I Remember…Part Three

You might be getting tired of all this "remembering" that I have been doing recently. Hopefully you're not. In my last column I promised to share with you my memories of angels being turned into lightning and, also, a situation where someone used a donut as an alarm clock. Being a man of my word, here goes…

I remember walking to school back in the early 1970s. It was a public school located at 4515 80th street. That school was Lance Jr. High. Our athletic teams were known as the Blue Angels and competed against teams from four other Kenosha Jr. High Schools. They were the Bullen Bobcats, Lincoln Indians, McKinley Jaguars and Washington Wildcats.

Almost 40 years later, that school located at 4515 80th street is now a middle school. There are now five other middle schools offering Lance athletic competition. Mahone Middle School is the new addition. Their teams are called the Mustangs. Still competing are the Bullen Bobcats, Lincoln Indians, McKinley Jaguars and Washington Wildcats. So, besides becoming a middle school and the Mahone Mustangs joining the mix, it would seem that things have not changed much for Lance.

Unfortunately, something else has changed for Lance. Somewhere along the line it was decided to change their athletic teams' nickname from Blue Angels to Lightning. The Lightning! What a revolting development. The Bobcats are still the Bobcats, the Indians remain the Indians, the Jaguars are still called the Jaguars and the Wildcats are still Wildcats. I don't know the "official" reason for changing the name and I don't really care. I have a hunch or two why, but it doesn't matter. You see, I was a Blue Angel; I am a Blue Angel and will always be a Blue Angel. Yes, I remember walking to school back in the 1970s.

Okay, enough whining. On a lighter note, I remember when a group of ladies from the Finney's New Yorkers softball team used a donut as an alarm clock. It happened on an early Sunday morning during the Women's Marathon tournament at Finney's West. The annual event began on Saturday morning with games being played non-stop through the night, with the championship game taking place sometime Sunday afternoon.

Leon Rosko, the owner/operator of Finney's West, was hard at it, making sure everything was going smoothly. He ordered the trophies, scheduled the umpires, dragged the fields, stocked the coolers - you get the picture. If there was something that had to be done, chances are Rosko did it or was going to do it. Factor into the equation he had been doing this since the sun came up Saturday morning.

Early Sunday morning, just before dawn, an exhausted Rosko tried to take a well deserved "break" on the floor of the announcer's booth. He had barely started to snore when the New Yorkers entered the booth, armed with a box of Dunkin' Donuts. They decided Mr. Rosko had rested long enough and attempted to wake him. Calling his name didn't work. When poking Rosko had no results, the ladies proceeded to wave one of the sugary delights under his nose. Needless to say, Rosko's nap was over and breakfast was served. Yes, I remember when a group of ladies from the Finney's New Yorkers softball team used a donut as an alarm clock.

This past week or so I have shared my memories on a wide variety of subjects. I reminisced about lovable losers, standing in the cold, fans booing a guy for getting a hit and fantasy football. The column today was about angels being turned into lightning and a donut being used as an alarm clock. Who knows what I will write about next - I don't! The only way to find out is to keep reading my blog. Until next time…From The Booth.