Coach and History teacher. I wasn't an athlete but I had him in P.E. and history classes. Everyone liked him. The memories after his obituary are very caring. I graduated in '68 the coaches age and mine seemed so far apart then, now not so much.
By now most have heard of the passing of “Coach” McManus. As the stories and memories of Coach McManus are memorialized, we can now remanence the past and know with certainty that he did make a difference in the lives of many who he touched.
It was said, “he made us mentally and physically tougher, beyond what one could normally expect…but didn’t break us” However, like all of us, coach McManus had his flaws, but what a tribute it is when it can be said, “I will never forget him… and he had a big heart.” Many will agree “he taught us that a good swat on the rear could help you to modify the worst of behaviors!” and “you had an impact in the way I grew up. Thanks for the life lessons”.
When it comes to Coach McManus, no matter which end of the emotional spectrum of our past we find ourselves, it is hard to disagree that Coach believed in himself. He believed in his quixotic ambition, letting the failures of the previous day disappear as each new day dawned. He taught that yesterday was not today, and the past did not predict the future if you could learn from your mistakes.
The passing of Coach McManus for many of us is just another reminder that with each passing moment we are becoming part of the past for those whose life’s we touch today. Do we think only of the past by the remembrance it gives to us as pleasure? Did we thank the people who walked into our lives and made it better and give thanks to the ones who walked out and made it amazing?
While trying not to dwell on the negatives of the familiar milestones created by the passing of those from our past, one can only imagine if it possible to create a new memory of others from our past? Perhaps all that is needed is for someone to tell the tales from the “good ole days.” When the battles were fought and won and lost, when the pirates found their treasures and the dragons devoured their foe while the listeners add their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in the memories of our past. It is in the listener, and for each ear it will be different and will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the ordinary to the profound, a tale may still be told of those that have taken up residence in our soul and may now come to life with a purpose. These tales of our memories will move others and drive them, and they only know what they might do because of it, because of our words. That is our role, our gift. Our some of our classmates they think they see nothing of importance in the memories of our alma mater, but we can shape the memory, after all they are the magic.
When reading the memories about Coach McManus written by some our fellow classmates at, “www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/baytown-tx/vernon-mcmanus-9900039 “it was obvious to see how easy it is to leave something of ourselves behind. Memories are those things which make us who we are and can only be found by going back to those places.
Some of us may have been extremely disappointed with our memories growing up thinking everyone has the same heart as we do, having never learned to accept people for who they are and learned to reject them for the same reasons. We all know of someone who tried to hang onto their past but were attacked by the idea of those memories believed to be conquered long ago. The past is never where we think we left it and the future never what we expect. While the scars of the past may have the strange power to remind us that our past is real let is keep calm and let karma finish it. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.
So, what does it say about a person such as Coach McManus but, “God bless you coach Vern and we were lucky to be alive when you coached us!”
James Kimio Kitchen
Coach and History teacher. I wasn't an athlete but I had him in P.E. and history classes. Everyone liked him. The memories after his obituary are very caring. I graduated in '68 the coaches age and mine seemed so far apart then, now not so much.
Neal Willard
By now most have heard of the passing of “Coach” McManus. As the stories and memories of Coach McManus are memorialized, we can now remanence the past and know with certainty that he did make a difference in the lives of many who he touched.
It was said, “he made us mentally and physically tougher, beyond what one could normally expect…but didn’t break us” However, like all of us, coach McManus had his flaws, but what a tribute it is when it can be said, “I will never forget him… and he had a big heart.” Many will agree “he taught us that a good swat on the rear could help you to modify the worst of behaviors!” and “you had an impact in the way I grew up. Thanks for the life lessons”.
When it comes to Coach McManus, no matter which end of the emotional spectrum of our past we find ourselves, it is hard to disagree that Coach believed in himself. He believed in his quixotic ambition, letting the failures of the previous day disappear as each new day dawned. He taught that yesterday was not today, and the past did not predict the future if you could learn from your mistakes.
The passing of Coach McManus for many of us is just another reminder that with each passing moment we are becoming part of the past for those whose life’s we touch today. Do we think only of the past by the remembrance it gives to us as pleasure? Did we thank the people who walked into our lives and made it better and give thanks to the ones who walked out and made it amazing?
While trying not to dwell on the negatives of the familiar milestones created by the passing of those from our past, one can only imagine if it possible to create a new memory of others from our past? Perhaps all that is needed is for someone to tell the tales from the “good ole days.” When the battles were fought and won and lost, when the pirates found their treasures and the dragons devoured their foe while the listeners add their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in the memories of our past. It is in the listener, and for each ear it will be different and will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the ordinary to the profound, a tale may still be told of those that have taken up residence in our soul and may now come to life with a purpose. These tales of our memories will move others and drive them, and they only know what they might do because of it, because of our words. That is our role, our gift. Our some of our classmates they think they see nothing of importance in the memories of our alma mater, but we can shape the memory, after all they are the magic.
When reading the memories about Coach McManus written by some our fellow classmates at, “www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/baytown-tx/vernon-mcmanus-9900039 “it was obvious to see how easy it is to leave something of ourselves behind. Memories are those things which make us who we are and can only be found by going back to those places.
Some of us may have been extremely disappointed with our memories growing up thinking everyone has the same heart as we do, having never learned to accept people for who they are and learned to reject them for the same reasons. We all know of someone who tried to hang onto their past but were attacked by the idea of those memories believed to be conquered long ago. The past is never where we think we left it and the future never what we expect. While the scars of the past may have the strange power to remind us that our past is real let is keep calm and let karma finish it. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.
So, what does it say about a person such as Coach McManus but, “God bless you coach Vern and we were lucky to be alive when you coached us!”