Memories

I read an obituary in last Friday's Lexington paper that brought back a flood of memories. The best of which took place at the Mason County gymnasium for the 1970 Regional Final game. Underdog Paris, with a starting lineup of three sophomores, a junior and a senior was playing against perinneal powerhouse of the tenth region, Clark County. As an eighth grader, I was only beginning to understand the signifigance of this accomplishment. As the seconds ticked off and the upstart Paris Greyhounds defeated the highly favored Cardinals, we fans took to the court congratulating our sweaty players and celebrating our upcoming trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Sweet it was, especially realizing that our sophomore trio would undoubtedly take us for the next two years as well.....or so I thought.

It was a wonderful experience, the Sweet Sixteen in Louisville at Freedom Hall. Unfortunately, we met a school that was playing it's swansong. Hazel Green was going to be merged the following year, so they had quite a statement to be made and they made it against us. The Bullfrogs prevailed and the greyhounds went on home, but we knew we'd be back, just wait til next year and the next.

Another memory comes back. As a cheerleading mom, I was very interested when Henderson County was playing in the finals of the second region championship game sometime in the nineties. It was thrilling to see when the fans swarmed the court as they chanted Rupp Arena, Rupp Rupp Arena. I was glad to finally be part of going back to the sweet sixteen after all those years, but it wasn't the same.

I enjoy going to an occasional Paris ballgame. It's a new gym over there on seventh street. I love seeing the greyhounds painted here and there and I still feel at home in an orange and black gym. I look up at the rafters and see the banners they have hung and I always pause to see the banner for the basketball championships. Tenth Regional Champions: 1970....then blank. We didn't go back the next year, or the next. We'll just have to hold tight to the night we swarmed the floor and embraced Big Bill Gaines, Tim Taylor, Jeff Thompson, Mule Crumbie and Frank Chenault. Their names are always on the tip of my tongue. They gave me a special memory that I relive every once in a while.

But more than a basketball memory, Bill Gaines was more than that. He was a giant of a man at our high school. He was kind, cheerful, always had a smile on his face and something nice to say to everyone he met. It's not surprising that he was voted Most Popular in his senior class.

I saw him again at their 25th reunion and he was still the sweetest guy, all six foot, nine inches of him.

He leaves a huge gap in our school's history. I'll look for him when I make it to heaven. I want to thank him again for the special memories he game me.

I'm looking forward to my 35th High School reunion coming up next summer. I love seeing all my classmates and sharing our special memories from our highschool years.

I hope you all have a wonderful day. I'm still trying to get back on track after spending the last eight weeks with puppies, they have new homes now. Mission accomplished. luv, Susan