the time it seemed. His high energy was really alive when we were playing football games. When the other team had the ball he would pace up and down the sideline while clapping his hands and shouting, encouraging our teammates to cheer on the defense. At the end of the season his teammates voted him Most Inspirational, an honor he truly deserved.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Toward the end of the first half of our game against Capital on their field, his season ended abruptly.</p><p style="text-align: center;">He was leading the team on offense and after a particular play, he didn't get up off the ground. I went into the game to replace him, not knowing the extent of his injury. It turned out to be a broken collarbone.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I only remember a handful of plays and most of those I would like to forget. Like you, I prefer to remember the good times, but I remember more mistakes from this game than any other. Shortly after I entered the game we were facing a third down in Eagle territory. I called a pass play to Bob Griffin. I still have the picture in my mind of a defender close to him. I decided to throw it high toward the sideline. I figured if Bob couldn't get to it, the ball would land out of bounds. Unfortunately I threw it short and it was intercepted. That's right. While my first pass of the season as backup quarterback in our first game resulted in a touchdown, my first pass as the guy who would lead for the rest of the season was an interception. </p><p style="text-align: center;">Fortunately, our defense held them and the half ended with the score 0-0.</p><p style="text-align: center;">We scored a touchdown on our first series of the second half, but not before I made it interesting. I called a play in which I was supposed to pitch the ball to one of our running backs, but I pivoted the wrong way and pitched it to, uh, nobody. So I had to hustle over and recover the ball. Fortunately our offensive line came through and we were able to score the first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead. Our defense held again and we took over on our own five yard line. On first down I called an option play. I faked a handoff to Craig Estell and then pitched the ball to Don Minter. Or so I thought. The Capital defensive end stepped between Don and me, grabbed my pitchout in the air, and he only had to take one or two steps to score the touchdown. Well, I wanted to find a hole and hide in it. But Coach Hill met me at the sideline and told me not to worry about it. Of course he was right. I couldn't do anything about it. They missed the extra point so we led 7-6. </p><p style="text-align: center;">We scored another touchdown and so did Capital. We ended up winning 14-12. I don't know if my teammates were worried about how the season would go with me at quarterback, but Coach Hill would have none of it. When we gathered together in the locker room to discuss the game, Coach Hill talked me up like I had been the star of the game. That was encouraging. Our record was now 4-0 with three games to go. It wasn't the way I wanted to get the starting job, but I had it, and the goal was to complete the undefeated season.</p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-56618684435139117932023-01-18T16:44:00.000-05:002023-01-18T16:44:05.634-05:00"See You In September"...I Mostly Saw the Bench<p style="text-align: center;"> Coach Lou Holtz used to say, "Happiness is a bad memory."Sometimes, yes, I agree. I was fifteen years old in the fall of 1966, so I was a mess. I think we were all awkward, goofy, rebellious, and a lot of other things that I won't mention. But I mostly like to remember the positive experiences.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The defending champion varsity team got the season off to a great start by beating Sandpoint 58-0. The following week they went on the road to play the Sentinel Spartans in Missoula, Montana. The Lions prevailed 60-6. What is interesting about that score is that Sentinal did not lose another game all season and were crowned state champions in Montana. This Borah team was pretty good, don't you think?</p><p style="text-align: center;">Our first sophomore game was at home on our campus agains the Nampa Bulldogs. I watched most of the game from the sideline, but I remember being very impressed with our defense. Bob played most of the game at quarterback and I didn't get into the game until the last couple of minutes when we were leading 20-0. We had the ball on the 50 yard line. My friend BJ Johnson, who played split end, had told me that if I were to get in the game, I should throw him a pass because nobody was covering him. On first down I called a running play. When we lined up to run the play, I saw clearly that what he had told me was true. So on second down I called a pass to him. He caught it and ran for a touchdown. So even though I was disappointed that I didn't start the game, it was nice that my first pass of the season went for a touchdown. Final score: Borah 27, Nampa 0.</p><p style="text-align: center;">It's September of 1966, so the first day of autumn is coming upon the class of 1969. Many of us were regular listeners to "Red Steer Request Time" on the local rock and roll radio station. The Red Steer was a drive-in restaurant with two locations, as I recall. Anyone could call in and request a song, and the requests and who they were for were read on air by the DJ. Listening in, you would likely hear songs like You Keep Me Hangin' On, Lady Godiva, Kicks, Wild Thing, California Dreamin', 96 Tears, and my personal favorite in the fall of '66, Cherish, by the Association. It's interesting to note that in a year of growing unrest and protests against the Viet Nam War, the song that topped the charts nationwide for the year was The Green Berets, by Sergeant Barry Sadler.</p><p style="text-align: center;">One of the things that Coach Hill drilled into us was that we better not ever get into a fight during a game. He said something like this: "If you get into a fight, it tells me that you really don't want to play, because the officials are going to kick you out of the game." I was not in a particularly good mood going into the second game of the season that was played against Twin Falls on their field, which was a two-hour drive from Boise. I had just found out that I had lost the election for sophomore class vice-president, and now I was suiting for a game in which I would still be the backup quarterback. There was a memorable play that involved teammate Greg Phillips, one of the Bobbsey twins (see the 1-16-2023 blog). Greg picked up a Twin Falls Bruin fumble near our 40 yard line and started running toward the goal line. As he was heading toward the end zone, one of the officials threw his flag for a clipping penalty on one of our players. Coach Hill starting protesting the call before the play was over. So the touchdown was called off, a fifteen yard penalty was assessed against our team for clipping, and another fifteen yard penalty was called on our coach for unsportsmanlike conduct. I was standing close to assistant coach Terry Conley when he shouted out, "You're an amazing man, ref." So we were penalized another fifteen yards for a total of forty-five yards on one play!</p><p style="text-align: center;">When I finally got into the game late in the fourth quarter, we drove down the field and scored a touchdown. For the extra point, I carried the ball and I was tackled short of the goal line. As I was getting up off the ground at the end of the play, one of the Bruin defenders decided he would try to kick me in an area where no male wants to be kicked. I got up and went after him with arms flailing until an official got between us and broke up the fight. We were both ejected. I'm not sure, but I think when Coach Hill met me on the side line he had a grin on his face. We beat them 33-14, or something like that.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The following week we beat Meridian fairly easily, so we headed into the first of our two scheduled tilts against the Capital Eagles with a 3-0 record, and the beginning of my new season.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-23507469084744902332023-01-16T20:41:00.001-05:002023-01-16T20:41:25.622-05:00Days at Borah: The Home of the Lions, 1966<p style="text-align: center;"> I took Drivers Ed in June of 1966, the summer before my sophomore year. My clearest memory is Coach Conley's quick response to hit the brake on my first day of driving. No matter what you may have heard, we did not plunge into the Ridenbaugh Canal near the corner of Liberty and Franklin.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Bob Nowierski and I were invited -- I should say, coerced -- to intend "quarterback school" at Borah four days a week in June that same summer. Believe it or not, we did quarterback drills on the gymnasium floor. Coach Troxel the head varsity coach, put tape on the floor so we could run the quarterback sprint out series properly. I'm sure that no basketball coach would allow that today. But then, Coach Troxel was a legend. My sophomore year was his ninth year as head football coach and the Borah Lions had been champions all but one of those years.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Bob and I traveled different roads to Borah to be contenders for starting quarterback on the Borah sophomore team. Bob had played quarterback for Kiwanis Club, an Optimist (the sponsor of little league football in the Boise Valley) football team that maybe lost one or two games in four years. I played one year of quarterback for Boise Cascade in the seventh grade. We had a perfect record. We lost every game. In junior high, most of those Kiwanis Club players wound up at South Junior High. Bob was the quarterback and they did not lose a game in two years. We were their rival at West Junior High. We won about half our gamed in two years and I quarterbacked the West Mustangs for four games in the ninth grade. We won two and lost two. My most fun game was against Fairmont when I threw 2 touchdown passes to Bill Cady and he ran for one more. We ended the season the same way we ended the eight grade season, getting clobbered by South. The Bobcats were well coached, very physical, and as those of us in the class of 1969 all remember, Don Minter was really fast. So South and West would combine to be teammates on the Borah sophomore football team.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Some of you may remember the team physicals for high school athletes back in the day. One evening in August, dozens of sophomore athletes, fresh from summer vacation, showed up in the Borah locker room for the team physical. Oh, yes, get on the scales, blood pressure taken, check the reflexes, say "ah." The funnest part was when you had to turn your head and cough. Memories.</p><p style="text-align: center;">That evening I met the intimidating former South Bobcats who, along with the former West Mustangs, would make up the bulk of the sophomore team. I recall that it was somewhat an awkward get together and the former opponents didn't mingle much. One memory I have is being introduced to the twin brother giants from South, Greg and Jeff Phillips, who were at times referred to as the Bobbsey Twins. I think I first heard that from senior quarterback Gary Powell, my mentor. Greg and Jeff were about six foot three inches tall and over two hundred pounds. I remember being glad they were on our side.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Not many days after that we had our first practice. Bob and I were the only ones competing for quarterback, although Raoul Allen would occasionally take a few snaps from the center. Bob and I both had opportunities to lead the offense. Coach Hill was taking his time making a decision on the starter. A few days before our fist game against Nampa, Coach Hill seemed to settle on me. The next day I hurt my back. I don't know how I did it, but the injury relegated me to second team. My dad was friends with Doctor Rich Gardner who checked me out and gave me some exercises to do. I was not a happy camper because I had lost the starting job and I didn't get it back before the first game. I was mad at Bob Nowierski because he was now the starter. Why was I mad at Bob, as though it was his fault that I got hurt? Go figure. I was just a dumb sophomore. </p><p style="text-align: center;">The first three and a half games were frustrating, but just before halftime in our first match-up with Capital, something happened that changed the season for me. But that story is for another time.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-66041262230099766892023-01-13T09:50:00.000-05:002023-01-13T09:50:14.744-05:00The Winter of my Sophomore School Year at Borah High School<p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"February Made Me Shiver." Remembering sophomore basketball at Borah.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">Sophomore football season turned into basketball season sometime in November. Our coach was Raymond "Corky" Hill, who had also been our football coach. He carried 20 players on the sophomore team. Only 15 players suited up for games, so the 'bottom ten' traded off wearing the Lion green and gold on game day. I was part of that group. For anyone who wants to know, I only remember getting into one game, and that was in the last minute of a game in which we had already put the hay in the barn. It was late in the season and we were playing in Mountain Home against the Tiger sophomores. I was sitting near the end of the bench when I heard, "Barbour, come here." I was surprised, to say the least. Danny Wilson, a fellow member of the 'bottom ten', gave me a hard time for days afterwards because, he alleged, (and I'm sure he was correct) that I answered "Who, me?" when Coach Hill called my name. I hadn't been in a game all year and I didn't expect to be in that one. It was only a minute or so of playing time and I probably didn't even touch the ball. Other than that memory and the three games we played against the Capital Eagles, I don't remember a whole lot about the roundball season.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The first game against Capital was played in their gym in December. The sophomore schedule was such that we would play whatever valley team the varsity was playing, sometimes in the preliminary to the varsity game and sometimes not. This time it was at their gym with no other game scheduled. Capital was in its third year as Boise's third public high school. My friends may remember the lighting in that gym, at least for the first few years. It was a very yellowish lighting to the extent that I 'felt' yellow in there, if that makes any sense. The lighting always hurt my eyes. The game itself was a fiasco for us. The Eagles' sophomore team scored the first 25 points of the game. Midway through the second quarter we still had not scored; so, 12 minutes without scoring a point! We finally scored and we trailed 31-6 at the half. I'm sure I have never seen a coach as angry as Coach Hill was at halftime of that game. On the bright side, we matched them point for point in the second half and we lost by the same margin of 25 points.</p><p style="text-align: center;">We played them again in January after the New Year's break, this time as the preliminary to the varsity game, once again at Capital. We played our 'home' games in their gym to accommodate large crowds, since our gym was small. In this game our best player, Bob Griffin, did not play, did not even suit up. Jeff Phillips took his place and did an admirable job, and team-wise we played so much better than the early season debacle. I kept thinking we were going to pull off the upset, but we came up three points short. I didn't suit up for that game, but I remember going down to the locker room to see my teammates after the game. I know it's just a game, but we were devastated. We had played so well against a more talented team and we were without our star player. It was silent in that locker room and I was so proud of my teammates for their effort. Truthfully, I was ready to cry.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Remember McDonalds, the Golden Arches, back in the mid-sixties? I looked in the archives of my school newspaper, The Senator, for February of 1967. Here is a sample from the menu from an advertisement in the school newspaper: Hamburger, 18 cents; Fries, 15 cents; and Shake, 25 cents. What does that have to do with sophomore basketball? Read on.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I remember being superstitious in sports. Lots of players and coaches were. In my senior year of football, my teammate Craig Estell and I would wear Levis, ugly sneakers without socks, and a tomato-red pocket t-shirt to the locker on game days when we played at home. Some of the football coaches would get their haircut Friday afternoon before every home game, just for good luck. My friend BJ Johnson and I established a short-lived routine in February during the post-season sophomore basketball tournament at the end of the season.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The tournament was held at Nampa High School, which was a short drive from Borah High. We had a decent but not spectacular regular season, winning more games then we lost. In order to play Capital for the third time we would need to win our first round game against Emmett. Capital received a bye in the first round since they had the top season record. I think they only lost a a couple of games all year. With Bob Griffin leading the way with double figures in both scoring and rebounding, we prevailed in the Monday afternoon game in the first round. The Emmett Huskies had an outstanding player named Glenn Clark, and we bottled him up enough to win by a few points. The following year, Glenn transferred to Borah and played on our varsity for the next two years. After we got back to the Home of the Lions, BJ and I decided to go to McDonalds to get something to eat. I think I order a couple of burgers, fries, and shake, all for less than a buck.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I didn't suit up for the semi-final game against Capital, but I was a rabid fan from start to finish. Capital loved to fast break. Many times the player who rebounded the ball would throw the ball the length of the court and the result was often an easy lay up. This game went back and forth and it was close to the end. We were not a particularly high scoring team, but we poured it on that day. As I recall, BJ had his best game of the year. I think he scored 8 or 10 points in the crucial fourth quarter. </p><p style="text-align: center;">The game was tied at the end of regulation, and, if I'm not mistaken, we played two overtime periods. It was an exciting game to the end. They would score and their crowd would go crazy, then we would answer back and start jumping up and down. I don't remember the final score, but we got the job done. Griffin had another double-double and it was our team's best performance of the year. After we got back to Borah, BJ and I decided we had to go to McDonalds and order the same food we had the night before, and that's exactly what we did. Having defeated the mighty Capital Eagles, we had Mountain Home to play for the championship, a team that we had already beaten twice during the regular year.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I was kind of in awe of Bob Griffin. He was an extremely talented athlete. He was fast, strong, and man could he jump. Bob had another big game against the Tigers, but our team seemed a bit sluggish. Maybe the emotion of upsetting Capital the day before had taken its toll. This time we came up short, and it was disappointing. Bob had another double-double. For the tournament he averaged 17 points and 18 rebounds per game. He just needed a bit more help in the final game.</p><p style="text-align: center;">McDonalds didn't get any money from BJ and me that night. But the memory of the win over Capital was sweet for a long time. Actually, it still is. Beating Capital in any sport was always satisfying. "Never let our spirit die-fight; for Borah High!"</p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-69750036582857945852022-12-02T14:15:00.001-05:002022-12-02T14:15:48.112-05:00 FIRST EVER BORAH CAPITAL FOOTBALL GAME: THE BEGINNING OF THE RIVALRY.<div class="page" title="Page 1"><br /></div><div class="page" title="Page 1"><br /></div><div class="page" title="Page 1">The "high-flying" Capital Eagles entered the scene in 1965, and everything changed.</div><div class="page" title="Page 1">The most exciting game of the season turned out to be the Borah-Capital game late </div><div class="page" title="Page 1">in the season. Capital jumped ahead 13-0 early, but Frank Ryther of the Lions scored </div><div class="page" title="Page 1">a touch down just before half to cut the lead to 13-7. Joe Glassier scored two second </div><div class="page" title="Page 1">half touchdowns and Bruce Mors kicked all three extra points to give Borah the win,</div><div class="page" title="Page 1">21-20. There were no two point extra points that year. Ryther was SIC player of the year.</div><div class="page" title="Page 1"><br /></div><div class="page" title="Page 1"> </div><div class="page" title="Page 1"><img alt="Open photo" class="x1lliihq x193iq5w x5yr21d xh8yej3" height="362" src="https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/317488640_3415230582128516_8969220109513799932_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s206x206&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aee45a&_nc_ohc=0CaId2DKUYoAX-k7ZUD&_nc_ad=z-m&_nc_cid=0&_nc_ht=scontent.xx&oh=03_AdScvveNUNqKUk0YZTVBkIeA3MaTkiPYrZYuV3EG8IdnJg&oe=63B1C7A7" style="display: block; max-height: 200px; max-width: 100%;" width="204" /> </div>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-55779733832565806192022-11-18T09:16:00.003-05:002022-11-18T10:08:31.176-05:00Boise-Borah Football in the 1960's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-88695948874885074862022-11-11T14:06:00.002-05:002022-11-11T14:06:53.378-05:00My favorite Veterans Day Game, 1963<p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifp_7oNGXAq4tFPmmipXUKsh_vL8PkbCGNAvG0G5XDLSmxQeWp82d76E53-fwcL8TWMWCnQseQP5JolH3Wb59d6KyZ-EZI2MhaWwypc4kI0dSlAOo3lF1TJqmDP0YFbcmiWSVABw-mAkWE-rzkw58R_yvgxZJ5wnbX3Li9Vz7QUJSy72gYNngrYADmEA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1942" data-original-width="1169" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifp_7oNGXAq4tFPmmipXUKsh_vL8PkbCGNAvG0G5XDLSmxQeWp82d76E53-fwcL8TWMWCnQseQP5JolH3Wb59d6KyZ-EZI2MhaWwypc4kI0dSlAOo3lF1TJqmDP0YFbcmiWSVABw-mAkWE-rzkw58R_yvgxZJ5wnbX3Li9Vz7QUJSy72gYNngrYADmEA=w304-h506" width="304" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Entering the 1963 season, Borah had won all of the previous five Veterans Day games against the Boise Braves. There was no clear favorite the first or second year, but Borah was a solid favorite in years three through five. But 1963 was different. Borah opened the season with a two-touchdown loss, their only loss, to a team from Missoula, Montana -- it was the Lions' worst loss of the decade. Boise was 9-0 coming into the big game with a number of impressive wins including a 25-0 win over Oregon powerhouse, Medford. The Braves were a 14-point favorites, led by an outstanding passing game spearheaded by their quarterback, #16 Paul Gentle.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was the only game of the Veterans Day era that was televised, yet nearly 14,000 fans showed up for the annual tradition. Borah jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter before Boise scored; however, they missed the extra point which proved costly because in those days there was no 2-point conversion. Ron Imel's (#13) passing was just good enough and Dale Cady scored three touchdowns for the Lions who won their 6th straight Veterans Day game and Southern Idaho Conference championship. Borah 21, Boise 20.</span></div><p></p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-66955560047699584022022-10-31T14:37:00.005-04:002022-11-01T20:54:01.972-04:00Playing for Conference Championship #10 in 11 Years<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">November 1, 1968. Fifty-four years ago. This is for my Borah Lion teammates and classmates from the class of 1969, and anybody else who may be interested. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you remember these guys? They look like they are ready for a brawl.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The coaches</b>. Tom Olsen was my sophomore English teacher as well as assistant sophomore coach. Good teacher, but he could have given me a better grade from time to time. He retired from the Boise School District. So did Ron Arnold who was my kids' high school principal many years later. Good man. He enjoyed old-time gospel and country music, in case you wondered. Marsh Jones was a tough guy and very adventurous. I think he played in the Canadian Football League before he came to Borah. Bob O'Mera (somebody spelled his name wrong) later coached at Idaho Falls and then Meridian, where he coached against the Lions and won a state title. Coach Nakano was also head wrestling coach and later head track coach at Borah. My oldest daughter took driver training from him. I never took drive training from him, but he nicknamed me Mr Magoo when he saw me drive. We all remember Coach Pankratz. I'll have more to say about him later. Coach Biegert was at Borah through 1970. When he got hired at Borah in 1966, he was engaged to Cheryl Couch, who was also Miss Twin Falls. She ended up winning Miss Idaho so they had to postpone their wedding. I met Cheryl before I met him because my mom used to be a hostess for the Miss Idaho pageant and Cheryl once visited our home as Miss Idaho. Brad and Cheryl were both teachers and later lived in Oregon and California before moving back to Idaho.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEiPrh7LLTaZUw4JwLLBYjbkHtSsIBfKD3eyZ6qVZbFwlXELDn6S6C19LGDAeYRdVafwv0ivWPJ_658s_6vpoubSaMLPQ11dKSqc05poqWIpzXgOA90O52XPt-6Kl78Aas8dXZxdUHybHgIfAmUtwdpro8F0HY4p6whFA_2Dx9nNnY1L5CnlekjfvERw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="508" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEiPrh7LLTaZUw4JwLLBYjbkHtSsIBfKD3eyZ6qVZbFwlXELDn6S6C19LGDAeYRdVafwv0ivWPJ_658s_6vpoubSaMLPQ11dKSqc05poqWIpzXgOA90O52XPt-6Kl78Aas8dXZxdUHybHgIfAmUtwdpro8F0HY4p6whFA_2Dx9nNnY1L5CnlekjfvERw=w579-h572" width="579" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I think the coaches had their toughest challenge all year during the week after the Capital game. By defeating Capital we knocked them out of a chance for the title. The same weekend we beat Capital, Highland came to Boise and were upset by the Braves. Truthfully, many of us were hoping that Highland would win. That would have made both the Rams and the Lions undefeated in the the SIC going into the game on Friday, just as last year Capital and Borah were undefeated. Still, if we lost to them we would be tied for first. However, since they lost to the Braves coupled with a possible emotional letdown after the Capital victory, the coaches had to keep after us. Oh, and I assure you, they did.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We had a short practice on Thursday afternoon. Then we packed our uniforms and change of clothes. We were headed for Pocatello the night before the game. But first we ate dinner at the Chuckwagon on Vista, paid for by the Borah athletic program. Things were different then. Then we boarded the bus and headed for Pocatello. We must not have gotten there until 11:00 P.M. or later. One thing I remember about the trip was that several players were sick, and I was one of them. I didn't like the thought of playing in the game that was for the championship and not being in optimum health. Actually, I probably wouldn't have thought of the word optimum.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Friday, November 1. We dressed in our white uniforms at the field house on the Idaho State campus. Their stadium was called the Spud Bowl. The first half of the game was a bit like the nightmare first half at Ogden. I mentioned earlier that Greg Phillips and some other teammates put together a number of videos of football games and we were able to watch them and relive the competition. One of those games was the Highland game. Unfortunately, or, maybe, fortunately, we only have the second half of that game. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You've heard me tell the story about how I used to lose my cookies before the game {this happened every game of the season until this game, the 9th game of the year}. Well, this time I told myself to get control. I was already sick; in fact, I puked at the Thursday night practice back at Borah, so I had to "hold it in." </span><span style="font-size: large;">I succeeded. But I had little success at anything else in the first half. On our second offensive play I threw a pass that was intercepted by a Highland Ram who ran it back to our seven yard line. They scored a touchdown and we were down 7-0 early in the game. On our next series, Don Minter ran 52 yards for a touchdown. That is the one play I wish we had on film. I remember it well. Don took the ball and headed up the middle. One Highland Ram got a hand on his foot and Don stumbled briefly. They closed in on him for the kill, but Don kicked it into overdrive and they tackled nothing but air.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTvLr_xaO9oNuVtABCjni2yBuG0qxULlALEKhgrnycnpsgWYxnpiYYRNzKFd6OlR_zM7t75ZgDW9JLKmtfv5l2BBXg7xg1r9FqScViBkIRQbt7s3tipPSvDoMiWE4rIJkc9NwKe-0V0umbW6nUUWABTyL-Per73KpGE2t8VPWSNBinFQvE8ZINYrthOw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="513" height="639" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTvLr_xaO9oNuVtABCjni2yBuG0qxULlALEKhgrnycnpsgWYxnpiYYRNzKFd6OlR_zM7t75ZgDW9JLKmtfv5l2BBXg7xg1r9FqScViBkIRQbt7s3tipPSvDoMiWE4rIJkc9NwKe-0V0umbW6nUUWABTyL-Per73KpGE2t8VPWSNBinFQvE8ZINYrthOw=w579-h639" width="579" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each team now had a touchdown so we kicked off to Highland. The week before against Boise, they ran a reverse on a kick-off all the way for a touchdown. So we were ready for them to try it against us; at least, we thought we were ready. They executed the reverse and the runner who got the handoff ran it in for a touchdown. In the second quarter, junior Kenny Johnson, who was playing because fullback Craig Estell got injured in the first quarter, made what was probably his best run of the year and scored from 38 yards out. So the half time score was 13-13 and neither offense had any momentum. I'm not sure if either quarterback completed a pass the entire half. Just before halftime, Coach Nakano came down from the press box and talked to me on the sideline, giving me similar encouragement like he had in the preseason. He must have figured I needed it. He was right.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I survived halftime without throwing up, and we headed back to the field. If the first half was like Skeeter Davis's "The End of the World, " the second have was "Happy Days are Here Again." The defense stopped them time after time, and the offense pelted them. Even with two touchdowns called back because of penalties along with another play the would have put us nearly on the goal line, it was like target practice. Still, we only led by a touchdown going into the fourth quarter. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">BJ Johnson. This was his game to shine. BJ and I became friends in August before our seventh grade year at West Junior High. He had just moved to Hummel Drive where I lived. He showed up on his 10-speed bike one day and basically introduced himself to me. I threw passes to him while he was riding his 10-speed and he caught them. We played in the Optimist football program on the Boise Cascade team, and we were in sports together all through high school. BJ and I are in the pictures below.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Against Highland in the second half alone, BJ caught 5 passes for 95 yards and scored the first touchdown of the fourth quarter. If I could have chosen the offensive player of that game and given the game ball, it would have been to BJ. Darrell Burchfield wasn't too shabby either, either, catching two passes for 66 yards in the second half. After BJ's TD, Don Hutt intercepted a pass that led to our next touchdown, a ten-yard run by Bill Cady. It was a play that we had been working on for three or four weeks, but it was the first time we ran it. After the kick-off, Raoul Allen stepped up and rose to the occasion to really but the game away. He stepped in from of Highland's all-conference receiver Al Dykman, intercepted a pass from all-conference quarterback Mike Trujillo, and ran it 38 yards for a touchdown. It was a thrilling play. Highland then scored a touchdown with less than a minute to play, and Andy Brassey threw a TD pass to Don Hutt on the last play of the game. Final score: Borah 47, Highland 20.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK_gYtaivb5vLizh0y4QoiBq4k1f_ShulP_3BwdRigcOlLsyKKvhQAe_ay-wqV_MEgHpVRBlfnFE_2rtPRbAKDzLTIXSdtSLHlVYlXrG2Pg-ekt0WUURnXj7P5dFQGLmErARMWIzEyE4TN2AnMTbL4SUlAC2SAzrLYAfqrrZ_7htSz-wvfznX3EPSTUw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="516" height="611" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK_gYtaivb5vLizh0y4QoiBq4k1f_ShulP_3BwdRigcOlLsyKKvhQAe_ay-wqV_MEgHpVRBlfnFE_2rtPRbAKDzLTIXSdtSLHlVYlXrG2Pg-ekt0WUURnXj7P5dFQGLmErARMWIzEyE4TN2AnMTbL4SUlAC2SAzrLYAfqrrZ_7htSz-wvfznX3EPSTUw=w551-h611" width="551" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div><p></p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-6433150140703634972022-10-19T10:50:00.002-04:002022-10-19T10:50:36.945-04:00<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPJJAnz9C4z9xBIfDBOBL_5WaQBM2lgcC6fEAo552LWpxaRP637lNpyUn94aYHkX9--b0Y-M9nIq-_7KySxhlD_3PvXj5mAY9t2lB8ulZapTnU4eKInDOliGUx8OV4efapqoile4p2bm2xiHx3orPAseLGgTnvXdC-KvgNBsGtOJ9IgrRT7mhYY1q1Q/s2567/PXL_20221019_144207155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2567" data-original-width="2432" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPJJAnz9C4z9xBIfDBOBL_5WaQBM2lgcC6fEAo552LWpxaRP637lNpyUn94aYHkX9--b0Y-M9nIq-_7KySxhlD_3PvXj5mAY9t2lB8ulZapTnU4eKInDOliGUx8OV4efapqoile4p2bm2xiHx3orPAseLGgTnvXdC-KvgNBsGtOJ9IgrRT7mhYY1q1Q/w507-h556/PXL_20221019_144207155.jpg" width="507" /></a></div><p></p>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-21466165354556848112014-11-10T21:10:00.000-05:002014-11-10T21:10:26.111-05:00Veterans Day Rivalry Part 2, and a New Team Enters the Fray. 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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">1964. Well, it just had to happen. Six games
played, Borah winning them all, 4 of them very close. There were a lot of
similarities to the year before. This time Borah had the 9-0 record, while
Boise had 8 wins and a tie. Borah started the season beating teams from 4
states: Missoula, Montana; Las Vegas, Nevada; Medford, Oregaon; and Richland,
Washington. Once again the SIC title was on the line. It was back and forth
game like many of the others. The most exciting play of th<span class="textexposedshow">e game was when Randy Hulbert returned a kick off for a
touchdown for the Braves. Boise score late and quarterback Steve Preece tried
to rally the Lions in the last two minutes, but the Braves held on. Preece and
Boise end Kent Scott (#88 on the cover), who kicked a field goal and three
extra points, both played for Oregon State, when the Beavers were known as the
giant killers by beating two top 5 teams (USC and Purdue) and tying another (UCLA)
in 1967. This game broke my heart, but the Braves were the better team that
day. This was the last year with only 2 public high schools in Boise, and the 2
schools dominated. Boise was AP#1 at the end of the season, and Borah was #2.
Borah won the state championship in basketball with a 24-1 record,and Boise won
the state track championship with Borah finishing 2nd.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZThJPmMtWRS7mo68Fsv9rwGgIMIgKvSMebWWttID3uvyhzewnllxGJRw6xv6kH3cldqa5W_PnLaFQq1mHXTo3WL6_TLtl6S00NkNJAH6hPqBG8jSTNJDW3x48TSeR88U6JFAtEiXpNcEO/s1600/boise-borah+1964A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZThJPmMtWRS7mo68Fsv9rwGgIMIgKvSMebWWttID3uvyhzewnllxGJRw6xv6kH3cldqa5W_PnLaFQq1mHXTo3WL6_TLtl6S00NkNJAH6hPqBG8jSTNJDW3x48TSeR88U6JFAtEiXpNcEO/s1600/boise-borah+1964A.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfouXmHzR59SuzEA2tlTfgm90aExiXMrA7a3XZFeu4isibO1LufOi4eKWviLIKIfFCSfAKI16l6sTcAi6PZHHiHTms7ClncGL9Ylgd2FA0GXOIC3O3q91jGNzPrFkHwRot6MP4hGaw23y/s1600/boise-borah+1964B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfouXmHzR59SuzEA2tlTfgm90aExiXMrA7a3XZFeu4isibO1LufOi4eKWviLIKIfFCSfAKI16l6sTcAi6PZHHiHTms7ClncGL9Ylgd2FA0GXOIC3O3q91jGNzPrFkHwRot6MP4hGaw23y/s1600/boise-borah+1964B.jpg" height="320" width="221" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">The “high flying” Capital Eagles entered the
scene in 1965, and everything changed. The most exciting game of the 1965
season turned out to be the Borah-Capital game late in the season. Capital
jumped ahead 13-0 early, but Borah’s Frank Ryther scored just before the half
to make it 13-7. Joe Glaisyer scored two 2</span><sup style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">nd</sup><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"> half touchdowns and
Bruce Mors kicked three extra points to give the Lions a 21-20 victory (there
were no two-point extra points in those days). On November 11 at Bronco Stadium
Borah was looking for revenge against the Braves and quarterback Perry Gosset
(#14 on the cover) who had been at the helm the previous season when Boise won,
and the Lions got it. Led by quarterback Lon Troxel (#11 on the cover), the son
of the Head Lion, Coach Troxel, the Lions won the game and the SIC title with a
9-1 record.</span></div>
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<span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">Dick Eardley, KBOI news director and Statesman
writer, spoke at the Ed Troxel Appreciation Night celebration when Trox had
resigned his teaching job at Borah to become an assistant coach at the
University of Idaho. Eardley said he would interview the coach every year and
ask him what the team looked like for the upcoming season. Coach Troxel would
shake his head and say he just wasn’t sure if the team was going to measure up.
Except in 1966. Eardley said when he asked him before that season – which
turned out to be Troxel’s last – that Troxel just grinned. This was an
offensive machine that averaged nearly 50 points a game, mostly on the ground.
They had over 90 players, and four separate offensive units. In 4 of the 10
games, four of those units scored at least one touchdown. In the first road
game of the year, they beat a team in Missoula, Montana, 60-6 that went
undefeated the rest of the year and won the Montana state championship. Once
again the closest game of the year was against Capital, with the Eagles taking
a 16-14 lead at half before the Lions scored 17 unanswered points in the 2<sup>nd</sup>
half. The Lions for the 2<sup>nd</sup> time in Troxel’s tenure went undefeated
after beating Boise on Veterans Day, Borah’s last Veterans Day game at Bronco
Stadium until 1969.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">Back in 2001, a classmate and I were writing
back and forth on email, talking about Coach Troxel who had recently died. My
friend wrote, "When I was growing up, I thought Troxel was God." If
you went to West or South Junior High in the 60's, he sure seemed almost bigger
than life. I remember in the sixth grade he brought some track and field
athletes to Jackson Elementary to sell us on track. He was a great track coach,
too. At a surprise assembly in early 1967, the Borah student body listened to
former players, opponents in coaching, and many others talk about Coach Troxel
as we (I was a sophomore at the time) said good-bye to the only head football
coach Borah had known. That evening there was an "Ed Troxel Appreciation
Night" in the Borah cafeteria, emceed by Wanek Stein, one of the
outstanding players of the first Borah team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">For my two years of varsity football there was
no Veterans Day game in Boise for the Lions. For some reason the “powers that
be” at the time decided that the three schools – Borah, Boise, and Capital –
would now take turns playing the November 11 game, but rather than changing
every year, it would be every two years. That meant that players like me, who
grew up thinking this would be the biggest event in their high school careers,
did not get to play in the game as either juniors or seniors. Bummer. The big
game my junior years was Borah-Capital, the 9<sup>th</sup> game of the year.
Both teams were 8-0, the first time two teams from the “City of Trees” were
undefeated and untied that late in the season. The Lions were led by
quarterback Danny Cafferty on offense, while the defense was lead by
linebackers Danny Hearne and Paul Hietala, and a secondary that had not given
up a touchdown pass in conference play. The Eagles had plenty of weapons,
including two-way player John Grant, who was later an All-American at USC and a
starter on the Denver Broncos’ “Orange Crush” defense that played in the Super
Bowl in the 70’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">It was a back and forth game until Capital
scored a late touchdown, and then recovered a lion fumble to seal the win,
25-21. It was the second and final SIC loss for the Lions in the decade of the
60’s. After the emotional win, the Eagles had to play Boise the next week which
entered the game with a 5-4 record, but with but a single conference loss.
Capital was a huge favorite, but an upset would mean that the three Boise
schools would end up in a three-way tie for first in the SIC. And that is
exactly what happened. The pollsters had to choose which team would be 1<sup>st</sup>
in the final AP poll, and they chose the Lions, which defeated Twin Falls 59-7
in their final game, the night before the Boise upset win over Capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">1968 was a decade after the start of the
cross-town rivalry. By September of 1968, Borah was one of the best-known
football programs in the West. That is not an exaggeration. Hard to believe
that in 1958 the “Lions” were not yet called the Lions until late in September
when the students voted to make Lion the mascot. Though we did not get to play
Boise on Veterans Day in 1968, when we played them in October it was still a
huge game. We had the best rushing offense in the league (which was normal for
Borah in the 60’s) and were averaging over 40 points a game and allowing less
than 10. It was rainy and both defenses were playing well. The Lions led 10-0
in the middle of the 3<sup>rd</sup> quarter before the Braves recovered a
fumble and then scored on a fake field goal to make it 10-7. It was looking
like it might be like the old days, a nail-biter to the end. However, Bill Cady
ran 46 yards on fourth down, and the Lions didn’t look back. The final score
was 33-7. 10 years after their first SIC championship, the Lions would do it
again, going undefeated for the season, along the way getting revenge against
the other school in town, Capital, 42-14. The next two years the Lions would go
undefeated on the way to a 34-game winning streak (still a state record) that
came to an end in 1971. The Borah Dynasty of 13 of 14 SIC championships between
the seasons of 1958 and 1971 was remarkable. When the Lions lost to Meridian in
1972 it was the first time since 1959 that a team outside the city of Boise had
defeated the Lions in a conference game. And there would be no SIC championship
again until 1975.<span class="textexposedshow"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-86649580071081556332014-11-08T15:07:00.000-05:002014-11-08T15:07:47.143-05:00Stories of Veterans Days Past on the Home Front. Boise-Borah: A Decade of Rivalry, Part One, 1958 to 1963.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">First Boise-Borah game, November 11, 1958.
Biggest crowd ever at Bronco Stadium up to the time, around 12,000. Borah
scored first, but Boise came back twice to take the lead 13-12. Borah scored in
the last 2 minutes to win 19-13. Those were the days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Here you can watch the entire 1958 Veterans Day in 20 minutes.</div>
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<br /><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/mYPVBE__6uU/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/mYPVBE__6uU&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/mYPVBE__6uU&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">I don't remember the 1959 Veterans Day game as
well as the first one. It was close again, with Borah winning 20-14 and a 2nd
straight SIC title. Bill Francis was the Borah quarterback and I remember
Wendell Babcock and Mike Grisham (#32 on the program cover along with lineman
Randy Lind #70) running the ball a lot. Looking at the roster, neither team had
a player who weighed more than 190 lbs. How things have changed. Another trivia
note. Borah lost to Nampa that year. It would be 1972 before Borah would lose
to another SIC team outside of the city of Boise.</span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">I don't have a program of the 1960 Veterans Day
game, which is really disappointing. I know it was a 6 point game and I know
Lyle Hartley was the Borah quarterback. The Lions won their third straight SIC
title, with only a loss to Lewiston denying them an undefeated season. What a
decade it was for Borah, 1960-1969. Only 6 losses in 10 years. And if you add
the 1970 season, only 6 losses in 11 years, and only one of those was by more
than a touchdown. The picture I have is of the marching bands of both schools.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">1961 was the first rout, Borah winning 27-7.
Larry Howard was QB, and now I really wanted to be a quarterback. He was #11, a
number that would be worn by a couple more starting quarterbacks at Borah in that
era. For a while it was my favorite number, but things would change. Ray
Littlefield was the Lion fullback, and he was a beast running the ball, on
defense, and on the wrestling mat. Seniors Ray Miller and Laverle Pratt would
both sign pro contracts, and Pratt would be a big star in the Canadian Football
League. An undefeated season for Borah and a 4th straight SIC title. They were
never really challenged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">1962. You'll notice that the programs aren't quite as
fancy, but be patient.The Lions were heavy favorites in this game, but Coach Ed
Knecht in his first year at Boise had the Braves ready. Borah jumped out to an
18-0 lead, but Boise would battle back to make it 18-14 before Borah scored
again to win 25-14 and another SIC championship. I don't know if Borah ever had
a more star-studded team. Quarterback Jerry Ahlin would star on both offense
and defense at the University of Idaho b<span class="textexposedshow">efore being
drafted into the NFL. Steve Svitack played both ways and was also a state
champion wrestler and pole vaulter before becoming Boise State's first
All-American and playing in the NFL. Center Bill Smith was starting center at
the University of Oregon. Dave Severn and Bill Bryson were 2 of the fastest
sprinters in the state, the latter running a 9.4 100 yd dash in college, which
was one of the top times in the nation at the time. Oh, and I was starting to
notice cheerleaders. Well, I was all of 11 and in the 6th grade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">The 1963 and 1964 Veterans Day games were the
best ever in my opinion, and I am an expert on my opinion. The 1963 season was
the first year that teams were ranked by the AP, and Boise was 9-0 and ranked
#1 going into the game. Borah was 8-1, having lost by 2 touchdowns to a team
from Missoula, Montana to open the season. It was Lions' worst loss of the
decade. Boise was 14 point favorites and looking for their first ever win over
their cross-town rivals. Over 14,000 people attended and the game was televised
for the one and only time. Most of the pre-game talk was about the arm of Boise
quarterback Paul Gentle, but the star turned out to be Lion running back Dale
Cady who scored all three of Borah's touchdowns. Statesman writer and future
mayor Dick Eardley would call it the greatest high school game ever played in
Idaho, and I think he was right. 21-20 Borah and SIC championship #6.<span class="textexposedshow"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">Those of you from the class of 1969 remember Coach George Nakano. George coached the Borah offense from 1968 to 1970 for Borah. He was the head coach at Caldwell in 1963, and the Cougars had a chance to upset Borah. However, Ron Imel ran for a touchdown with 15 seconds left and the Lions came back to win. Years later I was at a Borah practice, standing by Coach Nakano. Coach Pankratz was talking to his team about the '63 game that Caldwell could have won, and said, "They would have won the game if their coach hadn't gotten so conservative." Nakano was on one knee, picking at some blades of grass with a half-grin on his face. Pankratz looked over at me and said, "You remember that game, don't you, Don?" I nodded yes and pointed down at George. Coach Pankratz got a big grin on his face and said, "George, you remember that too, right?" Coach Nakano's response was, "Yes, Coach, I was just throwing up."</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";"> Ron
Imel, #13 for Borah had a great year from the spring of '63 thru the spring of
'64. In May he was state champion in the 120 yd high hurdles, in November he
was voted onto the all-state football team, and in February was named the
number one basketball player in the state. A bit of trivia: in the 1965
football season at Bo<span class="textexposedshow">ise Junior College Imel led
the Broncos to the Potato Bowl (that's right, the Potato Bowl) with a 9-1
record against Cerritos Junior College. Unfortunately, the Broncos lost 41-13
in the fog. I listened to the game on the radio. The announcers could not see
what was going on down on the field. The other pic shows 2 pictures of Borah's
Dale Cady, the bottom one showing him score a touchdown. The official signaling
touchdown is my PE teacher at Jackson Grade school, Norm Essen. Do any of you
remember him? I later taught school with his daughter in Payette. Notice that
the Boise jerseys had Beat Borah on the back. Not that day.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Next: One of my first heartbreaks over a loss. </div>
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goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-14090844247808317392014-05-21T21:26:00.001-04:002014-05-21T21:26:58.992-04:00Yes, classmates and friends, I am having another birthday<span style="font-size: large;">Most of you are 63 already, but I turn 63 on Friday, May 23. I tend to look back on these occasions. 50 years is a good, round number.</span><div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In 1964, my blood was freely flowing Green and Gold, the colors of our Alma Mater.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The class of '64 was unique because they were the original baby boomer class. May dad got home from the war in Europe in 1945, and my brother was born in 1946. He and his classmates were the 6th graduating class at Borah. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In sports the class of '64 thrilled me and broke my heart. The biggest thrill was in the fall when they beat Boise 21-20 in the Veterans Day game.</span></div>
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<li>The Boise brave captains from the top were Steve Brown, Paul Gentle, and Vern Morse. The Lion captains were Denny Neilsen, Ron Imel, and Tom Stuart. What a game it was. It was televised for the first and only time, and my Lions got it done for the 6th straight year. Ron Imel was one of my heroes. It probably is not a coincidence that he was a quarterback. In one calendar year, between May of '63 and March of '64 he earned the following honors: State champion in the 120 yard high hurdles, all-state in football, and AP state player of the year in basketball. However, he was part of the heart-break crowd, too. The 23-1 Borah Lions lost to Twin Falls in the 1964 state championship finals. And then the track team, which had won 3 state titles, finished 2nd to Boise in the state track meet. I just did not like seeing Borah lose. One of the reasons was that Dale Cady, the star of the Borah-Boise football game and probably the fastest sprinter in the state for the decade of the 60's, pulled a muscle in the middle of the season and the team had to compete without him. See if his picture reminds you of one of our fellow classmates in 1969, who also happened to be a track star and, most importantly, the star of the '68 Borah-Boise game.</li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Five years later with names like Wadsworth, Minter, Griffen, and Phillips, the Lions would win their 2nd straight state track championship. Well, one of these days I'll write about something besides sports at Borah. Yes, I think I will. But not on my birhday. Oh, I got a green Schwinn 10-speed for my birthday in 1964. How cool was that.</span></li>
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goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-80759786922321679482014-04-06T21:59:00.002-04:002014-04-06T21:59:37.926-04:00When Lions Were Kings VI<span style="font-size: large;">Who are these guys, where are these guys, and why are two of them not smiling?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">First of all, from left to right: Yours truly, Craig Carroll (how did a junior get in this picture?), Erick Wadsworth, Darrell Burchfield, Bob Griffen, B.J. Johnson, and Don Minter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This picture is from the Pasco (Washington) Invitational, a track meet in which schools from five states competed. The Lions ran away with the title, something that was no surprise, really.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So who's not smiling? Erick isn't. Erick won the 440 yard dash (remember yards before there were meters?) earlier that day. However, the mile relay team which he anchored, and which had not lost in two years, did not win at Pasco. Some of you may remember that Erick did not take to losing very well (or fouling out of basketball games, but that's another story for another time) and that day was no different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you have followed track in Idaho you know that the rules changed over the years. When we were in high school Erick only competed in two events, but if the rules had changed earlier he most certainly would have been in three or four events, and probably would have won all of them. There is one story that I remember well. Basketball season had come to an end in 1969 and Erick had only been out for track for a few days. There was a multi-team meet at Meridian, and Erick decided, since he wasn't "in shape" yet, that the only race he would run was a heat in the 100. We joked about it on the bus on the ride over, but my laughter didn't last. Here was a guy who ran cross country, ran the mile and 440, and I, a sprinter, was in the same race with him. You guessed it. He beat me by 2 or 3 steps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don Minter was not smiling either. He won the 100 yard dash that day in Pasco and anchored the 440 relay team to victory. However, he was the defending Idaho state champion in the 220, but he finished fourth or fifth. He didn't like losing any better than Erick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, Bob Griffen should have been all smiles. He stood on top of the winners platform in Pasco for winning the 180 yard low hurdles, the long jump and finishing first -- or was it second -- in the 120 hurdles, along with running on the victorious 440 relay team. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Craig Carroll was a phenom himself. As a sophomore he set the school long jump record and as a junior he finished third in the 100 yard dash in the state track meet. But it was his high jumping that literally drew a crowd. Craig used as his jumping style what was then called the "Fosbury flop". Dick Fosbury was a high jumper from Oregon State who won the event at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. If you saw his form today you might ask, "What's the big deal?" Nowadays all the top jumpers attempt to clear the bar going over back first, but except for Fosbury and a few others, nobody else was trying it in the sixties. Craig used it, and jumped well over six feet, and it was so unusual that at large track meets a crowd would often gather to watch. Some would would actually laugh because it looked so odd, but not the competition that he defeated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As impressive as the football teams where in my high school days -- only one loss in three years -- that year's track team impressed me more. Even though the Lion football team of my senior year produced four starters on the Boise State team that one its first bowl game victory as a four-year school -- with one of them being an All-American, and a total of three getting NFL tryouts -- I guess I wasn't that impressed because it was pretty much expected at Borah in those days. However, when it came to track, I was quite in awe of guys like Erick, Don, Bob, Craig and others, like B.J., Darrell, Bill Cady, and Danny Knighton.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Track practice was really humbling. For example, maybe on a Tuesday Coach Arnold would have us run six 220's for our work out, and we were to work on our stride and run, say, three-quarter speed. I would have to run all out just to avoid finishing embarrassingly far behind, and I could hear these guys talking to each other as they ran, while I was half-certain I was going to die. It was not unusual for me to lose my lunch and breakfast while these guys were strolling to the locker room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1969 ended with another state track title for Borah, the second straight and fifth in nine years. But Erick still wasn't smiling. The mile relay defended its title with him running the anchor leg, but he missed setting the state 440 record by a tenth of a second. I ran on the medley relay that day and we didn't get a ribbon. But it's a team sport, right? And at least I didn't lose to Erick in a sprint.</span>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-32615255294669761662013-12-22T22:27:00.001-05:002013-12-22T22:39:24.322-05:00One of my favorite yearbook pics: Don Minter as Santa Claus, giving the peace sign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-13478386333056153542013-10-09T21:17:00.000-04:002013-10-09T21:17:28.762-04:00Cardinals, Pirates, LA, Oh My<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t watch baseball that much anymore. But I watched and listened to all that I
could in the 60’s. Right now, the
Pirates and the Cardinals are playing for the right to go on to the ALGS. I had several teams that I rooted for in
those days, and Pittsburgh and St. Louis were two of those teams. Among the reasons were that both teams had a
player from the Boise Valley, where I grew up.
Vern Law pitched for the Pirates, and in 1960, the year they beat the
Yankees in the World Series, he won the Cy Young award and also won 2 games in
that seven-game series. Larry Jackson pitched
several years for the Cardinals before being traded to the Cubs, where he won
24 games in 1966 and finished 2<sup>nd</sup> in the Cy Young voting to a guy
named Sandy Koufax. I followed baseball
almost religiously, and I remember Pirate names on the world champion 1960 team
like Smokey Burgess, Bill Mazeroski, Dick Groat, Don Hoak, Bill Virdin, Bob
Skinner, Dick Stuart, Elroy Face, Harvey Haddix, and, of course Roberto
Clemente. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the mid-sixties I became more of a Cardinal fan, even
after Jackson left St. Louis for Chicago.
Dick Groat was traded to St. Louis, where he played shortstop. I chose number 24 as my number one year in
baseball because that was his number and he was my favorite player. Groat, along with Bill White at first base,
Julian Javier at second, and Ken Boyer at third were the starting infield for
the National League one year. Curt
Flood, Lou Brock, Mike Shannon, Tim McCarver, and, of course, the original “Mr.”
October Bob Gibson were on those teams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was never a huge Dodger fan in those days, but I
vividly recall 50 years ago this month watching them sweep the Yankees in 4
games to win the ’63 World Series.
Pitchers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Johnny Podres, buried the
Yankees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So who am I rooting for in this game tonight? Like a lot of folks I’d love to see the
Pirates go on, since they made the post season for the first time in 22 years,
and haven’t been in the World Series since the “We are Family” Pirates of
1979. On the other hand, the Cardinal
uniforms are just the coolest of all time.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the reasons I don’t watch too much baseball is
that the games start way to late in the eastern time zone. So I’ll find out in the morning who won.</span></div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-66878617454068301542013-09-21T01:12:00.000-04:002013-09-21T01:12:16.648-04:00Lions, Linemen, and Candy-Ass Backs<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Listening to Greg Phillips interviewed on the radio last
week brought back some memories. Well,
maybe the memories are never that far from my mind. For most of us who graduated from Borah in
1969, high school football was our last ‘hurrah’, although some of us played 1
year of college ball. But Greg, Ted
Buck, and Darrell Burchfield (the Vandal) played 4 years of college
football. Jeff Phillips had to hang it
up early at BSU, after his knee finally convinced him football was over for
him, or he would have put in his 4 years, too.
Greg and Ted were part of the Boise State starting offense in 1971 that
had 6 former Borah Lions in the starting lineup and captured the Camellia Bowl
championship, the biggest NCAA Division II game at that time for small colleges
west of the Mississippi. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In high school Greg was the most vocal of the “five
friendly fannies” – a term for interior linemen that a former college coach
used to use – and he wasn’t afraid to give his opinion on spoiled backs. I remember a late summer afternoon in ‘68
when I was standing around shootin’ the breeze outside the locker room with, I
think, Bill Cady and Don Minter, while Greg, Jeff and Ted were working on
blocking techniques about 50 yards away on the practice field. And Cratz was working them hard. A few minutes later they were heading into
the locker room for a drink of water. As
they walked past, Greg couldn’t resist a comment (he rarely could resist one):
“You guys are workin’ real hard. Candy-ass
backs.” </span><span style="font-size: large;">It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that description, and
probably not the last.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> That whole line
was quite a crew. If you follow high
school football today you might find it hard to believe that it was rare when a
team had even one player weighing over 200 lbs in the starting lineup. When we
were juniors, senior Bruce Cleveland was the only offensive starter over 200
lbs, and he weighed 205. Ted, Greg, and
Jeff tipped the scales at 225, 235, and 235 respectively, and with Darrell
Burchfield weighing in at 200 at tight end, well, there was no line
comparable. Tony Wallace – who in my
opinion was pound for pound the toughest Lion of all, weighed 180, which was an
average lineman size. And then there was
center Tom Perkins at, uh, 170, and I think he was fudging a bit at that. Of course, to me, he was the most important
guy on the line because he was the one who snapped the ball to me every
play. And he was completely
dependable. The first game of the year I
had a big blister in the palm of my left hand so I had to receive the snap with
one hand, so all snaps had to be perfect.
And they were.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The truth be told, it was the offensive lines at Borah
during those championship years that made the Lions almost unstoppable – the Lions were Kings of the Southern Idaho Conference
for 13 of 14 years between 1958 and 1971 And they had to put up with a lot, including being told they were too
slow, not tough enough, and then reading about the ‘candy-ass’ backs on the
sports page of the Idaho Statesman. But,
hey, this blog is read by literally dozens of people. So enjoy some glory, you…you…big time
linemen.</span></div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-65267313396140441302013-08-22T20:31:00.000-04:002013-08-22T20:36:13.758-04:00The Conversion of Malcolm Muggeridge: Anthropology Meets Theology<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Old Testament prophet Isaiah had a life changing
experience, which is described in the sixth chapter of the book that bears his
name: “In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord, sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of
his robe filled the temple…. And I said ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean
lips, and…my eyes have seen the Lord of hosts!”</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Below are three paragraphs about the British journalist
Malcolm Muggeridge, written by pastor and author Richard D. Phillips.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Malcolm Muggeridge, the famous British journalist, had a
life- changing experience that was very different from the prophet Isaiah. Yet in one respect it was quite similar: they
both came to a piercing awareness of their depraved spiritual condition. But whereas Isaiah learned to say “Woe is
me!” in the face of God, Muggeridge learned it in the face of a leper woman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On assignment in India, Muggeridge went to a river for a
swim. As he entered the water, his eyes
fell on a woman bathing. He felt an
impulse to go to her and seduce her, just as King David felt when he saw Bathsheba. Temptation storming in his mind, he began
swimming toward her. The words of his
wedding vows came to his mind, but he responded by just going faster. The voice of allurement called out, “Stolen
water is sweet” (Prov. 9:17), and he swam more furiously still. But when he pulled up near the woman and she
turned, Muggeridge saw, “She was a leper…. This creature grinned at me, showing
a toothless mask.” His first reaction
was to despise her: “What a dirty, lecherous woman!” he thought. But then
it crashed in on him that it was not the woman who was lecherous; it was his
own heart. This is precisely the
teaching of the Bible about the moral and spiritual condition of men and women:
our hearts are corrupt, our minds are depraved, and our desires are enslaved to
the passions of sin.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was not by chance that Isaiah felt his depravity when confronted
with God’s holy presence, any more than it was by chance that Muggeridge’s
glimpse of his true condition led to his conversion to Christianity. One way to put this is that theology and
anthropology are always linked. In order
to understand the truth about yourself and other people, you have to see the
truth about God – and vice versa. John
Calvin made this point in his <i>Institutes
of the Christian Religion”</i>, commenting that one may begin a study of
theology either with God or with man, since to know either correctly, you must
correctly know the other.</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(From the book “<i>What’s
So Great About the Doctrines of Grace”</i>, by Richard D Phillips)</span></div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-33050714403911800352013-08-18T20:10:00.000-04:002013-08-18T20:10:24.921-04:00Letters to my Stepdaughter VI<i><span style="font-size: large;">This is the final installment of my letters that I wrote to my stepdaughter. This one was written in February of 2013. Much has happened since I wrote the first one in November in 2012. My goal was to introduce myself to her, since we had only spoken a few times. In intoducing myself to her, I could not keep from presenting the gospel, because the gospel is a part of me. Or maybe it would be better say that I, by the grace of God, have entered into the gospel through Jesus Christ and I now have my life in its midst.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Warning signs are everywhere, such as “Caution”, “Wrong
way”, Dead End”, “Railroad”. We get away
with ignoring some of them without immediate consequences. But if we ignore all of them, we do so at our
own peril. Many of them I don’t
like. I prefer to pick and choose. As serious as it can be to drive thru a dead
end sign, nothing compares to violating God’s holy, immutable laws. Nothing even comes close. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Like it or not,
believe it or not, you and I entered this worlds with “dictator” written on our
foreheads – no, written on our hearts.
In God’s great patience, He patiently endures our rebellion,
foolishness, and, worst of all, hatred of all that he stands for. By nature I am moody, selfish, prone to
addictions, irresponsible, lustful, and on and on. Those are the visible fruits of a life that
inwardly is something much worse. I want
to run my own life. That’s why I am a
dictator, and an evil one at that.
Nobody, not even the God who made every atom and rules an immeasurable
universe, is going to run my life. Or so I think. He says “the soul that sins shall die.” I think I can possibly tremble for a few
minutes about such a statement, but eventually, I’m going to do what I
want. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Do you think seriously about what the serpent, Satan,
told Eve when he tempted her to eat the fruit and break the one “no-no” that
God had given her and Adam? He told her
she would be like god. Now, the real
God, the only God, had told the first man and woman that they would die when
they ate the fruit. And they did –
immediately. They ran away, hid, and
made clothes for themselves out of fig leaves, hoping to hide the God who was
now their enemy. There was no sorrow for
sin, no plan to confess to God what they had done. Read it again. When God spoke to them, they tried to place
the blame somewhere else – Adam blamed Eve, and she blamed the serpent. The Holy God showed mercy and allowed them to
live physically, but they were quite dead in the way that really mattered. They were spiritually dead. Here’s where you and I come in. We died with them, before we were even
born. Don’t even try arguing the point,
because He has said it is so, and no other opinion matters. Through Adam and Eve came death into the
world for everyone who came after.
Period. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, here is the incredible lie that we believe. We think we are alive. We live in self-delusion. We proclaim ourselves masters of our fate, we
boast that we can follow our hearts (which are fully corrupted by our
rebelliousness nature), and we think that we are basically good, and just have
a few faults that drag us down from time to time. We lie to ourselves. Worse, we live a lie before God. Can a man say “I believe in God” and then
turn around and live for himself and give only lip service to God? It happens all the time. So, return to the warnings where we
started. I can warn you about many
things. Just to name a few signs, there
is wastefulness, slothfulness, substance abuse and the corrupt life that goes
along with it, sex outside of marriage, being quick-tempered, jealousy, and
worshipping idols – an idol being anything one puts ahead of God. Do you know what? I stole that list out of the Scriptures. Sin is not hard to find, and God hates
sin. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">The list is not without meaning, and neither is a
sign. But a sign’s value is not in what
it is by itself, but what it is pointing to.
I cannot beg you hard enough to do what you must do. What you must do is run to Jesus, bow before
Him, and confess that you, like me, are sinner who needs mercy, and then rise
up prepared to follow Him to the ends of the earth. But I cannot move you, persuade you, or bribe
you to do so. It is the work of the Holy
Spirit that transforms a heart. I pray
daily for you. God bless you and reveal His
wonderful grace to you, Dear Stepdaughter. </span></div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-44930342573172856802013-08-15T04:58:00.000-04:002013-08-15T04:58:19.783-04:00Letters to my Stepdaughter V<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">This was written in January of 2013.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever thought
about the enormity of everything around us?
I do. I am writing this at about
7:30 P.M. Here are some facts. I am only one of over 7 billion people in the
world. Since I woke up this morning
nearly 300,000 babies have been born and about 125,000 people have died. One thousand today have died by some form of
violence. There have been over 100,000
abortions, which is almost as many as the number of deaths. What is the point of this? It is an inescapable fact that, in one sense,
I am very insignificant. In that sense,
I am just a number. On top of that, I
live on a tiny planet in a galaxy that is part of a universe that has trillions
and trillions of galaxies. I am only a
speck. Now, that can leave me with a
sense of a futility. I will be dead and
gone in a comparatively short time, so what about me really matters? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, let me make a connection. You and your mother have begun a Bible study,
a study in a small New Testament book called Colossians. The one who created this incredibly large
universe providentially determined that a book – the Bible – would be given as
a gift to His people. In His incredible,
incomprehensible mind He determined that you two would be studying it in the
year we call 2013. The words in this
Book are life to believers, to those whose eyes have been opened and ears
unstopped in order that they might begin to understand just a little – and just
enough to make Him their greatest treasure – about this all-mighty,
all-powerful God. As you study, I hope
that you will grasp what God has done for those who believe. This book unfolds the wondrous plan of
salvation. God’s word is meat and drink,
a glorious feast for Christians. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the gracious gifts that God has given to his children
is the inner joy that we experience knowing that we have eternal life in Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. I hope you also
see its sober warnings. We are warned
not to be entrapped by the philosophy of the world. We are warned to turn from what God calls
sin. We are commanded here (and in many,
many other places in scripture) to maintain pure worship, sexual integrity, a
love of the truth, love for others, and persevering faith. Wow, that’s a lot. And it is impossible for anyone not filled
with the Spirit of God to be able to do it.
I will be praying for you as you study.
Like me, you are a small speck in this universe. May God reveal to you what it means to live
not as a meaningless speck, but as an adopted child of the Living God.</span></div>
<br />
<br />goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-12371093091696981082013-08-04T14:53:00.000-04:002013-08-04T14:53:00.776-04:00Wyatt Barbour, about 3 weeks old<span style="font-size: large;">Holding my grandson, Wyatt, 10 years ago when he was about three weeks old. Standing by is his mother, probably making sure I don't drop him. </span><div>
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goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-53439999338549519942013-07-30T21:34:00.000-04:002013-07-30T21:34:09.127-04:00Letters to my Stepdaughter IV<div class="MsoNormal">
Christmas time was special when I was growing up. I loved the decorated tree, the lights, the
fire in the fire place, the presents under that tree, the Christmas specials on
television. Of course, one had to watch
everything live because there were no VCRs or DVD players. And, of course, we played the scratchy, vinyl
Christmas records that we got out each year. Goodyear produced a “Best Songs of
Christmas” album each year. Choirs,
soloists, and orchestras would perform all the favorites: “Silent Night”, “Sleigh Ride”, “O Holy Night”,
and “Here Comes Santa Claus”. I took it
all in. I felt “good” about it. It was
like what they now call comfort food.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My mom reminds me how
I loved to sing. On the day of the Christmas program in elementary school – the
Christmas program was always the day before Christmas vacation – I was going
into the bathroom when a boy pulled on the hood of my coat. I tumbled down and landed hard enough to get
a shiner over one of my eyes, as well as blood on my shirt. My mom just reminded me of that the other
day, and how I still belted out the Christmas songs that the combined choir
sang in the auditorium. I walked home
from school afterward (we just lived a few blocks away from school) and my mom
could hear me singing as I was turning into the yard, “We three kings of Orrie
and tar” – that’s how I pronounced it.
She said she met me at the door laughing.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other side of the holidays is not really
surprising. Christmas can be a very
melancholy time. I loved the holidays
and I hated when they came to an end. It
would be years later that I would begin to see the trap. I was trying to make earthly experiences,
even good ones, my idols. If life was
just the way I wanted it to be then, well, life would be wonderful. It wasn’t until the Lord invaded my life,
renewed my heart, and gave me the faith to believe that Jesus Christ was a
savior worthy of worship that I began to see the emptiness of my personal
dreams. Not empty because dreams
themselves are bad. It’s simply that the
story of my life was intended to be written and directed by Him, not the whim
of my immediate emotional desires. God
himself is “the author and finisher of our faith” as the scripture says. When He makes a human being into a new person
– born again is the biblical term – then that person knows the truth. The truth is this. Life worth living is found in the One who
offered Himself on the cross, willingly and intentionally suffering for
undeserving sinners that He had loved from before the foundation of the
earth. Those who turn to Him by faith
and put their faith in the Gospel – the good news that eternal life is given to
those who are broken-hearted because they realize they have sinned against a
holy God – have true life, life that will go on eternally. A once-a-year celebration of Christmas, no
matter how enjoyable, is nothing compared to that. </div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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So I’ll sing the songs, and I’ll laugh, and I’ll enjoy some
holiday chocolate fudge. But I won’t
quit thinking about and meditating joyfully on that Baby who grew to adulthood,
shed His Royal blood for me, and has prepared an eternal home for me. That is a real Christmas celebration that never
turns melancholy. </div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-60390261817155382312013-07-27T07:51:00.000-04:002013-07-27T07:51:39.192-04:00Letters to my Stepdaughter III<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I wrote this in December of 2012. If you know football schedules, you’ll notice
the reference to the Army-Navy game, which is traditionally played in December.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
High school. I
still believed in magic. I went to a
school where football was practically a life or death matter. Since I liked football and hoped to do great
things, it was right up my alley. And a
lot of it was good. But I was learning
that much of it was dark. Life, I mean.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We had a sophomore
team, and I started the season as the backup quarterback. And I hated the starting quarterback. It seems ridiculous now, but it’s the way it
was. I would like to think that I was
above that sort of thing – jealousy, despising people—but, yeah, that was me. It would be much later before I would learn
the depth of my depravity. That was not
my concern at the time. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We played 7 games
that year. Halfway through the 4<sup>th</sup>
game, against or rival Capital High School, the starting quarterback broke his
collarbone. So I got my chance. It was not an impressive start. I threw an
interception and fumbled twice. One of
the fumbles was recovered for a touchdown – for the other team. But, we went on to win 14-12. In fact we won all of our games that year. I threw 4 touchdown passes during the season
and the other quarterback didn’t throw any.
Take that, Bob Nowierski! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So it was
competition all the time, it seems, in one way another. I had my first date that sophomore year. I don’t think she spoke one full sentence to
me the whole night, and I was too terrified to start a conversation. It was a not a great way to start my dating
life, but it least it started.
Interestingly, I discovered something else in high school. Winter depressed me, especially after
Christmas. Truthfully, I was pretty
moody.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Another side trip.
When I flipped on the Army-Navy game yesterday it reminded me that 50 years ago
I watched Roger Staubach lead Navy to victory over Army. Roger became my hero
as a quarterback at the time.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Back to the
“moody” thing. It’s no use trying to
compare myself with others. I thought I was the center of the universe. And that, sadly, is normal. I had not come to understand yet why that
was. I did not understand or even care
about the seriousness of the fall, the rebellion of our parents Adam and Eve. To openly defy God is a horrendous act, but
that’s what they did. And it affected
every human being who came after them.
We all are rebels against God, coming into this world with the desire to
submit to nothing buy our own desires.
So my real problem was not that I was moody. It was that I was a rebel. Life was not a mess because things didn’t go
my way. Life was a mess because I was willingly
and shamelessly ignoring the God who created me, who is also the God who
rightly claims authority over my life and commands that I place nothing before
Him. You know what? How important was
that when girls, football fame, and popularity were desires (really, idols) to
pursue?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So what else went on in high school? I will be back. </div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-89897940409817646362013-07-09T13:28:00.000-04:002013-07-09T13:28:53.114-04:00Letters to my Stepdaughter II<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This letter to my stepdaughter was written in late November of 2012.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where was I? Oh, I remember. The ninth grade. But first I must ramble. You will indulge me because I’m at the age where I can get away with rambling. I was just putting together some things to send to my kids for Christmas. Old stuff. Sports programs, newspaper articles (the sports kind, of course), stuff like that. I have programs from games I went to 50 years ago. It’s time to share them. I have a number of things like that from my dad, including a preseason college football magazine from the 1930’s. Back then college teams had offensive linemen who weighed less than 200 pounds. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ninth grade was much better. By the fall of my ninth grade year (I was in a junior high so high school didn’t start until grade 10) I could almost talk to girls. Almost. I had discovered my maleness (and that is as much as I shall say about it, not that I am ashamed of human sexuality, it’s just that some things are appropriate and some things are not, depending on the circumstances) in the spring of the 7th grade, and I liked girls. Not enough to take the steps to try to have a girl friend (boy was I shy and goofy around girls), but I could dream, couldn’t I? And there was football, which was becoming a big part of my life. I was 3rd string quarterback at the beginning of the season. In the second game of the year, I got in the game at the end and carried the ball for a first down. I can still remember the “high” that gave me. The next week I got in at quarterback in a losing game and scored a touchdown. From that point on I was the starting quarterback. I threw two touchdown passes in my first start in the next game. No holding back now. From then on my goal was to be the starting quarterback at my high school in my senior year. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A few years ago I was thinking back on my early years and I discovered something interesting. My favorite years in growing up time were the 3rd grade, the 6th grade, the 9th grade, and the 12th grade. I’m not going to try to come up with some weird reason why, it’s just the way it was. The worst thing about growing up for me was that I didn’t like the idea that this was not such a perfect world, the world of my dreams. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember sitting on the bleachers in the gym during lunch on November 11, 1963. That was the thing to do in our junior high. I was in the 7th grade. All of a sudden I started hearing that President Kennedy had been shot. I remember – this is one of those things that stuck with me – hearing a couple of kids saying “Hey, did you hear? Kennedy kicked the bucket.” It was something silly, something to be laughed at. I didn’t believe it. I just thought it was some kind of junior high humor. When I got to my first class after lunch, radio news was being piped in to each classroom via the public address system. Kennedy had been shot and the report said he had died. For the next three hours we listened to the news. I don’t remember any of it, but it all seemed surreal. The president was dead. Even though my family was a Republican family, this was shocking. It was a Friday so for the next three days I was pretty much glued to the television. They said the assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald. I was watching on tv on Sunday morning when a man named Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald on live tv. I watched the funeral on television on Monday. School was out for the day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The reality of a fallen world. The murder of the President of the United States. The interesting thing is that even events like that are soon forgotten. Christmas soon came, and a few weeks after that, the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan show singing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and the “British Invasion” was on. MUCH better than any of YOUR generation’s music, of course. LOL. And not long after that I got my first ten-speed bicycle. Life went on. Yet I had much to learn about its realities</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;">.</span>goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251784663889612917.post-35683443371201848592013-06-09T14:47:00.000-04:002013-06-09T14:47:39.665-04:00Letters to my Stepdaughter <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Back in November of 2012 I decided I wanted my step daughter
get to know a little bit about me. So, I
wrote her a series letters on line. Here
is the first one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's time -- at least I think it is -- for you to get to know
the one you call "step dad" – and I think I've heard you call me Pops
once or twice. Am I remembering
correctly? My daughters call me
Pops. My oldest daughter calls me Pops
the Bops. I guess because it
rhymes. But I'm getting ahead of
myself. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I was born a long way from here
in a lovely town in a valley next to the mountains in Idaho. Idaho, the Southern part of Idaho in
particular, was the real world to me. Most other places must have been weird,
or just something that might be interesting to learn about. I mostly remember
playing outside whenever I could. We played tag, army, cowboys and Indians,
rode tricycles -- and then bikes --played hide and seek, built roads in the
dirt piles, rang door bells and ran away, built forts, stole green apples off
neighbors’ trees, played in the ditch, played in the sand box, swung on the
swings, made a mixture we called "chop suey" and poured it on ant piles,
caught honey bees, and, most importantly, played baseball. That was the most serious part. Baseball was
serious business and man did I have a temper if things went wrong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I was always the cute, red-headed kid and I
hated it. Now, being cute had its
advantages because I could get away with a lot of stuff. But I could have done
without the freckles. Actually, I hated
them. I only knew 3 or 4 people when I was growing up who had as many freckles
as I. I was also a chronic bed wetter, and that was really embarrassing. I was
about 13 or 14 before that came to an end. As you can imagine I never went on
sleepovers. I guess everyone grows up with the fear that others are going to
discover their "weird stuff".
If we really saw ourselves as we really are, we'd have more weird stuff
than we think. I think I was normal wishing I could trade my weird stuff for
somebody else's. It would be much later
in my life that I would discover -- no, God would reveal to me -- that we are
all sinners who, as scripture says, "fall short of the Glory of
God". So in once sense I was no
worse than anyone else when it came right down to it. But that understanding came later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> My family
life was what probably would have been called the ideal American family. Of course, there is really no such
thing. It was a pretty functional
family. My parents just celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. My Mom will
be 90 in three months if the Lord gives her more days. My 1st wife referred to my parents as Ward
and June Cleaver. But we were just a family.
We kids fought like cats and dogs, and then we would turn around and protect
and support each other. I didn't realize
at the time that divorce would become common place. I would never have thought
that I and my two brothers and my sister would all end up with divorces. But it happened. But back then it wasn't an issue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> But Junior high was an issue. Yikes. The seventh grade and I'm in a school with
9th graders, some of whom looked like adults. I hated the 7th and 8th grades,
but life seemed to get better in the 9th grade.
Why? Well, I'll have to tell you
tomorrow 'cause I've done reached my writing limit for the evening. I hope you've gotten some pleasure out of
learning a little bit more about Step Dad.
If time cooperates with opportunity, I’ll write you some more
tomorrow. Meanwhile, I pray for God’s
blessing in your life.</span></div>
goodbye 1960http://www.blogger.com/profile/11393434156970414649noreply@blogger.com0