Class Reunion

My wife Pat had her 40Th high school reunion Saturday night and we ventured back home to Ahoskie to see the gang. I married an older woman so I need for you to understand that this was her 40th. Mine's next year. haha.....

Life leads us down many paths in our life and my biggest disappointment is now for me 39 years later I have very little contact with those who I grew up with, who looking back now meant so much in my life.

Even though this was my wife's class I knew all these people in school and played ball with many of them. So, it was a reunion for me too. There was a tape playing over in the corner of all the football games for the class of 1970 which at the time had me mostly sitting on the bench. I am making arrangements today to get a copy made for myself. Football was king in Ahoskie back in the 40's,50's and 60's and film is still available all the way back to 1946.

Among the many I talked with was "Skeeter" Bryant who played guard on the football team. I was his backup. Yes, all 135 pounds of me played line when I got in the game. "Skeeter" who now lives in Alamance County tells me that he goggled my name and up popped "From The Pressbox".

That day I had done a story about Spencer Barrow a former Ahoskie player who went to Carolina on scholarship only to meet Chris Hanburger in a one on one drill and broke his leg never to play for Carolina. That day I mention that as an eight year old, Spencer had been my favorite player when he played for AHS and even as he became a big city lawyer in Raleigh I had kept track of him.

I hope whenever I write any thing in this column that I never take myself serious. I try to give you information but the day I think that your life will not be worth living until you have read this column then I have lost my purpose.

I try to say what I feel from my heart and I know sometimes I leave off a coma, say ain't when I shouldn't. One of the teachers there Saturday night was Dot Powell . One of her sons Whit was one of my great friends in school. I never had a class in English in high school with her. My first year at Roanoke Chowan C C I had her in english. Our first day we had to write a paper on what we wanted to do in life. I said that I wanted to write a book. Her reply to me was that as much as I liked to talk and with the passion I had I could do it. Only after I wrote it let her check my grammar!

The ride home Saturday night Pat and I were convinced that if there is going to be a 40th reunion for my class of 1971 we will be there. It was a ball of fun seeing everybody!!!!