Why?

I know we all share a common experience regarding songs from our past. Those tunes conjure up thoughts and recall of exact moments-in-time. Perhaps yesterday's old lyrics cause one to think of the  early childhood comforts, maybe those crazy-acting teen moments or that special love song. Songs from our past can bring smiles as we remember joyous-celebratory times while at the tangent's opposite end the song may remind us of loss and heartache.

A few days ago, I heard the song, "Why Can't We Be Friends?" by the group, 'WAR.' It reminded me of the 1970's and my Edwardsville high school coaching days. More specifically, I recalled my relationship with the Harris family. As a teen East St. Louis high school basketball player, I played against the East St. Louis Lincoln (all black high school), which was coached by Earl 'Tree' Harris.
'Tree' was a tall well spoken-gentleman with distinguished charisma. When I later coached at Mason City high school, I brought Tree's Lincoln basketball team to play my Mason City team. I wanted the City black kids to experience competition in the hinterlands and I wanted my rather sheltered white rural kids to play a talented inner-city team. Certainly, I wished also to coach against a man I grew up respecting.

A decade later, 'Tree' and his wife, Hazel would make the personal decision to move to Edwardsville affording Coach Roustio to coach their sons, Dean and Hank. After his senior Edwardsville play, Dean garnered a Kansas State basketball scholarship and started as a freshman. He was tragically killed in an auto accident after that K-State freshman season. Hank would be a starting guard later on the Edwardsville 1976 State Team.

That WAR song, 'What Can't We Be Friends,' brings to my mind bitter-sweet emotions. It also brings to mind two lasting thoughts. First, I have never met a family more sincerely engaging than the Harris family and secondly, 'Why Can't We Be Friends?' WAR asked that question back in 1974. This nation makes all kinds of claims about its greatness and Judea-Christian anchors of love and Constitutional Freedoms, yet there has never been more obvious division and hatred than we see in 2017.

You tell me...'Why Can't We Be Friends?'