Thoughts on all topics from the twisted mind of a Midwestern writer
Iowa Scribe
  • About
  • Blog
  • Plays
  • Poetry And Prose
  • Columns
  • FAQ, Etc.

Special Guest Blogger: A Fellow Oelweinian

10/17/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Every once in a while I read something that someone else has written and I think to myself, "Damn, I wish I would have written that."

Today I share with you a recent blogpost from fellow blogger "milosboyisat," who in real life grew up in the same Northeast Iowa town and graduated from the same small-town high school that I did.
 


CLICK HERE TO READ HIS EXCELLENT BLOG.

What other things do I have in common with milosboyisat? Well, we both love writing, we both attribute much of that love to the high school tutelage and encouragement of a very smart woman named Marilyn, and we both had the same high school football coach -- my dad.

Anyway, milosboyisat and IowaScribe have stomped over much of the same ground in our lifetimes.

Oelwein, Iowa is a great place to be from.

And I wish I would have written this.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I’m glad this song stayed in my mind


By milosboyisat
Published Oct. 16, 2013
Re-posted here with permission


Led home by royalty and sirens

Silence. Headlights approaching. Against the backdrop of a clear, cold autumn night, the yellow school bus rounded another curve in the road.

Hit it, boys. From inside the boom box, you could imagine Freddie Mercury looking at Brian May and Roger Taylor, his fellow British punkers from Queen, and saying, ‘These cats are in a party mood and want to hear us again. Let’s oblige them.”

We were pumped and must’ve played ‘Another One Bites The Dust ‘ at least 50 times on the trek home that night. Every time, the keeper of the music hit Play,  the lyrics became more powerful.

Steve walks warily down the street

The brim pulled way down low

And ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet

Machine guns ready to go



For nearly 61 miles, Freddie and the lads entertained this collective group of high school football players and their coaches on a country highway in Iowa celebrating a special night.

Another opponent had bit the dust, but this one was truly special. This one was for glory on the gridiron, a coach’s historic win and a Northeast Iowa Conference championship trophy by defeating the Cresco Cadets on their home turf.

 And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust
Hey, I’m gonna get you too


It was Oct. 24, 1980. A coach would earn the 100th victory of his coaching career in dramatic fashion. The high school football team, by eventually finishing the regular season undefeated the next week, would duplicate a local feat that hadn’t been accomplished in over 50 years.

The magical ride ended two weeks later in the first playoff game. Things changed soon after that night. Freddie left us in November of 1991. Our future images of him would be reduced to MTV videos.

As the years went by, we bid farewell to teammates Shawn, Butch and Adam, all key parts of that special team. There would be no football reunions to gather and look back at the season. Our school never formally recognized this special record, which has never been broken.

 Are you ready hey, are you ready for this

Are you standing on the edge of your seat


Truth be told, I was one of the benchwarmers on the team, designated as the guy who chased assistant coach Ryan’s empty candy wrappers onto the field during windy games. As editor of the school paper, my contribution was my No. 2 pencil. I arrived on the team my junior year, knowing my senior year would be something historical.

Coach Grob, the head man, gave me a special shout out at the team banquet by singling me out as the best school newspaper reporter in the Northeast Iowa Conference. I doubt the coach scoured the other school newspapers in the conference for insight. However, it was a compliment that made me feel like a part of the team.

Yes, the whole town was pumped and listened to the game.  Wilma, sensing the historic significance of the event, grabbed a blank cassette tape and stuck it  in a tape player next to the radio in the kitchen to record  the battle, including Adam’s game-winning kick-off return with 1:09 to play.  We listened to to the tape the next night, and, in the background, there is a voice caught up in the moment. “Look at that sonuvab@#$% run,’ she yelled. Ya, that was my  mom adding a blooper moment.

The British lads ended the bus concert in the high school parking lot as the local fire department escorted the team into town towards a large group of fans waiting to join in the celebration.

There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man

And bring him to the ground
Is he ready for you
I’m standing on my own two feet

Maybe at the time, it was a lame thought, but on that night, there were a lot of boys standing together on a mountaintop as one because the last opponent in the road to the conference crown had truly bit the dust.


1 Comment
Mary Ryan link
10/17/2013 03:54:25 pm

Way older than u, but still remember the whole song..thus. Another one bites the dust. Classic. Hang on.....class of....1974

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    IowaScribe

    Thoughts on all topics from the twisted mind of a Midwestern writer. Playwrighting, poetry, journalism, sports, hunting, fishing, rock music, movies, good food and
    progressive politics, among hundreds of other things.  
    Contact Iowa Scribe.

    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    May 2011

    RSS Feed

    Picture