I’ve never wanted so badly NOT to take the high road. I wanted to lash out at my accusers, and I had plenty of players and parents who would have backed me if I had done so. I had taken responsibility for my part of the debacle, but our team was still held captive by accusation. We would all learn a valuable lesson in restraint, perseverance, and submission to our authorities that season.

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Our little family of four moved out of the little house on Ashland Drive to live with Loretta’s parents while we built our new house on our new, paid-for two-acre lot. Not until Loretta’s dad knocked down the head-high weeds with his tractor and mowing deck did we know what the land actually looked like. It was beautiful. Trees lined both sides, and the house site sat...

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