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Saturday, November 17, 2018

Patricia


 
Patricia Turner Sterling
 
June, 29, 2015



She walked down the aisle toward the altar where communion services were being held.  From my vantage point up in the choir loft, she drew my eye immediately.   She was graceful, poised, lithe and very attractive.  “Who is that girl” I wondered.  She looked familiar, but I did not instantly recognize her.  Then, it began to dawn on me — I think maybe she is that neighbor girl — the younger sister of the twin boys, Jim and John, who lived maybe a mile from our home.  But now, she is all grown up!  Patricia!  Yes, her name was Patricia.  Then, I began to remember that she was a sophomore in Edinburg High School when I was a Senior.  And yes, I had even dated her best friend Vicki a few times before I went into the Marine Corps.

After the service, I hastened out through the front door of Edinburg Methodist Church where members of the congregation often linger to chat with their neighbors.  And there she was, with her ready smile and friendly demeanor.  I guess she recognized me too, so it was relatively easy to overcome my innate shyness and renew our acquaintance. 



I had recently returned home from three years in the Marine Corps — where my mildly civil behavior had been transformed into a mostly, uncivilized “killing machine.”   But, now I was already enrolled in Pan American College, so I had begun to accrue a few rusty, social skills and return to civilization.  We exchanged pleasantries, and I assumed that since she was in church alone, that she was not married, engaged or something.  She was friendly and conversation was not strained.  Before we parted, she kindly accepted my invitation to get to know each other better.

From some source, I had been convinced that girls will end up looking much like their mothers.  I had some aversion to a very heavy woman as a life-mate.  So in my evaluation of Pat, I remembered that her mother was not heavy and so she fit the “not likely to end up overly fat” criterion of a suitable mate.  Exactly what she thought of me, I could not know — but at least she was not repulsed.  “That’s always a good sign,” I thought.

Anyway, we dated for a year or so, and the more I watched, the more I was impressed.  She exhibited an almost inordinate sense of fairness.  It was especially exhibited in situations where it was her decision concerning the dispensation of some valued item between two or more people — especially her own children.  She often used the “you cut and somebody else can choose” between the cut items — like cake, fudge and such.  This approach has continued to carry over for the last 54 years.  Sometimes, I find a small, 1/2 bite of some goody on a plate in the refrigerator.  It was some morsel that was cut in half, I ate my half, but Pat calculated that she really got more than 1/2 so she cuts her piece in half again, eats her half and leaves the other half for me.  As a consequence, I often get more than my share and Pat can feel good for being “fair.”

One of her most endearing qualities, was her smile — always an honest, sincere, open smile that crinkles the skin by her eyes and shows her attractive, white teeth.  I never felt that her smile concealed some hidden motive.  Maybe that’s because she is such an incredibly honest person — virtually lacking in subterfuge.   She also had a healthy sense of humor.




Another essential quality that Pat exhibited was her voice.  Even though I have suffered from some hearing impairment from an early age, I could usually hear and understand her voice.  It was not shrill or strident — it was mellow, smooth and at a relatively low pitch.  She enunciated clearly and usually knew the correct pronunciation of words.  Thanks to this voice, my tremors damaged nerves have been subject to much less strain over the years.  Her laughter was almost musical.

I have always enjoyed watching Pat walk — and I still do.  Even from a distance, I can recognize her graceful, sensual gait.  Maybe it was as a twirler in the Edinburg High School Sergeanettes that she learned about good posture and body carriage.  Whatever the cause, it also carries over into a naturally appearing ability to pose which also makes her so photogenic.  Bad photos of Pat are usually my fault since I am the usual photographer.  Maybe she could have become world famous model.

Probably influenced by our kids — who all ran track and cross-country in school — Pat also became a runner.  She ran in lots of 5 and 10K races and had a large collection of trophies to show for her success.  She certainly enjoyed running and was a natural runner.  She tells stories about racing some of her male classmates across the playground — and often winning.

Pat, Win, Ellen, Brian and Jimmy at Kyle Field

She is also neat.  She is so careful with her clothes that they last for years and years.  She recently showed me a photo in which she wore a dress about 20 years ago, that she still wears today — and, it still looks good on her.  

Pat reads directions, instructions, and details.  In this sense, she is a specialist — whereas I am more of a generalist.  Where the assembly of some apparatus is necessary, I usually first try to figure it out instead of reading the instructions.  Very often, I save time by not reading the instructions while successfully assembling some contraption.  But, of course, sometimes at near the end of such an operation, I realize that I missed some critical step and find it necessary to disassemble the whole thing and start over.   And Pat sometimes said: “Why didn’t you read the instructions?”  We function in a similar manner when it comes to various kinds of paperwork.  I skim and work rapidly while Pat reads carefully and proceeds at a slower pace.   But generally, by working together, we form a complementary team that continues to function very well.

And, what can I say about our kids, their mates, and their kids?  Well, at least none of them are murderers.  OK, OK, they are all a serious source of embarrassment — because they are all so nearly perfect that when I describe them, it sounds like I am just bragging.  But, of course, we are incredibly proud of our kids, their mates, and grandkids.   Pat deserves most of the credit for the successes of our children.  While I was off lecturing in Nanjing or Cairo, Pat was home and the kids could always depend on her love, support, and education.  She was always there for them when they needed a ride to band practice, to cheer them on in various sports events or to help them with homework. 

Our Kids and Grandkids

Now, here it is, our 54th wedding anniversary.  What a ride it has been!  As I had predicted, Pat did not grow fat and slothful.  She still exhibits the body of a slightly worn 16-year-old.  At our current ages of 76 and 78, we remain physically active.  Pat still walks daily at a rapid pace — when weather allows — cleans house, cooks, washes and we work together piling and burning dead trees, limbs and shrubs. 

I am sometimes amazed to find all those neatly folded shorts and shirts in my drawers — that appear almost like magic.  We also still explore the USA and Canada in our small, diesel motorhome.  We also both agree that we spend far too much time on Facebook and email.  Oh well!

One rather amazing feature of Pat’s life is that she has never had a single tooth cavity — whereas I could maybe buy a new Mercedes Bentz with all the money I’ve spent in the Dentist office.   Pat takes really, really good care of her teeth and it shows.

Of all the decisions I have made, certainly, the decision to invite Pat into my life was the best.  I have been an incredibly lucky man to have found this special person.  I just hope that she can continue to put up with an old man that can sometimes be a little cranky.

The word “love” has a very special place in my vocabulary.  I try not to use it as a replacement for the word “like” or “appreciate” or “respect.”  I do not “love” trees, nature, flowers, the human species, or my enemies.  I have great respect and affection for nature, but I reserve the word “love” for the relationship I have with my wife, Pat, and a few other folks who have earned the appellation. 

So, Pat, when I tell you “I love you,” you can take it to the bank.  It is not a cheap, meaningless, word that I casually toss about.  You have been my rock and I love you — as I have loved you for the last 54 years!

Many thanks for taking the ride with me. We have shared both joy and sorrow. I remember mostly the joy. 

Happy Anniversary!

My Life



Life Since Edinburg High School

2005
 
After surviving three years in the Marine Corps with Jerry Kaml, Charles Alexander and Tosh Williams, I returned to Edinburg very unsure of my future.  I asked my dad about joining in his farming operations.  He said that I might as well head to Las Vegas and gamble – it would be less risky than farming.  “Get an education,” he advised.  So I enrolled in Pan American.  My mom worried about my soul and insisted that I start attending the Edinburg Methodist Church.  So, I started singing in the Methodist Choir.  From the choir loft, I noticed a lithesome young thing gracefully undulating up the aisle for communion.  I recognized her as my old neighbor, Pat Turner.  After church, we chatted, which led to dating, and marriage.

Upon graduating from Pan American, we piled all our worldly goods into a well-worn two-wheeled trailer, covered it with a tarp, tossed our first-born in the backseat of our old Chrysler and headed to Aggieland.  Two more kids appeared from somewhere, I got another degree then took a job for a couple of years at the Experiment Station in Spur, TX.  Still trying to remove the High Plains dust from our teeth, we returned to A&M to begin work on another degree.  After graduation, I took a job in the Entomology Department where I supervised many graduate students and taught – taking sabbatical leaves to Australia and Brazil.  

After our 3 kids grew up and moved away, I took an early retirement.  We bought a used motorhome, sold the house and hit the road.  In the next 10 years, we wore out 2 motorhomes while Pat and I climbed a few mountains in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.  A couple of years ago, we decided to settle down again, so we built a cabin in the woods near Bryan, TX.  But “itchy feet” caused us to obtain a third smaller motorhome so that we can now travel or stay at home – whichever suits our fancy.  When it does not interfere with goofing off, I enjoy administering the EHS Alumni and Friends web site on MyFamily.com.  

It’s been a tough life, but what the heck, somebody’s got to do it!

Hobbies: Reading, travel, exploration, nature, jogging, internet and goofing off.

Memories:

Losing Face

Whereas I once thought of teachers mostly as "wardens" who kept me from enjoying nature,  I have had to change my opinion -- largely because I too was a teacher for 30 years.  So, I had every opportunity to serve as warden myself.  Anyway, I now have only the greatest of respect for my old teachers -- except maybe for that crotchety old Mrs. Adams who taught us science in about the 6th grade. She caused me great humiliation in class for which it will be hard to find forgiveness.  The humiliation I felt was not due to anything she did intentionally.  But she was a little crotchety!

The problem started when Margaret Mathews tackled me during one of our tag games out in the playground.  It was a cheap shot.  She hit me when I wasn't looking and knocked me into the athels.  When I fell, part of my face was skinned on an athel limb.  

Later in class, Mrs. Adams asked out loud "Winfield, what had happened to your face."   

My reply was "I dropped it."  OK, so I was a little deaf and was always trying to guess teachers questions.  I had just accidentally dropped my pencil on the floor so I assumed that she has asked something like "Winfield what happened to your pencil?"  Anyway, when I said I had dropped my "face" the class roared in laughter.  I was totally humiliated.

Had I carefully established the true cause of my humiliation, I should have directed blame on Margaret for her unsportsmanlike tackling.  After all, in the 6th grade, girls were bigger, stronger and faster than most of us guys.  So Margaret was just being another playground bully.

Anyway, my face red with embarrassment and humiliation, I took a peek out of the corner of my eye to see if I could find a sympathetic face.  I caught Mary Jane Paull's eye.  Her hands covered her mouth but she was shaking all over and giggling uncontrollably.  Jerry Kaml was laughing out loud -- tears streaming from his eyes.  But then there was Margaret.  Ah ha!  She was not laughing or giggling -- that girl showed real compassion for a classmate who was taking the brunt of this unfortunate joke.  Then, to add insult to injury, Margaret too burst into laughter.  She had just been momentarily out of breath between fits of laughter.  Oh well!  I was all alone in my agony.  

That scene is so fixed in my memory that I will probably take it into my next life.
 

Bobcat Pride spans more than 80 years

Edinburg's First football team in 1923


July 30, 2006
Todd Mavreles
Monitor Staff Writer 

EDINBURG — Few Rio Grande Valley high school football programs can match the rich tradition of history as the one owned by the Edinburg/Edinburg High Bobcats.

Bobcats football dates back to the early 1920s when complete records were hard to come by as the sport of football in the Valley was just getting started for a handful of schools. Unlike the perennial contender the Bobcats are now, the team struggled throughout the ’20s and into the mid-’30s. Then running back Bob Brumley weaved his magic, leading the Bobcats to an 8-0-1 record in 1936.

Edinburg lost the first postseason game in school history that season and had to wait until 1953 to get its first playoff victory. The ’53 team featured three future All-Millennium Team selections, including first-team wide receiver Jose Benavides.

Many big names have dotted the Edinburg football landscape during the program’s illustrious history. In addition to Brumley and Benavides, future University of Texas Longhorns coach Fred Akers cut his teeth with the Bobcats as coach from 1962 to ’64.

Edinburg made the playoffs just twice from 1953 to ’81 before the "Bobcat Mystique" started to truly take hold. The Bobcats qualified for the postseason 11 of 13 years from 1982 to ’94 before struggling through a three-year playoff drought. But since 1998, Edinburg High has been invited to the postseason party all but one year (2002).

In addition to all the playoff appearances, the Bobcats have a habit of winning at least one game. In 18 bi-district appearances since 1982, the Bobcats have captures 15 bi-district championships.
Of course, Edinburg has experienced deep forays into the playoffs. The 1953 team battled Port Neches to a 7-7 tie in the Class 3A state semifinals, but Port Neches was awarded the victory on penetrations.

More recently, the Bobcats came within a game of playing for the state title in 1999. They overcame the traditional Rio Grande Valley hurdle by defeating a San Antonio school with a 35-32 victory over Taft to win the Class 5A Division I Region IV championship.

After a brief drop to Class 4A in 2002 and ’03, the Bobcats returned to 5A and have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

IN THE BEGINNING
1923-1953

According to the tome Rio Grande Valley Football Records, Book One, A.M. Weir was the man responsible for getting the Edinburg football program off the ground. Arriving in deep South Texas in 1923 from San Marcos Teachers College, Weir put his full devotion into building the foundation of Edinburg football.

Future Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee Amador Rodriguez was one of the Bobcats’ first stars. He was a pioneer — one of only two Hispanic players on the team. Rodriguez and the 1927 team went on a four-game winning streak against Valley foes Mission, PSJA, Donna and Weslaco.
 
Brownsville ISD athletic director Joe Rodriguez is Amador Rodriguez’s son. Joe Rodriguez remembers his late father talking about his days as a Bobcat.

"He learned a lot of lessons that stuck with him through life (from football) that kept him going through the hard times," Joe Rodriguez said. "He went through The Depression and an early marriage with four kids. He was the first four-year letterman to come out of Edinburg. He played four sports and earned 11 letters in high school."

The Bobcats had some lean years until 1936. Bobby Cannon’s squad surprised the Valley with an 8-0-1 record, including a 6-1 mark in Class A. But in the school’s first playoff appearance, the Bobcats were belted 25-0 by Corpus Christi, which also spoiled the postseason party for Edinburg in 1941, this time by a 34-7 score.

Edinburg experienced varying degrees of success during the next 11 years, but could not get over the first postseason hurdle. That ended in 1953.

Led by all-state first-teamers end Jose Benavides and back Carlos Esquivel, prolific quarterback James Wright and tackle Alfonso (Pancho) Iglesias, coach W.W. "Billy" Cooper’s squad went 10-0 during the regular season and 7-0 in District 8-3A.

During one game that season, the oppositions’ goal was to keep the ball out of Esquivel’s hands as much as possible. Edinburg faced Brownsville at Tucker Field — the old high school football stadium that was once situated adjacent where Sams Stadium now sits — in a wild game in 1953. Brownsville’s approach on kickoffs was to keep it away from Esquivel, but that recipe wasn’t carried out on at least two occasions.

Esquivel took the opening kickoff 97 yards for the early score. But the Golden Eagles still couldn’t quite keep the ball away from Esquivel.

To open the second half, Esquivel again received the kick, and took it the length of the field for another Bobcat score. The two TDs provided Edinburg with a 28-27 victory over Brownsville.
 
The highlight of the district season was a 13-0 victory at Kingsville in a late-season clash of 8-3A unbeatens. The Edinburg defense allowed 135 yards and forced three fumbles in the victory.
Esquivel scored 21 touchdowns to finish second in the Valley in scoring (Lyford’s Corky Crane had 22).

If there was ever a time for the Bobcats to exorcize their postseason demons (0-3, outscored 70-7) this was the year. And it was.

The Bobcats opened with a 20-13 bi-district victory at San Antonio Edison in the battle of the only remaining 3A unbeaten in Texas.

Edinburg entered the game a touchdown underdog and had to rally from a second-half deficit. Wright, who later went on to play for legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant at Texas A&M, threw two touchdown passes, and Esquivel, who scored the decisive touchdown 15-yard fourth-quarter burst, also came up with a game-saving interception on Edison’s final drive before more than 10,000 fans at Alamo Stadium.

Esquivel also packed up and went to play for Bryant at Texas A&M after high school. During his time there, Esquivel was a freshman during the Junction Boys days, but freshman weren’t allowed to travel to Junction for the legendary difficult preseason workouts.

Esquivel was on the same Aggies team that played in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 28, 1957, and was second behind Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow on the depth chart.
 
After losing a second straight coin flip for home field advantage, Edinburg had an epic battle with Port Neches in the state semifinals. Based on their "20-pound per man weight advantage" the Bobcats were favored over Port Neches.

The Bobcats jumped to a 7-0 lead on a 7-yard TD run by Esquivel, which was set up by a 30-yard strike from Wright to Benavides. The Edinburg defense had three goal-line stands, but that would prove to be decisive when Port Neches tied the game with less than two minutes remaining.
 
The teams finished regulation tied at 7. With no overtime back in those days, the winner was determined by who had more penetrations past the opponent’s 20-yard line. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Port Neches led four penetrations to one.

Of little consolation is the fact Edinburg finished the season as the only Valley squad to go undefeated through 12 games.

THE MIDDLE AGES
1954-1985

Following their magical 1953 season, the Bobcats endured some lean years.
 
In 1956, they endured a winless district season and broke double figures in scoring in just three games. Their next playoff appearance wouldn’t come until 1971, and one highlight was having a future University of Texas coach in charge of the squad.

Fred Akers, who replaced the legendary Darrell K. Royal as head coach of the Longhorns, cut his teeth on the Edinburg sidelines from 1962 to ’64. The Bobcats posted winning records in two of Akers’ three seasons but never qualified for the postseason.
Akers went 19-9-1 in his three years at Edinburg.

"It was my real start — for coaching and my family," Akers told The Monitor in 1984. "It was my first head coaching job. I was very young, excited and thrilled about it. And I never considered anything but winning. I’ll never forget that bunch. They played their hearts out."

Fast forward to 1971, and former star Carlos Esquivel now roams the sidelines. Esquivel the coach led the Bobcats to a brief postseason return, but Edinburg lost to Alice 21-0 in bi-district.
In 1975, Richard Flores took over the coaching reins. Over the next 15 years, he instilled the "Bobcat Pride" that is so prevalent today.

Flores led the Bobcats to winning records in each season from ’75 through ’89. Edinburg advanced to the state quarterfinals in ’82 and ’84. From ’85 to ’87, the Bobcats were perfect in District 31-5A.
Aside from the spotless district mark in the three-year span, the Bobcats were perfect during the regular season in 1986 and 1987, going 10-0 both years.

"We knew that since Coach Flores had been there so long and he ended up staying on many years after I went off to college and all, you knew there was a cohesiveness and consistency there," said Phillip Money, who played from 1977 to ’79 and was the starting quarterback his final two seasons. "That’s what it takes to be a successful program. It trickles down to your junior highs. They’d say, ‘This is the type of program I’m running, and I want you guys to teach the fundamentals and the system.’ That’s where you breed success, at the junior high level. When players come up to the high school, they’ve been running these plays for two or three years. That makes for a successful team."
There were a number of great Edinburg players during the Flores years, not the least of which are quarterbacks Jack Wallace, Mike Flores, Money, Gilbert Moroles, Rene Arrevelo, John Paul Cantu, Lance Marburger and Mito Perez. But Flores said the key to his success was his assistant coaches, many of whom have gone on to enjoy success as head coaches.

Current Bobcats coach Robert Vela was on Flores’ staff.

"We had a great staff, and people who have great staffs and great continuity have great success," Flores said. "I was fortunate to be in a situation where we did have that."

Although Edinburg earned the nickname of the "Runnin’ Bobcats" because of their preference for a ground attack, that changed with Cantu and future Notre Dame wide receiver Steve Alaniz.
Alaniz was a tight end on the ’83 and ’84 teams that went three games deep in the Class 5A playoffs. When he was moved to split end for his senior season in ’85, Alaniz proved to be arguably the most dangerous receiver in Valley history, catching 64 passes for 929 yards and 13 scores.
"The camaraderie was second to none," Alaniz said. "These were guys you grew up with and sweated with during all of the offseason workouts. You went through the pain of injures and the heartaches of losses. Everyone really cared for each other. There was a common purpose and everybody got behind each other. That was a special team."

The Bobcats rolled to an 8-2 regular season record, then defeated Alice and San Antonio Sam Houston in the playoffs. But they couldn’t make it three in a row. Despite jumping to a 7-0 lead on a 22-yard Cantu-to-Alaniz TD strike, the Bobcats couldn’t pull off the upset, losing to Converse Judson 14-7 in the state quarterfinals.

After the season Alaniz was named to the all-state first team and signed a football scholarship to attend Notre Dame, where he played alongside Raghib "Rocket" Ismail.

"The attitude we had was, ‘We’re going to take it to them, we’re going to win,’" Alaniz said. "It just carried us on through. The good teams at Edinburg didn’t really start with us, I don’t think. But it kind of carried through with us."

Cantu threw for 2,047 yards and 19 TDs to lead District 32-5A in passing.

At this point, Edinburg High School was a South Texas terror on the football field.

PRESENT DAY
1986-current

The Bobcats continued to be a perennial contender through the late ’80s and into the mid-’90s, missing the postseason just once. The Bobcats’ defense was the highlight of the 1986 season, giving up no touchdowns in district play that season.

Flores’ clubs continued the traditions set forth by the teams before them until Flores stepped away from the sidelines, to sit behind a desk as the districts’ athletic director a year before the split in 1991.
Joe Vasquez then took over at EHS in 1990, the last year Edinburg boasted just one high school. Under Vasquez’s tenure, the Bobcats won three bi-district titles and had three winning seasons. But after suffering through a 3-7 campaign in 1995, Vasquez was replaced by E.R. Sanchez.

The Sanchez era, however, lasted just one season, as the Bobcats went 2-8 in that year.

After two straight losing seasons in ’95 and ’96, Robert Vela was tapped to take over the moribund program in ’97.

The Edinburg High graduate’s first season was a difficult 4-6, but since then he’s experienced one losing season and won six bi-district championships.

The highlight of Vela’s reign to date is 1999, when he led the Bobcats to their most successful playoff run in school history.

Quarterback Clarence Cruz directed the attack, passing for over 1,200 yards and a 31-5A best 14 touchdowns during the regular season. He also was the team’s leading rusher with almost 800 yards and five scores. Christian Handy was the leading receiver with 27 receptions for 551 yards and four TDs. Linebacker Bubba Salinas led an Edinburg High defense that allowed 275 yards a game.
Following a tightrope walk into the postseason (Edinburg survived a four-way tie in 31-5A to advance) a magical postseason journey kicked off with a 26-0 pummeling of Brownsville Hanna in the Class 5A Division I bi-district playoffs.

They followed with a wild 43-31 victory over Eagle Pass in the regional semifinals, then edged San Antonio Taft 35-32 to win the Class 5A Region IV Division I championship.

"It feels great to come out and play a tough San Antonio team," Cruz told The Monitor after the game. "We just came out and fought as hard as we could. The defense did the job, and the offense executed the plays that we needed to and we came out victorious."

Cruz threw TD passes of 67 and 44 yards and added a 54-yard run in the victory.

"We knew we had a chance," Cruz said. "The coaches knew we could do it. They knew that we would come out fired up and play the way we could, and we did."

While powerful Aldine Eisenhower ended the Bobcats’ dreams of a state championship the following week, the Bobcats proved they can compete on the grand stage and, perhaps most importantly, that San Antonio teams can be defeated by Valley schools.

"The mystique and the tradition that has been left by the program in the past has come back out," Vela said. "The kids believe they can win any game at any time. We’ve had some great games where we probably didn’t have a chance and came back and won. The reason we did is the kids believe. No matter what the odds may be.

"We’re fighters to the end, no matter what the outcome may be."

Despite a two-year drop to Class 4A, the Bobcats remain one of the pre-eminent Class 5A squads in South Texas. That should continue into the future.

"It’s a testament to Coach Flores and Coach Vela that a lot of their former players, many of the players that have been former players, they live in the Valley and have jobs in McAllen and Harlingen, and their kids are old enough to play and they think they’re going to play, they move back to Edinburg so they can play for these guys," Money said. "People will call (an Edinburg) junior high and say, ‘We’re going to move back to the district so he can play for you.’ That’s saying we had just a great experience playing for them. That says a lot."
———

Todd Mavreles covers District 31-5A for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4451.
 

Roasting Athletes

Roasting Edinburg Athletes

2005

During a brainstorming session, we tried to figure out how to best present our HS athletics program during the 50th reunion of the EHS Class of 1955.  Often at reunions, stories of the great victories and personal experiences of the athletes are common fodder.  Who can forget the excitement of Carlos Esquivel scoring a couple of touchdowns in the closing minutes of the game to beat arch-enemy McAllen.  Or, the role of Dan Coleman’s broken leg in the seasonal won-lost column.

I had scanned most of the team and individual photos out of our class of ‘55 annual athlete’s section and was showing them to Dorothy Beamsley and Barbara Porter.  The plan was to play the song “We are the Champions” while showing these photos, but somehow “Born to Lose” came out instead.  Dorothy and Barbara laughed so hard they rocked my old motorhome.  “Wow!” I said out loud, “maybe we should do it that way at the reunion.”

Barbara, Dorothy and Win
 
“No way,” Barbara said.  “It would be far too insensitive to our athletes and somebody might be offended.”

But then we remembered that above all, our class athletes were good sports and might find it fun to do some sort of skit after “Born to Lose” was played.  Dan Coleman and his team stepped up to the plate and delivered.  During the reunion, I presented a short discussion about our quality, Edinburg athletes and dedicated this special song to them.  On cue, when “Born to Lose” was played, Dan Coleman, Eddie Marburger, Jimmy Green and Wayne jumped up out of their seats as if to attack me for playing this offensive song.  But, instead of clobbering me -- as I probably deserved -- they continued to the podium, picked up some pom-poms and led the singing of “Here’s to Dear old Edinburg . . . .” to Margot’s piano accompaniment   I think most of us had fun with this skit, but our apologies to anyone who might have been offended. 

L to R: Wayne, Jim Green, and Eddie Marburger
 
Now, it should be known that we hold our classmate athletes in the highest esteem.  This good-natured cooperation in our silly little skit only heightens our respect for these first-class sportsmen and women.  They really are good sports!  Hope everyone had as much fun with it as we did.

Table of Contents: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6813612681836200616/3382423676443906063?hl=en

Edinburg’s Skeleton Mystery


Edinburg's Skeleton Mystery
 
October 20, 2000 



The skeleton that hung in Mrs. Tucker's High School Biology Class disappeared -- back in about 1954 or so.  Its ostensible purpose was to teach us about the structure of the human body.  But, as much as anything, it served to remind us of ghosts and goblins that haunted our spiritual lives. For some, it may have served as a reminder of our own mortality. But that was a pretty silly notion because our own death was something that we shoved back into the recesses of our mind and tried to ignore and deny as much as possible. Our parents and teachers reminded us constantly about the life-threatening dangers that we faced daily, but we were skeptical. When we drove Sugar Road at night in Eddie Haddock's Cadillac, at speeds exceeding 100 mpg, we behaved as if we were immortal. 


Lavinia Tucker
 
When we dove from the concrete walkway at Cheva Checks down into the large washout far below, we narrowly missed hitting the concrete apron which would have cracked our skulls. This danger only added to the thrill. Yes, there was a rumor that swimming in canals caused polio; but not to us — we were invincible and likely immortal.

Anyway, somebody or something had removed the skeleton. For those of us that believed in the supernatural, it might have seemed possible that the skeleton had simply walked away.  Or, maybe the skeleton's ghost had returned to claim its own remains. Where did that skeleton come from anyway? In those days, the plastic models of skeletons were not available, so the skeleton was authentic — made up of real human bones. How did that human die? It seemed likely that the body of some unfortunate person showed up at a morgue and the mortician made a little money by selling the bones. But it was also possible that some poor sucker was killed so we could obtain a greater understanding of human anatomy. The thought of Mrs. Tucker reaching the end of her endurance with some ornery student and taking his life with one of her frog dissecting knives would have stretched our credulity — but was it possible?  Some of us would have taken perverse pleasure in suggesting such a scenario to one of our more squeamish or gullible classmates.  It is possible that one or more of us were afraid to turn our backs on our mild-mannered Mrs. Tucker during class.

Most of us likely thought the skeleton disappearance was not due to any supernatural event — but that a classmate had pilfered the skeleton as a prank.  Over a period of a few days, almost everyone in school knew the answer.  The culprit took considerable pride in telling his friends about the skill and daring required for such a feat — how he had gained entry into the biology classroom, concealed the skeleton as he exited the building and explained where the bones were now stored.  Friends told classmates who were overheard by teachers, and so it was no great surprise when our principal, Mr. Morris, announced in assembly, "I don't know who took the skeleton, but would John Hardin please return it.”  




Note: Thanks to Jerry Kaml for remembering this yarn and any trivial exaggerations are his alone.  Right?  Also, remember that John Hardin's father was a judge or attorney so that John likely received no more than a scolding for his reckless and rebellious misadventure. Yes, he paid some price for his actions, but John certainly enjoyed his newfound notoriety.  Also, many thanks to Mary Jane Allen for resurrecting this yarn from some dead-letter file.