13 days until your birthday ..... Dad and I were watching the Saints play Saturday and it made me think about your last football game at Southwood. It was your senior year and you, Whitey, and Kyle (I think his name is really Chad but for some reason Ive always called him Kyle and I think Coach Ab called him Kellogg and both are wrong. I wish I knew the story behind his name) anyway it was the last game of the season and it was your senior year. You three used to be the last three to walk out on the field because only you three had played all 4 years together. Well at this last game you three decided yall would be the first three out on the field as a symbol of your last game together. Now the day before the game at practice you had twisted your knee and pulled your hamstring and were walking with a limp and in a good deal of pain. You told us you were going to play no matter what because it was the last game of your high school life. So here we were in the stand watching yall play and on the first play of the game Dad could tell something was wrong with you and thats when you signed to me that your hand was broken. That was the cool thing about us knowing sign language it was that we could communicate across a room or in this case across a football field. Coach Ab motioned for Dad to come down. After their talk and your hand was taped up Dad told me you refused to go to the hospital and have it looked at. You wanted to stay until the game was over. Well after the other team makes two more touchdowns we saw you go up to the Coach and ask him something. We saw Coach shake his head no several times and you take off your ace bandage and then shake his hand. You could see the Coach bear down on your hand hard and you never flinched. I guess you proved whatever you were trying to prove because he let you go back in the game. I wasnt to happy about it but Dad just smiled and said,Gal, nothing is going to stop Blue Eyes from playing his last game. So there you were playing with a twisted knee, pulled hamstring, and now a broken hand. Your position was nose tackle or nose guard I cant remember what its called but youre right in front of the guy with the ball on the defense side. You get two sacks and cause the quarterback to fumble and you retrieve that fumble. Southwood ended up losing but you had a great game and your teammates must have appreciated your dedication because during the football banquet you were given the Willie Burns Courage Award which is voted on my your teammates. The Coach talked about you playing that game with those injuries. You could tell it meant a lot to you to receive that award. It just goes to prove once again the kind of character you showed when you cared about something or someone. Oh and after the game we did take you to the ER where X-rays showed your hand was broken in three places and you ended up having orthopedic surgery and wore a cast for two months. And since it was your right hand you had plenty of girls willing to write for you and do your homework for you that semester. That might be actually why you graduated because they probably did all your homework for you. I still have that award and your jersey and helmet you wore on that last game. I dont even want to know how you came to have them in your possession but Im glad weve got them. Its those little things of yours I cherish. You didnt leave much in material things and Ive got very little to pass on to Gabriel so what little I do have I cherish.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 12:26:57 +0000
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