Random Memorable Moments

[Dave Gray]

Tell us a story about something that happened to you a long time ago, that's kinda insignificant in the grand scheme, but you still remember today.

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I was in marching band in high school.  (Big surprise, right?)

We were very good (always got perfect scores at state, every single year).  We were also a very large band in comparison to other schools around.  Our band was run in a military style.  It was strict and we were very disciplined.  Our band instructor was a pretty intimidating guy and didn't take shit, whereas lots of other schools were more relaxed and lax.  Because of that, we were better, and everyone knew it.  But we were not cocky about it, and that idea was ingrained in us.

So, one year, we went to state, and our band instructor made it a point to be the first band there.  Where most bands only came when it was their turn and stayed until the end, we were there in the stands for the first band to perform, and since the order went by size, our turn was right near the end.  We sat in the sun all day and watched every single one.  Our band instructor told us before hand to "let every band know that WE were there" to support them, no matter how small they were.  So, when each band took the field to perform, our whole giant section cheered them on ... every one  ... all day.

So, when it was finally our turn to take the field, all of those bands from earlier on were there.  They must've remembered us, because when we took the field, it was absolutely deafening and everybody in the house was on their feet.

Remembering it still gives me chills today.  And I think it was a valuable lesson about the little guy -- added up, they make a really big guy.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

My senior year of high school, there was this girl named Aisha who went around school in a wheelchair.  She was cute and well liked by a lot of guys. 

One day, as I was walking from lunch to my next class, I noticed a crowd gathering near a corner of the breezeway.  Thinking there was a fight going on and wanting a good view of the action, I pushed my way to the front and saw Aisha lying on the ground.  Her wheelchair was tipped over on its side and her books were scattered all over the place.  She was making some funny noises, but I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying.   I immediately walked over to her and picked her up off the ground.  At that point, as if on cue, one boy brought her wheelchair over for me to set her in it, and another two boys started gathering her books for her. 

What disgusted me about the whole situation was with the size of the crowd around her, she had to have been laying there for a good bit.  No one made a move to help her until I got there.  After I got her settled in her wheelchair, I turned and walked away, catching the attention of some thuggish looking guy.  He said, "Hey man, that's a good thing you did."

[Guru-In-Vegas]

Well to lighten the mood and give us a laugh, I'll tell this story of a drunken boy (me) and a grandma...believe me, its not what you think.  It would be better if it was that.  This is WAY more embarassing.

So there I was with my friends having the time of our lives getting pretty hammered off of Heieneken and some shots.  After about 11 or 12 I was pretty wasted and mind you, I was only 16 or 17.  We were hanging out with this rich girl and a bunch of her cute friends.  There was dancing, groping, drinking, grinding; you know the high school movie thing. 

And then it all started spinning on me.  I was REALLY wasted.  So we packed up and went to one of the girls' house to relax and kill some time.  I was passed out on her bed while one of the girls was passed out on the other bed.  My cousin was also incapacitated and was asleep on the floor.  The rest of our friends were just talking and relaxing. 

Now the events that follow I have absolutely no memory of.  Just a few pieces here and there.  This is all a story re-told to me afterwards. 

Apparently, I suddenly lifted my head and seemed to have "woken up."  I get up and proceed to the bathroom.  At the time I lived with my mother, my bathroom was the door to the right, while the other bedroom was to the left.  It wasn't the case in this house.  It was bathroom on the left, other bedroom on the right.  It seems like it was just meant to happen...

As I proceeded to the hallway I never said a word.  My friend Richard (he's the one who lives only to laugh at me when re-telling the story) stopped me at the door and asked "where are you going?"  According to him I just said "I gotta piss!"  So he moved and let me pass him into the hallway.  As I made my way into what I thought was the bathroom I walked to where the toilet in my mom's house is and let on the release valve....INCHES FROM THIS GIRL'S SLEEPING GRANDMA'S HEAD!!!  (I'm seriously cracking up as I write this).  The guys tell me that the sound of a stream of liquid hitting carpet was just unbearably hilarious.  I would agree had I been on the other side.  Thankfully, my urinal buddy was too passed out to awaken.  Now imagine what the story would be like if she had...

My friend Richard could not stop cracking up as I peed all over this old lady's (nice lady) bed-room floor.  As my friends were witnessing the funniest thing of their lives the girls were freaking out.  Richard tells me that upon my return to the bed I was on, he took a break from laughing to tell me what I just did.  My response?  "Hehehe" with closed eyes as I fell back into hibernation.

The poor girl had to clean my pee from her Grandma's carpet before she woke up.  Afterwards, I guess they let me sleep my drunkeness off some more and then we took off.  Now I remember things at this point and re-call my cousin with paint all over his face and walking with women's shoes...he was still very much plastered and they got to him.  I guess I did myself in and found what I did much funnier.

The girl was real cool about it.  The next day she joined in on the fun in joking at my expense.  I will NEVER forget that incident.  Even though I can't remember it.

[MaineDolFan]

So this Rabbi and Priest walk in to a bar.  The Priest turns and looks at the Rabbi and says...

Oh.  You mean a personal story. 

Let's see.  A story.  The one about the sheep and tube of KY jelly is pretty fun.  Disturbing, yes.  But funny.  And the one with the clown suit and the glory hole might be a good one.  Then there was the gasoline, a homeless man, a pack of matches and a box of roman candles.  So many to choose from.

Okay, my family had moved from Oakland, California to Augusta, Maine.  No one in Augusta knew what to make of me.  Augusta is a small town, maybe 20,000 people.  We moved there in 1987 when rock was king.  Here comes this city kid listening to rap music and getting into fights (I was in two my first day...someone needed to clue me in that just because someone bumps into you in Maine doesn't mean you swing on them.  Oops, my bad).

Needless to say I didn't have a lot of friends.  Not until the Gardiner game, anyway.

My HS, Cony, has the nations second longest standing football rivarly in the nation with near by Gardiner HS (they have been playing since 1892).  Here is an interesting link on long standing HS battles if you care.  Cony - Gardiner have played for 115 continuous years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_High_School_Football_Rivalries

Anyway, Cony had been beat for 10 straight years coming into this game.  It was always the last game of the season.  Gardiner was 7-1 heading into the match up and needed a win to host the first round of the playoffs and not go on the road.  Cony had started the season 4-0 and then lost 4 in a row after losing 7 starters to injury.  Cony came into the Gardiner game completely healthy for the first time since that 4-0 start, all 7 starters were back in the line up.

It was a pretty epic clash.  Cony holding Gardiner's DI bound all-state running back Steve McClethen to less than 50 total yards and Gardiner grounding Cony's high flying air attack and forcing us to the ground.  With 1:43 left in regulation Cony, trailing by 3, got their air attack working after recovering a fumble on their own 11.  Four passes later, with time down to :38, Cony quarterback Mark Damren threw a strike to tackle eligible Mike Pearce for the go ahead touchdown.  A successful two point conversion (we lost our place kicker to injury in Q3) later, Cony now led the Tigers of Gardiner by 5.

Cony's kickoff sailed out of bounds and set Gardiner up at the 40 yard line.  With all three timeouts left, Gardiner ran two straight off left tackle plays and gained a staggering 30 yards, cruising down to Cony's 30.  A play action play later Gardiner's QB threw a strike to their slot receiver who was pushed out of bounds at the Cony 2 yard line.

The clock stood at :09 left.  One final play and everyone knew who was going to get the ball.  Hand off to McClethen over left tackle.  McClethen dove.  Coming in from my middle linebacker position I met him in mid air.  I don't remember a thing after the snap of the ball.

I still have the picture from the next day's paper, though.  It's great.  You can see the scoreboard in the background and Cony players flooding the field.  If you look at the end zone you'll see a player laying face down and four Gardiner Tiger players waving trainers on to the field.  That player would be me, my team was too busy celebrating to notice that I was out like a light while they jumped up and down.  McClethen was quoted in the paper saying "we were face to face and he hit me so hard I lost my breath.  I wanted to tell him nice game and help him up after the play and got a little nervous when he wasn't moving."

[StL FinFan]

I hated HS and wish to forget every moment of it.

I had some memorable moments this past week though.  Made a video about it.  Wanna see it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkp37YxcZZQ

[Thundergod]

Back in Texas my father and I used to coach a little league football team. The parents were stoked about how we coached the team and thanked us numerous times for actually playing their kids throughout the season. It was something I promised myself I would do if I ever had the chance to coach a team, since too many coaches get all wrapped up in themselves and never give others a chance.

It was our first year, and after a bit of hard work and determination we made it to the playoffs. The setting was too cool, it was a night game and the atmosphere was incredible for a little league playoff game. Fast forward; we were only up by a few points in the 4th quarter, and the opposition had the ball with time winding down. With nerves shattered, everyone kept their cool to stop this last possession and advance to the second round.

At midfield, on 3rd down, the QB dropped back to pass and threw a 10 yard out. Out of nowhere one of my boys streaked in and picked the ball off and ran to about the 20 before being tackled. We all went nuts, the parents, the kids were jumping up and down as if we just had won the Super Bowl. I ran towards the little guy (who intercepted the ball) and picked him up as if he were my kid and hugged the hell out of him. After it was all said and done, while on the sidelines, talking to some of the parents, a few kids from the team with all their strength doused my dad's leg with Gatorade. Awesome moment.

[cyan]

So one day I got out of bed later than usual (around 12 at noon) and noticed that nobody was home. I thought "okay awesome" and cranked up some music. Little did I know, that my mom or dad was in the room when I slept and must have opened the window while I was still asleep, to let some fresh air in. So I was blasting my music when the doorbell rang and my neighbor was standing there when I opened it. He was there to complain about me playing my music too loud in the morning. I was like "Okay sorry, I'll turn it down". But he wouldn't leave it at that.

He then started complaining about how there is too much trash in our yard and that the fence between their house and ours is broken, and he thinks I'm fucking his daughter, etc. So I told him that he was the one who wanted a fence in the first place so he should fix it and that the trash in our yard & front yard is none of his business, and his daughter was the one who came on to me in the first place. So he started getting angry, saying he didn't like my "tone" so I'm like, "Get the hell out of here". He left saying he was going to get his gun. I was freaking out...I didn't know what the fuck to do...so I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror, if anything I could say this cab was rare, but I thought 'Man, forget it' - 'Yo homes to Bel Air'. I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8 and I yelled to the cabbie 'Yo homes smell ya later', I looked at my kingdom I was finally there,to sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel Air.

[Phishfan]

When I was very young I would stay with my grandmother while my mom was at work. She and I walked down the street to go to a garage sale. I remember I bought a stuffed toy (I think it was some kind of character in a police uniform). I also remember seeing a single die sitting on a table and for some reason I wanted it. I'm not sure what it went to and don't think it was for sale (who would buy a single die) so I picked it up and took it with me. When we got back home I pulled it out and looked straight at my grandmother and said "Look what I stole." She drug me back down the street and had me apologize and give the die back. The lady let me keep it because she didn't know what it was from either. The embarrassment of facing that woman again was terrible though.