Eternal Echoes. Randall E. Secrest. Биографии и Мемуары. . Читать онлайн. Литмир. LITMIR.BIZ

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      Part I

      CHAPTER ONE

      IN THE BEGINNING

The idea of attending College was unthought of…

R E Secrest

1

At a young age did you ever have any specific dreams? Where dreams a function of the mental process? Were dreams of a glorious future considered? Were dreams of attending college ever contemplated? Could we imagine ourselves ‘becoming’? While meandering through high school, thoughts of further education was never a goal, in fact unlike others, was never really considered. For some, the thought of attending the hallowed halls of college was ruled out by the simple fact my parents could not afford those seemingly unnecessary expenses. At such a young age, participating in sports, finding a job as a senior, buying a car and chasing a few pretty girls were the highlights of the thought process.

Undeniably, sports were a wonderful experience and being a star player was intriguing. Not that what could be accomplished was truly a motivation, but the shear excitement of being a member of a team experience was a bonding experience and exhilarating. Football was always an animalistic pleasure, grunting and groaning, striving for a winning record, grueling, yet an exercise in manliness.

The concept of eleven players, of various sizes, advancing the pigskin down the field in order to score a touchdown… or conversely, an equal number becoming one mighty force to defend against that very same scoring drive… indeed a rough and tumble endeavor, yet a forever remembrance. And amusingly, when the film reruns of younger years are recalled, the awkward stances and inept hand offs and even running the wrong direction on the field are hilarious.

In addition, basketball was far different, formally played on an indoor court. Fortunately some teams are a great deal more successful playing basketball, and during a high school year we remained undefeated, 23 wins, 0 losses. As you can see, a team of five starters and seven substitutes can excel, and success predestined the team to the State Championships in the state capitol, Denver, Colorado.

Actually if any sports program is an integral part of attending high school, playing at the state basketball playoffs or state finals in any sport is an annual goal. Unfortunately, even though a successful team accomplishes a state scoring record, 130-60 against a rival, Trinidad, playing and winning against much larger State ranked teams is an insurmountable challenge, realistically impossible to actually win. Nevertheless, the basketball coach, Duane Lewis, referred to as, “Sim,” was a superb, always well-attired coach and will always be remembered as a fine man, a thoughtful counselor and a dear friend.

In fact within the “el alarado,” the 1975 Yearbook, the Journalism II staff dedicated the publication to “Sim.” As a coach his teams” records of 104-53 in basketball and two-time league champions in golf speak for themselves. As a guidance counselor, teacher and athletic director, he proved himself a valuable asset to our high school.

In addition, baseball and track were challenging and a great deal of fun, although also full of interesting stories. Baseball can turn out to be impossible if a player’s eyesight is not good enough to field, much less to hit a fast or curve ball. And track, when ‘on your mark,’ ‘get set,’ ‘go’ is shouted and the starting gun sounds to start the 100 yard dash, the runners dig out of the starting blocks, all is well. All is well is dandy, until momentum coming out of the blocks caused the racer to stagger and come very near falling. Well as for self-image, this proverbial ‘stumbling run’ is beyond embarrassing. Besides, in this case, winning the race was impossible.

Actually all sports are truly enjoyed, although in smaller schools, tennis and swimming are sometimes not offered, other sports need to meet a participants needs.

Most people become interested in sports in junior high. At the time, football can be a favorite, and due to understanding the game, becoming a quarterback makes sense. Early in football season, as the starting quarterback, all seemed to be unfolding and the future looked promising. Unfortunately success in football and probably all other sports most likely will experience a major setback when a player in the eighth grade is challenged.

Early in the day, awaiting the start of Social Studies class, which the football Coach Holland taught, another student, Paul, created an argument. Coach came in to start the class and realized he needed to separate the combatants. After he broke up the fight he sent the hooligans to Principal Beckley’s office. On the way to the office, the realization the fight was not going to improve the shining hour, soaked in.

After listening to the stories about the dispute, Beckley ordered a three-day suspension from school for both participants as punishment. Imagine the phone call to Mother, to briefly explain the circumstance, ‘the suspension’, and could she please come to the high school?

So much for being a starting quarterback that year. Sorrowfully, sports paid the price and never again were starting positions obtained, any potential developing standing was destroyed and a career in sports declined from that point forward.

Also teasing, in general, by upper classmen intensified. Being hairless and in a lower class was pounded into younger students without end. Once again another student was coerced by upper classmen to start a fight.

On a particular day at basketball practice unwarranted harassment had to come to an end. As a result, defense ruled the day, after all winning has power and with one powerful punch the disagreement was over. There were two hits, and the second hit was ‘hitting the floor.’ From that point forward, upper classmen coined a new nickname, Mohammed, as in Ali.

Other interesting circumstances happed during junior year. Abilities in drafting classes from prior years should encourage and motivate the student towards a possible career path. A petition to the high school to allow classes in the morning and a bus ride to a technical drafting school in the afternoon made perfect sense. The idea of drafting school did seem logical. And the request made perfect sense due to talent.

Amazingly, only seniors were permitted to be involved at the technical school, the request was denied. Also, since the school had, at the time of the request, only accepted approximately half the allowed class in the drafting department, the decision was unbelievable and somewhat depressing. And yet another potential avenue was denied.

The next summer, between junior and senior years, was carefree, nothing to be concerned about. Life was casual, no pressure. The southern Colorado Mountains are spectacular, enticing and forever whispering their song. For example, the unusual fishing opportunity on Wolf Creek Pass came right out of a movie. Spending a day climbing over massive boulders to reach the ultimate mountain fishing hole is not only a challenge, but also well worth the effort.

Since at the time I did not fly fish the result was to have great patience, waiting for a beautiful streaking trout to notice the worm on the hook and strike. In high mountain streams the rainbow trout are small but terrific fighters, not a lengthy catch but still a thrill to catch. Finally, they are superb, cooked in nothing but a black frying pan with a little butter, rosemary and lemon.

The only true decision during the summer months became finding a reasonable job. However job hunting was not foremost on the list. Alamosa, Colorado is only thirty-five miles from the Great Sand Dunes

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