You CAN Get Here From There!

I walked into a restaurant out at the beach and the friendly greeter, taking me for a tourist I assumed, asked, “How did you get here?”

I pondered on that one long after I had finished my fish sandwich and fries. How do you get anywhere? Where does the journey begin? What propels you along the way? Fate, blind luck, happenstance, divine appointment or carefully thought out preparation…. I ruled that last one out immediately.

She probably didn’t mean the question quite as deep as I took it. But I’m going to be ready next time. I’ll tell her I started out back in McKenzie, Tennessee, in the early part of 1947. The first few years were pretty easy. Just eat and play and stay out of the way. Mom or Dad said stand here and I did. They said go over there and sit and I did. They said get dressed, we’re going to town or to church and I got dressed. You might think that a mite rote, but I kinda liked it. I never was too good at making decisions.

I thought life was pretty good until they sent me to kindergarten. Bobby Brewer wanted the front window seat in that big station wagon Miss Katie picked us up in. I had to push him out of the way. He pushed back! I discovered early in life you don’t get your way all the time.

The first day in grade school they lined every one of us up and gave us shots in both arms! They had these sadistic nurses armed with gigantic hypodermic syringes eagerly going about their business! And people had been telling us for six months how much we were going to enjoy school? Pam Collins passed out right in front of me….. I learned that the only way to really know if you like something is to investigate it yourself.

Mr. Sam Presson would stand up in church and pray to God. No put on, no show, no fancy words, no religious hype…..he called on Almighty God! He taught me it was real.

I discovered teachers that pushed and chastised and demanded that you spell every word correctly. Mrs. Carter claimed math was beneficial. Miss Mary Ann made us memorize a poem. Mr. Berry lit our Bunsen burners. Miss Polly begged, forced, harangued and loved that Shakespeare fellow into our brains.

I learned that knowledge is the key.

My freshman year in football I got killed every day. But by some miracle I was revived and ready for the next day…..so I could get killed again! I learned that the human body is an amazing piece of machinery. It was like that Timex watch John Cameron Swayze kept telling us about….it could take a licking and keep on ticking! I also learned by my senior year that I got to do some killing. There is a pecking order to life!

If I had a good game and was feeling a little cocky Leon would beat the ever-living stew out of me. When my girlfriend left me David appeared out of nowhere and offered me a ride down to Buchanan……to meet some girls he knew. Brothers stick by you through thick and thin. 

Dad came into my bedroom the day before I left for college. He had graduated from the third grade and I could tell he was a little uncomfortable giving “going off advice” to a son who had already obtained more education that he’d ever have. “Son,” he stammered and paused, “be good”, another long pause, “and do right”. To this day it is the single most important message that I’ve ever been given in life.

College was hard. Every day! I laid in bed after the lights were out and cried for my mama and home. John Stewart, about midway through our first year said, “Kes, college has never killed anyone.” Somehow I took great comfort in that. We seldom have to face the demons alone.

Coach Wayne Taylor, knowing very little to nothing about me, except that I had managed to graduate on time, offered me a job teaching and coaching. He found out pretty early that I didn’t know much about either one. But he didn’t give up on me and I wouldn’t quit. I will be eternally grateful for the chance he took. And the encouragement he gave. A new town adopted me. There are great people everywhere if you just get your eyes open.

I married the girl God hand picked for me. Cathy overlooks my faults and maximizes my attributes. She has taught me to think a little before I speak, to notice life as I’m rolling through, to be a more thoughtful…..and she’s working on my patience! I’ve noticed over the years, when the going got tough, we get that dreaded late night phone call about a loved one…..her hand always finds mine. 

My parents made a whole lot more sense when my first son turned fourteen. God gives you children to expand your love capacity. I’ve gotten a lot of life direction from Josh and Jess….and from the two thousand or so other young people that have let me pitch baseballs to them or yell at them on the football field over the years. Bless their hearts, they still take me out to eat or come by the house to brighten my day.

I can’t count the people that have touched my life. That gave me good advice. That gently encouraged me down the correct path. That overlooked my faults. That cared for me just when I needed it. That loved me in spite of myself.

How did I get here? Ma’am…..it’s really fairly obvious. I had a lot of unbelievably good help. That’s how I got here.

Thankfully,

Kes

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