well-executed body block. And people praised you for it. Teachers didn’t yell at you and the principal didn’t suspend you. Everyone cheered. The harder you hit someone or the more savagely you tackled someone, the louder the applause became. In a world of contradictions, Mr. Bison found the niche that would carry him from high school in Mobile, Alabama, to the more spacious arena of Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.
In the spring of 1964 the O. G. in Number Four Barracks was roused by a cadet who saw something suspicious occurring in the parking lot adjacent to the tennis courts. They alerted the Officer in Charge and the group went out into the dark to investigate. They caught two cadets with a long hose and an empty gas can. The gas can was empty, but the intent of siphoning gas was obvious. They were both charged with honor violations and summoned to appear before the Honor Court. One of the boys was familiar to the O.C. The thick neck and strong body had impressed him the previous football season. He had watched this man tackle a Furman halfback on The Citadel fifteen yard line so hard that the ball was jarred loose and recovered by a Citadel player. He had seen him before, but it was the first time he had spoken to Mr. Bison.
Colonel Courvoisie had spoken often to Mr. Bison. Passing him on campus, The Boo would ask him about the football team or about his grades. Boo had similar conversations with hundreds of cadets each day. Whether giving out demerits for unshined shoes or standing by Bond Hall waiting for cadets late to class, he always talked to the boys who passed him. He forgot most of these conversations as soon as he had them. It was the cadets who remembered them. Mr. Bison remembered them.
The trial proved to be one of the most controversial in the history of the Honor Court. Could an honor violation be committed by intent alone? Should planning to steal be punished as severely as the act of stealing itself? All of these questions were debated by cadets all over the campus. Even the members of the honor court could feel the pressure mounting as all eyes turned toward the third floor of Mark Clark Hall for the trial which would stand as a test case, a kind of reference point from which later honor courts would embark. Joseph Dickson, a member of the court, later said to his brother that he had never been so torn by a decision as the one rendered that night. The court unanimously decided that Mr. Bison and his companion were guilty of an honor violation. There was no recommendation for leniency. According to the rules, Mr. Bison had to leave The Citadel campus forever in less than twenty-four hours.
Colonel Courvoisie’s most detested job was supervision of those cadets found guilty of honor violations. It was his appointed task to make sure the cadet left as quickly and quietly as possible. He had heard of the court’s decision before Mr. Bison came to see him the next morning. Mr. Bison was shaken and even though he tried to be stoical, Colonel Courvoisie could see the anxiety etched across the boy’s face. The nineteen inch neck seemed little protection against the uncertainty of the future. Colonel Courvoisie spoke first. “There’s not much I can say, Bubba.” “I know, Colonel, there’s not much I can say, either,” he answered. “You know General Clark will write a letter to get you in another school, don’t you?” “Yes, Sir. That’s nice of him.” “Don’t worry, Mr. Bison. Things look bad now, but you’ll come out O.K.” The Boo had listened to other cadets talk about Mr. Bison’s background, the economic deprivation of the early years in Mobile, Alabama, and the derelict father who left home. He had heard about the life the boy led before football had lifted him into The Citadel. He knew some of the circumstances. He understood. “Mr. Bison, can I help you— lend you some money?” the Colonel asked gently. “Colonel, I sure could use thirty dollars.”
In the spring of 1964 the O. G. in Number Four Barracks was roused by a cadet who saw something suspicious occurring in the parking lot adjacent to the tennis courts. They alerted the Officer in Charge and the group went out into the dark to investigate. They caught two cadets with a long hose and an empty gas can. The gas can was empty, but the intent of siphoning gas was obvious. They were both charged with honor violations and summoned to appear before the Honor Court. One of the boys was familiar to the O.C. The thick neck and strong body had impressed him the previous football season. He had watched this man tackle a Furman halfback on The Citadel fifteen yard line so hard that the ball was jarred loose and recovered by a Citadel player. He had seen him before, but it was the first time he had spoken to Mr. Bison.
Colonel Courvoisie had spoken often to Mr. Bison. Passing him on campus, The Boo would ask him about the football team or about his grades. Boo had similar conversations with hundreds of cadets each day. Whether giving out demerits for unshined shoes or standing by Bond Hall waiting for cadets late to class, he always talked to the boys who passed him. He forgot most of these conversations as soon as he had them. It was the cadets who remembered them. Mr. Bison remembered them.
The trial proved to be one of the most controversial in the history of the Honor Court. Could an honor violation be committed by intent alone? Should planning to steal be punished as severely as the act of stealing itself? All of these questions were debated by cadets all over the campus. Even the members of the honor court could feel the pressure mounting as all eyes turned toward the third floor of Mark Clark Hall for the trial which would stand as a test case, a kind of reference point from which later honor courts would embark. Joseph Dickson, a member of the court, later said to his brother that he had never been so torn by a decision as the one rendered that night. The court unanimously decided that Mr. Bison and his companion were guilty of an honor violation. There was no recommendation for leniency. According to the rules, Mr. Bison had to leave The Citadel campus forever in less than twenty-four hours.
Colonel Courvoisie’s most detested job was supervision of those cadets found guilty of honor violations. It was his appointed task to make sure the cadet left as quickly and quietly as possible. He had heard of the court’s decision before Mr. Bison came to see him the next morning. Mr. Bison was shaken and even though he tried to be stoical, Colonel Courvoisie could see the anxiety etched across the boy’s face. The nineteen inch neck seemed little protection against the uncertainty of the future. Colonel Courvoisie spoke first. “There’s not much I can say, Bubba.” “I know, Colonel, there’s not much I can say, either,” he answered. “You know General Clark will write a letter to get you in another school, don’t you?” “Yes, Sir. That’s nice of him.” “Don’t worry, Mr. Bison. Things look bad now, but you’ll come out O.K.” The Boo had listened to other cadets talk about Mr. Bison’s background, the economic deprivation of the early years in Mobile, Alabama, and the derelict father who left home. He had heard about the life the boy led before football had lifted him into The Citadel. He knew some of the circumstances. He understood. “Mr. Bison, can I help you— lend you some money?” the Colonel asked gently. “Colonel, I sure could use thirty dollars.”
Similar Books
![Downs, Jana - Angel Bound [His Guardian Angels 1] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove - Serialized)](/res/dh/book4.jpg)