In 1983 I had a “Swedish revolt” on my hands. I had learned about “morning acclimatization’s” from the NAIA Nationals. The Swedes want to sleep longer. Chief spokesman, Thomas Linne, was 6’5” and looked like Alice Cooper.
“Why we got to get up so early”? I explained what I knew to be true. This tournament was often won by those who handled the early rises best. Besides, what difference does it make if you get up at 5:15am rather than 6:00am, both hurt like hell.

Thomas and I went back and forth. My point was I knew this tournament better than he and his newcomer countrymen. I finally told Thomas about ten unlikely things that would happen in the tournament. “You crazy”, said Thomas. “I know these guys, they not going to lose to those guys.” He better than him!” “No way he loses” etc.

My teams had played Kansas City twenty times. Lo and behold about eight of those ten unlikely predictions came true. We won the NAIA in 1984. Flying home I asked Thomas what he learned from the experience. He wrote the backhanded compliment on a notebook I held: “I learned to listen to an old man who’d been there. Even if I thought he didn’t know very much.” I used this sentence to preface my coaching handbook.

Russell Rawlings and former Wilson mayor Ralph El Ramey ride around and eat a lot. Russell has to “walk the mayor” because Ralph eats so much.
At the beach Russell took the Mayor for a walk on the fishing pier, even though it was cold and windy. Only one guy was fishing.
Ralph talks to everybody. He asked the angler, “Are you catching anything?” Russell said the guy barely acknowledged with a “Naw.”
Ralph said, “Well it’s your own damn fault, Son. They’re in there.” He walked away.

Just attended the 50th wedding anniversary party for friends, Faye and Earl “Country” Boykin.   Country Earl recalled asking Faye out for their first date.   Faye told him he’d have to meet her parents first.
Country was apprehensive.   But then remembered a kid who went to Earl’s church.   The church awarded “perfect attendance medals” if a youngster didn’t miss in  a year’s worth of Sunday School. This particular kid had nine years worth of pins, all attached vertically.   Country borrowed the pins and took off to Faye’s house.   He concluded, “…I think it sealed deal.”  And this from a friend who once advised me, “…the best thing about marriage is you don’t mind dying as much.”
Earl also commented on his higher education: “I went to college for three terms. Eisenhower’s, Kennedy’s, and Nixon’s.”

We recently built a home at Emerald isle, NC. Its located on the North Caro- lina Coast, near the Boykin’s condominium. They were generous in sharing their home with us as we bounced back and forth from our Burlington, NC home, a four-hour trip.
On one such trip I intended to make a day trip. Emergency circumstances caused me to have to stay for four days. I had no clothes. Earl lent me several shirts. Being a staunch East Carolina Pirate, they all had East Carolina, or E.C.U. logos on them. Margaret washed them and I returned them to Country.
“Thanks for the shirts, Country,” I began. “But they had a strange effect on me in the mornings. I’d wake up and masturbate, decide to cut class, mix up a Bloody Mary, and pick up a BBQ sandwich on the way to Happy’s pool hall.” Strange syndrome, but people who know East Carolina in the 60’s understand.

When daughter Sloane got married “Country” seemed obsessed about the price of the flowers. He said the florist “must have made an ‘A’ in charging school.” Faye had all she could take. “Get off the flowers, Earl. You haven’t said anything about that bar bill.”

Earl said: “you gotta have likker.”

Ralph died Sunday. We called him “Mayor”lovingly and he was the mayor of Wilson, N.C. for three terms. I have never had my picture in the obit column before, but I am standing behind the smiling Mayor El Ramey. I am smiling too but you can’t tell it. Smiling because I had just overheard Ralph talking to the old lady dispensing the free, nutty-butty style giant ice cream cones: ” M’am– I have a friend over there who has a HARD TIME getting around. Would you mind giving me two so I can take her one?” Her who? I knew he was about to eat both. And he did.
He loved life. Never went into restaurant that the opening conversation with the waitress didn’t go like this: Ralph: “Well hello. What is YOUR name? Waitress: “Jill”. Ralph: “May I call you Jill?” Waitress: “Sure.” Ralph: “Well, when may I call you?”

Our gang has it’s 49th annual POKER WEEKEND starting Friday at Emerald Isle. At our first game after Ralph was elected Mayor he showed up with a large bag of change. I asked him where got all that change? “Parking meters” he said.
Mayor stories are flying all over eastern North Carolina. A ton will float around Emerald Isle this weekend. And for a long time,

“I love you now and evershall, but there’s no one left to tell.
The world has gone dark before my eyes.”

NETTIE MOORE,

Bob Dylan

Dr. C.H. “Honeybear” Hamlin was still teaching at 92 years old. A pacifist, he gave everyone who could get in his class an “A” regardless. He’d done the same thing starting with World War II, keeping as many in school and out of the mili tary as he could. In 1962 he was saying, “We got no business messing with those “Veeneese”. I can proudly state one of the tennis classes I taught closed out before Hamlin’s “American Social Thought.” (All he taught, the same material in every class). When they announced my class beat Dr. Hamlin, the first person to every top him, I took the Registrar’s mike and thanked the student body, to a round of applause.
People fought to get into his classes. Once, when admits to classes were printed on I.B.M. cards, someone stole the admittance cards from the administration building. They were selling like hotcakes at 35 dollars a pop before the Entrepre- neurs where caught.
People would bring Dr. Hamlin butter beans, okra, sweet potatoes or whatever was growing. He’d first claim kin to them, “What’s your name? From where? Or Yes I knew your sister!”, then he’d pat their hand and say your grade is already “in the vault”. Once I saw a student being led across campus by three blue tick bird dogs. His name was “Blackhawk” (very dark hair) and I asked “Hawk, where you going? He said “I’m gonna show Dr. Hamlin my dogs.”
Atlantic Christian built a nice student center toward the end of Dr. Hamlin’s career. The school had a policy which stated no building could be named after someone still living. The students were told to take down their homemade sign proclaiming the C.H. Hamlin Student Center. They refused. The school removed the sign. The students erected another. The school took it down again. This continued until the school relented, and a nice sign bears witness to love for Dr. Hamlin.

Another Elk’s Clubber, this one from Wilson, was Robert Griffin. He had a ton of money but wore bib overalls everywhere. He also was a client of aforementioned Al Rehm, jr. Robert went to Las Vegas often. When Al was there, Robert would come to Al’s room and drink. Al said he’d drink Vodka until he’d pass out in Al’s room. And he snored like a McCullough chain saw.
Al decided to head this nightmare off, telling a looped, but standing Robert, I’m walking you down to your room tonight Robert. Out in the hall Al asked, “What’s your room number, Robert? “ “I have no earthly idea,” says Robert. “Reach into my pocket, the key’s there.”
Al said he took the key and lo and behold it was to the next room.
Al opened the door the exact same time Robert unhitched his brass overall buttons. The bib overalls fell all the way down to his ankles. From behind Robert, Al could see two things: (1) Robert had no underwear on and (2) The couple in the bed was extremely shocked.
Al gasped, “What are you doing in here?” The man replied, “No, what are you two lovers doing in here?”
Robert solved the problem. “Oh hell Al, I’ve been kicked out of two or three rooms this week. Reach in my bibs and find another key.”
“Find your own damn key Robert!”
There’s only so much you should have to do for a client.

Al played high school basketball. A reserve, when told by the coach to spend the last ten minutes shooting from your favorite spot, he took a few balls over to the bench. Made 2 out of 11.

Al said his eyelids were attached to his ass. “If I sit down I go to sleep.” He told me once “Parham, shut up and let us talk some, we’re drunk too!”