Ball Games

Ken’s Story
Sam took up football in middle school, which reminds me of the time I covered an afternoon game for the newspaper. Auburn was whipping the visitors by a large margin. In those days the middle school had fifty or more kids out for football and only one coach. I had the news camera and was standing by Coach Jim Kleine when late in the game he was clearing the bench. Coach Kleine said “Is there anyone who hasn’t played yet?” One kid, whose helmet nearly obscured his head, jumped up and said he hadn’t. “What position do you play?” the harried coach asked.

This was also the year Sam was operated on to relieve a testicular abnormality

Sam’s Version
Thanks, dad.

It’s hard to keep a secret in a small town, especially a medical secret. Everyone’s concerned, of course, for an otherwise hardy thirteen-year old that spends a week in the hospital. Since I had to shower after gym in front of my mates, it didn’t seem practical to hide from them the surgical result of having had testicular torsion and an inflammation of the epididymis.

“Ol’ One Nut” and “Uno” were the inevitable nicknames.