Growing up with Mike as my next door neighbor was a trip. We stayed in so much mischief that it was beyond belief. We would often stay in trouble with our parents with our mischievous deeds,such as blowing up trash cans with fire crackers ,catching yards on fire playing pranks on his younger brothers. We turned our backyards into football fields ,baseball fields, we even built us a place for track and field events. We even built what we called a basketball court , but we got in a lot of trouble with this, because we dug up the grass in his yard so the ground would be hard for the bounce of the basketball, needless to say we had to plant the grass back and this would take forever and our time was valuable to us so we thought but so was our butts and so it was either take a whipping or plant the yard back and there was no such thing as a spanking or time outs as kids get now, so whippings is what we got and often. Mikes younger brothers didnt have a chance around us its a wonder if Mark,Bruce and Tony Duckworth didnt seriously get hurt with us around we would lock them up in dog houses, and treehouses and shoot at them with our be-bee guns which brought on more whippings. We built a bicycle track in the woods behind our houses so we could race on but Mark and Tony wanted to ride the go-cart on but we didn't want the go-cart up on the track but being hardheaded as they where they road the go-cart on it anyway, so we embarked on a plan to stop them we dug a pit 6'x6'x3' deep on the track and filled it with water and covered it with limbs and brush weed and told Mark to go test out the new track and he did and sure enough he drove off in the pitt but guess what the water was gone , the go-cart in heap in the bottom of the hole and Mark was laughing and crying in the bottom with his go-cart wrecked thank God Mark had done hardened physically from all the other pranks we had pulled on him,but he still told on us and a beating was eminent and we didnt have a plan to get out of this, so we get on our bikes and ride to town for milk shakes at the drug store hoping it would be late when we got back and our parents would have forgotten about this,but wrong again and the butt whipping or beating was put on us again. Mike's life was tragically taken by a motorcycle accident, but he is in Heaven with our SAVIOR now,but he is missed and always will be by his family and friends and I know that one day I will get to talk to my friend again so I"ll see you Mike at Heavens gate and hopefully beyond.
Mike was a real buddy to me growing up. Of course, we loved playing football in high school, but when football season was over, out came the cigarettes. I used to go over to his house and we would shoot pool, smoke cigarettes and listen to the Rolling Stones. We had some wild times together. I remember one time in particular when we went to a basketball game at Wilco Our senior year and had couple of spiked drinks that we slipped past Ms Mosley at the door with, she was check people as they came in. I think she was suspicious of me and Mike not because of of the cups of coke we had in our hands but just because of who we were. Well when I came time for a refill we knew we couldn't get past Ms Mosley, so we had a couple of girl friends, I won't mention their names, but they were are to slip out through the girls locker rooms in the gym and go out to the car and fix us another drink. Well I am here to tell you they fixed those drinks stronger than should have been legal and of course we drink them. By time the game was over with we were not exactly walking in a straight line. However we did make it safe and sound back home. I will never forget that night or the girls who fixed those drinks for us. I'm betting they got a real laugh out of that. I guess I ought to thank them for that, because it was that night that a little girl sitting in the bleachers noticed me for the first time ever and set her sites on me. She said it looked like I was trying to walk a tight rope on that top bleacher. And the rest is history.
I got to tell you a funny. This goes back to the fact that me and Mike would smoke during off season from football. I remember the first day at football camp our senior year. Well me and Mike had smoked cigarettes pretty regularly during the summer and that day at practice we paid the price. We looked at one another and said if you ever see me with a cigarette in my mouth again, kill me! We were hurting! By the end of football camp we had run it out of our systems, because I don't remember having that hard of time anymore during football season.
Mike was with me in my 1962 Impala SS when I got my first speeding ticket. It was the week before our first senior football game with Hawkinsville. It just so happened that they were playing, I believe some other team around Peach County and all the football palyers went to the game to see them play. Riding back from the game coming through Jeffersonville as I crossed the tracks I gunned it and Mike told not to, I guess he saw the police and I didn't, well he pulled me over about a 1/4 mile after I made the turn on 18 headed to Gordon. I had skip school to go to court to pay the fine. An guess what, Mike wrote the excuse for me to give to the school. Something about I had to a dentist appoint or something like that. Mama and daddy did find out though. I had bouced a check and while we were going through my cancelled checks mama ran across the one that was written to the City of Jeffersonville. Busted!
When we were in the eighth grade (I believe this was the year), Mike bought a "friendship" ring (do you remember those?) and called me to ask if I would wear it. Back then, I assumed that meant we would be "going together". Mike was a good friend--we attended the same church and Sunday School together--but I just didn't want to be his girlfriend. I told him that was sweet, but I didn't think so. Even after that, Mike was always kind to me and a perfect gentleman. When he passed away, Ms. Floy told me that he still had that ring. RIP, my friend.
Grady Grimsley
Growing up with Mike as my next door neighbor was a trip. We stayed in so much mischief that it was beyond belief. We would often stay in trouble with our parents with our mischievous deeds,such as blowing up trash cans with fire crackers ,catching yards on fire playing pranks on his younger brothers. We turned our backyards into football fields ,baseball fields, we even built us a place for track and field events. We even built what we called a basketball court , but we got in a lot of trouble with this, because we dug up the grass in his yard so the ground would be hard for the bounce of the basketball, needless to say we had to plant the grass back and this would take forever and our time was valuable to us so we thought but so was our butts and so it was either take a whipping or plant the yard back and there was no such thing as a spanking or time outs as kids get now, so whippings is what we got and often. Mikes younger brothers didnt have a chance around us its a wonder if Mark,Bruce and Tony Duckworth didnt seriously get hurt with us around we would lock them up in dog houses, and treehouses and shoot at them with our be-bee guns which brought on more whippings. We built a bicycle track in the woods behind our houses so we could race on but Mark and Tony wanted to ride the go-cart on but we didn't want the go-cart up on the track but being hardheaded as they where they road the go-cart on it anyway, so we embarked on a plan to stop them we dug a pit 6'x6'x3' deep on the track and filled it with water and covered it with limbs and brush weed and told Mark to go test out the new track and he did and sure enough he drove off in the pitt but guess what the water was gone , the go-cart in heap in the bottom of the hole and Mark was laughing and crying in the bottom with his go-cart wrecked thank God Mark had done hardened physically from all the other pranks we had pulled on him,but he still told on us and a beating was eminent and we didnt have a plan to get out of this, so we get on our bikes and ride to town for milk shakes at the drug store hoping it would be late when we got back and our parents would have forgotten about this,but wrong again and the butt whipping or beating was put on us again. Mike's life was tragically taken by a motorcycle accident, but he is in Heaven with our SAVIOR now,but he is missed and always will be by his family and friends and I know that one day I will get to talk to my friend again so I"ll see you Mike at Heavens gate and hopefully beyond.
Leslie Brooks
Mike was a real buddy to me growing up. Of course, we loved playing football in high school, but when football season was over, out came the cigarettes. I used to go over to his house and we would shoot pool, smoke cigarettes and listen to the Rolling Stones. We had some wild times together. I remember one time in particular when we went to a basketball game at Wilco Our senior year and had couple of spiked drinks that we slipped past Ms Mosley at the door with, she was check people as they came in. I think she was suspicious of me and Mike not because of of the cups of coke we had in our hands but just because of who we were. Well when I came time for a refill we knew we couldn't get past Ms Mosley, so we had a couple of girl friends, I won't mention their names, but they were are to slip out through the girls locker rooms in the gym and go out to the car and fix us another drink. Well I am here to tell you they fixed those drinks stronger than should have been legal and of course we drink them. By time the game was over with we were not exactly walking in a straight line. However we did make it safe and sound back home. I will never forget that night or the girls who fixed those drinks for us. I'm betting they got a real laugh out of that. I guess I ought to thank them for that, because it was that night that a little girl sitting in the bleachers noticed me for the first time ever and set her sites on me. She said it looked like I was trying to walk a tight rope on that top bleacher. And the rest is history.
I got to tell you a funny. This goes back to the fact that me and Mike would smoke during off season from football. I remember the first day at football camp our senior year. Well me and Mike had smoked cigarettes pretty regularly during the summer and that day at practice we paid the price. We looked at one another and said if you ever see me with a cigarette in my mouth again, kill me! We were hurting! By the end of football camp we had run it out of our systems, because I don't remember having that hard of time anymore during football season.
Mike was with me in my 1962 Impala SS when I got my first speeding ticket. It was the week before our first senior football game with Hawkinsville. It just so happened that they were playing, I believe some other team around Peach County and all the football palyers went to the game to see them play. Riding back from the game coming through Jeffersonville as I crossed the tracks I gunned it and Mike told not to, I guess he saw the police and I didn't, well he pulled me over about a 1/4 mile after I made the turn on 18 headed to Gordon. I had skip school to go to court to pay the fine. An guess what, Mike wrote the excuse for me to give to the school. Something about I had to a dentist appoint or something like that. Mama and daddy did find out though. I had bouced a check and while we were going through my cancelled checks mama ran across the one that was written to the City of Jeffersonville. Busted!
Mike was a good buddy and has really been missed.
Rick Williams
awesome, man, thanks for sharing,
memories are priceless......
Kathy Lavender (Pope)
When we were in the eighth grade (I believe this was the year), Mike bought a "friendship" ring (do you remember those?) and called me to ask if I would wear it. Back then, I assumed that meant we would be "going together". Mike was a good friend--we attended the same church and Sunday School together--but I just didn't want to be his girlfriend. I told him that was sweet, but I didn't think so. Even after that, Mike was always kind to me and a perfect gentleman. When he passed away, Ms. Floy told me that he still had that ring. RIP, my friend.