Ronnie Williams was the first dude I met when I moved to Monett for the summer in 1980. He was very welcoming, introduced me to some “key players” on the just-graduated late-adolescent scene, and was just a great friend to illicitly drink beer and jam tunes with.
Ronnie and I hung out yesterday on my mom’s back porch and strolled down memory lane, reflecting on our many trips across the state line to Galena and Columbus, Kansas, to dance, party, and fail with girls; Ronnie’s high-board acrobatics (cutaways, gainers…I saw him do a front 3 1/2 while I was guarding one day) off the Monett pool high board–ahhh, the city pool high board: a relic from another age!; and, especially, our sports clashes when I was a Carthage Tiger and he was a Monett Cub. I once hooped against Cub legends Brad Grant and David Wallace; he once upset the legendary and volatile Norris brothers in doubles tennis.
Ronnie and his wife Missy are keeping an eye on Mom, and Nicole and I really appreciate it. They are good folks, simple as that.
Streaming for Survivors:
That’s Fernest Arceneaux. Fire up that squeezebox.
The Overeem Farewell Tour: Dispatches from the Public School Trenches 