Monday, April 29, 2019
Bruce Scolton, my friend.
I first met Bruce when his family moved from Jamestown to Ashville and he started attending Panama Central School. Our common interest in athletics resulted in our playing little league and Babe Ruth baseball and high school football and basketball together. The football and basketball teams we played on were very successful due to excellent coaching, talented teammates and Bruce’s participation. Bruce made significant contributions to our success both on and off the field because of his leadership, competitive attitude, and refusal to concede defeat. His intellect and attitude raised the level of performance of the whole team. As a group we learned the value of hard work and fair play. One thing I appreciated most about Bruce was that he said what he meant and meant what he said. Bruce applied all these traits and lessons learned throughout his life. I am confident that he did his best to pass them down to his kids and grandkids.
After high school our paths took us in different directions. I pursued an engineering career which resulted in my family and me moving around the country a fair amount. Bruce pursued a law career and chose to practice in the community that nurtured him. Our geographic diversity made it difficult to get together often, but we managed to share some time when I traveled to western New York for family vacations and at NCAA basketball and PGA golf tournaments, when the opportunity presented itself. On occasion, Eric accompanied us. We always had a good time.
At times like this, I find myself reminiscing about experiences Bruce and I shared; the most memorable being the unusual ones. One of our common enterprises was putting in hay during the summer. Bruce would drum up the business and we would work our tails off getting it done. One afternoon a thunder storm was threatening. We were almost done and decided to push ahead [rather than taking shelter]. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck a bale of hay about 50 yards away at which point we sprinted for the barn. I believe we used up one of our nine lives that day.
Another time we were working in the hay field on the hill above his house. Bruce had to get off the tractor. He left it running and set the parking break. Now, Harry [his dad] had instructed Bruce to put the tractor in gear and turn it off because the parking break was unreliable. What did Harry know! Sure enough, the tractor got loose and started rolling down the hill, picking up speed as it went. While Bruce was a talented athlete, fortunately, he wasn’t the most fleet of foot. He hightailed it down the hill after the tractor, but it was too fast for him. It ended up crashing into the ditch at the bottom of the hill, breaking several parts of the front end. Had he caught up with it, he probably would have broken several of his own parts. I believe Bruce used up another one of his nine lives that day.
In retrospect, I’m surprised we made it out of our teen years alive.
I choose to celebrate Bruce’s life rather than mourn his death. I consider myself fortunate to have shared part of my life with him. I am better off for it.
I am proud to have called Bruce my friend!
Barry Lindblom
