Original "The Bench" Book Found

Bruce Hardy Uncovers The Original "The Bench" Book

As you can read in "The Bench" our 8th grade year was full of fun and adventure. The Benchies might have stunk at basketball but we had a ton of fun. Getting to play more would have been a lot of fun but getting in the game free and having a front row seat for Cheerleader Watching is not a bad gig if you can get it. In a matter of just a few months we came up with the idea of the book, wrote it, awarded Kent the Benchie of the Year award, had the book typed and printed and even sold a few copies. Probably not enough to cover the cost but still we suckered some folks into buying one.

The next year saw a lot of changes to the Benchies. Some retired and some moved away. The first to leave the flock was Bruce Hardy. Bruce and his family moved to Oklahoma but Bruce didn't leave town empty handed. As a going away gift we award him with the hand written copy of "The Bench". (I know, he must have been so excited.) With the book now in print apparently Greg and I didn't think we needed the handwritten version. So Bruce headed off to Oklahoma with The Bench in tow and we just figured that was that.

Over the next 30 years or so "The Bench" book or talk of the book would come up every now and then. I took a copy to one of our class reunions and from time to time an old classmate would bring up the fact that they still had their copy. I was always afraid to talk too much about it cause I figured they were going to ask for a refund. But none did.

In 1984 I moved to Tulsa to take a new job. Found out later that Bruce was in Tulsa too but we never crossed paths. I was in Tulsa until 1998 when I moved to Oklahoma City. Where I live now.

Jump forward to the Fall of 2009. Thanks to the wonder of Facebook one day I get a "Friend" request from none other than Bruce Hardy. He was still in Tulsa. After a couple emails Bruce brought up the fact that he still had the original copy of "The Bench". I about soiled myself. My first thought was why in the world would he keep something like this? My second thought was, I would love to see it again.

Whether you call it fate or the work of God (I go with the second one) we definitely had the book in the right hands when we gave it to Bruce way back in 1973. As it turns out Bruce is quite the collector. He collects old movie memorabilia, Elvis treasures, etc. Some call him a collector others may label him a pack-rat but either way it was great that he was the one that owned the book.

I asked Bruce to make a copy of the book and then email it to me but he said, "Heck, I have had it 40 years, you can have it the next 40." So a couple weeks later Bruce packed it up, called Fed-X, and hired a swat team for protection and had the book sent to me in OKC.

Getting the original book back inspired me to try to round up all the Benchies and without too much work I was able to find all of them. Jim Byrd - Orlando, Kent Williams - Washington DC, Greg Storm - Joplin, Bobby Lauck - Austin, Norman West - Oklahoma City, John Bailey - Neosho.

And after getting in touch with each of the Benchies another event happened which inspired me to start on the second book, Back on the Bench. But for now you will have to wait for more on that. Stay tuned.

Thanks Bruce!! The book couldn't have been in better hands.

Why the Bench was written

Why "The Bench" Was Written?

Why was The Bench written? Good question. Wish I had a good answer. It wasn't a class assignment or anything like that. I recently talked to Greg Storm, the co-author and asked him if he remembered why we wrote the book. He just chuckled and said, "You know I was thinking about that too. I am sure we thought we would get something out of writing the book but after reading it again for the life of me I can't imagine what it would have been." We both seem to think the simple fact of boredom probably was the driving force behind the writing of The Bench. As you can read in "Back on the Bench" I talk about how Greg and I along with most of the other Benchies were in an all boys Study Hall class. And since studying wasn't a high priority for most of us we needed something to do to pass the time. So somehow Greg and I came up with the idea of writing about our adventures of setting on the bench. My wife is still amazed that we had the attention span long enough to write ten chapters about ten different games. Man we must have really been bored.

A Special Thanks

A Special Thanks

Of course The Bench would have never made it to print if not for the help of two very special people. My Mom and stepfather. My Mom spent countless hours setting at a typewriter (yep a typewriter) typing up The Bench. As you can see from the attached copy of the handwritten version of "The Bench", Mom had a ton of corrections to make. I guess it was a good thing we weren't turning the book in for a grade. Once Mom completed the typed version she then turned it over to Dale (My Stepfather) to be printed. Since Dale was a printing teacher at a vo-tech school we were able to actually get the book printed. Dale designed the artwork for the front and back covers and then printed up several copies of the book. If I remember right we sold the book for .50 to try to help cover the cost of the printing.

Dale passed away in 2009 but his life lives on in the work he did on The Bench and more importantly in the many lives he touched. To honor the work that Dale did on the book I wanted the cover of the new book to have somewhat the same feel. Dana Jordan, a graphic artist friend of mine worked on the new design and I felt like she did a great job of capturing a retro feel of the '70's as well as the look of The Bench for the new cover.  Check out Dana's websites at http://www.cottongindesign.artfire.com/ & www.facebook.com/cottongindesign

The Original Manuscript

The Bench

Share Your Benchie Story

All of us have been a Benchie at one time or another in our life.   Most of us can remember a time when we had the hopes of being the best at one thing or another just to find out that in a sense we had to sit on the Bench instead.

Please share your stories of a time when you were a Benchie.  Maybe not in a sports activity but in a job or some other situation.  Share your funny, or inspirational, or emotional story with us.  We have readers of all ages so please be respectful as you share your thoughts.

We look forward to reading your story!