CWO4, Charles Taylor Carter, was born on US-58 in Mecklenburg County back in 1933, and our family roots remained there for generations. In fact, there are still family members there today, but they are not part of this story.
The term is called ” Navy Brat,” and it was something that I embraced. Yes, I dealt with double digits in regards to the number of schools that I did or did not attend, but I credit my personality to the dramatic change of scenery each new deployment brought.
I was born in Lemoore, California, but we left there when I was three. We moved 3,000 miles to Tidewater, Virginia. From there, it was up to New England ( Rhode Island ) before dropping to the deep south, and I mean deep south in Albany, Georgia.
The sixth grade was the year that was the most bonkers of the twelve. It started with a move across town, from a farm 🚜 to a city home. The next move came when the Naval Base was closed down and Dad waited to hear what was next.
Key West, Florida ( my first knowledge of Jimmy Buffett ), but it was always going to be a temporary move. Dad went ahead and sent me to my grandparents’ house in Finchley, just a bit from Buggs Island Lake. The amusement ride continues from there when we are relocated back to Tidewater. Five locations in one year.
We never had any money, so getting an allowance was not going to happen. But my love for sports was starting to develop, so I went into business for myself as a twelve year old. It started with Lawn Care, and when I turned 13, I switched over to the newspaper business by delivering the Virginia Pilot every morning.
Six months later, I had six routes and managed them by hiring my friends. Aubrey Spangler was the District Manager who let me build a teenage empire.
I traced my roots back to my home state and adopted the Oakland Athletics as my baseball team. Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders in football so naturally I understood the business of sports marketing at an early age.
Locally, it was Old Dominion University and Virginia Wesleyan University, giving me a back stage pass to both Ronnie Valentine on the Men’s side and a young lady named Nancy Lieberman on the women’s.
The American Basketball Association was still a thing, and we had the Virginia Squires. They didn’t make the four team list when the merger happened, but it introduced me to the voice of one Marty Brenneman. The excitement in his voice was amazing as he could keep you excited even when you were down 38 points.
The Tidewater Tides started the love affair with baseball. I still remember the day that Willie Mays, the Say Hay Kid himself, at the age of 42 came to town. He had just retired from the New York Mets and put the uniform back on for the annual MLB versus Triple A game was played. I miss those days…
Mays launched a bomb 💣 that day and added a base hit. It was a priceless experience. Also, that summer, my parents let me board a fan bus for a day trip to Richmond for an AAA showdown at the old Diamond Ball park. $10.00 back then was the cost for the Day, those were good times.
While down in South Georgia, I started following the Atlanta Braves and this quirky pitcher for the San Diego Padres named Randy Jones. That would come full circle decades later when I started working with his catcher, Joe Goddard at West Virginia Tech University.
The other very notable thing that happened was that an expansion team was awarded to a mythical place called the Emerald City. The Seattle Mariners were born and, to this day, remain my team.
Dad finally retired, just short of 30 years because if he didn’t, he would have another sea duty stint, and he didn’t want to put Mom through that again.
Halfway through my junior year of high school, we moved to the Midwest. When you added that my parents were able to buy their very first home during my seventh grade, it meant two high schools, two junior high schools, and eight other stops along the way.
Before we completely close the door on Tidewater, it’s worth mentioning that we played football against the likes of Kenny Easley, Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor, and AL Toon, to name a few. Easley played at Oscar Smith High School and will reappear later in the book.
The long and winding road took us to a place that was called the fastest growing county in the United States, St. Charles.
Dad took a job at McDonnell Douglas, which would later be swallowed up by Boeing. Just like the Jed and all of his kinfolk, we loaded up the truck and headed west. St Louis is called the Gateway to the West and was set to be our next stop.
There were five or six major pieces to the puzzle that happened during the first stay in the Show-Me state. Each one played a major role in the journey, so let’s get to it.
Gerry Boehm had just finished up a great run as the assistant coach at the legendary Desmet High School under Rich Grawer. Grawer ran a college level program at the powerhouse school and Boehm was eager to build his own program by using the same thought process. Grawer would move on later to the college level and just missed a serious run at a Final Four when he was coaching Steve Stipanovich.
Grawer was trying to make the move up at the same time but was passed over. Stip was the definition of a Blue Chip, and others were going to follow him once he picked his college. He ended up going over to Columbia, where he played for Norm Stewart and his Missouri Tigers.
Two decades later, our paths crossed again in Bellingham, Washington, when I was in town for a Western Washington University game and his daughter was on the team. File that under small world.
Boehm was a towering presence, and his level of understanding the game made every minute around him exciting.
During my junior year at Francis Howell, I continued my search for ways to expand my portfolio, and because of my physical limitations, playing golf was the only true option. This led to a multitude of opportunities in that part of the sports world.
It has been a rather wild ride up to this point and I’m still only 17 years old. Up to this point, I have only written one poem and goofed around a bit with a number of possibilities. Let’s see where it takes us next !
