About center of the picture there is a parking lot strip between the main building and a green field, which in our time was a baseball field, was where I had a fight. It was 1957. A tall new kid with the last name Crane checked into our English Class (Mrs Skelton) and I jokingly called him Ichabod Craine. Crane took offense to that, and being that it was his first day he had to prove himself, so he challenged me to a fight at lunch. The guy was a head taller than I and hyper and nervous. I didn't think I had a chance. He flew into me with his arms slinging like windmill blades - he had no fighting knowledge. I dodged his wild swings and and occassionally when he got close enough and left himself opened I would pop him one in the face. He came out with bloody nose and a brused face. Downtown Marietta at the Strand Theater WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? starring Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield was playing and previouosly was the movie SOMEBODY UP THRE LIKES ME starring Paul Neuman - it was the life story of boxer champeon Rocky Graziano. Because of winning and because of the two movies I walked away from the fight with the new nickname ROCK HUNTER.
Across Polk Street is Brumby Gym. Now it has a covered pedistrian bridge to and from the main building. One time after phys ed we were standing in front of Brumby Gym. Coach Lundy approached me and asked me to hand over my Poo Poo Cushion. I did. My Aunt Opal bought it for me near where she worked in Atlanta. All that period Larry Bradford and I played with the Poo Poo Cushion. The Poo Poo Cushion, when being squeezed or air out of it lets out fart sounds. With concentration we were making the Poo Poo Cushion make all kinds of farting noises. The more we experimented the funnier it became. Coach Lundy was not so much mad about the Poo Poo Cushion, it was just solid evidence. What he let me know he was really mad about was he thought I exploded a firecracker in the gym's basement a few days earlier. When the firecraker exploded he ran in the locker room and saw me in the showers. He stormed away. He told me he knew I did it and I knew the he knew I did it, and he knew that I knew he knew I did it. This probably went on.
The next period the assisant principal Lloyd Cox over the PA system requested that Larry Bradford, me, and somebody else, I forgot who, to report to the assistant principal's office. We went into his office. He had us line up and suddenly pulled the Poo Poo Cushion out from behind him and squeezed it making a blast of a fart sound. All three of us giggled. Mr. Cox asked us did we think that was funny. We helplessly giggiling nodded we did. He gave us a lecture and told us to stay in his office until he excused us. He left to attend to more school business. Mrs. Hogan, the truant officer, had the adjoining office. We went into her office and chatted with her a while. She didn't mind and I think she enjoyed the company. The bell to go home sounded. Should we go or wait? We decided to go, but before we did, we opened his desk drawer, pulled out the Poo Poo Cushion, blew it up, and put it in Lloyd Cox's chair. He never spoke to us about that again.
There is more - but not today.
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