at the table with Eric. I knew him from classes that we took. He was one of the few people that expressed himself with his poems and art. He also knew football. Giants fan, he was, but I let that go. Tammy and Jana were both a mystery. Tammy was new, just moved from Easton, Pennsylvania, in the summertime. Fun fact that was shared by our group, all but me went to the same church. More important for them was the fact I didn’t go to church anymore. As class was getting ready to let out, I had to explain that one. It was simple, I went when I was young because my dad believed that I need to go. I never understood God or the reason for the church or Bible.
At fourteen, my dad gave me a choice to go or not, and well, I chose not to go anymore. Eric said, “Hey, buddy, I can help you with that. I mean God is beyond words but not beyond understanding.” I thought about it, but I was not too interested in it. I mean I knew of God, but just how to live a life in following him was something I didn’t agree with. Of course, I learn more about God and the many things of the Bible. Tammy began to speak about it when the bell rang, and it was time to go. Eric gave me his number, joined in by Tammy and Jana. The idea was simple, we stay in touch when not in school. When we all left that room, I didn’t know that my world would change for the better. I didn’t know that I would know love in its purest form.
With the class done, I went right to the locker room to change for practice. Throughout the rest of the day, I couldn’t shake this curiousness about Jana, like those times when you just get something in your head and can’t stop thinking about it. When I got home, my dad was still at work. Since high school started, he works later, and I fend for myself. I learned to handle myself; well, Linda taught me somethings and still checks up every so often. I showered, cleaned up my room, and hopped on the TV. Cable was the big thing, and well, my dad still was using basic channels. That left me with thirteen channels to watch, which is not much on TV. I had a Nintendo system, so I made the choice to play some Zelda. I had been beating the game several times but just loved playing the game. Strange it may be, my dad made good money, but he never bought the big stuff like big TV or the latest system or even cable. He felt it was waste of money and that money could better to be served to other places. After some time, my stomach started to rumble. Time to eat something for dinner. I didn’t have mad cooking skills, but I did a good grilled cheese with ham. My night ended with watching some Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The first couple of days in class, we all spent time learning about one another. Mr. Smith had us write a report of what we wanted to be when we finished high school or college. My story was simple. I wanted to go play football at Notre Dame, in part to honor my grandpa and my dad and ’cause they are the best team. Once I did football for the four years, yes, I would stay all four years to finish my degree in sports science, I would do the NFL draft. When football is done, I retire in Barnegat and coach the kids. It seemed simple and easy to me, yet not to a lot of other people, not so much.
We all learned that Eric wanted to go to NYU and do plays for Broadway in the city of New York. He felt that was the best way to take his artistic eye and show it to the world in play form. Tammy was simple, go to college for business and work up the ladder on one of the Fortune 500 companies. She wanted to be the change in the world for others. Jana was not surprising, but then again, she kind of was. For her, it was about doing the college root and studying youth ministry. She wanted to help the kids who had special needs and those who need just a bit of understanding. Then the talk shifted to marriage and kids. I guess my idea was a bit different. I never really thought about that stuff, didn’t think I needed to yet. Eric wanted the New York life, apartment in the city, kids knowing the city, and a wife that would be like him. He was one of a kind guy. Tammy didn’t have much to say either about marriage or kids. She wanted to focus on her career and deal with the rest after she was at least thirty. Jana had the same idea since she was little—good husband, who loves deep and passionate, many kids to match the big house she wanted. It got real for the moment there.
I looked at Jana and just saw her glace at me; something about it spoke to me. For a couple more weeks, we researched the jobs, the colleges, and other things we need to live in our reported life. This was his way of getting us prepared for the world. It was helpful to learn about the costs of things, to know some things are not free as they talk about on TV. All of us knew college was not cheap, but to learn that there were places there were very high on cost and others much low than we thought. Some research shows some of those high cost colleges didn’t work out so much for people, such as jobs and not having the raise in pay as they thought. We also learned some schools were not worth the time, including accreditation. For me, that the school that had no accreditation was worth the paper we signed on. I admit I was blown away by all these stuff, and it had me thinking about my choice.
I had applied to Notre Dame already, but now I was looking for other places. My football would give me a shot in some schools. Jana got our table more surprised with her pick of college, and the setup was sweet. She had applied at Barclay College and was accepted. It is a small place in Kansas, in a town of Haviland. We all had to look that up and really had to look for it. Even the maps in school didn’t have the town, not much to see at that part. She called it her little haven for her life. From the pictures, it reminded me of an old school from like the fifties. The gym was smaller, and I thought of the movie Hoosiers in how it looked. It’s funny, looking at the place had me thinking about it more and more. The one sticking point for it was a Christian college. That was something that I didn’t quite wrap my head around.
Our little group was spending more time together. At one football game, I spotted Eric and Tammy in the stands. I was looking to see if my dad made this game. I knew he worked, and most of the time, he can’t make my games, but I still looked for him anyway. As much as I wanted my dad there, I knew I needed to stay focused on the game. We were playing Little Egg Harbor. They were a tough team to crack. Their best player was the quarterback named Jim Bell. He was also a rare left-handed thrower. Rumor was he was being scouted in this game by schools like Rutgers, Penn State, and Boston College.
So for any of us, it was also a time to shine, a chance to get a look and possible interests from the schools. I looked one more time in the stands. I didn’t know why I bothered, but I guess something was in play that night. I happened to catch out of the corner of my eye Jana. She had her hair done and looked quite beautiful. So much so that I lost my head, well my ears, when the coach called for me. My teammate Joe had to hit me upside the head to get me back. My number was being called, and I needed to shine for the crowd. It was a simple play of running to my left, finding the hole in the offensive line, and looking to race down the field. But I noticed that I was not the only one to see my play as I saw the other team shifting over to the left. Their middle linebacker was getting ready to hit the hole. I saw if I ran that why, he would stop me short, and we would have lost yards. I moved to Ben, the quarterback, and keyed him on it. Ben saw the same thing, and we switched the shift to the right. He called, “Hut, hut, blue 24, hut, hike.” Middle linebacker moved to cover the left, but I moved to the right. The offensive opened a hole on the end of the line, letting me burst right through it. The switch caught the other team off guard, and I was racing to the endzone—touchdown.
There is a thrill to see that moment and race to the end for a score. I was cheering with all my teammates, yet I was looking back in the stands. Then I lost my breath. In the front row, clapping, was my dad. He had seen the play. Seeing him smile and cheer me on was a feeling I have not had since I was little. I was hyped up for the rest of the game. After the shower and changing clothes, I met my dad outside the gym. “I want to take you to your favorite place. There is something I need to tell you,” my dad said. He had me interested and worried at the same time. I knew his job was promoting people. My dad had applied for the promotion for a job here, but I also heard that some of those jobs were in other areas of Jersey, and some were in other states.
We got there rather quickly, and even our order was done quickly. I braced myself to hear whatever was coming. So the news was somewhat true. My dad was promoted up to manager of the local office. It meant that he would be staying close to home. He also said his hours were going to be a basic nine to five schedule. It also meant that he was going to my games and other
