PaPa and the Duel

Henry   ---   Thanks for the news.  It ruined my day.  Anyway, I am reminded of the time when I did the eye pathology for the medical school here at the  the University of Texas.  There were all sorts of eye injuries that resulted in losing an eye, usually involving children.  The most common were B.B. gun injuries and bow and arrow mishaps. 

                        If I remember correctly you are headmaster of a school in East Tennessee. (Morristown  ?)  Your dad lived in East Tennessee for a while, Johnson City, I believe. 

              Now I shall regale you with an anecdote about your dad when we were medical students together in Memphis.     He always was a good tennis player and there were public courts near the University.  One day he had a pick-up game with a fellow who considered himself a superior player.  John creamed him with topspin returns that hit the baseline and jumped up out of his comfort zone and he kept mishitting the ball.  It made him furious and he challenged John to a fistfight.  John wisely replied that he would be happy to fight him but it would have to be the next day as he had to return to class right away.  They agreed on the place and time and I came as John’s second.  When we met up the fellow had calmed down and was quite contrite about losing his temper and apologized.  I think John knew all along what would happen, and I knew that John did not have to rush back to class that previous day.  You have a wise father.          Will Meriwether