A Memorable Picnic in the Park

30 June 2013; Spearfish City Park --
The annual "Dupree Reunion & Picnic" was held today in Salem Park. Grumpy had looked forward to this possible meeting with old friends that he remembered from the years he had lived in Dupree: from March 1936 to June 1944. Especially he looked forward to seeing his South Dakota cousins another year.

The first anticipation was satisfied when he saw his old basketball teammate dating back to the South Dakota Class B District tournament of 1942 in Mobridge. Grumpy remembered how that teammate, at 6' 3", was confronted with playing center position opposite a 6' 5" or 6" player from Mobridge. Knowing he couldn't prevent this taller guy from making a basket if he got the ball, Dean instead "fronted" the guy and waved his hands in front of his face to making it as difficult as possible for the guy to get the ball in the first place. Grumpy, at barely 6', emulated Dean's strategy when he played center opposite a 6' 5" player from Fort Pierre in a gamethat the Philip coach had virtually conceded we would lose. Grumpy succeeded in preventing the taller guy from getting a single point while Grumpy was high-point man for our team. Admittedly the Fort Pierre guy was not agile, nor was he a good ball handler. Grumpy stole a number of balls in the duel. Philip won the game.

The day was capped with this gathering of the Cousins of the "Zimmerman Clan"; only Katy S was missing, and Roy A., who joined this clan by marriage to the eldest daughter of the recently-deceased oldest of this batch of cousins, "Rainey". From the left: Larry, Irene, Grumpy, Jack, Joan, Jimmy (behind), and Ann.

Tomorrow's adventure: Undecided as Grumpy lays his sleepy head down on the pillow tonight.