For my column this week I’m going to go back in time a little bit to my Houston Astros. Now, this is right after they moved into the Astrodome. Ken Schulze who worked at the radio station – well you know who he is. He’s passed away now but one of my favorite memories was talking about the Astrodome and some of the times we had at the Astrodome which were unbelievable because Ken was very good friends with the Astro’s shortstop at that time, Roger Metzger.

On that team was a guy named Doug Rader. Now, he managed a couple of Major League teams. He played for the Astros and several others, but Metzger lived across the street from Raider. I said, “You mean y’all are neighbors? You just run across the street and borrow a bowl of sugar or what?” He said, “Yeah! We’ve been like that ever since he’s lived there a couple of years. He’s the best friend I’ve got on the team.” So the story goes, one night Metzger was having a small dinner party. Not something you would invite Rader to, kind of a “dignified” deal. Anyway, he was missing some, I think, catsup. Rather than go to town to get some he decided to just call on his friendship. So, he called over there and Rader’s wife answered the phone. She said, “Yes, we have some catsup. I’ll send Doug over with it.” He said, “No, I can run over there.” But she said, “No, I insist. I’ll just send Doug.” About three minutes later there was a knock on his door. He opens the door and there is a naked Doug Rader with a container of catsup – acting as if nothing is wrong! Obviously there was so Metzger pulls the door to behind him so he can’t get in and he’s arguing with him. He says, “Let me come in for a minute.” Metzger says, “No I can’t.” Rader says, “Let me come I want to meet your friends!” He shuts the door.

He said the thing never came up again. He said, “It’s unbelievable. In the next year or so I called over probably five or six times asking if I can borrow something and he shows up every time – every single time – well dressed!” He said, “I don’t know what happened that night. It may have been the small dinner party that we had. Maybe he was upset about that, but he taught me a lesion I’ll never forget.” He said, “I never forgot that and every time I opened the door I had this anticipation about me. I was always dressed and whatever, but he made me a better person by dressing all the time and being prepared all the time.”

That was one of the funny ones I’ve ever heard from Roger Metzger.

I miss Ken Schulze.

Until next time, so long everybody.

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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].