I had it all planned out. I was going to write a blog to all the graduates, a few words of advice to the seniors of 2010. AFter filling in at the high school in the fall of 2008, and after finishing 3 seasons with this group of football players, I felt like I knew a lot of the guys and girls who walked across the graduation stage. And i have to say, I like ALOT of the those students and will miss seeing a lot of those faces. So, a blog was in order. My plan was to dish out some common sense wisdom, you know, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," or "There's no such thing as free." Things like that. Also, little hints that I've picked up, mostly from my own mistakes. For example, don't buy the cheap shoelaces; they cost a dollar for a reason. And for the college bound: Just because you can stay out all night, doesn't mean you should. Same goes for fast food. Just because they have a dollar menu, doesn't mean it's good for you.
I had it all planned out. And then, we saw Charlie. He was eating dinner with his family and came over to tell us he was getting ready to ship out. Suddenly all that advice seemed pretty silly. His shipping out was no surprise; we'd known for a while that he was joining the Marines, but that was when he graduated. That was back in the fall when he stumbled into the classes I subbed, finishing off a snack before the bell rang, when he begged me to let him play trashcan basketball after the test with old scraps of paper. That was back when he was running for touchdowns on Friday nights. That was when he was a kid. Yep, all those words about too many Big Macs and late night fraternity parties seemed pretty silly directed to a boy who might be headed off to a war in the desert.
He's not the only one. Another one of our players has already shipped out. I don't know where he is and I don't know what six weeks of boot camp is like. What I do know is they didn't HAVE to join. They signed up to do something that most people wouldn't, couldn't do. They traded backpacks and textbooks for machine guns and ready to eat meals. They gave up dorm rooms and video games for combat boots and heavy artillery.
They spent twelve years as America's future and with the switch of a tassel, they became America's finest. It's hard to believe that the boys whose faces I can still see, sitting in the bleachers listening to morning announcements, eating lunch with their friends in the Panther cafe, and racing down the football field, are now the men who protect our country and defend the freedoms that most of us take for granted. That the boys who just months ago donned cap and gown now command respect and applause as they pass through airports in their dress blues. It's humbling to know that men and women fight every day so that we can do the things we love; it's even more humbling when that soldier is a young man you coached or taught.
If I could slow time down, I would, let them and us have one more season, one more summer of innocence, youth, and ignorant bliss. But I can't, for them, me, or my own boys. So all I can do is pray for them, be proud of them, and offer one dose of advice as they "ship out": take care of yourselves!
God Bless Charlie, James, and ALL of our soldiers!!!
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