Yes, classmates and friends, I am having another birthday

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.

In 1964, my blood was freely flowing Green and Gold, the colors of our Alma Mater.

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. 

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.

• 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.

• 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.