Saturday evening past, I closed out a thirteen year tournament coordinator's role for the Decatur Public School District. This particular run on the heels of a thirty-nine year coaching career and a 14-year youth, high school and college playing career totals 66-years in a gymnasium. The close of this incredible and passionate journey touched my hometown of East St. Louis as it appropriately should.
The East St. Louis high school "Flyers" basketball team was one of eight teams comprising the 44th annual Decatur/Team Soy Capital Turkey Tournament. Springfield Lanphier won the title game decisively over Bolingbrook and the East Side "Flyers" defeated Springfield Southeast to take third place. Antonio Young, the East St. Louis head coach, knows of my East St. Louis background and brought me two (2) East St. Louis baseball caps. One is a basic royal blue and the other is a black cap. Both caps have the word "EAST" embroidered above the STL (Cardinals') logo. The East Side High 'colors' have always been orange and blue; the cap with the blue base is true to that history. I suppose the 'black' cap with the is a tribute to the 'closed' East St. Louis 'Lincoln' high school whose 'colors' were orange and black. Both East St. Louis city schools document a rich academic and athletic history. I am not offended by the 'salute' to the now defunct Lincoln High; I get it. It is tough for those who once walked the hallways and lived for their school not to be able to visit those memory lanes once again; just as it is difficult for this seventy-five year East St. Louisian who is denied a stroll down his hometown landmarks.
Before the Flyers departed Decatur, I spoke to their team members and complimented them on their fine play and the class manner in which they handled themselves while in Decatur. Three East St. Louis players' mothers approached me before leaving the gym and asked if I was from East Side. I told them that I was born and raised in the river city and lived in Washington Park, which one lady excitedly proclaimed, "I live on Adelaide Street in 'The Park.' She could not believe it when I told her my home was one block over from her street on Rosemont. When I described the 'corner' house on Rosemont & Kingshighway, she said, "Oh, my God, the house with that porthole in the front-porch wall; that's the nicest house in Washington Park!" My Dad built that house, himself, in 1950; I lived there until I left for college in 1957 and then for a brief time with my young wife in 1961.
This past Saturday at a high school basketball gymnasium, I was presented a kinda 'full-circle' moment...I count it a 'blessing.'
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