Sometimes a writer walks into a wonderful column or story subject. And that's what happened here.
I was reminded of this column written a little more than 39 years ago. Found it on the old Shreveport Journal files on newspapers.com, and it was sentimental to read it again.
This was an award-winning piece in the annual Louisiana Sports Writers Association contest; in this case, the 1985 awards presented in July 1986.
It was not a first-place award; it finished second in its category. Fine. Contest judging always is subjective, so we accepted -- with gratitude -- whatever the result.
Winning awards is not why we chose the sportswriting/newspaper business, but they were a reminder that on a particular story, column or project, you did a good enough job to impress someone.
Doing the job well day after day -- and, well, helping sell newspapers -- was my personal aim. Didn't always succeed, sometimes in fact failed miserably, and had to move on.
Worked with many better writers and editors, some of them repetitive award winners. But awards did come this way occasionally, and every now and then, there is a reminder of the work involved. And it's fun to think back on that.
This particular column came from a night when I covered a Texas League baseball game at SPAR Stadium, the (very) old home of the Shreveport Captains. It happened to be the Fourth of July, 1985.
Sat down with an elderly man, a familiar season-ticket holder as he was making his return to the ballpark for the first time that season, and the first time as a widower.
Wasn't particularly looking to write a story or column, but simply to say hello to the gentleman, Mr. Eugene Hemard, who was 87. The story/column found us.
Turned out to be a sweet piece, or maybe a bit bittersweet because Ms. Mamie wasn't there.
Read it, and I hope you appreciate it. (And, yes, the photo is from when I was 38 years old. Don't look much like that anymore.)
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