My first memory of Gary was of him sitting in our 8th grade classroom smiling
at me as I was introduced to the class in the fall of 1952. I had just
transferred to Holy Family School from St Joseph School across town. We knew
each other from little league baseball in past summers, but I was unaware that
Gary was a student at Holy Family School. It was good to know someone in the
new school. We connected immediately. After school, we walked home together
and, forever after, we were buddies. He was Nolte and I was Whale, right
Nolte??!!
My most vivid memory…. having Nolte in the grasp of my most awesome wrestling
hold…the “whale grip.” We wrestled a lot after school…on the carpeted floor of
our rec-room. I guess we watched a lot of wrestling on TV in those days! We
tried out all of the Vern Gagne and Gorgeous George “moves” on each other, right
Nolte??!! Hey, I was bigger, so, I could pin him quite easily. He resisted, but
I always won, right Nolte?!?! It was a “guy thing,” I guess….we practiced being
tough…but, we were more often bigger talkers than big toughies, right Nolte!?!?
I can still see little ole Nolte scrunched between Peacho, The Whale and the
6’6” Spider in the back seat of OB’s red ‘50 Ford coupe…he was always quart in
hand, and, he was always educating us about all of the important things in
life… like “my Eagle Grove girl is cuter than your Northwood girl!” (and, who
might that be, Nolte?!?!) or “we Germans are far tougher then you pansy Irish”
or “Budweiser is a far better beer than Hamms or Schlitz” or “CinCin works
better than Old Spice to fake out the stupid chaperones at the Hi-Dive” And,
then, a big argument ensued, right Nolte?!?! Remember when you were being
beat-up by one of us in the back seat of OB’s ole ‘50 Ford…. you’d get out of
it by yelling “Hey OB, let’s go to the dance before we get too loaded to see
the chicks, OK?” That got our attention, right Nolte?!?! Wooof, we were quickly
off to the Hi Dive, right Nolte??!! And, remember buddy, this was the really
important stuff for 16-17 year olds, right Nolte??!!
I remember Nolte on his last day in Mason City before he moved to Polk
Boulevard in Des Moines with his Dad, Mom and family. Wow, the ole ’50 Ford was
rock’ in and roll’ in that night, right Nolte??!! We drove most of the country
roads of North Central Iowa that night … quarts in hand, telling tall stories and
giggling about our small town girl chasing escapades in Algona, Garner, Waseca,
Northwood, Fertile, and Clear Lake….. chasing girls was an art form for the “A
la Straw Gang” (we were named the “lazy ones” by Peacho’s dad!), right
Nolte??!! We were the best gang of friends ever created by man, right Nolte!!??
Hey, Nolte! Do you remember drinking my dad’s booze from his liquor cabinet
and, then, replacing it with carbonated water to cover up the crime??!! Hey, we
were good kids, right Nolte?!?! Remember, during these sessions, we learned our
sex ed by reading Dr. Hale’s “3rd Grade Reader” (his OB-GYN Books!), right
Nolte??!! We were “Pre-verts” weren’t we Nolte??!! I think we coined that term
in the mid-50s, right Nolte?!?!
I remember your wedding in Des Moines….you were so handsome and she was so
beautiful…. We were all so innocent back in those days, weren’t we Nolte?!?! I
know for sure that you were loved far more on that day than any day except,
maybe, on the day of your birth. A mother’s and Father’s love is only matched
by a bride’s love for her man on their wedding day. You felt it, right,
Nolte?!?!
Finally, I recall New Years Eve day in 1992, in Dillon, Colorado, when Ruthy
introduced you to me as “a friend from California.” I was very polite to you…
Ruthy’s “friend from California” … and we carried on a nice conversation for
10-15 minutes, didn’t we Nolte??!! RaeLynne and I didn’t know that you were
Nolte…swear to God!!!! We learned during this conversation that you had met
Ruthy on one of her many consulting trips to Southern California. We also
learned that you were returning the favor by flying to Denver to take her out
on New Years Eve with two of her friends… us!! You looked a little familiar
but, hey, I’ve met 1000s of men in my 40+ years of Worldwide travel… I’ve met
men in airports, in business meetings and in leisure settings like ski resorts
such as Copper Mountain. I had no clue!!!! Then, you said something about
wrestling… a thing you used to do as a kid…. bing! All of a sudden, it hit me…could
this be Nolte??!!! I said “are you from Mason City?” Ruthy screeched, you
laughed loudly, and Rae and I laughed embarrassingly, of course!!!!! After the
shock wore off, we went on to have a wonderful reunion at dinner and on into
the evening….we never stopped talking and remembering our demented adolescence,
right Nolte??!! I have never forgotten that evening… our friendship and love
for one another was rekindled forever!!!
And, I know for sure that your friends Peacho, Hoodie, Smackie, Spider, OB, and
Whale are forever your friends… we love you Gary. You were an “A La Straw!”
The “A La Straw Gang”
OB = Mike O’ Brien (a Viet Nam era vet and great buddy to us all; deceased in
1990)
Smackie = Tom Skram (a basketball player and coach extraordinaire; deceased in
2001)
Hoodie = Tom Hood (he owns a pharmacy chain in Southern California and scars
from his braces are still on my knuckles!)
Spider = Mike Allison (a District Court Judge in North Iowa and a tall drink of
Hamms!)
Peacho = Carlos Melendez, Jr. (a 2-tour Viet Nam vet, an officer and gentleman,
and my personal hero)
Whale = Jim Hale (me, Doc Hale’s kid!!)
Rae Lynne = she has been my wife, friend and true love for 44 years!!
And, Ruthy = Ruthann (Swed) Pidick (a beautiful cheerleader, classmate, mother
and a stellar nurse and consultant in Denver…. born on 3/19/39 like me… but,
she’s older!!)