Warren Easton High School


 


I loved going to Warren Easton. I remember my very first day, going straight to the gym and getting myself into a pick up basketball game with Kenny “Kid Funk” Moss and Kerry “Cooley High” Washington, two guys who happened to play on the school basketball team. We kept winning games together, as a team, and I felt really good playing with these guys. While they didn’t yet know my name, they kept calling me “Pistol Pete” because of my moves and jump shot. Yes, I still had it. We finally lost to Richard “Crip” Simms’ team. As we sat in the bleachers waiting to get back in, they asked me about my story and how I got to Easton, and so on. 


As high school kids do, they ended up telling me about which of the cheerleaders they had slept with, etc., which led to a discussion/brag session about our favorite lines and moves that we were “known for” with the ladies. After many stories, some half truths and some hysterical lies, I ended up with the nickname “Peter the Eater” for the rest of my junior year. I asked Kid Funk why everyone used nicknames and he told me it was because whenever someone gets in trouble, we would never use any one’s real name if asked by the authorities, which made perfectly good sense to me. Within a few days, some of the prettiest cheerleaders would eventually come up and ask me why they called me “Peter the Eater” and I would just smile at them, and they would giggle and smile back. 


I felt safe hanging out with my friends at Warren Easton. I also liked my teachers, very much, especially Philmon Edwards, who I had for both History and Business Law. Mr. Edwards became so many things to me, not only a wonderful teacher and mentor, but a great friend, and not only to me, but to all of his students. 


Mr. Edwards passed away on March 14, 2012. Rest In Peace, Mr. Edwards.


© 2022 Jeffrey Pipes Guice

My Wonder Years: A Book

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