After the Energists Start of the 11th GradeChapter 3 Hysteria
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Nevin’s House, Bryanston, Ontario
5:45pm, Monday, October 15, 1979
“Hello, this is Mike,” I said after I took the phone from my mom’s hand in the main entrance way.
“Hey, Mike! You don’t know me but I’m sure hoping to meet you on Friday at our football game at Medway. My name is Todd, Todd Daymend, and I’m the starting quarterback for...”
“The Parkside Stampeders. Hey, Todd, and to what do I owe the pleasure of this much unexpected but welcomed call from our upcoming opponent’s starting QB?” I interjected and then cut to the chase of the matter.
As soon as I heard Todd’s name, I immediately recognized it from my prior trip through high school and university. Todd and I became great friends as we attended several of the same football camps in the summer of 1980 and 1981, and we each were our high school’s male representative selected to attend the Ontario Athletic Leadership Camp held in the summer of 1980 at Lake Couchiching, north of Toronto.
We also attended Western together in the Physical Education or ‘Kinesiology’ department. After Todd graduated from UWO, he went onto medical school and became a well-respected family and sports medicine physician. Todd went out for UWO’s football team his first year, but gave it up after one season to focus on his studies. It didn’t help that Todd saw the writing on the ‘football’ wall after fellow first year player, Steve Samways earned the Mustangs’ starting QB job two games into their freshman season.
Todd’s older brother by one year, Erving also played at Parkside, but he was a mountain of a man. Erv was six-feet, six-inches and weighted two-hundred and ninety pounds in high school. Erv was their starting left tackle on offense, and a pure beast of an end on defense. Erv also went to UWO and was a starting offensive tackle from his second year ‘till he graduated. He earned first team All-Ontario honors twice, and was a second team, All-Canadian selection in his final year at Western.
“Well, because we played last Friday at one o’clock against Central Elgin, I was able to get to your game against those assholes, uh, pardon my language, the Voaden Vikings under the lights at Pinafore. I hated to see your starting QB get hurt. When I saw what that ass, Jack Deacon did to you, I just, uh, I wanted to give you a call and wish you a speedy recovery from that cheap-shot to your head. I never want to see anyone get hurt, and uh, it’s always more fun to compete against the best an opponent can throw at you.”
“I really appreciate the call, Todd. I’m doing a lot better than my mom thought I’d be doing; she’s a nurse by the way, after being in the ER ‘till almost three-am on Friday er, Saturday morning,” I replied over the phone.
When my mom whispered, “Who is that?” I put my hand over the mouth piece and said,
“A friend from Parkside Collegiate, Mom.” When my mom nodded and turned to go to the kitchen, I said into the phone, “Sorry for that little moment of silence, Todd. The ‘parental unit’ here just asked me a question, but she’s gone into the kitchen, now.”
“‘Parental unit!’ I like that and will have to steal it from you, Mike,” Todd chuckled on the other end of the telephone line. “Is there any chance you’re playing on Friday, not that I’m spying or anything? Like I said, I’d rather play against the best a team has to offer than against a short-handed squad?”
“I believe you, my man, and I’m not trying to blow smoke up your butt, here. However, I’m just not sure yet. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday to have her check me out. Hopefully, she’ll clear me to practice ... so I can play.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed and say a prayer that the doc clears you, Mike,” Todd replied.
“Quick question for you, how did you go about getting my number, since we’re not in the St. Thomas phone book?” (Note: No internet ‘Yellow Pages’ at this moment in time.)
“My dad is the vice-principal at Regina Mundi, and I asked him to give your school’s vice-principal, Mr. Williamson a call. They’re longtime friends from Western, so your VP gave your digits to my dad, so, ah...”
“Connections, I like it!” I chuckled.
“I, uh, don’t want to run up the parental units’ telephone bill, so, again, I really hope you’re feeling better and that your doc gives you the all clear to practice and play on Friday. Even if you’re not able to play, hunt me up after the game, okay. I’m number...”
“Number 9, I know and I’ll definitely get with you after the game ... playing or not,” I replied.
“Get as much rest as you can ‘till you see the doc on Wednesday. I got my bell rung by a Voaden idiot last year in our JV game, so I know that good rest really helps. See you on the field, Mike,” Todd said.
“Thanks for the call, my friend, and I’ll see y’all on Friday. Have a good week of practice because we’re coming for you ... gunning for first place in the conference. Later, dude!”
“Bye, Mike!”
Dr. Candice Wellend’s Office, St. Joe’s Hospital, London, Ontario
10:22am, Wednesday, October 17, 1979
“I feel as good as I’ve ever felt, Dr. Wellend,” I said as my mom and I walked back to her examine room on the second floor of St. Joe’s Hospital.
“Well, let’s just see how you do on a few of these simple tests before your mom and I simply take your word as gospel, Mike.”
“Test away,” I confidently replied as we stepped into the examine room.
Dr. Wellend did a series of checks on my eyes and vision, my reflexes and strength before she said, “You did well on those tests, Mike. Let’s do a few cognitive tests to see how your mushy brain cells do when you have to think fast, okay?” she chuckled as she obviously recalled our conversation from early Saturday morning in the ER.
“Are you sure we should be seeing a doctor who views mushy brain cells as an appropriate medical term, Mom?” I deadpanned and gave Dr. Wellend a small wink.
Dr. Wellend just shook her head, which caused her long pony-tail of jet black hair to swing over her shoulders and back. After she leaned over to get something from a lower cabinet shelf, she softly said, “I can see why those girls are all ‘gaga’ over you, Mike.”
When Dr. Wellend stood back up, she said, “Math flash cards, remember these from elementary school?” as she showed me a box-set of about twenty to thirty cards.
“Oh, the nightmares I’ll experience from seeing those things, again,” I chortled as I shook my head at my mom, who giggled in her corner chair.
“How many are in that stack, Dr. Wellend?” my mom asked.
“Ah, twenty-five, it says here on the package, why?” she asked with a confused look on her youthful face.
“If he can’t run through that stack in less than twenty seconds, he’s not healthy enough to play either football or practice with his band, that’s why?” my mother stated with a grin on her face.
“I take it, Mike here, was a math flash card wizard, as well as being a rock star and football hero.”
“If you can show them to me quick enough, I’ll get ‘em done in less than fifteen seconds,” I confidently stated as I scooted my butt to the edge of the exam table and stepped down on the tiled floor. “Rather do this standing up, like I did at St. Pat’s,” I added with a smile.
“Nod when you’re ready,” Dr. Wellend said as she saw my mom look at her nursing watch to keep track of the time.
“Give me and Doc a three, two, one countdown, Mom, please,” I said as I rubbed my hands together in preparation for this silly mental math challenge.
“Wait, wait, do you want the multiplication cards or the division cards, Mike?” Dr. Wellend said as she looked at both sides of the first few cards.
“Doesn’t matter to me, Doc.”
“Okay, we’ll do the multiplication cards, then.”
“You both set, now?” my mother asked. I nodded affirmatively to her and Dr. Wellend simply replied, “Ready.”
“Okay, ready, three, two, one, go!”
“63, 88, 15, 25, 36, 42, 18, 121, 99, 84, 30, 0, 12, 144, 120, 72, 28, 56, 8, 81, 72, 132, 14, 54, 45,” I called out as fast as Dr. Wellend could show me those card with various 0 to 12 multiplication questions.
“Just a tad over twelve seconds!” my mom excitedly stated when we both turned to hear my time.
“Good golly! I think I may have even slowed you down with my card turning, Mike. I’m thinking your brain cells may not be as mushy as I thought they’d be.”
“If you had French flash cards, my brain would have disintegrated, Doc,” I chuckled.
“Or exploded!” my mother exclaimed and then laughed at our replies.
“Good, good,” Dr. Wellend stated as I bent down to help her pickup those cards up off the floor. “Thanks, Mike,” she said with a smile as she stared at my face.
Being bent over with her back to my mother, Dr. Wellend held still for a moment, giving me a pretty good look down her blouse. Her medium sized breasts were mostly covered by a lacy peach color bra, which had loosely fallen away showing off her left reddish-brown, soft nipple.
When she reached over to take the cards from my hands, she smiled and gave me a little wink. As I stood back up, I thought, ‘What in the world was that all about? Why would this thirty-ish year-old doctor want to show me her boobs?‘
Dr. Wellend smiled at me and quickly reorganized the cards to have them all showing the division problems in the proper orientation. When she had them like she wanted, she said, “I want to try one more test with you, Mike. This time though, I want you to keep your eyes open and turn your head side to side ... like this, and then I’m going to have you do the division problems. If your head starts to spin or hurt... Let! Me! Know! Okay?”
Dr. Wellend quickly turned her head to the left and right a couple of times to demonstrate what she wanted me to do prior to answering that second set of math facts. “You don’t need to keep time for these, Aileen.”
“How many times do you want me to twist my head each way?” I asked.
“About ten quick ones should be good. This is counts as one twist, Mike,” Dr. Wellend said as she moved her chin to her right shoulder and then all the way to her left shoulder. “Try and do one twist cycle per second. A little slower, a little faster shouldn’t matter much. Ready?”
As I did the rapid head turns, Dr. Wellend counted out each one for me. When I finished doing them with my eyes open, she asked, “Vision and head still good, no pain, dizziness?”
“No, Ma’am,” I replied with a smile.
“Okay. Answer these division questions as quickly as you can now. Here we go.”
“9, 5, 8, 3, 9, 10, 1, 12, 5... 9, 6, 3, 7... 7, 4”
“Good stuff! I’ve seen enough to know that your noggin is working just fine, Mike, and Aileen.”
“So you think I can get back on the field and with my band?” I excitedly asked after hearing her prognosis.
“Yes, but,” she replied and then looked at my mother, then to me and added, “only if you can limit any physical contact on the football field ... uh, when is your next game?”
“Friday, against the team we’re battling for first place in our conference!” I exclaimed not liking the look on the doc’s face, though.
“What’s your head coach’s name, Mike? I would like to talk to him about some things to look for at practices, and in the game should you take a lick or two, okay?”
“His name is Paul St. Georges, and the number for our school is...” I replied.
“And what time is your game on Friday?”
“We play at three, maybe three-fifteen depending on how long the JV game goes before our game.”
(Note: In the late 1970s and 80s, most Canadian high schools did not have lighted fields or even stadiums to play in. The field at Medway is still inside the quarter-mile track with a few portable wooden bleacher set up on the track for the 100 to 300 students and parents, who show up to the games. I can remember only playing three night football games during my entire high school career.)
“I’m off ‘till 11pm on Friday, so, uh, I may come and watch your game. If it’s for first place, it should be a pretty good game, right?” Dr. Wellend said as she flipped through her little pocket calendar. “I’m still going to call your coach, in case you get dinged in practice today or tomorrow.”
“You’re gonna come to our game, really?” I asked with a surprised look on my face.
“Yes, I love football. I cheered at Laurier University for three years before I quit to buckle-down in preparation for my medical school exams,” she replied as she made a note in her calendar. “Your game is at Medway, up in...”
“Medway is in Arva, north of the university. Take Richmond Street North or Highway Four and you’ll take a right at that traffic light in Arva. Mike’s school is about a half mile on the right,” my mom replied with those simple directions to Medway.
“Can you turn the volume down at a low roar at your band practices, and if you feel a ringing in your ears or you get a headache, just-ah call it a day with your Bandettes, okay?”
“Sure thing, Doc,” I replied and nodded to my mom who was paying real close attention to the doctor’s instructions.
“I may give the girls a rundown on your band limitations. I know they’ll watch him like a hawk for any signs of eye, hearing or headaches,” my mother said as she gave me a mini-evil look and then a small wink.
“They did seem like a great group of girls. I could tell they were really concerned about your noggin, Mike.”
“There you go again with the wonderful medical terminology. Just where did you get your medical degree from, Doc?” I asked with a serious look on my face.
“The bottom of a cracker-jack box!” she replied with her own dead serious look on her face. All three of us broke out laughing after the doc and I stared each other down for a moment.
“You a Meat Loaf fan, Doc?” I asked thinking she may have gotten that answer from Meatloaf’s hit, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.
“I like it, why?” she replied, obviously thinking of the dinner item instead of the rock star.
I decided to have a little fun with her, so I took a deep breath and sang:
“You’ll never find your gold on a sandy beach.
You’ll never drill for oil on a city street.
I know you’re looking for a ruby,
In a mountain of rocks.
But there ain’t no Medical Degree (Coupe de Ville) hiding
At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box!“
I then added the vocal guitar like sound of that song, after singing that lyric.
“You’ll have to forgive my son, Dr. Wellend. He just had a major concussion. And regardless of what you just said, I know his brain cells must be really, really mushy!” my mother stated as she stood up and tugged on my right arm as I held the doctor’s left hand in my two hands.
“Let me make a note of that in his medical chart ... Nurse Nevins, Mike’s mother says her son’s neurons are definitely mushy because he sings silly songs to his doctor ... there, got it down.”
“Ha! Ha! Very funny,” I said as I opened the examine room door and allowed my mom and Dr. Wellend to walk out before I stepped in behind her. I swore Doc Wellend put a little extra ‘sash’ in her ‘shay’ as she walked and talked to my mother about keeping an eye on me when I got home from either football and/or band practice for the foreseeable future as concussions were (and still are) a tricky medical issue.
When we got out to the small waiting area, Dr. Wellend snagged a couple of her business cards from the counter and scribbled something on the back of one of them.
“I’m going to call your coach in a few minutes, but if I don’t get a hold of him, Mike, please give him my card and have him call me ... hopefully before you practice today. Stick these in your pocket, and don’t lose one of them, okay?”
I gave her a raised eyebrow look at her weird instruction but then said, “I have him for physical education in our last period of the day, Doc. So, I’m sure he’ll let me know if you got with him. I’ll make sure he gives you a call before practice if he hasn’t heard from you. It might be just before practice, so if he calls around three, are you able to talk with him?”
“I’ll make sure Tawny; my office administrator gets his call to me.”
“Do we need to set up a follow up with you, Dr. Candice?” my mom asked.
“No, I don’t think so, Aileen. I’m going to see him on Friday and I will talk with him after ... hopefully not during your game. So, don’t go running off to the locker ‘till I get with you. Got that, Football Hero?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” I smartly replied and had to give my head a little shake when I saw Dr. Wellend give me a subtle wink and nod.
“Ms. Tawny, can you get this rock star and football hero a medical note for this morning. You got one for Monday and Tuesday in the ER, didn’t you, Aileen?”
“Yes, I’ve got that note in my purse, and I’ll put this new one right with it, thanks.”
“Be careful and limit your contact in practice today and tomorrow, and if your band practices...”
“We’ll cut the volume down to a more humane level ... gotcha, Doc!” I said with a smile.
“Get out of here. I’ll see you on Friday, and I’ll see you around the hospital, Aileen,” Dr. Wellend chuckled at me and addressed my mother.
“I’ll be here tomorrow, three to eleven, Dr. Wellend,” my mother said as she took the medical note from Ms. Tawny.
On our way out to the parking garage, my mom grabbed my arm and said, “I need to make a pit-stop at the lady’s room. There’s a coke machine; why don’t you grab a Coke and get me a ... Sprite, please.”
“Sure thing, Mom.”
As I reached into my pocket to pull out a one-dollar bill, Dr. Wellend’s business cards fell to the floor. ‘What did she write on the back on that card?‘ I thought as I bent down to pick them up with her hand-written note facing up.
It was a good thing I was at the hospital because I darn near had a stroke when I silently read, “If you want a house call, Dr. Candi J” Under that brain-blowing note were her home’s digits.
Medway High, Arva, Ontario
1:35pm, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 1979
“Cuda! You’re back! Are you okay? You feelin’ better?” Lynette cried as she saw me sitting in our eighth period ‘Intro to Latin’ class with Miss Auzins.
“I got a clean bill of health and only minor restrictions for football and band practices,” I said as I got up out of my desk and shared a hug with Cano.
“Cuda! Good to see you! Are you feeling better?” Jennifer exclaimed as she came into the room on a pair of crutches.
“Yeah, Jenn, I’m good to go. How is your ankle doing?”
“I get rid of these things on Friday, hopefully. I’ll be in a walking-boot for a month or so, Dr. Kennedy said when I saw him on Monday afternoon.” Jennifer flapped her two crutches out to the side as she stood at her desk.
“Bonum est te revidere, Michael,” Miss Auzins said after she set her class materials down on her desk.
“Juxta, uh ... condictum revertar ad bonum, Miss Auzins,” I struggled to reply in Latin to our teacher. The word order for this wonderful language was still relatively new to me. (Good to be back, Miss Auzins).
“Bene dictum,” Miss Auzins replied with a smile. Our teacher then added in her strongly accented English voice, “When everyone gets here, please give a short report on your health to limit the need to repeat it a thousand times, please.”
I smiled and nodded at our diminutive teacher. Miss Auzins was at most five-feet tall and I doubted she tipped her bathroom scales at ninety-pounds. She had a reputation as a stern, hard grader, but she was great at explaining things and demanded excellence from her students. There was nothing wrong with that in my opinion, as I was a similar type teacher in my former-future professor positions.
We spent the first half of our class going over some new vocabulary, as well as getting the proper tense and genders’ for these new Latin words. In the last half of the class, Miss Auzins quizzed us on our comprehension of prior course material. Because I never liked how French was taught in elementary, mostly conjugating words involving ‘stupid memorization’, I really liked how Miss Auzin’s incorporated actual comprehension and application tasks within her foreign language classes.
I was nearly late for my ninth period physical education class as I was stopped numerous times by friends and other students inquiring about how I was feeling. Just as I was doing up my football/soccer cleats in the change room, Mr. St. George poked his head in and yelled, “Ten seconds or your late!”
When he saw me tying my shoe, he added, “Michael, my office. Please.”
“Be right there,” I replied, zipped up my gym bag and hung it over the hook with my jeans and ‘All-Blacks’ New Zealand Rugby shirt.
“Sir,” I simply stated as I walked into the co-joining PE office.
“Got a call from Dr. Wellend at lunch,” Mr. St. Georges said with his back to me as he put an attendance roster on his clipboard. “I was a bit surprised but real glad to hear that your coconut hasn’t lost its milk, and that you’re cleared for ‘limited practice’. Make sure you put this black jersey on when you get your gear on. I’ll talk more with you about how I see things going in practice and against Parkside on Friday. Out here, avoid contact and collisions with others, and definitely NO heading the soccer ball!”
“I’ll try, Sir,” I replied.
“No try ... just do! Keep your head out of harm’s way!”
“Yes, Sir!” I stated as he waved me out into the gymnasium, and then to the practice field.
After taking attendance, Mr. St. Georges instructed his male students in various soccer ball control and reception skills. He rightly hated the term, ‘trapping’ the ball as good players normally receive and redirect the ball to space or send it to another player or take a shot on goal with it. Seldom did soccer players trap the ball.
“How’s the head, Mike?” Mr. St. George asked as I chased an errant pass down near the field’s sideline.
“Never better!” I yelled as I used the sole of my left foot to pull the ball back and then pivoted around to dribble it back to my four man group.
“You haven’t felt any shooting pains, headaches or dizziness, huh?”
“No, none. I really haven’t felt this good in a long time, Coach!” I replied as he came over to Brad, Andrew Wearing, Jon Lunby and me.
“He seems like his regular, ‘PITA’ (pain-in-the-ass) self, Coach,” Jon chuckled as he redirected my pass to space and then sent a pass to Andrew as Brad tried to intercept that ground ball.
“Yes, if Nevins ain’t complainin’ about something, I know something is wrong with him,” Coach chortled as he slapped me on my right shoulder. He then blew his whistle right beside my ear to stop our class. “Oh, sorry about blowing that in your ear, Mike,” he said as he stared at my face.
“I’m good, Coach. That didn’t bother me, other than it just being ... loud.”
“Okay, good. Again, sorry ‘bout that.”
He then divided our class up into four teams and we played two seven-on-seven games on a couple of short field areas. About five minutes into our small-sided game, I heard Coach yell, “Keep your head out of harm’s way, Nevins!” as our team set up to defend a corner kick situation. After that command, I moved over to defend Brad, who was taking the corner kick for the other team.
Because most of us weren’t skilled soccer players, I had to quickly duck for cover as Brad’s kick whistled straight for my head from about ten yards away. “Oh! Damn! Cuda! Sorry! I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Brad exclaimed as he ran towards me after his kick sailed over everyone and went out-of-bounds on the other side of our small field.
I burst out laughing as I got back up on my feet and brushed the dirt off my hands. “You must really want Ronnie as your quarterback, don’t ‘cha, Brad!” I chuckled as I gave him a high-five.
“At least I know your reflexes are working well, and you’re finally following my instructions!” Coach yelled from between the two mini-fields.
“Those reflexes didn’t give him a chance to ignore your instructions, Coach!” Wayne Psotkin yelled.
“Good point, Wayne! Either way, Mike kept his head out of harm’s way!” Coach stated. “Five minutes!” he then called out to signal how much time we had left in our mini-soccer game.
After a throw-in, a ‘semi-beehive’ formed around the ball, and I made sure to stay out of that rough and tumble, un-soccer like situation. When the ball was kicked towards my opponent’s end, Brad had a few yards on me in the race to get the blue and red ball. As we sprinted for the ball, I drew even with him as we approached the rolling ball.
“Cuda, that’s just not right!” Brad yelled as I passed him and pushed the ball ahead of me. As I used a speed-dribble down the left side of the field, I peered over my right shoulder and saw my teammate, Wayne sprinting down the center. Just as Brad tried a sliding tackle on the ball, I sent a left-footed pass through the ‘box’, which Wayne easily one-timed into the left corner past Dennis Grainam, their goalie.
“Yeah! Two-Nil!” I yelled and jogged to congratulate Wayne on potting the ball in the back of the net.
“Sweet cross, Cuda,” Wayne tiredly said as we patted each other on the shoulder and jogged back to our half of the field.
“Okay, time gentlemen! Put the soccer balls in the bags and toss your ‘pennies’ in the laundry basket!” Coach yelled after he blew his whistle.
(Note: ‘Pennies’ are what we called the mesh singlets you wear to identify your teammates in practice games.)
After a few moments, we heard, “You guys don’t honestly think I’m supposed to carry these bags of soccer balls to the equipment room, do you?” Coach sternly called as most of the guys scurried towards the gym and locker room at the end of the school day.
“We got it for you, Froggy,” Andrew Wearing said as Wayne, Brad, me and Andrew carried the cones, soccer balls and laundry basket towards the back door to the gym and equipment room.
“That sprint didn’t...” Coach asked as we journeyed from the field.
“Didn’t bother me one bit other than it being, you know, a sprint,” I chuckled in response to his partial question.
“That’s good to hear. I’ve got a couple of things to do in my office and then I’ll be down in the varsity locker room. You guys run and get ready for your practices, and I’ll talk with you there, Mike,” Coach said as he waited for us to vacate the equipment room to lock it.
As we started into the gym, Coach yelled, “Cleats! Guys! Cleats!”
We immediately stopped and took off our football/soccer shoes before we continued to the boys’ change room in our socks.
“Are you guys ready for Dorchester, tomorrow?” I asked Andrew and Jon, both of whom were on our boys’ varsity volleyball team.
“Oh, yeah! With first place on the line, you better believe we’re ready for them!” Andrew replied as we walked across the gym floor to the change room.
“If we can limit Sandlak’s outside attacks, I doubt they can beat us,” Jon added. Jamie Sandlak was a six-foot-four outside hitter for the Beavers’ volleyball team. He also was a pretty good post player on their basketball team.
“I’m gonna shade to his side as much as possible, so hopefully he won’t get many one blocker attempts,” Andrew stated. Andrew was our main middle hitter/blocker, and at six-foot-five, he had the size and ability to limit Sandlak’s kills.
“Are you going to be able to play against Parkside?” Wayne asked as we entered the boy’s changing room.
“That’s the plan ... as of right now. I’m supposed to avoid contact in practice, and if all goes well, I’ll be in there against the Stamps,” I replied.
“Take care of that melon, then, Cuda,” Andrew said as Brad and I grabbed our street clothes and gym bags from the change room.
“Have a good practice, guys!” Brad said to Jon, Andrew and the rest of the guys on the volleyball team.
“Back at you, Brad, Dennis, Cuda,” Jon Lunby said as he was changing into his volleyball practice shorts.
I was happy to see Kane in our varsity locker room when Dennis, Brad and I entered. He had his right arm in a sling and was talking play calling with Ronnie Wood when they saw Brad and me.
“I heard you were back at school, Mike. Are you practicing, today?” Kane asked as I walked over to check on him and his arm.
“I’m back at it. I just wish you were able to play, too. What’s the verdict with your chicken wing?” I replied and followed up.
“Kennedy is cutting me next Tuesday morning. I tore my posterior labrum and he may tighten up a few of the muscles around my shoulder. He won’t know what all he’s got to do until he gets into the shoulder,” Kane replied.
“Are you planning on replacing me, Mike? ... Please!” Ronnie said as he got up off the bench and gave me a slap on my left shoulder.
“What? Two days as the starting quarterback is enough for you?” I chuckled gave Kane a left-handed high-five.
“Hell yes! I’ve got a hard enough time remembering what I do at my two receiver positions, so learning what everyone has to do as the QB ... I’ll gladly give that back to ya, Mike,” Ronnie replied with a major grin on his face.
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Time Irrelevant: Within the Energists' Universe "You said you had one current piece of evidence to show us that there is a creator, would you please share it with us," the Energists implored. "We have restricted our connection and examination of your memories and neural pathways, so we are somewhat confused about what this present evidence is, which you referred to earlier in this discussion." Because I was still allowed to access their thoughts, I sensed that some of the Energists...
Time Irrelevant: Within the Energists' Universe I spent a fair amount of time upon my return thinking about Kaleigh and my two children. To help keep me from wallowing in self-pity, the Energists had me evaluate them as they developed new training scenarios to practice their physical movements and decision-making tasks for their new upcoming adventure. They were making very few errors during these simulated experiences, and the 'accident rate' had plummeted to very low levels. All the...
Lynette Robertson’s House, Komoka 8:16pm, Saturday, February 17, 1979 I was once more utterly amazed when I saw Lynette strip down to a lovely bra and panty set. She was absolutely gorgeous as she stood upright beside her parents’ king sized bed after she slightly struggled to get her tight blue jeans off her long, lean legs. Her full, firm breasts were covered by a white, underwire bra, which had black flowers decorating the cup material. Along the top edge of her bra, black lace enticed...
“Ohh, Superman, where are you now? When everything’s gone wrong, somehow. The men of steel, the men of power, Are losing control by the hour.” (Note: Land of Confusion was written by Mike Rutherford of Genesis with the music credited to him, Tony Banks and Phil Collins. It was from Genesis’ 1986 album, Invisible Touch and reached number 4 on Billboards’ Hot 100 and number 8 on Canada’s RPM charts. The music video for this song did a wonderful parody of Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret...
Medway High School, Arva, Ontario 4:12pm, Friday, October 19, 1979 “Okay, guys, I want to diagram a couple of new formations. I think they will work against these bigger guys,” Coach St. Georges said at half time of our game against Parkside Collegiate. The score was 10-8 for the Stampeders as Adam Peawtrowski made a 34-yard field goal, while our kicker, Matt Connell, missed a 28-yarder with us picking that single or ‘rouge’ point when the kick went out the back of the large...
Medway High School, Arva, Ontario 1:09pm, Wednesday, February 14, 1979 “I would love to go to the Valentine’s Dance with you on Friday, Mike!” Lynette said a little too loudly again, which caused George to divert his attention from his Dungeons and Dragons‘ book to us. When George quickly determined what just happened, he surprised both of us by saying, “It’s about time you two decided to take that next step in your relationship. I’ve watched you around school for some time now, and you...
London-Middlesex Board of Education Building, London, Ontario 9:05am, Saturday, October 6, 1979 “Bertha McGregory! Long time, no see!” Mr. Williamson said as the new vice-principal of Timmins High School walked into the conference at the L-M Board of Education Building on Hyde Park Road. “We missed you at our last planning session in August.” “Good to see you, TR,” Paul’s and Cathy’s mother said to Medway’s vice-principal and now NIS administrator colleague. “I had a tough call to make at...
Downtown London, Ontario 8:22pm, Saturday, October 6, 1979 “I almost forgot how much I loved Mario’s panzerottis,” Paul said as he rubbed his stomach after he and Sammy walked back to the Hilton Hotel from Mario’s Pizza Place on Clarence Street in downtown London. “I’d never met, or even knew Cuda’s sister worked there,” Sammy stated as they waited for the walk signal King and Wellington. “Yeah, she’s been there for ‘bout two years now. It was always nice to go in there and get a half...
Medway High School, Arva, Ontario Thursday, February 15, 1979 My second day back in 1979 was a relatively normal day for any high schooler. First thing that morning, my brother and I got into it over who had first dibs on the bathroom. Trying to be nice, I gave in and let him use it first, seeing how I had taken a shower at school the night before and didn’t do much after that, except for some leisurely clothes shopping with my mom. Still, I didn’t take too kindly to Patt’s sorry ‘holier...
Wheels’ Resort Cafeteria, Chatham, Ontario 4:49pm, Saturday, March 10, 1979 “Are you alright, Viktoriya?” I asked the thirty-seven-old Ukrainian beauty as she sat in a dazed state in the cafeteria at Wheels’ Resort. We were still inside an Energist energy bubble because everyone around us was still distant, immobile and exactly in the same positions as before. “I fine, Michael, but...” she confusingly replied as she tried to make sense of what just happened, as well as why everyone here...
The Aeolian Hall, London, Ontario 8:07pm, Friday, October 5, 1979 “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! London!” I cried out at the thunderous standing ovation from a packed out crowd of four-hundred and twenty-two at The Aeolian Hall after we finished our opening song, Crazy Train. We were told before we went on stage that the Hall’s management decided to remove the chairs, and their normal assigned seating arrangement from the main floor on Thursday in order to allow another forty people into...
Robertson’s House, Komoka, Ontario 6:55pm, Saturday, March 10, 1979 “Are you ladies up for a little zing with your steaks?” I asked Lynette and her mother, Ms. Dillon, as I looked at the spice rack in the Robertson’s kitchen pantry. I was finally over the surprise and shock of hearing Mrs. Robertson’s story of how she convinced my mother to let me stay overnight here after our day in Chatham at the WOSSA Gymnastics’ meet. “Isn’t this teriyaki marinade good enough for you, Cuda?” Lynette...
Medway High School 2:57pm, Thursday, February 15, 1979 First off, I agreed to start a new band with my next door neighbors, which wasn’t too crazy as I always had a dream of playing in a rock band. After I agreed to play in Paul and Cathy’s band, I was given a beautiful Gibson Custom guitar by Samantha Labatt, an heiress to the Canadian brewery giants. I just happened play that guitar like a pro the first time I strapped it on, in order to shut-up a snarky music teacher. All those musical...
The John Labatt Center, London, Ontario 11:59pm, Friday, January 4, 1980 My future appeared and my beautiful twenty-three-year-old fiancée, who looked to be six or seven months pregnant was beckoning me. I stood seemingly paralyzed as Kaleigh Plyer opened her arms up towards me on the video screens and softly said “C’mon Mike. It’s finally time for me to see you again.” Immediately, the five Energists clapped their hands together, and a powerful ‘time-stop’ bubble was generated within the...
Labatt Guest House 7:44pm, Monday, February 26, 1979 “Good Lord,” Mr. Labatt said after he turned off the VHS camera at the conclusion of our four song audition recording. “You guys seem to be improving by leaps and bounds. Your performance on Old Time Rock ‘N Roll and that new song...” “It is called, All Summer Long, Daddy,” Samantha said after seeing her dad struggle to remember its specific name. “Yes, thanks, Samantha. Those songs were a tad less polished than your renditions of Ain’t...
Medway High School 12:43pm, Friday, February 16, 1979 As Samantha walked through the music room doors, she turned slightly back towards me and Lynette and said, “It’s called, Alone.” I just raised my eyebrows at the name of the song as I recalled a popular song from the late 1980s with that title. I wondered if it was an original Samantha song or some incredible offshoot of the song I remembered. (Note: Please understand I’m not as creative in song writing as Don Lockwood was in his...
NIS Day 4 –Morning - Medway High School 8:21am, Thursday, November 1, 1979 After our Tuesday and Halloween morning disrobing experiences, all eight of us NIS students had already stripped out of our clothes in a restroom. We all wore some type of bath or evening robe over our naked bodies to this morning’s disrobing session. When a few students semi-complained about us just slinking out of these robes, Mr. Williamson said, “I know this isn’t an official NIS rule, but I think I want you...
Labatt’s Limo to Glencoe High School 5:35pm, Friday, April 6, 1979 “What do you mean ... this can’t be the one and only time you’re gonna play with us?” Lynette exclaimed after Jennifer told all seven of us that this would be the last time she thought she’d be able to play with our band. “I, I just think that with my new gymnastics schedule and more importantly, listening to how E and Brick have sounded with you ... that I’m just...” “You’re still gonna do the odd ‘guest sax’ song or two...
Cathy’s Bedroom, Bryanston 1:45pm, Monday, February 19, 1979 “He did what to you?” Cathy excitedly asked as she brought her hand up over her mouth when she realized how loudly she asked Lynette a follow-up question. Lynette flopped back on Cathy’s queen sized bed, rested on her side and propped her head on her bent elbow and hand after Cathy’s inquiry. She loved seeing Cathy’s gleeful mannerisms after she gave her a Reader’s Digest version of what happened with Mike last night. “Well, uh,...
Medway High School, Arva, Ontario 9:16am, Friday, November 30, 1979 “Are you gonna kill me, if I kinda pass on doing anything ... later on today?” I whispered to Tracy Norton and Elaine Roonee after waiting on them after Mr. Ballows ended our first period music class a little earlier than normal. The Little-man made use of both Roo-Roo and Tracy’s naked bodies, along with naked trumpeter, Darren Partridge in his lecture on changes in sexual connotations and views in music. I was very...
Mrs. Pierce’s Classroom, Medway High School 1:15pm, Monday, February 26, 1979 “So, why was Hercules required to perform ten or twelve labors?” Mrs. Pierce asked her tenth grade English after a lively introduction to Appolodorus: The Labors of Heracles. “The Goddess Hera, his step-mother, was jealous of Zeus’ off-spring which included Hercules,” Elizabeth replied. “Zeus was her brother, AND his wife which wasn’t usual at that time.” “Those statements are both correct, Elizabeth, but it...
Shannon’s House, Arva, Ontario 4:26pm, Monday, December 24, 1979 “How was practice, guys?” Eda asked as Andrew, Wayne, Jon, Andy and I walked in the foyer of Shannon’s large farm house. “Oh! My! God! You wouldn’t believe the dunks these two guys were throwing down before we actually practiced,” Andy bellowed as he did a three-sixty spin jump with a two-handed pretend throw-down. “Yeah, Andrew did a nifty, between his legs to a reverse, two-handed jam, which was beyond incredible!” Wayne...
The Labatt’s Limousine, Approaching Bryanston 6:48pm, Saturday, February 24, 1979 Samantha was cuddling up against my best friend, Paul. I was enjoying some peace and tranquility with my arm around Cathy’s shoulders as she was nuzzled up to my chest. We all were relaxing in the limousine after our incredible meal at the London Armouries’ Hotel Restaurant. As the limo passed through Ballymote, several miles south of Bryanston, I felt Cathy’s head turn up towards mine and she softly...
Mike’s Barracuda, London, Ontario 10:36am, Saturday, December 22, 1979 “You’re one of the best songwriters I’ve ever seen, Mike,” Eda started to say as I slowed to a stop at Highbury Avenue, “so why don’t you write Canella, and your baby a song that captures your heart and provides her and little JM with the joy of Christmas?” “Oh! That’s an awesome idea, E! Maybe we could play whatever song you write for them in our televised concert, Mike?” Lisa said as she leaned forward from the...
Medway High School Gymnasium 8:36pm, Friday, February 16, 1979 “ALL ABOARD!!Ah-Hahahahahahahaha!“ I cried out into my wireless microphone as I heard Mr. Feelt say, “So without fur... “ Soon after, Paul, Cathy, and Sam jumped in with their instruments on the intro notes to Ozzy’s appropriately titled, Crazy Train. Lynette was able to create those wonderful sound effects at the beginning of the song to really capture the full effect of this awesome intro. The thick burgundy curtains were...
Medway High School, Arva, Ontario 8:47am, Monday, November 26, 1979 “As most of you know by now, our girls’ basketball team won ... no, they dominated ... the double-A Ontario basketball championship in Guelph on Friday and Saturday,” Mr. Williamson said from our gym’s stage. After a brief announcement in our homeroom, the whole school was brought down to the gym for this set of morning announcements and championship celebratory event. “In case you didn’t know this, these girls, along with...
Parking Lot at UWO’s Football Stadium, London, Ontario 6:14pm, Saturday, February 17, 1979 The drive from Western’s campus to Coach Jacket’s house was relatively quiet but tension filled. We listened to FM96 on the car’s stereo. When we heard Dire Straits’ Sultans of Swing, Lynette commented, “I think that would be a good song for our band to play. Everyone seems to like it, and you’d kill Mark Knopfler’s guitar part.” “It is a pretty cool tune,” I replied as I turned towards her as she...
Medway High School, Arva 2:40pm, Thursday, February 22, 1979 “Okay, class,” Mr. St. Georges called out after the warning buzzer sounded at the end of our last class of the day. “Seeing how we lost a day this week, the final papers and/or presentations on your Aussie topic will be due next Wednesday. If you are just doing a presentation in class, you’ll need to provide me with an outline of your presentation so I can take notes on it. If you are doing a detailed paper only, that will...
Mike’s House, Bryanston 1:07pm, Sunday, February 20, 1979 Around 1pm, after having a couple of oranges as a snack, I asked Lynette if she wanted to go for a walk in our new frozen wonderland. It wasn’t real cold outside, probably 25 to 28 degrees Fahrenheit, so our basic winter coats, toques and gloves worked fine, especially since we’d be moving around outside. There was a sheet of ice at least three-quarters of an inch thick over everything, which was beautiful to see but made traveling...
Wheels Resort Dining Area 2:38pm, Saturday, March 10, 1979 It wasn’t hard to believe that all of us students, coaches and parents were completely mesmerized by Viktoriya Kharlamov’s stories about growing up in the Ukraine. Not a single person mentioned heading off to play tennis or mini-golf as we originally planned. Instead, we commandeered a small corner of the Resort’s cafeteria and were regaled by the amazing tales we heard. Toxic and her mother had moved to a small town, Ivankiv about...
Loading Bay, Prince Andrew Elementary, North of Bryanston 11:44pm, Friday, February 16, 1979 “You’re sure you’re alright?” Lynette repeated. I stared at her while I contemplated the unbelievable ramifications of my grand epiphany. I gave my head one final shake with the hope of driving that atomic bomb-like revelation from my mind, but I had no such luck. “Talk to me, please!” she said with some urgency. Before I replied to the pensive, shivering beauty beside me, I made doubly sure to...
Medway High School 8:35am, Thursday, February 15, 1979 “And to end the morning announcements,” Mr. Williamson said, “The following teachers are out sick today, and their classes will not be held: Mr. Pierce, Ms. Glover and Mrs. Bumstead. We would greatly appreciate it, if anyone who comes down with flu-like symptoms, be it either students or faculty, please stay home and help limit the spread of this nasty flu-virus. That is all. Have a great Thursday.” “No math class for us,” Lynette said...
NIS Day 3 – Halloween Morning - Medway High School 6:55am, Wednesday, October, 31, 1979 “Hey, Cuda! Whatcha think?” Sammy shouted with her hands about her auburn mane as I walked into Mrs. Stenn’s art room studio. “Hot damn, Wushu! You’re the sexiest copper cop I’ve ever seen!” I replied as Mrs. Stenn was putting the finishing touches on the lowest silver dress-button over Sammy’s recently trimmed red pubic hairs. Our art teacher had covered all of Sammy’s upper body to her mid-thighs in...
I’ve put together web-links for the Glencoe High concert from Chapter 50, and all the chapter title songs included in this 3rd Book of The Energists series. I have not including a web-link to songs that I included in the ‘concert playlist’ for the Glencoe concert in the chapter list. If I used some special videos of a song to help with writing this story, I have include it in either the concert or chapter lists. I’ve also included any ‘extra songs’ I used in this book, such as: Lost in Love,...
I’ve put together web-links for the Medway’s Halloween Dance during Mike’s and Tempe’s NIS Week, and all the chapter title songs that were in this 5th Book of The Energists series. I am not including a web-link to songs that I already included in the ‘concert playlist’ for the Halloween Dance in the chapter song list. If I used a special video of a song to help with writing this story, I have included it in these lists. I’ve also included any ‘extra songs’ in this book, such as: Runaround...
I smiled at my disheveled and discombobulated blind beauty. While she was as strong and confident as Wonder Woman a few minutes ago, she now resembled a delicate, fragile flower. However, with what I had planned for her now, I knew she would soon return to the powerful and passion-filled lady, whom I just asked to be my fiancé this morning. "Would you like to have the opportunity to atone for your falsehood?" With her voice still barely above a whisper, she replied, "Yes." "Ok then,"...
Kaleigh pulled to a stop beside Mike's car at 5:30pm, and grabbed her purse and looked at the mysterious envelope on the front passenger seat. She turned it over a few times in her hands again, and then remembered she was to read its contents in the parking area. Tearing it open, she pulled out the small note and a soft, black eye mask. She flipped the mask around in her hands and saw that is had an elastic strap to keep it securely in place. After laying it down over her purse, Kaleigh...
Early Morning, Friday, February 14, 2003 Our main alarm clock went off at our usual, but ungodly time 4:50am. I still could have used another hour or two's sleep but since Kaleigh needed to get up early for her work, I've played the dutiful, loving boyfriend-fiancé by resetting my sleeping habits to hers. Most mornings, she has been a true 'up and at um' type person, who after a couple of minutes stretching would jump out of bed and get to the bathroom. Kaleigh regularly would be in the...
Mid-Afternoon, Wednesday, January 29, 2003 At the end of a three hour writing session on the 'Methods' section of my latest research article, my head was starting to feel like it was inside Stewart Copeland's drum-kit. This type of professional writing was both a fun but at times, tedious task. From past experiences getting papers accepted for publication, I've learned that reviewers can be very picky and/or anal about how things were written or presented in a professional journal. I had...
2:15pm, Sunday, February 2, 2003 When the phone on the nightstand beside Kaleigh's bed rang, I sluggishly pushed up away from Kaleigh and looked at the caller ID screen. Seeing 'Steven Plyer' on the small screen, I reached over my still slumbering beauty and softly said, "Hello ... Hey Tammy, yes, we were still sleeping ... We got up once around 11:15, 11:20 and talked about, uh, lord love us, I can't recall what we talked about now, jeezes! ... Yes ma'am, then we both dozed back off...
5:00pm, Saturday, February 1, 2003 Thank goodness that the Plyer's house was indeed a mansion. There must have been 150 people there, spread out all from the kitchen, living room, family room and their large deck. Steven Plyer had arranged for Dreamland Bar-B-Que from Tuscaloosa to come and cater this get-together, after Dani's funeral services. There was plenty of the big 3 from Dreamland: ribs, baked beans and white bread. (Note: if you're ever in either Tuscaloosa or Birmingham, a trip...
Thursday, February 6, 2003 I was in my office grading some Motor Development lab assignments when I got a call from Bryant around 2:30pm. He wanted to know if I could get together with him later on today or Friday to work on our little Valentine's Day routine/song. He had few ideas about what to do but wanted to get my input on them. I told him Friday would be good, and we agreed to meet at Harry's Bar around 3:30 in the afternoon. He explained that Harry was good with us using his stage...
9:35pm I drew a hot bath for Kaleigh as she slowly got her bushed body out of her gray pantsuit, black blouse and a mismatched old bra and panty. This was the first time I had seen her in anything less than semi-new and matched undies, but I guess when she got dressed this morning, she really didn't care or feel too sexy. I tried to get a smile from her by saying, "Pretty hot duds, you got on there!" as she slowly reached around behind her back to unclasp her bra. I got a semi-smile...
Early morning, February 13, 2003 I quickly clicked off my watch's alarm at 4:20am, hoping that my birthday girl didn't hear it. As expected, she didn't flinch and was softly snoring with her back to me. I gingerly got out of bed and went about getting the first part of Kaleigh's birthday surprise ready. After turning up the thermostat to about 75, as I didn't want either of us to 'freeze', I went to the kitchen and put together her breakfast-in-bed-tray. I pulled the flower...
NIS Day 5 – Late Morning - Medway High School 11:38am, Friday, November 2, 1979 I was glad to see that Jennifer was waiting for us in the classroom, but the sight of thirty-five-plus ninth and tenth grade girls almost made me want to turn and run for the hills. “I hope you don’t mind that a few other girls showed up,” Mrs. Bumstead chuckled when she saw the semi-distressed looks on all our faces from seeing the holy hoard of smiling and grinning young faces. “This is either every guy’s...
Katherine stepped into her elegant living room and took a book from the shelf. She sat in a plush lounge chair, specifically selecting a chair in the back corner of the room next to an old dumbwaiter that was once used to ferry delicious meals from the downstairs kitchen to the dining room table. She planned to read the book for a short while, but she already knew her attention would soon be diverted. Tonight the dumbwaiter would once again be placed into service, except this time it would be...
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Hi friends, indru sex kathaiyil auntyai usar seithu eppadi matter adithen enbathai ungalidam pagirugiren. En peyar Seenu. Vayathu 21 aagugirathu. Naan ithu naal varai entha penaiyum sex seithathu kidaiyaathu. Naan engineering padithu varugiren, enathu nanbargal oru naal theaterku ennai azhaithaargal. Naangal neraga bar seithu saraku adithom, appozhuthu bagubali padam oodi kondu irunthathu. Naangal oru gramathil irukum theaterku sendru irunthom. Angu pothuvaga pengal athigam vara matargal,...
Labatt Guest House, North London, Ontario 7:17pm, Wednesday, November 28, 1979 Just as Lynette opened the front door of the guest house, I ripped into a sixty second hard charging guitar riff on my Silverburst. Right after Cano threw her bag beside the door, Sammy flipped a wireless mic to our grinning blonde, and Lisa handed her, her earpiece monitors in order to get her up to speed with no usual Bandette-like greetings. Eda was simply grinning behind her drum kit, ready to kick ass and...
Nevin’s House, Bryanston, Ontario 7:14pm, Tuesday, January 1, 1980 “So, Tempe, how is your knee feeling?” my mother asked as all my girls, except for Shannon who was visiting her grandparents in Dresden, Ontario, were sitting around the kitchen table. My brother’s girlfriend, Corrine was also in the kitchen. The ‘ladies’ sent me and John off to watch the end of the Rose Bowl game between Southern Cal and Ohio State in our large den, while they helped my mom clean up after a small New Year’s...
Outside on Lynette’s Driveway 8:07am, Saturday, March 10, 1979 “Good morning, Ms. Lynette. May I take your gym bag for you?” Jason, the Labatt’s chauffeur asked as he watched the sixteen-year-old blonde bounce down the drive towards the black limousine. “For a Saturday morning, ‘You look mahvelous!’” he added in his best Billy Crystal voice as Lynette, in a tight white t-shirt, scurried past him around the front of the long black car. “Why, thank yoo, kind seh,” I heard Lynette reply in...
Medway High School Gym, Arva, Ontario 5:28pm, Saturday, December 8, 1979 After fifteen seconds of Lynette’s keyboards and Kalena’s violin sounds, Sammy on her acoustic guitar, Eda and Lisa all softly added their instruments to the eerie sounds of our introduction to Rock N’ Roll Dreams Come Through. I told my band mates I wanted to start with this song as a show of support for Sammy, after her harrowing experience at Friday’s Montcalm house. While Sammy gave me a little bit of grief over...
Mike’s Barracuda, Outside Labatt Guest House 9:51pm, Saturday, November 17, 1979 “Where to Z-2?” I asked after I showed Zupena how to move the passenger seat back for her ‘From Here to Eternity’ length legs. “Z, two?” my Latvian beauty softly asked with a crinkled up face. “Zupena Zupanzic ... Z-Z or ‘Z-2’,” I said with a smile. “Hum. Maybe should be ‘Z-3’ with last ‘Z-I-C’, yes?” Zupena lightly laughed. “I like that, Z-3 or maybe... ‘3-Z’,” I said with a head nod as my Barracuda...