The Pool Sharks - Blade and Seed

A YouTube video of a pool shark making the rounds prompted this story from SCA:

Seed and I actually skipped school one day and used my father's station wagon to go to Des Moines and pick up a pool table. My Father agreed, but never thought we would do it. I think he secretly wanted one for his own amusement. 

We set it up at home in the breezeway and had many good times there. Seed, Bob Smith and I spent many late evenings perfecting our pool skills. However, we never came close to what is shown in this video. I made my youngest sister, Terry, a footstool, so she could also join in the game. I hate to say it, but she got so good, she could beat me. Ahh memories!!

The Return - and Near Death - of Blade and Seed

OK, the preamble:

I always thought and still do that Arlyn Morse was the most intelligent person in our class.  It still amazes me that, although he was salutatorian, he never got a scholarship.   It always bothered me more than him.  We all strived to succeed and I think I only made the top half of our class, but that was significant since a very high percentage of us continued to excel in educational endeavors.  Anyway, Blade and Seed did make use of some of the education we received, however it was amplified by research, mostly from Arlyn's extensive reading.  HS was a phase of life that needed to be amplified.  The adventurous and entrepreneurial aspects were enticing and started for us during this time. 

Blade and Seed Sagas:

I would like to think that we coined the phrase "Road Trip".  It started in HS and continues to this day.  Through the years, I have visited every state, except ND, and a lot of that was accomplished by road trips with Arlyn (Seed).  Initially, we used the "dangerous"  Corvair.  The only problem we had with the car was the spark plug wires kept falling off, so we had to stop every now and then to reattach them.  We graduated to Sebring convertibles and MGB's.  As I recall, we made 2 road trips from CA to IA for NKHS class reunions.  At the outset, we could encamp and decamp in 20 minutes with tents and cots.  This flexiblity  led to the ability to come and go quickly.  Now, we have more money and can be more comfortable.  Also, the next road trip may need to include the better halfs, so who knows whether or not the tradition will continue?

#1 - The Bootleggers convention.

Probably during prohibition, but certainly before my time, Kensett hosted an event called the bootleggers convention.  According to legend, there was a bootlegger on every downtown corner during the festivities.  In an effort to carry on the tradition, we (Seed & Blade) decided to create our own white lightning enterprise.  Knowledge was gained from books and chemistry class.  Equipment was procured and a still was set up in Grandma Arendts's old garage.  The garage was used as storage and was located next to the infamous cottonwood tree described in the out house story.  It was secure and out of the way, so discovery was unlikely.  At the time, my grandmother was elderly and seldom ventured out side her house.

The liqueur of choice was corn whiskey.  The effort took a few weeks due to the fermenting process.  Fuel was charcoal, since portable butane was not available at the time.  In retrospect, the operation was quite impressive and involved a lot of engineering.  When the still was activated, we took turns tending, paying particular attention to pressures.  The watches were relatively boring, so we studied or read girlie mags.  As time went on, it became apparent that our design was not working.  Seed came to relieve me from one of my watches and found me passed out on the floor.  He managed to revive me.  We speculate that the carbon monoxide build up in the garage had almost done me in.  I was sick for a few days, but we never told a soul about our experiment.  There was no 911 in those days.  Moonshining was illegal.  No harm no foul.  If we would have had access to the internet, I feel it would have succeeded.   Seed, I owe you one!!  Such is life.

SCA

Outhouse Tales

Once you get past a certain age nearly any topic is suitable for discussion, and the venerable Outhouse shot to the top of the list this week in an email from Richard Holstad.  Then it proceeded to seep in a number of directions until finally "Blade", AKA Stanton Arendts, topped the pile with this story.

My grandmother Arendts had one in Kensett.  They lived katty-corner from the school.  It was not used for the designated purposes when I was growing up, but rather as a storage site for storm windows and screens.  It was under a large cottonwood tree next to the garage.  It had a peaked roof that was topped by a metal ball with tin flashing on the four sides leading to the top.

The house is no longer there and hasn't been since lightning struck the tree one night.  The bolt traveled down the tree and hit the ball on top of the outhouse.  It continued to the ground via the tin strips.  The house was split into 4 equal sections.  The sides filleted open and fell to the ground in perfect symmetry.  Can you imagine the "shock" if it were in use at the time?

Morals of the story:

1.  Lightning does strike more than once in the same place.  That tree was struck 3 times during the time I lived in Kensett.

2.  Never take a crap in an outhouse during a thunderstorm.

Sometimes the stories that get passed around are kind of crappy, and I suppose that this one technically is, but our thanks to Blade nonetheless.  And apologies for all the scatological references.

Introducing "Blade" and "Seed"!

SCA has just returned from his world travels, turned on his computer, and sent along a note about the nicknames he has acquired over the years.

Coach Buddy Mounts

Don't know about you, but I have had at least 13 (nicknames), that I know of, over the years.  As I grow older, I think there may be more that I am not privy to.  One of the givers was Mr. Mounts (not Buddy to me).  Mr. Mounts dubbed Arlyn Morse "Seed" and me "Blade" .  No clue why???  

It is difficult for some people to be creative (by themselves), however, when a catalyst is added ideas abound.  Blade and Seed evolved into just such a creative dynamo.  Many of you remember that there was not much entertainment offered to us as kids.  So, we had to make our own.  Much of this creativity would be considered mundane by today's standards, but some of it may have bordered on the completely irrational....Think "a 1000 ways to die"   

There were Cheech and Chong, Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, but the true Dynamic Duo was "Blade and Seed".  I am prepared to document the escapades and perhaps a separate area of the blog could be dedicated to B & S?

We are prepared to meet the demands of SCA and a new Label has been set up, "Blade and Seed," and as the stories accumulate you will be able to find them all by clicking on that Label on the menu column at right.  

As for the rationale for Buddy Mounts to assign those nicknames, we have no idea why, but there must have been something behind it. The Dynamic Duo might have been the only ones to be so "knighted," since we don't recall anyone else having such luck.  Buddy's younger brother Skip, real name unknown, was a house guest of his for a while, so there was a clear orientation towards nicknames within the family.  Maybe that's it - he thought of Blade and Seed as family?

Pertaining to the "Mr. Mounts" part, we wonder if this high level of respect is possibly granted to him because "Blade" avoided being kicked in the helmet.  Could have been.