Random Thoughts on Friday: Rereading a book from my youth

I briefly brought this up the other day.  Back during my elementary school years, I remember my teacher, Mr. Tanner giving everyone in the class a book.  I remember thinking that was such a kind gesture.  He didn't have to do that.  A book was perfect though.

That was years (oh heck, multiple decades) ago.  I remembered reading the book, and a couple of small details, but I could never really remember the book.

I had tried to google the book before, with the detail or two I sort of remembered, but I could never get it.

I am not a fan of AI, BUT, AI WAS very helpful figuring this one out, and for that I am grateful.

Anyway, I tracked down a (signed!) copy of William Sleator's "Into the Dream" which I had not read in a very long time.  I did this some years ago with another book I read as a kid, "The Indian in the Cupboard" AND I found and read all of the sequels to that one too.

Characters and scenes I had forgotten came back into my mind.  It is still a good book that holds up!

Reading it again was a nice link back to my old (now gone) school and my childhood.

 

Random Thoughts on Friday

 I have mentioned the old elementary school I went to when I was little before- Utica Elementary in Utica Kentucky.  It folded back in 2009.  My time there was...  well, a few decades before that.

You can still see part of it from the road.  It was mostly demolished but the huge section that housed the gym is still there.  Farming equipment is usually around it; the property now being utilized for farming.

A couple of years before it closed, I got to go inside with a friend whose daughter was at that time a student.  The school that was massive in my memory wasn't as big as I remembered.  I notice small chairs and low to the ground sinks.  I remembered hundreds of kids in the cafeteria.  Looking at it years later I realized it couldn't have ever been that crowded.

My memories there are mostly of pure joy.  Sure, there were frustrating moments and all, but I always felt lucky to have come up in such a nice, small, community school.

One memory that sticks out involved leaving before Christmas break one year.  Our teacher, Mr. Tanner had gotten all of the students a copy of a book.  I do remember a few moans from the class, but I remember feeling very moved by the kind gesture.  I also remember making a point to read the book, since I really enjoyed reading then, like I do now.

I hunted down a copy of that book and plan to read it again.

Utica Elementary School KY 12 11 2020

 I have mentioned "my old school" in Utica Kentucky before.  I spent some wonderful days in this area, specifically at Utica Elementary School.  This was a great place!  Check out my video!

This is a very special area to me....  I would love to hear from anyone else that went to Utica.  I remember all of my former teachers and classmates.  I remember the great playground, and playing dodgeball in the gym.

"The Indian in the Cupboard" by Lynne Reid Banks

So........  I'm getting older.  It happens....  but I have been thinking a lot about when I was younger.

I have great memories of my childhood.  I had a good time.  Good parents and good people around me.  AND, I know I have mentioned it here before, but I had a great elementary school I went to in Utica Kentucky.

I remember the first real book I ever read was there.  We had all read the basic Jack and Jill type short books with pictures, but this is the first book I remember reading that kinda seemed overwhelming.

That book was Lynne Reid Banks' "The Indian in the Cupboard".  The book wasn't huge, but it was over 150 pages which was big to me at the time.

Anyway, I recently went back and reread it.  I enjoyed it as much as I had before.  It is a really fun story.

If you never got around to reading it, it is about a little boy named Omri who finds out that if he puts plastic figures into a cupboard they will come to life.  Putting them back in will return them to plastic.  He ends up having some adventures with a confident Indian and an emotional cowboy and their horses.  It is a very sweet book and I really loved it when I was a child.

There were FOUR more follow up/sequels....  and I did go back and read them too.  I enjoyed them, but they just didn't have the excitement of the original.  I enjoyed them all, but none had the wallop for me of the first book.  I probably would have loved them if I had read then while at Utica Elementary School.

"UnCORKED! Kentucky Sports Legend Corky Withrow" by Sherrill Williams and Charles Thurman

I used to really enjoy following baseball.  I still do, but not as much as I did before.  I still enjoy a good book about a former pro baseball player. 

AND, I love books about guys who, well, didn't exactly go on to be Hall of Famers.  I think we all know the stories of Ruth and Mantle.  I love hearing stories about guys struggling through the minors.  I want to read about someone who had his cup of coffee in the Majors, and then had a career in something else later on in life.

"UnCORKED!  Kentucky Sports Legend Corky Withrow" by Sherrill Williams and Charles Thurman is one of those books.

PLUS, it is a book about a guy who grew up in Kentucky.  He hung out in some of the same areas I did (just, many years earlier).

UnCORKED! tells about Central City Kentucky's Corky Withrow.  Most of the first part of the book follows Corky through his super star high school basketball career.  I especially enjoyed reading about his encounters with schools I am familiar with in Western Kentucky.  Horrible (and hysterical) pranks are played- Corky is the victim of a terrible one himself.  He is a member of some very exciting teams, including one that could almost be called perfect.

Eventually he is able to play some college basketball though his college basketball career gets very complicated as Corky signs a professional baseball contract after high school.

The second part of the book deals mostly with his baseball career.  He has a long and interesting career in baseball, mostly in the minors though he does get to play at the highest level with the St. Louis Cardinals!

Characters you might expect pop up, including the Everly Brothers, James Best, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, and many Kentucky basketball legends. 

I want to mention again that the part covering Corky's high school basketball days was much more interesting than I expected.  The authors obviously did a ton of research into specific seasons, games, stats, etc.

This is easily one of my all time favorite Kentucky sports books.

Utica Kentucky

I wanted to mention a place I love, Utica Kentucky, again.

I drove through here the other day just to look around.  I stopped by the new post office to say hello.  I talked to a nice guy working there named Paul.  He remembered the post master at the old post office, who was my best friend Charlie's mom.

Charlie lived close by.  I went home with him a few times after school.  He lived walking distance from our school, Utica Elementary.

We bought baseball cards and candy at the little store by the school.  We had fun.

My cousin, who has passed away, used to work at the Marathon station.  I have a lot of friends who once lived in the area.

The old school building is still there.  It looks like someone has bought the property.  I saw some work trucks moving around behind it.  I still love that place, and all of my old teachers- Mr. Tanner, Ms. Hobbs, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Matthews.  My memories of the place are mostly pure joy.

I crawled out of my personal swamp there and developed legs.  That school really influenced me and I still love the Utica area.

Sheep near Utica Kentucky