"Skreetball"

Not all high school football was played near the fair grounds. While some of our classmates put on pads and helmets to roll around the soft grass of Capital Stadium, the real men of Godby High were donning shorts and tee shirts for a game of “skreetball” on the paved fields of Great Oak Drive. Godby legends like Ward (Spider) and Marc Moncrief (the Concrete Brothers)  , Kurt Goerke, Ronny Dye, Ricky Sharon, and maybe the toughest of them all, as told in this story -  ME – Roger Day.

I had purchased a white, plastic football, with a battery operated light tube inside. It seemed like a great idea at the time. Now, dangerously, playing football in the middle of the street would not be limited to daylight hours. We could do it at night too!

Though, it didn’t have the fanfare of the first night game at Wrigley Field, the time had come for the first game of night skreetball on Great Oak Drive. The warriors of the pavement played all afternoon waiting for the sun to set and the lighting of the football. Anticipation and excitement reigned.  

As the sun set somewhere on Highway 20 (everyone knew the sun set somewhere between Lake Talquin and Godby), it was time. The gridiron gang, already bruised and bloodied from an afternoon of skreetball, went inside to quench their thirst and light the football. Once the florescent tube was paced inside the ball, the lights were turned off. It was beautiful!

Once outside, on the now dark street, it was only fair that I caught the first pass. Ronny Dye told me to take off and I went deep. At FULL speed I chased the badly over thrown glowing ball. In one final burst of speed, I closed in on the ball. Running faster than I ever had, I reached out, arms and fingers fully extended, and then just as the ball touched my finger tips… I came to a complete stop!

While we were inside lighting the ball, Ronny’s neighbor had parked a flat bed truck on the side of the street where we had been playing all afternoon. My chest hit the back of the truck dead center. Next contact was both of my knees to the underside of the truck. And finally, the back of my head was the first part of my body to touch the pavement.

I was only out for a few seconds and was gasping for air. Seems all of mine had left my body on impact. As my vision came back, I remember looking up at the semi-huddle of guys around me. Not sure who it was, but someone asked the others, “Is he dead?”

No! I was alive! I survived a hit harder than any Frank Thomas delivered that year and lived to tell about it. I wore a huge black bruise across my chest for the next few weeks, a cut and knot on the back of my head, and two busted knees. Looking back at the dizziness that stayed with me for a while, I’m sure I sported a concussion as well.

Yeah, in hindsight, night “skreetball” was probably a bad idea. But, the many hours of laughter and football on Great Oak Drive was priceless and will never be forgotten. I have the scars to prove it... 

The Lion Sleeps Tonight...

As a Godby Cougar freshman, I learned to hate the Leon Lions. They were the big bad bully of Tallahassee high schools. No Tallahassee high school had EVER beaten the Lions in varsity football. That would come to a screeching halt with the arrival of the Godby High Class of 1980. Okay, so we had nothing to do with the actual on field win, but like ALL sports fans, we too took credit.

In 1976, inside the not so cozy confines of Doak Campbell Stadium a new King of the Jungle would emerge. The Cougars blew out the Lions in the second half to win 46-7. This was just one game in route to a 14-0 season AND a State Championship! But, to many, this was the most important victory of the year.

For the first time EVER Godby had bragging rights over Leon and our class would NOT relinquish them. The Class of 1980 is the first and only class to NEVER lose to Peon Leon. Back then this rivalry seemed so important.  It was okay to HATE Leon and their coach – Gene Cox because he was responsible for the dreaded red & white dynasty.

Coach Cox, at one time, had more coaching victories than any other head football coach in the state of Florida. Capital Stadium, where local high school games are played was renamed Gene Cox Stadium to honor the local high school coaching legend after his retirement. An honor he greatly deserved as I look through the eyes of an adult. But back then, I wasn’t looking through the eyes of an adult…

After graduation I dated the daughter of Richard “the Big Bad” Wolfe. He was a giant of a man, a single father raising 2 beautiful daughters (Melanie & Melissa), and one of Coach Cox’s best friends.  To make things more interesting, his older daughter Melanie was a Godby Girl!

Mr. Wolfe was also the voice of Leon Lion football.  I was taking pictures at a game one night when Mr. Wolfe said over the P.A. system in his booming voice, “Would the parents of little Roger Day please come to the press box. He’s lost – AGAIN.” I laughed and looked up to see him laughing and waving.

Mr. Wolfe also hosted, what I believe was, Tallahassee’s first sports talk show on the radio. I would call in and disguise my voice. Just when I thought I had pulled one over on him, he would end the call by telling me to have his daughter home on time.

I met the Coach Cox, who I once despised,  through Mr. Wolfe and the three of us talked a lot of football and a lot of trash. When they were getting the best of an argument, as was often the case I always reminded BOTH of them that I graduated in 1980 and NEVER lost to Leon. That usually led to a change in subject, as I knew this was a sore spot for both of them. So, I personally would like to thank everyone that played football at Godby during my years there for securing these bragging rights. I did, however, respect that these men loved Leon as much as I (still a kid) loved Godby. I came to respect Coach Cox and begrudgingly like him through Mr. Wolfe.

Mr. Wolfe was in a car accident that claimed his life after several years in a coma.  After getting word of the accident, Melanie and I arrived at TMH. Mr. and Mrs. Cox were there shortly thereafter.  I will never forget, and be forever grateful, the strength and support they provided.  

Years after the accident, I learned of a meeting of some of Mr. Wolfe’s friends, included among them – Coach Cox, Erwin from Skate Inn West, and Manny Joanos. I was told that these men had gathered together with other friends and pledged to do whatever was needed to take care of Melanie and her younger sister Melissa. A true tribute to the character of Mr. Wolfe and the company he kept!

I only spoke to Coach Cox on 2 occasions in the last few years. Once at Mr. Wolfe’s Memorial Service and the last time, fittingly enough at a Leon football game.

Everyone that knows me knows of my love for Godby. However, in HONOR of these 2 great men, I will proudly say: GO LEON!

What a difference it makes looking at life through the eyes of an adult…

Spanish 101

My hopes for valedictorian were pretty much in ruins after the first quiz I took at Godby. My high school diploma was in jeopardy after meeting Kurt Goerke in Spanish 101.

Kurt and I met in Ms. Howell’s Spanish class our freshman year. We became fast friends and until facebook he was the only classmate I had kept in regular contact with throughout the years.

Kurt and I had many things in common: sports, music, comedy, no hope of passing Spanish, and parents that probably wished they had stopped at two kids. Both of us had older, over achieving siblings that set an academic bar much higher than we would ever reach.

In class, Ms. Howell assigned each student a "Spanish" name and mine was Ramoan. Kurt shortened it to Moan and I had a nickname, a name that many friends and their parents know me as today.

Spanish 101 was a two-semester class, but I cut my losses and bailed after failing the first semester. My first "F" at Godby. Ms. Howell seemed very surprised and disturbed that I could do so poorly in a basic Spanish class. I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t doing so well in my basic "native" English class either.

I think Kurt salvaged a "D," but he also dropped the class after the first semester.

Our next stop, by clever design, was Ms. Goforth’s Home Economics class (it was the only class we could both get into.) By the end of the first week we were the only two with assigned seats. Opposite sides of the room, facing away from each other.

I hated the Spanish class and never took another foreign language class. However, in Spanish 101, I met a lifelong friend, had a lot of laughs, and was able to walk out of class every afternoon that first semester to the friendly smile of Senior cheerleader Marlene Williamson – my first high school crush…

"Not Thinking Clearly"

Hmmmm….. Let’s see if I can say this with tact.

When guys wake up, often they are "not thinking clearly." It seems that blood meant for the brain has migrated south. For high school guys, this blood might refuse to travel back to the brain for quite some time. There you are sitting in class, hormones raging, surrounded by beautiful girls, some of which are cheerleaders in short skirts, and well, you are obviously "not thinking clearly."

This is why teachers should NEVER ask, much less require, high school guys to stand in the front of the class to solve problems. The embarrassment caused by classmates blushing, pointing, snickering, and the occasional gasps just because you are standing in front of the class "not thinking clearly" can scar a kid.

I’m not saying this ever happened to me, but after my freshman year I ALWAYS had my Notre Dame windbreaker with me just in case I was ever called to the front of the class and I was… you know – "not thinking clearly."

Welcome to High School Kid!

I was looking forward to my first day of high school for many reasons. Not the least of which was to actually have a team to call my own. I mean, I grew up a Packers Fan, but had never been to Wisconsin. I was an FSU Fan, but was still a few years away from being a student there. And if you remember, I was a BIG Notre Dame Fan and you guessed it – not even Catholic. I was about to be a part of something. I was going to be a Godby Cougar!

I started my first day at Godby in the gym, as a member of Ms. Wiggins homeroom class. One of my new classmates I met that morning was someone who would be sitting next to me at graduation – Tommy Deese.

My schedule read: First class – math, first teacher – Riggs, so when the bell rang dismissing us from homeroom, I bee lined it to the math building. When I opened the door I was surprised to see the room was already full. I was more surprised when this red headed woman at the front of the room SCREAMED at me to get out. She advised me, now a terrified freshman, that she had NOT dismissed her senior homeroom and I was to get out until she had. It was then I heard for the first time, "the bell does not dismiss you, I do." Words every Godby teacher MUST be required to say, because at some point in time I heard it from every one of them.

Anyway… there I was standing in an open doorway between Ms. Riggs senior homeroom class, one that looked at me with a mixture of amusement and pity and my new peers that were thanking God that I had opened that door first.

Welcome to high school kid!

I did grow from that and can look back and laugh at the fear I felt that morning. Because in the blink of an eye, 4 years had disappeared and I was now the senior looking into the eyes of the terrified freshmen. Welcome to high school kids. Have you bought you pep rally tickets yet? Yeah, got in a little trouble for that one. But, come on seeing the cheerleaders was worth more than the quarter admission.

In four short years it was now time to move on and open more doors to the unknown in an adult world that would prove far scarier than the one I faced my first morning at Godby.

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It turned out Ms. Riggs wasn’t nearly as scary as her first impression led me to believe. I grew to really like and appreciate her. I think she may have even liked me if I hadn’t led the "boos" directed at her husband, who was a basketball referee. It was all in good fun Ms. Riggs.

As for Tommy Deese…the real world slapped us all in the face just before the start of the next school year when we learned of his death. Tommy’s funeral was the first time a large number of our class (and the surrounding classes) had gathered together since graduation. In less than 3 months we had lost one of our classmates, someone who sat next to me at graduation.

Welcome to the real world kid.

I heard my mom telling someone after the funeral that she had never seen so many young people gathered together that looked like they genuinely loved and cared for one another. We did and still do! My mom would be so proud of ALL of us…

An Intro...

Thank you Lisa (Mommy Dearest) for your inspiration and your help in getting me started…

Those of you that are friends of mine on facebook may find it laughable that I use to be such a critic of the site. Could there possibly be a bigger waste of time? Okay…Fantasy Football? Maybe. And yet, several months ago I joined the world of social networking (facebook) in order to reconnect with some of my old (literally and figuratively) high school friends. After all, we did have our 30 year reunion on the horizon. At least that was the excuse I gave my step-children in order to save face for caving in and joining.

I took the giant leap, set up my profile, and sent out my FIRST friend request. I made it a safe pick. Someone I knew would remember me and NEVER reject my request for friendship.

The next day my boss advised me I was being sent to Miami for a week. When I returned home, I logged onto my fb account for the first time since creation to find all of these old friends that wanted to be friends again. It was like Christmas! Names of friends I had not spoken to in years – MANY years. I was remembered! People wanted to be my friend. Except for the one friend request I had sent out…

Several months later, I am very active on facebook (Godby High – Picture of the Day) and an active recruiter. Join us… Be one of us…

I have enjoyed reconnecting with friends, sharing stories from a more innocent time in our lives, and the knowledge that we were all blessed to be surrounded by so many incredible people at such an important time in our lives.

On a personal level I have also used it for therapy. This has been an incredibly difficult time in my life and I now have a growing number of "counselors" to lean on. I thank you all!

I hope the "Godby High – Picture of the Day" has sparked memories, brought a few smiles, and reminded us how far we have come. Let us also remember that we have not made this journey alone and that we are surrounded by some pretty damn good company.

I hope this blog will provide more of the same, while providing me with more cheap therapy. After all, anyone known as a LoveBird as a teenager needs LOTS of therapy.

This blog will not be about living in the past, but rather, embracing the past and helping me understand how I got to the present. I hope you will join me…

Oh yeah, my first friend request was FINALLY accepted. Thanks Magoo for being such a safe pick. Sheeeesh…