From The World Cross-Country Championship Archives- The Day Boomer Cadger Caught The West-Bound Freight

From The World Cross-Country Championship Archives- The Day Boomer Cadger Caught The West-Bound Freight    

By Bart Webber

This, under penalty of death or destruction, at least figuratively is the last piece I will write on the legendary Boomer Cadger, a guy who back in the day, back in the early 1960s when running the roads was hazardous to the runner’s health ran like the wind. ( No “share the road” with a runner then as drivers would swerve and laugh, the girl pedestrians would throw rocks or swear like troopers.) And beat my ass so many times when our two track and cross-country teams met that I always have a little jealous resentment writing about his exploits even now. Funny how fifty some years late the effect lingers.

The reason, or reasons, for making this the last effort are simple. One Tiger McPhee, one Bees Devine and one Rolly Jenkins, respectively a football player, a basketball player and a baseball player who played for our high school, North Adamsville back in the 1960s. More importantly they were members of the Tonio’s Pizza Parlor corner boys that I hung out with on lonesome weekend nights. One recent night in Jimmy Joe’s Lounge after I had published the second “Boomer” article while we were having a few drinks the subject of who was the “best you ever saw” in high school sports came up. Tiger mentioned our own legendary Thunder Thornton, a very fast bruiser of a fullback who would carry guys down the field to make a few extra yards and who had led the Warriors to a state championship almost single-handedly. The others mentioned now faded stars and I of course mentioned Boomer. We ended the night on a good note after a few more drinks and that was that.

Well almost “that was that.” Part of my idea about writing about Boomer was to see if he was still around, was alive and kicking and maybe through some social network media have heard what I was doing. What happened though was that his friend from North Quincy High John Franklin got in touch with me and filled me in on some of Boomer’s history shortly after high school and I published that information. Again with the idea of trying to draw Boomer out as the arc expanded. I also when the still standing members of Tonio’s corner boys met for drinks and conversation            

At Jimmy Jack’s would mention the latest happenings on the Boomer story. The other night though the rubber met the road on that idea.

The minute I was ready to tell the guys the latest on Boomer Tiger McPhee exploded. Said and this is pretty close to verbatim that Thunder Thornton would have had Boomer for lunch and had time for a nap. That nobody’s gave a rat’s ass about some “fag” in his underwear bothering automobile drivers by clogging up the roads. That the guy probably only did those runs to expose himself to young girls to get “his jollies off” (implying that too might have been my motive for running even though Tiger knew how hard my home life was, and his too). That nobody gave a rat’s ass about cross-country and track when the real sports were football, basketball and baseball. That maybe instead of “bugging” them with “bullshit on a stick” about some has-been (unlike Thunder who made the state high school Hall of Fame and played for a while in the pros before some Achilles tendon problems shortened his career) that I should leave Boomer conversation at the door. The others chimed in with similar if less robust sentiments. The look Tiger gave after his spiel told me from past experience that I should keep my lips sealed with seven seals.

I am not sure whether before Tiger gave his “don’t tread on me” warning I would have continued to talk about Boomer if for no other reason that nervousness about why after all these years I have been pursuing this story. What I did know was that I was privy to information from John Franklin about Boomer’s later fate, about what was happening to him as of about ten years ago. I have already mentioned that “jock” Boomer was not smart enough to go to college in the days when track scholarships were not plentiful, and some standards existed between academics and sports. He joined the Navy with the idea of seeing the world, the world wound up be stuck on some scow as a cook down in South Carolina. In the Navy he got into drugs and alcohol, had a few drying out periods later, started his own diner, that failed, had a few marriages, those failed and wound up finally, sober, running a paint contracting business with some success. You already know and if you don’t I will mention it again John said I would not recognize Boomer since he had ballooned up to well over 230 pounds (his running weight was probably about 130). Farewell youth. So long Boomer, you ran like the wind and that is the image I will keep in my quiet head.