I wanted to also share another incident that I remember Ron from, in those days, I drove a blue Mach 1 Mustang which was also no slouch in the acceleration department. Anyway, sometimes I would pull up alongside Ron in his GTO at a stoplight or vice versa and we would do what any red-blooded American kids with fast cars would do, which is of course engage in "just for laughs" stoplight to stoplight races. One time, I pulled up next to Ron on Poyntz Ave., heading into town at the bottom of the hill where the MHS was. I did the obligatory engine rev to get Ron's attention.
Ron responded by doing a VERY smoky "burnout," in which you hold the car stationary with the brake and use the engine's power to spin the rear tires which produces a dramatic cloud of tire smoke if you have a car with a strong engine and hold it back with the brakes long enough. This was funny enough, but what made it downright hilarious (maybe a little mean also) was the fact that there was this poor little old man with a cane crossing the street behind us at exactly the same time Ron did the burnout in the GTO.
This poor old guy was literally engulfed in tire smoke, all you could see was his arm coming out of the cloud of tire smoke, shaking his fist and yelling at Ron. We both took off quickly after that, but I could see Ron was laughing just as hard as I was, neither of us saw the little old guy until it was too late, LOL.
Sheri, I hope you get a chuckle out of this. It's funny, all these years later, you can still vividly recall specific incidents from those days, you didn't even have to know the person very well to still retain the memories of the "good times" in those care free high school days.
Take care and God Bless,
Stu Sendelbach
Sheri Comments:
Oh, I can just see it!
When Ron went off to join the navy, we were supposed to take care of the GTO, drive it from time to time, etc. Mom would never ever allow me to drive it, said it would send me to Topeka with just one punch to the pedal! LOL I did eventually drive it, and it did have a lot more get up and go than my Duster
Thanks so much for sharing. Reminds me, too, of a Mr. Franklin story and Ron. Unfortunately, I was involved by association
That man would chase you all over town to catch you skipping class. When I was in Jr. High, Ron in High School, he had the '72 Duster at that time, my mom wrote him a note to leave school and come take me to the dentist. Sounds all fine and dandy, I had a pass, he had a pass, only thing is, he didn't let Mr. Franklin know he had a pass!
So, Ron barely stops at the curb by Johnny's Store and yells at me, "Get in!"
I hardly had time to shut the car door when the chase was on! And he enjoyed it as much as I think Mr. Franklin did.
We didn't make it to the dentist until after we had raced all over town with the poor guy chasing us and I was dang near late for my appointment.
Ron pulled into the stall at the Dentist's office and rolled down his window as Mr. Franklin pulled in, got out and came along the driver's side door. And just before the guy opens his mouth, Ron flashes his pass and smiles sweetly with that silver tooth twinkling. I swear! So, by the time I got to MHS, Mr. Franklin wasn't too cool on me either LOL
During Ron's senior year, the man had broken his leg, so wasn't quite the chaser. I ran into him years later at a company Christmas party and he said, "Boy, do I remember you two!"
Funny now, not so funny, I'm sure, to him.
Sheri
I still have a junior high ID card of Ron's that he gave me when we were in JR. High (Manhattan). I'm not sure why he gave it to me, but I have kept it all these years. I will miss seeing him even if it was every five years. Terry (Yeager) Keller