Lance Parrish of the 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers.
In my book, 1984 was the living, breathing definition of bumfuzzle...
1984...Oy. A typical year for the most part until late June. A little family turmoil. When you're 14 and your family and life in general hit a speed bump for the first time...Well, I digress. Hey, lets switch from a Christian School to a public high school in August to really ignite this tire fire while we're at it 😂😂. Ahh mercy. I can look back now and chuckle. But back then...
"..My Civics Teacher drives an RX-7.."
August 1984. The same week Atlanta Falcons star running back William Andrews, a huge favorite of mine, suffers what basically became a career ending knee injury, I debuted at a public High School. Macedonia High. Bad memory triggers. Hated it from day 1. Or should I say hated the fact I had to go there. School was perfectly ok. Teachers(my older sister being a teacher there) were fine. Students from top to bottom were all good folks. Good people. I simply didn't fit in, didn't belong there. But, I could, and should, have put forth some effort. As I said, good people at Macedonia. That's my loss. In my four years there I allowed exactly two people "In" to see and know the real me. A fellow student, who isn't getting mentioned here 😂. The other being a teacher. Who was debuting at Macedonia that year also.
When I'm asked the question everyone eventually gets asked in their life "Who were some individuals who influenced you?" I always add the name Jack Gable as an influence. 1. Because it's true. 2. Because he's the only 100% positive influence in my life outside of immediate family. As a teacher, well above average. Civics, Geography, History. Made the subjects, which can be mundane, pop a bit. But his real value was as a communicator. The ability to talk to any group, any individual. Regardless of race, ethnicity or gender is a gift. On virtually any topic.
I gravitated towards Mr.Gable a good bit. You wanna talk WW1. Done. Wanna talk WW2. Done. Wanna talk Motown Music in the 60's? Done. Wanna talk driving an RX-7 at around 110mph on a straight line Nebraska highway? Done. 😂 . The man's knowledge, maybe it was the Vanderbilt education 😁, was unreal. Serious or humerous. He was a multi-tool person. Perceptive also. I knew that he knew I wasn't comfortable there. But never let on. He cared.
I would have several conversations with Mr. Gable over the next couple of years. Free periods, after school. Intelligent, but in no way arrogant, I loved those conversations. I cherish the memories now.
By my Senior year, Mr. Gable had moved on to another job. He was missed greatly by the guy typing this. I made it a point from 89-92 to stop in at whatever school he was teaching at just to chat. The last time I spoke with Mr.Gable was by phone in 1996 after being hired by NationsBank earlier that week. Had no idea it would be the last time. I learned of his passing a few years back. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, that's all I got to say about that.
"...Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..."
I have no problem admitting that I have made an effort over the last 30 years to be "Gable-Like". Former pro wrestler Ernie Ladd would have put it this way: "Roten, you're stealin' the man's approach to life. You're a thief!" 😉😆. Diversity of subjects for conversation. Trying to pack as much knowledge variety into my noggin as possible. I fall woefully short of Mr.Gable's standard 😂.
Harkening back to my prologue, Jack Gable was a very big piece of the journey of life here. One of a kind. I thank him, greatly. 💓
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