Never goin' back to my old school

It's odd to see your old high school going under the wrecking ball, even it's on video from 2,000 miles away. Father Lopez High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, gets torn down to make way for another Super Wal-Mart (can't have too many). FLHS was getting old and decrepit. It wasn't all that substantial when I was going there from 1965-69. No A.C. either. The last time I visited (1994) the old gym was still the same old gym where I played basketball for three years.

Fear not, the Father Lopez Green Wave have a new facility west of town near the Ladies professional Golf Association (LPGA) development. Football stadium, too, named after a guy I played b-ball with in the olden days. He died about a decade ago. No more nuns at the school to whack you upside the head if you get fresh. Probably all very civilized and air-conditioned and preppie.

God, I really loved this place. I'm one of the few writers I know who actually liked high school. The rules were rigid, but Sister Mariam Catherine helped me discover that I had some smarts and I could write. Coach John Chura kicked my butt -- and encouraged me -- on the b-ball court. We were all conservatives then, yet it was in this environment that I learned about Catholic social justice.

So, a little salute to the old school...

Video from Daytona Beach News-Journal.