by Bert Carson
He thought about it for a few minutes. I didn’t rush him. As I turned onto our street he said, “I get it, Daddy. Just the same, I want you to know how much I appreciate you being there for me.”
For a few seconds I couldn’t say anything. As I turned into the driveway I managed to say, “Hunk, I’m honored that you trusted me enough to use your one phone call to call me. I mean that.”
I shut off the engine as Hunk said softly, “I know you do, Daddy.”
**********
In the house, I directed Hunk to one of the guest bedrooms and told him that he’d find a toothbrush, razor, soap and all the other necessities in the bathroom. “Now, get some sleep because I’m going to wake you at 7:30.”
He turned toward the bedroom and whispered, “Good night, Daddy.”
I said, “Good night, Hunk.”
********
I was only half-asleep when the alarm went off at 7:30, so it wasn’t a major effort to get up. I went in Bobby’s room, where I discovered his bed empty, and made up. Then I caught the smell of breakfast cooking. I knocked on the door of Hunk’s room and heard a muffled, “Okay, I’m getting up.”
“It sounds like Bobby’s cooking breakfast so don’t waste any time.”
That worked. I heard Hunk’s feet hit the floor and his voice wasn’t muffled when he said, “I’ll be right there.”
I smiled and went downstairs where I found Bobby hard at work on a breakfast that looked like it would feed a dozen. Flexible was so focused on what Bobby was doing that he didn’t notice me come into the kitchen.
“That looks and smells great.”
Flexible barked his agreement and Bobby said, “I stuck my head in the guest bedroom and saw Hunk sleeping there and I figured that when the two of you woke up you’d be hungry. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
I said, “Sure, it’s probably not going to be a secret very long anyway,” and I gave him a short version of the story.
“Wow, it sounds like Hunk lucked out.”
Just then Hunk walked into the kitchen. “Boy, I’ll say. I don’t even want to think what could have happened if I’d gone into the bar or even if those guys had lied about what I was doing there.”
I said, “Hunk, you’re right but don’t spend any more time thinking about it. Everything is going to be all right and that’s all that matters. Now, let’s get this food on the table so we can get at it.”
As we ate I said, “Hunk, I understand why you called me and I’m glad you did. However, we can’t keep the coach out of this, so here’s a suggestion.” I looked at him to make sure that I had his full attention. I did. “Let me give him a call and tell him what happened. Since Captain Lewis told me some things that you didn’t hear, I think that it will be best for me to talk to him. I’ll tell him that we have to go back to the police department at 10:00 and since we only have an afternoon practice today, we won’t be late. Is that all right with you?”
“Sure, Daddy, that’s fine by me.”
I went back upstairs to make the call and shower. I’d not met Brent’s wife, Patty. When she answered the phone, I introduced myself. Before I’d said more than a half-dozen words she interrupted, “Daddy, you don’t have to introduce yourself to me, I feel like I know you even though we’ve never met. Besides, you want to talk to Brent. Let me get him for you.”
In seconds, Brent was on the phone. “Daddy, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Coach. In fact, everything is fine. I just need to tell you something that happened a few hours ago.” I filled him in with the shortest version of the story I could come up with. When I was through, he said, “Look, you have time before your appointment to come by the house. I’d appreciate it if you and Hunk would do that.” He gave me directions to his house and I told him we’d be there at nine.
I went down to the kitchen and told Hunk about the meeting with Coach Jenkins. Now, here’s a plan. Bobby, will you run Hunk over to the dorm and wait for him to get cleaned up then bring him back here?”
Bobby said, “That means I won’t get to wash the dishes.”
I laughed, “Look, I know you want to do the dishes, but I’ll do them after I change. You, Flexible, and Hunk get moving.”
They laughed; Flexible barked and in seconds the three of them were charging out the door.
**********
Patty met us at the door and we formally introduced ourselves then I introduced Hunk. “It’s good to meet you two. Come on in, Brent is upstairs changing, he should be down in just a minute.”
She took us to the dining room and motioned for us to have a seat at the table. “Can I get coffee for you?”
I looked at Hunk, who shook his head. I said, “No, thanks, Patty. We just finished breakfast.”
Brent came in the dining room and I did a double take. He was wearing his team blazer and tie. He looked like he was going to a formal press conference. I shook my head and said, “As we say back home, ‘you clean up good.’”
He laughed, “I decided to go with you two.” He looked at Hunk and added, “If that’s all right with you, Hunk.”
For a second I thought I saw a tear appear in the boy’s eye, then it was gone and I wasn’t sure if it had been there. “That’s fine, Coach. In fact, it’s better than fine.”
“Good, I know Randy Wallace, the Chief of Police. We’ve met at more than one banquet. That can’t hurt anything.” He looked at his watch and said, “It won’t hurt to be a few minutes early either, so why don’t we go ahead?”
Outside the house, Brent said, “Hunk, why don’t you ride with me, and Daddy, you follow us.”
On the way downtown, I could see Brent talking to Hunk. Of course I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I sensed that he was reassuring the boy, and judging from the smile on Hunk’s face when he got of the car, that’s exactly what had happened.
The day shift sergeant looked up when we walked in. He recognized Brent, smiled and said, “Good morning, Coach. Then he looked at me and said, “You must be, Mr. Edwards.” I nodded and he handed me the check that I’d written for Hunk’s bail. “This is yours.” I took the check and put it in my pocket as he said, “I believe the Chief is ready for you, let me check.” He quickly dialed a number, said something we couldn’t hear, and turned back to us. “Follow me; they’re in the conference room.”
There was no time to ask who the “they” were, because he immediately turned and began walking down a long corridor, stopping in front of an unmarked door where he knocked lightly. Someone called out, “Come in.” The sergeant opened the door, stepped through, and announced, “Coach Jenkins and his friends are here, Chief.”
The sergeant stepped inside the room and motioned for us to come in. It was a plain room, without a single painting or photo. The only furniture was a conference table that looked like it could easily seat twenty people. At the head of the table a tall man, white haired and ramrod straight, stood up. He wore the simple blue uniform of a police officer. On both sides of the collar, there were bright gold pins that read, “Chief.”
There were two other men in the room, seated on opposite sides of the chief. They also stood as we walked in. The man on the chief’s left was Captain Richard Lewis whom I’d already met. On his right was a slightly overweight, balding man who appeared to be in his sixties. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and at the moment, he was smiling, though I got the impression that he didn’t smile all the time.
Brent introduced us to the chief. Who in turn introduced us to the older man, Judge Clyde Traylor. With that out of the way, the chief said, “Have a seat gentlemen and let me tell you what’s going on here.”
Before we could seat ourselves Judge Traylor looked at Hunk, motioned to the chair beside him and said, “You sit here, Son.” To Brent and me he said, “You two sit over there by Captain Lewis so I can see you.”
As soon as we were seated, the Judge looked at Chief Wallace and said, “Randy, I have to be court in ten minutes so if you don’t mind I’m goi
ng to skip the formalities and cut to the chase.”
“That’s fine by me, Judge.”
Judge Traylor turned to Hunk, “First son, let me tell you this. You’re not in any legal difficulty. You could have been if things had gone just a little bit differently, but they didn’t, so you’re okay. Before I tell the three of you why we’re all here, I want to know that you’ve learned something from this.”
Hunk didn’t hesitate, “You don’t have to worry about that, Judge. I’ve learned a lot. Maybe even more than you can imagine. You can be sure nothing like that will ever happen to me again.”
The smile on the Judge’s face grew, “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, Jerry. And, best of all, I believe it. You see, in my line of work I’m told many things every day, most of which I don’t believe.”
We laughed and the tension went out of the room. Judge Traylor looked at Brent, and said, “Now, I’d like to take advantage of you, all three of you if I can. I’m going to ask you for a favor, and I mean it when I say, if you don’t want to do it, just say so.” He looked at each of us in turn to make sure we understood. We nodded our agreement, and he continued.
“My wife, Elizabeth, is a hospital volunteer. Two or three afternoons a week, she goes to the children’s ward where she visits every child. She reads to them, takes them gifts, writes letters for them, and if they can get out of bed, she walks with them. When I have an extra hour or so, I go with her; and I’ll be quick to tell you this, I’m the one who benefits the most from those visits.”
He paused, and then said, “You’ve probably figured out what I want. But just in case you haven’t, let me be specific. Brent, I’d like for you, Hunk, Josh, and all the other players who are willing to do it, to go and visit those kids as often as you can. What do you think?”
Brent didn’t hesitate, “We’ll do it Judge. It will be our pleasure. We’re just a few weeks away from the opening of the season, and we’re working out six days a week. Do you think we could go this coming Sunday afternoon and then set a regular day?”
Judge Traylor smiled. “Yep, I think you can. In fact, I’ve already called Elizabeth and asked her if that would work, and she’s set it up with the hospital staff. Why don’t we meet the three of you there Sunday afternoon at two?”
Brent said, “We’ll be there, Judge. Thanks for asking.”
Judge Traylor stood, and we followed suit. “Well, gentlemen, I wish all of my meetings were this rewarding. Have a good day.” With that said, he was gone.
We thanked Captain Lewis and Chief Wallace and left the room with their good wishes for the season. Outside, in front of the police department, Brent said, “Daddy, I want you to know how much I appreciate what you did for Hunk. I’ll take him back to the dorm and we’ll see you at practice.”
Hunk grabbed me in a bear hug, finally turned me loose and said, “Daddy, you’re the best.”
We were all laughing as I turned for my car.
Chapter 15
The syndicated, “Jim and Charlie Radio Show” broadcasts all the Grizzly games to Montana. It had done so for over twenty years. Jim Snow and Charlie Jamerson had seen it all, they thought. However, never in their years of broadcasting had the backup quarterback made news.
Jim opened the first radio broadcast of the year, “Good afternoon, Grizzly Fans, and welcome to the first pre-game show of the season. This is Jim Snow speaking to you, and alongside me, as he has been for the last twenty-one years, is my good friend Charlie Jamerson. This afternoon we are talking to you from Washington Grizzly Stadium, on the campus of the University of Montana. This is a day made for football, and you can feel the excitement in the air. Last year was a good year for our Grizzlies, but we expect even greater things this year. Charlie has the story on this year’s Grizzlies. How about it, Charlie?”
“Thanks, Jim. I do have the story, and it’s a good one. Part of it is most unusual, but I’m getting ahead of myself. We lost twelve starters from last year’s team, most of them from the offense. Since there are fewer defensive changes, let me tell you about those first.
“The defensive line is the same as last year’s: that’s Taylor, Harris, Franklin, Hutchins, Rice, and Davidson. We have two starting linebackers who were outstanding on last year’s freshman team. They are Young and Curtis. Horton and Cooper are the defensive backs and Wilson is returning at safety. It looks like the defense could be one of the best in Grizzly history. As soon as we come back from a commercial break, I’ll bring you up-to-date on the offense; and the unusual story I started to tell you at the top of the show.”
Charlie reviewed his notes as the commercials ran. Ten seconds before he was due back on the air, Charlie looked at Jim, shook his head and said, “I still don’t believe it.”
Before Jim could reply, Charlie was on the air “The offense is a different story, fans. At tight end, we have Charles Wright, a returning starter from last year; and at wide receiver, we have Bobby Edwards, a freshman from Alabama. Bobby was great in preseason practice, but he’s young and only time will tell. The entire offensive line is new, except for Richard Denby, the Grizzlies all-conference center, who is a senior this year. The guards are Jerry Jefferson, better known as Hunk, and Tom Rice. They are both sophomores who played well on last year’s freshman team. The tackles are Parker from last year’s freshman team and Barron, a junior, who is an Odessa, Texas, Junior College transfer. Calling the signals will be Jeff Samuelson, a junior who saw a lot of playing time last year. Jeff could well be the best quarterback the Grizzlies have ever had. The running backs are Steve Powers, a starter last year and Otis Porter who transferred from the same TexasJunior College team as Barron. Jim, I’ve watched these kids in practice and they look great. Of course, they are young and they haven’t been tested yet in a game, but I have a good feeling about this team…I can’t put this into words very well, but I’ll take a shot at it. Even with twelve new starters, they are playing as if they’ve played together for years. I guess I’m trying to say, they are more like a family than a team. Back to you, Jim.”
“Thanks, Charlie. Fans, maybe Charlie has something with the family analogy. Let me tell you why. The biggest offensive news, which isn’t news anymore, since the story got national coverage two weeks ago, is our placekicker. If you haven’t heard about him folks, his name is Josh Edwards. If the name Edwards sounds familiar, it’s because you heard it a few minutes ago when Charlie went over the offensive team. Bobby Edwards is the new Grizzly wide receiver. Now having brothers play on a college team isn’t that unusual, in fact, we’ve had a few pair of brothers play for the Grizzlies. However, Josh and Bobby Edwards aren’t brothers. Josh is Bobby’s father. You heard right. The Grizzlies placekicker is a freshman, a retired Army helicopter pilot, a Vietnam veteran, and the forty-four year old father of Bobby Edwards. And I can tell you this: he is one of the best placekickers I have ever seen at any level of college football. Here’s one other item of news about Josh that hasn’t made the national news. At a press conference two weeks ago, Coach Jenkins announced that Josh would also be the backup quarterback for this year’s University of Montana Grizzlies.
“Just a side-note here, Jim,” Charlie said, “Josh has been totally accepted by all the players on the team, even though he’s old enough to be their father. I’m not sure how it happened, but Josh has already been nicknamed by the team, and the coaches. They all call him Daddy. That includes Coach Jenkins, which makes sense, since Josh is four years older than the coach.
Now fans, in case you might be wondering if this is a Grizzly publicity stunt, let me assure you, it isn’t. Josh learned to kick a few years ago so he could teach Bobby. Bobby wanted to become a receiver on his high school team, but he and Josh worked on kicking as a backup possibility. When Bobby made his high school team as a receiver, Josh, who is also a long-distance runner and bicyclist, kept on kicking just because he enjoys it. Nope, this isn’t a publicity stunt folks; Daddy is the real deal.”
Both the announcers laughe
d, and then Jim said, “Here’s another note for you, Charlie. On the way into the stadium, I saw Janet Middleton, one of the cheerleaders. She had a cute little dog with her who was all decked out in a Grizzly sweater. I asked her if he was a new cheerleader and she said, no, he was the cheerleader’s mascot. She said his name was Flexible and he belonged to Josh and Bobby Edwards.”
Just then the Montana cheerleaders ran onto the field and Jim said, “Folks, speaking of cheerleaders, they have just come onto the field, led by Janet Middleton and Flexible.”
Charlie said, “There you are fans, a forty-four year old backup quarterback that everyone calls Daddy and a dog named Flexible. That’s rather fitting. The Grizzlies are nothing if they aren’t flexible. We’re going to take a break now. Stay tuned, we’ll be right back, live from Washington Grizzly Stadium on the Grizzly Football Network.”
********
PortlandState was never easy and this year’s opening game wasn’t expected to be an exception. As we left the field house, heading for the stadium, I overheard Coach Jenkins say to Jimbo, “I just hope the defense holds until Samuelson gets his confidence and timing.”
The defense held PortlandState scoreless for the first half. Portland’s defense held also and at halftime, neither team had scored. In the opening drive of the third quarter, Portland’s quarterback connected on a long pass that put the ball on the Grizzly five-yard line. Two plays later Portland scored and kicked the extra point making the game 7 – 0 their favor.
On our next possession, we moved the ball to the Portland 20-yard line, but were stopped there. I went in, with a serious case of first-timer’s jitters. My nervousness vanished as Sammy called the signals. Denby’s snap was perfect. Sammy placed the ball on the ground, spun the laces toward the goalpost, and I split the uprights, making the score, Portland State 7, University of Montana 3.
