Slush... I am going to do a story some day on nicknames from my childhood.... however this isnt it. My Dad is Big John .... or Johnny Bill to his Aurora friends. I had several.... some I liked .....others I didnt : Big Moose (given by my dad shortly after birth), Big Mac, ( given by my fellow teammates of the Class of 82), Ice (short for the Iceman) given to me by my brothers friends in the NHS Class of 88)....The Kid (given by Lee and Mark Mendenhall ...Mark is aka Spotty, Hanes or The Rope ) , Opossum (MSSC teammates circa 1983) , Bird-man (given to me by David The Chairman Cherry ) & Cousin Eddie (given by Kyle Talley behind my back). My favorite was The Iceman.... because during the times of my basketball playing days (150 pounds ago) my favorite NBA player was the rail-thin George The Iceman Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs. Gervins signature move was the finger roll. A beautiful version of a underhand lay-up shot with an arc to it & up to a distance of 3 ft.... If done correctly the ball literally flipped off the end of your finger tips..... thus the name finger roll ... I loved copying that move.... My high school coach Steve Rutledge did not... he called it the flying hope. I was an assistant to NHS Hall of Fame Coach Dave Adams, who also was not a fan of the unorthodox shot, and out of respect for him, I shelved teaching the finger roll to our Tiger post players.... But damn it was pretty ! But this story is about Slush.... the younger sibling of The Iceman . Slush was coined by Rob Patrick or Bobby Schuster....kids that I coached and good friends & classmates of Dave........Incidentally, my little brother Dave was also known as Biggie Bear, Davie Boy Howdie, & Reverend Lead-foot ( he once got a 96 in a 55 while in college). David McKinley was the number 5 child born in our family. He acquired many honors in high school, both athletic and otherwise : Student Body President, Roger Kennedy Memorial Award Winner & Robert Williams Award Winner.... (Both of the memorial athletic awards are based on high moral character.... & are our two highest male athletic honors at Nevada High School). This weekend, I had the privilege to see my little brother again in suburban Philadelphia, PA. Ive always been proud of my little brother, although I teased him a lot growing up.... especially about his weight.... Now 30 years later , Dave is fit and I could play Chris Farleys double in an SNL Dirty Dancing Skit...Gods revenge or sense of humor... or too much Sour Mash... you be the judge. Dave is a minister in Lansdale, PA. In his training to bring people to Christ , he has achieved a bachelors degree, two Masters Degrees and a record with the Missouri Highway Patrol...see above). I made the trip east for the weekend to see Dave & his family on the occasion of another significant event in his young life. During the ceremony, I thought back to our youth ... A 1500 sq ft home on North Prewitt Street....where my parents raised 5 kids.... 3 teachers, a hospice nurse....and a preacher. I thought of my dad, soon to turn 83. I thought of my mom who passed last spring. And I again thought about how much I teased David in our youth and smiled an evil, somewhat Ice-like smile.... and laughed a cold chuckle (not really). Well the Iceman has swallowed an 8th grader (ie weight gain) over the years ....he no longer plays or coaches basketball ....and the frost long since melted....you see, little brother just was awarded his doctorate. Slush had his name announced at Graduation yesterday as The Reverend Dr. David William McKinley....and a tear of pride rolled down the Icemans cheek. My mom and dad can now add a doctor to that list of something to be proud of from 400 North Prewitt Street. The ceremony gave the big brother a warm sense of pride in all his little brother has achieved and all he has to accomplish... yet to come. Congratulations to the Reverend Dr. David McKinley...your big brother couldnt be more proud of you!
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:06:29 +0000
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