James McLeaster:  

School Days: I started to attend Central School at a very young and tender age. I was five years old, very small and wore glasses. I was a dweeb, which would be a dork today. You know the drill, I walked to and from school and even walked home for lunch. This story of course, as I grew older, became longer and more difficult journey, but at the time it was a peice of cake. Elementary school and middle or Jr High as we called it then was pretty much of a drag for me. I did however do relatively well when there was a teacher that I liked. Boy, were they hard to find! If I must name a favorite, it was Mrs Morris. I fell in love in the first grade, but she wouldn't marry me so I gave up on women until I started falling in love again by the seventh and eight grades, these were hot times for most of the class, but as for me, no one wanted to recipricate. I had two years of shop class in those years and made a corner shelf and a bow and arrow lamp while other guys were turning out full size funiture by the truck load. The lamp is now in the room of my oldest grandson of my youngest daughter. I don't know what happened to the corner shelf. Mom had it up and things on it for quite some time, then one day it dissapreared. As an avid basketball fan growing up in Indiana I made it onto the second string of the mighty Central Bulldogs. During my two years in Jr. High I think I had a total of 3 minutes playing time. I did however have a couple of opportunites to score, but missed both of my free throw shots. In High School, things got a little better. I had grown to 5' 3" by my junior year and weighed 105 pounds. However, my althetic career was over. I then turned to jounalism and become the sports editor for Lawrenceburg Consolidate High School newspaper (L-HI News) and our Senior year book. I wrote a weekly sports column for the L'burg PRESS titled "The Bucket Brigade" with my own bi-line. I owe most of my succsess in this effort to my MOM and DAD. She helped with the typing and DAD supplied a lot of constructive criticism and prose. I fell in love again by my Junior year, and this time somewone went along with it. WOW! I graduated in the middle of my 64 person class in 1954. It seemed like every award went to Judy Davis with the exception of one that Ray Gompf garnered. NEXT: two years at IU. College? This will be short and not so sweet. I was off to IU Bloomington campus in the fall of 1954. I had no idea what I was doing. I can remember my final weeks in high school thinking what the hell am I going to do now? Anyway, since I had taken the college prep courses all through school and had no other maketable skills it was off to IU. Most thought I would major in journalism because of the family background, but I matriculated toward business administration. Man was I literally a small cog in a big wheel. I should have suspected that my college career choice was a little lame since I chose IU because of it's great basketball teams. Plus, being a State School they pretty much had to let me in even thought my SAT score was 15. If I knew then, well you know. I had a "Syndrome" of some kind that made me clutch on timed tests. Otherwise I did OK most of the time. Anyway, I.U. had won the National Championship in 1953 under coach Branch McCracken. Well, the campus was beautiful as were the women. I was housed at the MRC which was a great place on 10th street and just across the street from the then football stadium. It was the fourth year for the Little 500. What a great event. Anyway, things being what they were I struggled through my freshman year. I am probably most proud of the time that I spent in the Air Force ROTC. I made the drill team and quified for the honor guard unit and carried the American Flag into 10th steet stadium for the start of one of the games. Now don't look for anything under military, because that was it. I failed my physical (4F). Yes, that is what it says on my draft card. I had bad eyes, and still do. And I was so looking forward to going to Korea. Just think, If I had passed and had money I probably would have avoided the draft or joined the Guard and be running for President today. WOW. I think I had a couple of roomates that year, maybe three. I remember Carl Owen Wortley from the "Region". Carl as were the others, was a...Expand for more