highline56 Vignettes

There was an incident with Jimmy Graham that happened in our senior year:

Jimmy was supposedly one of the highest IQ guys in our class, but I switched combination locks with him for our basketball lockers. I found out his combination because he always had trouble working his lock. He would bang on it, curse and try and try to open it again and again. Finally, one day I offered to help him, which is how I got him to tell me the combination. When he was not around I switched locks, knowing both combinations. With my lock on his basketball locker, he could not get into his own locker. He would then come to me to open it. And I would use his combination if he was watching closely, then when it did not work he would crack up and while he was preoccupied, I would use the correct combination and open the lock. Then he would say, "Okay, now let me see you do it again." Then I would use his combination as he watched, but when it failed he would laugh saying "see there!" And again while he was distracted I would quickly use the right combination and get away with it. Most of the other guys knew about it but we kept the ruse going day after day--before and after basketball practice--for weeks. Until I found him one day trying to saw the lock off with a hacksaw. We laughed and laughed. Then there was the time he and Mick Stewart got drunk on still-working-wine in my basement . . . If he were only alive to defend himself . . .

Sonny and I were close friends through high school and college. How close? He introduced me to grits. Not just grits, but how to eat them, mixed with crumpled bacon and chopped up fried eggs. That close. Sonny was always concerned with what people thought of him, adults in particular, and teachers especially. So it probably says more about me than it does about him that the day I most remember was when he got caught doing something really stupid and infantile, in front of a teacher no less.

We sat next to each other in Lydia Palmer's Latin class. When she was out of the room, I discovered it was hilarious to rapidly slide my chair back and forth, banging the attached desk on the back of the chair of the girl ahead. It was even funnier to make car roaring noises along with the banging. Sonny could always do things better than I could, so he took up the banging and roaring, with improvements. You kind of had to bow your head to bang and roar at the same time, so he didn't notice Ms. Palmer reenter the room and look for the source of the strange sounds. I did, and sat back to defer to Sonny's efforts. I debated whether to alert Sonny as she came down the aisle. He didn't notice her standing there and the banging and roaring continued. Everybody in the room was holding their breath, and finally she interrupted with "why Sonny, I am surprised at you". As he crumpled, she gave me a look like she had it figured, but was having a hard time keeping from laughing herself. Anyway, he hit me later. I made the car roaring noise, so he hit me again.

[this is from an email exchange about fishing, etc, posted by permission]
Hired by IRS 8/73 and transferred to their Aberdeen office in '77. Started fishing Westport '53, the month Dad moved back to Seattle with UAL. With the available fishing, clamdigging and Coastal environment, that seemed too good to be true.

Found Nietula already living there and loving to fish as much as I do. Also drinking a beer, or two, which I did.Hung up the Pads around '91 having had to go to the hard stuff to get any kind of buzz(not a real good sign, I've been told).That may have had something to do with the 21 & a half cans that he & I each tossed down that Saturday before going out for more. I also understand the body gets to the point of high tolerance before heading down the other way(quickly). Thanks, but no thanks, I'll pass.

Grays Harbor, for IRS work was kind of neat. Lots of Tax Protesters & game players creating excellent situations to hone interview skills.
Back to a couple of your other thoughts - I was helper on the Hula Girl, a 60 ft Charter Boat out of Honolulu Harbor in the early '50's and have seen my share of nasty weather including the Westport Bar (the one out in the ocean). Zane Rockey, on his Boat,The Modoc, took a wave head-on(the Helper was steering)and was tossed overboard off the ladder (to the upper deck )into the drink and, one other time with Newt, his boat, in a huge following sea, coming back in, had the rudder fall off(due to electrolysis from no maintenance) and we nearly rolled that sucker. No time to puke. The odd thing is you really don't have time to be scared.

Speaking of Football, in the '55 edition [pirates log] there is a chap, Dick Coleman, who not only played but could punt a Football higher than Binford could throw that Hummer, Those two gentlemen had the Touch. Binford, I understand was fatally injured in an industrial accident and Coleman wound up flying for United (Capt Ken Linville may be a little more current on his present location).