SuperSneaker

One friday after school I was short a player for a league match the guy dropped me I had to fill my team. The Sneaker joked he knew the moves I put him on board two the reasoning was he would lose his game anyway but my other players would all have a bit weaker opponents, and then his opponent didn't arrive either.

As chance had it the other team now was short a player also and their captain left their board two open and Sneaker won his game by default putting us starting already at an advantage. So that technically he'd played for the first chess team and won all his games. He had his game on default and very proudly so and he scored a cooldrink. Well two. Well done.

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On our bicycles I could not visit now for “personal reasons”. Never told him, in fact I was after PJ's sister never got any thing right there but PJ did convince her for the valentine's ball and it took some doing. He had to practically beg her PJ did it for the money, even so it made a lasting impression she speaks of it whenever I see them. She became a police woman. She's very attractive.

Sneaker never came visiting again but I was still always welcome there.

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Our principal always wore green suits we were smoking the other side of the athletic field every day with breaks you saw him from a mile and “a drum a drum Skaamkoos doth come!” Once a prefect came and said we must come with him to the principal's office. That was a good laugh shame.

His mathematics was actually very strong second in class which suited him he got to sit next to one of the prettiest girls.

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When his mother answered the phone “Ward 13 Good Evening” you knew you were at the right number. Just like us not a house it's a home.

There were very large stands those days in the older part of town he had a shack in the back yard and stacks LPs of heavy metal I learned some there is a lot of really good stuff. At a time I visited there saturday afternoons watching curry cup rugby and cheap whiskey and water. Great fun!

Those metal performers had these little screams screeches like stepping on cat's tail of course the parents hated it funny thing they did it in their day in R&R already like Chuck Berry but obviously not often not that much. Sneaker designed and made his own electric guitar.

They had a very clever dog he taught it all kinds of tricks like roll over and speak! Barking. After that a very big dog ferocious really scary you wouldn't go in there without him.

His brothers did well in work and that but I would say Sneaker is very successful he is very good at his work and in business and well qualified.

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We spent a lot of time in the university cafeteria drinking cokes some guys were always collecting empties from other tables. You have to hand it to them for persistence and determination just plain tenacity. It was to pay for their studies. At that stage I did very well with grants and was staying with grandparents I had enough money didn't have to pay lodging either and they were near campus.

Sneaker was not really ever a drinking buddy just cokes I had other drinker brothers. Checking out the girls and we wrote poems we had this game he would write a line then me and his turn again some of it wasn't bad at all and Grapes played a solid game of chess some were playing bridge too.

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We were taught from very small that racism is unfair and very wrong. The apartheid system was madness. Me and Grapes were talking revolution and communism dangerous stuff fools rush in.

Extremely dangerous conduct extreme foolishness a rebel without a cause. My father had then recently died and then shortly after was my grandfather. Had long hair my academic performance suffered towards the end and known for wild behind a steering wheel. My father had given me a sports car a Datsun SSS.

We did not realise how fatal this was and me with essentially a military bursary. Reckless and opposed to any kind of authority and against all discipline. Hard drinking. Then to the opposite got involved with a fundamentalist religious sect I was out of control. I had incredible energy. Crash!! state mental hospital, and later again, Crash!! orthopaedics and traction. Grapes also disappeared nobody knew were he was. There was talk of drugs.

I don't think anybody really knows what the story was.

This was in the 80s. I think he was only guy at varsity who really missed me when I left my life took some drastic turns.

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So then Sneaker  joined the police force with all the training and was an officer, but without having graduated and they sent him back to university and in an impressive comeback graduated well and working then at police forensics. As special professional witness in court his job still after the police but now private and also coach of a university women's rugby team. Very individualistic this guy.

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At prize giving he always had socks one red one blue and as he climbed up the stairs for the stage red blue red blue red … I don't know the awards probably faithful school attendance.

School record attendance prize for the complete 12 years with no absence at all they wanted to present the prize at our last school opening but when they announced the award and read his name he wasn't there.

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I'm sure they all just carried on with life it is sad to me my friends are all gone I just carry on by my own.