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A Celebration of Floyd Coming of Age



 Nobody else on the Tucson Old Timers Club remembers these things, but Floyd does, or he ought to, and more and better besides!

Floyd was born in 1925.

The first motel opened in 1925, in San Luis Obispo.

The other great--The Great Gatsby--was published.

Mt. Rushmore was dedicated.

The Scopes Monkey Trial ended.

The Chrysler Corporation was founded.

The first Sears Roebuck store opened, in Chicago.
 The first issue of The New Yorker was published.  (Floyd was not in it.)

The Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting.

Johnny Carson, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Burton, and Tony Curtis were born in 1925, also.

The Washington Senators won the American League.
The Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League.
The Kansas City Monarchs won the Negro National League West.
Hilldale won the Eastern Colored League.

Lou Gehrig hit his first Grand Slam.
Dazzy Vance pitched a no-hitter.

1925 was a very, very good year!

 Ninety-one years later, Floyd Lance missed a ground ball somewhere out near first base in infield practice.
He was heard to say, "Wait until next year!"

The Tucson Old Timers did not actually play a game on the Friday.  The team celebrated Floyd's ninety-first birthday.  It had rained the day before, and the field still had muddy spots.  No matter!  It was the week of Floyd's birthday, so they came to the field and did what they look forward to doing three times a week, all year around:  they honed their skills and skulled the ball as best they could.

 After manicuring the field as well as they could, and having sharpened their skills and their wit and well wishes, they guys drifted to the usual ramada, without speeches and ceremony, talking baseball and nonsense and life, while quietly wondering how Floyd has managed to be better-looking than everyone else, and play baseball, at ninety-one, better than they will ever be able to hope for.

Floyd said that when the workout was over, and the cake pretty-much gone, he was going to play golf.

That wasn't necessary.  Floyd did not need to rub it in, like that.  Everyone was surprised.  He is always, otherwise, a perfect gentleman.

But no one is perfect, although once in a long while, some guy comes very close.  His name is Floyd.









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