At the top of the Home page of this site is a picture of two boys leaning on a Levelland, Texas city limit sign. This is the story behind the picture.
I am the boy on the left (I’m Rocky, also known as Roger). The boy on the right is my childhood friend and schoolmate, Mark Bayci. In 1963, John F. Kennedy (JFK) was President of the United States. JFK was a great advocate of physical fitness, among other things. He encouraged the youth of America to shed their lazy images, lose some weight, get regular exercise, and make America proud. JFK was my childhood hero. I wanted to please him and follow his advice. JFK inadvertently challenged Americans to get fit, and to prove their fitness by going on a 50-mile hike. Mark and I were not the only ones listening to JFK. Thousands of other people all over the United States, not just kids, challenged themselves to do what JFK said and complete a 50-mile hike. Even secretaries in the White House and Pentagon wanted to show their strength and walk for 50 miles. The 50-mile hike craze had begun.
In 1963 (the same year that JFK was assassinated), Mark and I were 13 and 14 years old. We asked my daddy if he would help us by driving us to someplace 50 miles away from home and letting us walk back home. My daddy was one of the sweetest fathers in the world, and would do anything for his kids. On Saturday, March 9, 1963, he loaded up the back of his 1959 El Camino with a huge quantity of snacks and drinks, and at dawn the three of us headed down the highway. He drove 50 miles past the city limit of our hometown, Lubbock, Texas, and let Mark and me get out of the truck. Daddy drove ahead by himself about a quarter of a mile, pulled over by the side of the road, and waited for us to catch up to him. Of course, he was watching us in his rearview mirror. When we reached him, he encouraged us to drink, eat, and rest, then he drove another quarter of a mile ahead, and waited for us to catch up to him again. We did this over and over again for more than 14 hours. Sometimes Mark and I would sit on the tail gate of the pickup and rest for a while. We were not as physically fit as we thought we were. When we had travelled about half way (25 miles), we reached the Levelland city limit. That’s when my daddy took a picture of us holding on to the city limit sign. 25 miles hiked, 25 more miles to go.
It was a long, hard walk. We tried hard. But at the 45-mile point (14.5 hours), we gave up. We just couldn’t walk another inch. JFK would just have to settle for 45 miles. I wish I could go back to that day. It was one of the most memorable days of my life.
