"I FOUND NED!!"

by Bobby Joe Snipes, Guest Writer

At every 53 class reunion it seems like that grade school football game always came up for discussion.   And I always reminded the East side guys that West side won that big game and I did it in such a boastful manner that it always brought up the discussion of how old the players were and how big and how fast and how poor we were on the west side and how we beat the Clovis elite on the east side.

One interesting story that surfaced from Gerald Clancy, an east side player was that we had a big Mexican that played on our line that had a wife and two kids yelling for him on the side line.  Well......I think he embellished that story but it did have an element of truth.  You see…..West side of Clovis is where the low income folks lived and East side was just a half a notch higher but actually none of our parents had much money.

But the question that I always ask at the reunions "I wonder what happened to that blond headed kid…. he was left handed and could really run fast….his name was Ned?"  No one ever knew….and it was the same question about Don Grant.   Where did they go?  Both of them were sons of ministers.   It seemed like they just vanished.

About 15 years ago after I had retired from the mens clothing business,  I was surfing through some computer stuff and came across a program that was something like Classmate Locator.  I looked at and found it kinda interesting but I did recognize some of my classmates who had registered.  I did not register….I think it cost $15 and you could do all kind of searches.   I just dismissed it but a couple of months later , I came upon that program again.   I browsed through some of the inquiries and I noticed one that said something like "I attended the 5th grade at La Casita grade school in Clovis and I am trying to connect with anyone that went to La Casita in about 1946" ….  signed  NED  BIDDIX.

I looked at that and said------NED!    Could that be Ned?   You see….I did not remember Ned's last name.   He was just Ned.   Immediately,   wrote a note that something like this-----Hi Ned,  Are you the blond headed kid that played on the West side football team?   Are you left handed and in grade school you had a first baseman's mit and you wanted to be a professional baseball player?    I signed my name Bobby Joe Snipes because I was Bobby Joe all through school.  Now that is the beginning of a renewed boyhood relationship and it is with teary eyes that I share with you the joy of finding Ned.

Ned and I have shared dozens and dozens of emails, bringing each other up to date.   He married a cheerleader and I married a cheerleader.   Ned has three kids and I have three kids.

We have shared several stories about that East side-West side football game and here is one that none of you have ever heard.  This was a very important game for a bunch of little kids.  The tension was high and butterflies rumbled through our little tummies and the pressure was on.   I think I was more scared than anything else.   These guys were big and fast.   I played in the backfield with Ned and Don Grant.  They were fast and I was slow but I could block.  We were so intense that Ned drove roofing nails through his shoes so that he could get better traction.  He said that his Dad was not too happy with that procedure.  I am not for sure but I think it was Ned had an old WWII German helmet that he wore during the game. Hey…...this was all business and we were out to win.     And we did….Ned scored one touchdown and Don Grant scored a touchdown.  The score was either 12 to 13 or 13 to 14.  What a game….what memories.

Funny thing…..Richard Drake played in that game and I don't even remember him and he doesn't remember me.   Richard said he was a little fat kid that played on the line.  In high school,  Richard ran the 100 in 10 flat and was a star athlete in all three sports.  I also finally located Don Grant, he didn't play sports, stayed little all of his life.  He retired from the ministry and moved to Arizona.

And Now…..You Have the Rest of the Story!   Ned and I have a special relationship.  God has blessed us with great friends.  We have not seen each other in about 68 years but it seems that our friendship has grown stronger and stronger.   It is easy for me to see why Ned has many cherished friendships.  He is one tremendous kind of a Guy.

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For Mil's Place: Bobby Joe Snipes
8/15/14