SAHS Class of 1959~Eddie

~Edward Rene Habert~

xraydr1@sbcglobal.net

After graduation from St. Aloysius I attended L.S.U. on a football scholarship from 1959-1963. I have a degree in Zoology which was a big premed favorite in those days. I played for Paul Deitzel and Charlie McClendon. We won the SEC championship in 1961 and the Orange Bowl in 1962 and the Cotton Bowl in 1963.

I entered L.S.U. Medical School in July of 1963 and graduated with an M.D. degree in 1967. I began my internship at the Charity Hospital of Louisiana in New Orleans in 1967. Yes, the same famous or infamous hospital of Katrina fame. I was chosen the Outstanding Intern on the L.S.U. service for that year. This is an honor I still hold dear. During this time Judy and I lived in public housing projects for three years with our three kids one block off Canal St. on Rampart with no air conditioning. The first year of medical school we lived with her parents. Great experience with great people!

I had been selected for a residency position on the Ob-Gyn service at L.S.U. under the guidance of an All American football player at L.S.U. named Abe Michael . . This may reek of a form of nepotism and it certainly was. I did deliver 500 babies during my senior year in medical school and internship, however, and I like to believe this had something to do with this appointment.

Alas this was not to be. Uncle Sam called. I had three children at the time which didn’t seem to matter if you were a physician. 1968-1969 I was an admit room/emergency room physician at Fort Gordon, GA Army Hospital and 1969-1970 I was attached to the 69th Engineer Battalion at Can Tho in the Mei Cong delta in the Republic of Viet Nam. What a year. We all came home to a pretty confusing time. The Ob position was gone. I became an Emergency Room Physician in St. Louis, MO in 1970 on a physician connection I made in Viet Nam. I continued to work as an Emergency room physician during my radiology residence at St. Louis University. Yea, I had two jobs and one wife and the same three children. I finished the residency in 1975 and became Board Certified in 1976. Now I had the same wife and the fourth child. I worked at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis for twenty-five years as a radiologist in an eleven man group and on Jan. 1st , 2001 started another journey at an Outpatient Imaging Center owned by thirty plus Orthopedic Surgeons about two blocks from the hospital doing primarily MRI and CT services and X-Ray. I retired in the perfect storm on the last day of June this year.

I met the love of my life on the third day I was on the L.S.U. campus in Baton Rouge. I made up my mind I was going to marry her. She doesn’t believe it either. She was dating my football roommate at the time which was somewhat awkward. We have four children Renee 45, Mark 44, Kristen 41 and Eric 33. We have 11 grandchildren from 17 to 4 years of age named Cassie, Henry, Charlie, Sidney Gus, Will, Corrine, Olivia , Emma, Sidonie and finally Jonas. I am still counting on Eric for an even dozen. We are a family that thrives on being together. Judy and I have taken all 21 of them, count ‘em, children, spouses and grandchildren on multiple family adventures. Our philosophy is that we would rather share it with them than leave it to them. I love spending their inheritance if you know what I mean.

Medicine has been my hobby for forty-one years. I like to cook however. Judy hasn’t cooked in over ten years. I owed it to her for the first twenty years when I was never home or if I was I wasn’t conscious. I really am enjoying reading anything but medicine and exercising when I want.

My favorite teachers were Bros. Farrell, Cecil, Matthew and Mark. I only have good thoughts about all of the men who taught us- Victor, Raymond, Neil, Casmir, Anselm.

Some of my favorite high school memories:

Hanging out with John Hennessey and Joe Lindigrin
Recess and handball and the occasional fist fight (there were no guns or knives)
Playing football for Brother Cecil and changing in the old barn
Sonny Logue sweating down for junior football weigh in. He made it but couldn’t walk
Playing baseball after school with Brother Cecil and getting clocked by a fly ball in the eye
Joe Balzi and his baggy shorts, his cigar, his raspy voice and his unflappable persona
Raymond Ray and Frank Logue and making Miss. High School All Star football team.
George Q’s tales of ‘Friday Night Lights’- rivaled by tales of Donnie Riddle
Brother Cecil’s sex talks
Sitting behind Walter Little in Cecil’s class. Pure terror!
Jackie Mackey’s grit
Brother Ashton’s crash pictures and stories
Red top dances
Mandatory Stations of the Cross at St. Paul’s on Friday afternoon
My sweet Mom telling me I wasn’t going to play football anymore when I chipped my
front tooth at football practice in the ninth grade.
Hanging out with a great bunch of girls: Marlene, Agnes, Myrtle, Ina, Vera, Sue, Theresa,
Rita, Kay, Mrs. Banchettil and Martin- I know I’m at risk but remember I am as old
as you are so cut me some slack.
Nuns in long flowing black cassocks gliding along the halls of St. Francis with beads
rattling- it was surreal.
Serving mass for Monsignor O’Beirne
Riding with Father Glynn to Linda Angelo’s house in Edwards for mass and breakfast
There were many, many others that decorum dictate that I omit!!!

Judy and I have been married for 46 years and we have been blessed. We have had the usual life experiences as everyone else and the exceptional challenges that all of face at one time or another. We laugh and cry about trying to retire in a perfect economic storm- who knew. Life’s good if you don’t weaken! Good Lord willing we look forward to seeing all of you in 2009. Ed