Blue Devil

Our Blue Devil became a Kitty Kat?

"A disciplined Mind and cultivated heart are elements of power."
Caleb Mills

What is there to complain about during 1963? Not much. Gasoline dipped to 0.19 cents

 a gallon during the "Gas War".

 Our cars had  California Dips,lowered fronts ends. Engines  had muscle.

The engine roars could be heard at Drive In movie finals. The Executioner.

Candymatic. names were on the car rear panels. Notable was  Street auto drag racing.

 Girls wore  nice clothes and with perfume. We had money in our pockets. Jobs were

plentiful.

More bragging rights later, for now  lets nit-pick.

The Mascot was a Blue Devil.

We never rallied around the Blue Devil logo at events.

Sports broadcasters never called us Blue Devils just --Shortridge vs .....

We were under the Blue Devil banner but secretly admired the school with

that huge golden Tiger head logo. That bold, competitive logo on their book- covers

and back of their elete atheletic jackets. Instincts were spot on. Last checked

our mascot morphed into a blue Felix the cat. So much for the 'Blue Devil.

Teachers mantra,

Learn and be ready for college.

You are never completely ready for college. One ,its expensive. Next ,its size,

Hard to be a teachers pet with so many classmates. Then , the diversion of the

Frat Parties.

That is  it for nit-picking. We were trained to be disciplined minds

remember?

Disciplined Mind was championed after Caleb Mills. If Elvis had uttered the words

it would have had more of a impact at the time.

Now some final bullet  points for home of the Blue Devils,

The building is as majestic as it ever was when we sat and day dreamed about the girls.

Paul Dill, Jim Blackwell state wrestlers are still pictured on the hall walls.

We had sports, arts and academics. We had extra curriculum,. Vandeville and Proms.

What else could teens ask for ?

Obie M. is still noted as the class Prom organizer on the dated brochure.

 Obie went on to become  big in banking in Europe .

That cute baby face always worked in his favor .

Commrade-In- Arms

Bottom right is image of the Handsome Rok (Republic of Korea )Marines

in Vietnam during the 1960's. It is reported the US lost to North(Viet Cong)  What is

under-reported is South Korea losses in Vietnam War.

Our commrade-in arms were handsome chisled faces. They were rugged and had

stocky statures. Our Korean troop partners had much to watch for:

Spies,snipers, self immolization by monks and grenade tossing youth.

Then there was homesickness.

One Man Army

He had door wide shoulders . Sculptured forearms . He had  chisiled calves as he

leaped like a Gazelle.Yet  claimed he never lifted a weight in his life.Setting up a

reunion was a challenge.

Ultimately one of Stan's New York connection put me in touch.

Black Belt-Karate master of the land

Diver-U.S. Army rated, master diver

Airborne-rated (paratrooper)

Drayton was a articulate speaker.

Lions became lambs when it comes to public speaking.

Not just a figure of speech. Drayton was articulate.

His work outs were tough. He would a feline snarl .

He would be your best friend "Hi champ!" As he Greets you off the mat.

Stanley Drayton,  a one man army.

THE BARE TRUTH 1969

It was after a class workout. Someone said, "Hold still."  Using a instinct,

executed a side kick drawing a nice profile for the photo .

If history would repeat it self, I move over a little so my head did not look like a

basketball was on top.  That was the Yin-Yang of the Korean Flag posted on the wall.

The high kick poster was drawn cut out of plywood then donated  by Langston Perry.

Perry was knicknamed 'Moose" and a talented Heron Art School student.

In the crane stance is lovely Mary Ann. The Brunette in black leatards was a musician

and married to a performing musician at the time

1966 No Stone unturned, What is Karate?

Frayed by still shelved,

Here is the 1966 book I studied while in a bunker in Vietnam.

The book includes those elusive forms by author Mas Oyama.

Oyama was a Korean and settled in Japan.

He illustrates advance and seeming elusive forms such as

Ibuku Breathing, Hein and Pinans all Japanese stylized. A Korean native, Oyama never

answers the question of why he did not  prefer Korean Karate ?

Digging deeper can we answer the question today,

The Bell at Ft. Belvoir Mr. Roberts

Thats Mr. Jim Roberts Sr. at Ft. Belvoir Va just outside Washington D.C.. circa 1968

At the height of his power Mr. Roberts would have a gym full of students and sectators.

The colored belts would dazzle newbies. It was easy to forget you where in a huge

field house structure.

Officers and cadets would swap Greens (army colors) for the elusive Martial Arts

uniform .

Roberts ensured each of his  8 kids had training. No exception.

Roberts is classy. When called away for Temporary Army duty he would leave

teaching to a dedicated assistant. His exams where impeccable disciplined.

Class Act,

 On our reunion in 1996 he picked us up at the airport in a limousine.

Class from someone seen here stern face and barefoot as a monk.

The filed house was his playground. Today if a Martial Arts teacher tried that his classes

would be premptied by Basketball games, Bake Sales and any thing and everybody.

The World War II structure was still stands.

EVERY THING YOU DO HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE

Who made this statement ?

"Every thing you do has been done before"

a) British leader

b) Religious leader

c)  Disk Jockey

But first,

Top

I cupped  image of Rosie with Mui. Rosie in 1975 Mui a generation earlier

during the 1960's and different land. Yet strikingly similiar image.

Both have almond skin, hair styled same almost to the strand .

Bottom photo 1968 and befitting the time line.

Rosie with Long hair most girls would "die for" caught in a "striking pose".

Don't tell archeology buffs this. If they want to know people look at themselves

and learn their neighbors. What they are doing is what people have always done.

Don't you think?

Now the answer,

I was listening to a Disk Jockey sign off one night on the car radio.

This little bit of philosphy poured out the speaker.

Remember folks, "every thing you do has been done before"

Answer is (c) Words from the lips of a Disk Jockey.