By Robert Potter
April 19, 2012
Dale has said its ok to tell another story since it is raining in Wales again and I have the time I will beg your indulgence for a brief tale of Cajones.
I cannot recall the exact circumstances that led us to the Aliso Pier that day but I think it was perhaps a training day. I know it was not during the training to become a guard as Conley Ware was there and he became a guard before me so if anyone else remembers this let me know.
I recall an event that gave me a ton of respect for my elder guards when John Cunningham set the bar pretty high. John or "Bunky" as he was affectionately called by his students, first at Thurston, where he was a PE teacher along with Jim Herdman and our guard long distance runner Art Smart. Not sure if he got that name before teaching or why he received that moniker but I felt it was because it rhymed with Chunky. Bunky was very stout and solid as a rock so I was surprised when during an outdoor assembly at Thurston he was chosen by Chuck Norris to be part of the demonstration.
Chuck Norris who was at the time the worlds champion in full contact Karate was doing assemblies and showing off the talents of his well trained body. He told Bunky who was on the grass at Thurston with half of the student body watching in a large circle to just relax and "DO NOT MOVE"...he said it again, "DO NOT MOVE". Chuck then put his hands on Bunky shoulders and positioned him with his wind breaker jacket standing oh so still. Bunky’s jacket had ties that went around the base of the jacket and the tied string was dangling and literally touching his pants coincidentally on top of his baby maker area.
Chuck then stepped back and did a slow motion extension of his karate kick which was aimed at Bunky's "package". As he did this the whole assembly, teachers included, gave a spontaneous "OOOOOOWWWWWWW" with a nervous twitter and murmur for good measure. Bunky gulped but he was in it now and was too brave to back down so he just smiled like it was all good. Before anyone realized what had happened, including the Bunkster, Chuck Norris (this is a young studly Chuck under 30 at the time) had made a Cobra lightening strike towards Bunky and all the student body saw was the string on his jacket dance and jump up twice as Chuck had with the exacting precision of a surgeon made 2 ;count’em, 2 kicks before Bunky could even react to the first one.
Pandemonium erupted and the school was laughing and shocked with a nervous relief that Mr. Cunningham was still intact. I was really impressed at how he had handled that and was glad it was not me up there. Bunky also liked to kick field goals and practice punting with one of the Los Angeles Rams kickers. I think his name was Tom Haas? He and the Bunkster practiced on the field up at Thurston and we used to shag the balls that Bunky and Tom kicked. Bunky was really good at it and those giant thighs were very competitive with the pro and if he was serious into practicing I think Bunky could have made the pros.
I know I digress in these stories but it is cold and I got time on my hands. What can I say! I used to be a diver on the swim team with Conley Ware, Keith Carlson and Mark van Buren. Conley was the king and he was fearless on the 3 meter throwing 2 and a half pikes and 1 and a half back layouts and other such dives with twists etc. The three meter can be an unforgiving teacher for if ye miss ye pay the price with some serious smacks. Our teacher was state guard and waterpolo coach George Carey, who made nationals as a diver. So Conley had a good teacher and was probably the best diver Laguna ever had.
BUNKY THROWS DOWN THE GUANTLET
So there we were all the young guards and some senior trainers not sure who but Bunky was one of the old west present. We were there to learn how to officially do a pier jump for rescue purposes. Many of us had done this drunk, naked, many times but some of the inlanders like Robert Judge from Downey needed official training.
I think Stauffer or someone else was talking and Bunky kind of hopped onto rail as we were looking down in the center of the pier where we knew we were all to jump. The atmosphere was jovial as we were on the clock and lighthearted banter was going on as the official instructions were being given. I was the closest to Bunky’s feet on his left and noticed him hands on his knees and focusing. I sensed he was going to kick it off with a dive when Stauffer finished but I was astounded when he got his "mark" and just dove without warning or notice. Keep in mind the pier height railing was about 7 meters or so!
It was a magic slow motion moment as Bunky threw a perfect 1 and a half forward pike and absolutely nailed it! A perfect 10 was my score and I am sure some people might have missed some of the dive as he did it unexpectedly. I am not sure if he was ever officially trained or practiced as a diver but a great athlete for sure.
Conley was aroused and as he was truly a great diver and his competitive side came up and of course he did another 1 and a half pike. He did land it quite well though I have to say it was more like a 8 and a half to Bunky’s 10 on this particular dive.
I also knew that those around me were going to cry for my blood to step up so I quickly anticipated the cajoling that would ensue. So before one or 2 people started looking at me and began the peer pressure to keep up with the Joneses. I am sure it would have turned into a chant wanting a double or something. So I leaped of the pier and did a perfect..........(wait for it ) swan dive. Sorry Charlie but there was no way I would have risked a splat from that height I had to preserve good looks. So my hat is off to Bunky and Conley both for a dive show to equal the wide world of sports coverage of Puerto Rican Cliff Diving ...........ok, well sort of, kind of anyway.
Fondly recalled by Pottsman, aka Potsy
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