Chapter 32

Most of my classes started the review for the exams held at the end of the six week grading period. They would review this week and until Wednesday of the following, taking the exams Thursday or Friday. I would review, but I could’ve taken and passed the exams that day.

This gave me time to work on a long-overdue project. During study hall after a quick review to ensure there was nothing I had overlooked I wrote thank you notes. It had been drilled into me by my Mum that people who did you a kindness deserved a Thank You.

I owed notes from my summer hitchhiking. I also included the George Weaver story in my summer and family. There certainly were enough extra copies provided by family and friends.

I wrote a note to the Whaley’s, the farm family that let me work for a few days in Illinois. They knew the least of all about my adventures and certainly would be surprised.

When I wrote Mr. Easterly in Colorado I also informed him that I had received the rodeo schedule for the next year. I had decided I wasn’t going to follow the circuit or try to defend the championship. Time and money were the reasons. I was thinking of other things to do next summer and didn’t think I could win enough to pay for the whole rodeo venture anyway.

I also wrote John Wayne a longer note thanking him for all of his help in my “movie career”, Elvis with a little teasing, how Germany was a long way to bail him out, so behave, Brian Wilson for his making me a “Rock and Roll Star”, Paul Anka for reminding me not to quit my day job to be a Rock and Roll Star.

Special thanks went to Texas Ranger Walker for saving me from a potentially bad situation I had got myself into, and the Ewing family who let me stay at their ranch South Fork during the national rodeo.

I also sent a general letter to the producer, asking him to share with the cast, of the Spin and Marty portion of the Mickey Mouse Club, thanking all of them for letting me participate. I still had secret hopes about Annette, just like every other teenage boy in America.

After some consideration, I also wrote a brief letter to the National Rodeo Association telling them I wouldn’t be defending my title this year. While I was proud to win and had a lot of fun doing it, the joy of winning should go to those who had worked out of love of the sport for years.

I didn’t write it but thought that anyone who rode Brahma bulls for years had something fundamentally wrong with them.

After reading what I had written I was glad I was wearing boots, it was getting deep. It was also true. It took both my study halls to get the notes completed, but I was glad to be done. All I had to do now was address envelopes and mail them.

At golf practice, I found that Coach had a point about different distances. I tried to overcompensate using the shorter irons, in doing so found that you could only swing the golf club so hard and fast and maintain control. Besides the demons of the sand trap, I met the monsters of the rough.

Once I realized my error I went back to my easy swing and my game came right back.

Coach Stone just said, “That wasn’t the lesson I had intended but it was a good one.”

Denny, Eddie, and I again played horse with the basketball before dinner. Again they creamed me. Denny won this time but Eddie wasn’t far behind. While the game was going on little Mary was playing with the Hula Hoop. Dad was sitting on the steps watching all of the activity.

After I had a horse, while Denny and Eddie were at hor I sat with Dad. Mary had taken to throwing the Hula Hoop across the yard.

Dad told me, “We played with iron wagon wheel hoops when I was a kid, we could roll them down the road but they weighed too much to throw like that. These new types of plastics are good stuff. Many items will be lighter in the future.”