Life long friends

I started attending school in the mid 60's first as a kindergarten student at Forest Hills Elementary off of Francias Drive in south Shreveport. Just before the first grade, my family moved not far from the State Fairgrounds meaning I would be going to a new school. I attended Judson Elementary in the first and second grades however things changed the summer before the third grade. In 1964 the US Supreme Court outlawed discrimination based on race, including schools. It didn't impact me for a couple of years but eventually this would be the reason me and my sister would start going to Jewella Elementary at the start of my 3rd grade school year. I really had no idea what was going on across the country, all I knew is the walk to school was a little further and my classmates were different. It was basically the same except I don't really remember that I knew any of my new classmates. One major difference was for the first time that I could remember, I saw a black person. Being that this school was largely an all-black school, I saw a lot of them. Really didn't make me any difference, I paid attention in class and played with whoever wanted to play at recess. Before long, my family moved across town to an area known as Cedar Grove which seemed nice to me...at that time. This meant more changes including a new school, a new walk to school and meeting new friends. This school would be where I met many friends that I would go on to attend middle school and then high school together. Atkins Elementary on St. Vincents Ave. was to me a huge brick building with a massive playground. I remember playing basketball, tether ball and kick ball during recess, often watching trains slowly ease by on the nearby train tracks not too far from the playground. This is where I met Greg Frazier. We had the same homeroom class taught by Mrs. Harrell who I remember being pleasant yet firm. Gosh writing this takes me back to some fun times. I remember Greg's dad would usually pick Greg up from school being that he lived farther away than I did however, many times Greg would walk home. His route home would go right by my house and as we became better friends, he would stop and hang out for a while. We would play football or baseball or something as we both enjoyed competing at just about anything. Within the next year or so as we became closer friends, he invited me to a mid-week revival service at his church. That church, Calvary Baptist, was located on the Northwest corner of St. Vincents Ave and W. 74th St, right across from Atkins Elementary. One of the few things I remember from that service is before we went into the auditorium, all the youth were assembled in another room and some guy, and his buddy were speaking to us. I vividly recall what this guy looked like and eventually found out his name. THE Terry Bradshaw. Terry was a local football legend at Woodlawn High School and at that time was leading the Bulldogs of La. Tech down I20 in nearby Ruston. I eventually joined the church and that is where many of my youth sports memories were developed. Greg convinced me to play on my first ever organized baseball team with the church playing at the Baptist Ball Park...ohhh the memories. We played together for a few years along with many other youngsters including Bill and Bob Martin, Lloyd and Jay Stilley, Lee Hooker, Lester Cochran and James Bozeman to name a few off the top of my head.  When we got in to middle school, things changed a little. Greg would attend Calvary Baptist Academy while I would go to Linwood Jr. High. We still saw each other at church and when we had ball games, but we were meeting new friends also. One guy I met at Linwood was the one and only Kevin Guerrero. Kevin lived just a few streets south of me and even though we hadn't been friends before middle school, things would change soon. Kevin had played youth football and little league baseball with the Cedar Grove team, locally known as The Grovites! From time to time either in the fall when football was being played, or during the spring and summer months during baseball season, I could sometimes hear the cheers from games being played at the legendary Roberts Youth Park which was just a few blocks away. Kevin, I believe was a pitcher on the Cedar Grove team which I'm pretty sure was coached by Haywood Williamson, who lived just four houses down from me. His son, Chuck Williamson was a lefty and played first base, but his best skill was his ability to make contact with the ball. Chuck and I became very good friends and were always out in his front yard throwing something around! Eventually Kevin would start playing with me and Greg on the Calvary Baptist ball team starting a bond between the three of us. At Woodlawn High School we still hung out but not quite as much. All of us were a part of the Knight football team with Kevin being a Quarterback and Greg being an Offensive Lineman. Being a bit too small to play, I was a manager on the team which allowed me to be close to the game and still be able to hang with my friends. Our high school years were some of our best times as we were fortunate to be a part of a school rich in tradition and athletic success. Summers involved playing ball together and doing typical teenage stuff until August football practice started. We would all be at the school for football practice which was at about the same time the cheerleaders, pep squad, Red Line and the band would be practicing. While we would be on the field, we could often hear the sounds of the band or the music from the other groups doing their thing. Most of what we would hear was some whistle blowing mixed in with some of your usual yells from the coaches...good times! Once school started, we would see each other either in classes we shared or at lunch and then the Fridays during football season...oh man those were the best. Game days included cheerleaders passing out spirit ribbons, pep rallies, just an overall excitement and spirit throughout the school anticipating the game later that night. As I look back, those years went by so fast but so many wonderful memories were created that were so special. After graduation Kevin and Greg would go off to college, but we still kept in touch though church and softball. Softball yall! The 80's especially during the spring and summer months the three of us would hang out even more either doing some water skiing out at Cross Lake or playing softball. There weren't many weekends that the three of were not together out at Cargill softball complex playing for various teams. Kevin and Greg would play for some really good teams while I usually played when and where I could. That sometimes would mean being a pinch runner for their team coach by Cliff Vandiver...whatever I needed to do to be close to my boys! As the decade went on, life started happening as we all would start establishing our careers and settling down. In 1989 I moved to Dallas while Greg and Kevin got married. I eventually moved back temporarily before a random phone call would lead to me moving across the country to Minnesota. Needless to say, I wasn't able to hang with Greg and Kevin, but we still kept in touch. In the late 90's I moved to Texas settling in East Texas which would allow us to keep in touch and see each other frequently. By now, all of us had families and were pretty busy with our own lives and what all that would entail. As our kids got older and life slowed down just enough, we were able to reconnect and even recently we see each other more often. Greg has been awesome trying to organize little reunions including some of the guys we grew up with either from church or Woodlawn. Being able to see guys like Jimmy Blackwell, Clay Sandifur, Andy Holley and Jimmy Bardwell has been pretty special. Greg also has put together reunions of softball players we all played with back in the day which has been pretty cool seeing some of the guys we used to play against every weekend back in the 80's. Recently Greg has put together a Woodlawn football reunion that he puts on at Calvary that has brought many former Knights back together. When I tell people stories of Duke and Chavo, it warms my heart to know I've chosen two of the best friends a guy could ever have. A lifetime full of memories and great times have been shared with these two guys and I'm so thankful my family moved when I was in the third grade. I talk with both of them frequently, Greg just about every week and Kevin pretty often as well. This past spring I spent a lot of time over in Shreveport following Greg with his Calvary softball team. Being the principal of Calvary Academy, Kevin would be at a lot of the games allowing me to see him as well. I recently rode to Sulphur with Kevin to watch Gregs team win their 5th straight state softball championship, and it was just like old times. Life is good as we are all busy doing our own things with our families, but I imagine there won't be many days or weeks that we don't dial each other up for a quick chat. Over 55 years of being friends is a pretty big deal to me, thanks Greg and Kevin, I love y'all!

Tater Race - Where it all may have started.

As a 6-year-old 1st grader, I hadn't yet been exposed to the world of competitive sports. I vaguely remember swinging a skinny yellow wiffle ball bat as my dad enjoyed throwing balls by me. I'm certain I swung and missed many, but I also know I figured out how to hit his curve as I can remember the shocked look on his face as I hit one that whizzed right by him. Good times. Something that was popular in elementary school was "Field Day". It may very well still be a thing, but my grade school days are way behind me. Our teacher or someone, entered us in various events including some type of foot race, a pull up contest and a long jump. There were other events as well but this day, one specific event is one I will always remember.

My teacher corralled me and lined me up along with I dunno, maybe 10-15 other kids and gave us all a spoon...and a potato. Soon instructions were explained, and we were ready to race. The idea of this race was to run about 20 or 30 yards to the finish line holding a potato in a spoon. As we took off from the starting line, I noticed I was out in front as several racers were dropping their potatoes. Not me, I figured out if I ran smooth trying to run on my toes, I didn't "bounce" as much and was able to keep my potato secure, all the way to the finish line. I won rather easily and soon a teacher grabbed me and pulled me over out of the way and handed me a blue 1st place ribbon...the most sought-after ribbon! I pranced around the rest of the day proudly showing off my accomplishment. Looking back, that may have been my first recollection of me competing, hence creating my competitive nature. Little did I know where that day would lead me.