The still living Don McLean played this at the end of CNN’s July Fourth special. This song came out in 1971 when I was a mere ninth grader at Herbert Hoover Jr. High. It was my favorite song for close to a year.
In the ninth grade.. I was the starting two guard for the Hawks’ basketball team which was all-white and coached by Bennie Hensley. My sophmore year at John Marshall, which was a school about half black, saw me sitting the bench as a typical white role player at John Marshall.
I was a smart kid though and quickly decided to focus on baseball and became a solid three year starter.
John Marshall back in its better days had two of the better black coaches in Oklahoma high school basketball…Tommie Griffin (father of Blake) and Eddie Evans (father of Terry).
It’s a shame Donald Trump never attended a school like John Marshall. He might have learned something about life beyond becoming a grifter.