I was cleaning out my desk over the weekend and came across this old picture. It dates back to 1959 and depicts three high school athletes.
It tells three stories.
The young man on the left, Don Dodge, was working to make the 1964 US Olympic Kayaking Team. He was training in Lake Erie. His kayak washed up without Don. His body was never found. Gone at age 21.
The man in the middle, arguably the best athlete in our class, went off to college on a football scholarship. A pregnant girlfriend ended his football and college careers. He went into the used car business with his father-in-law, divorced, remarried, and became a very successful GM dealer. He died on a golf course on Hilton Head Island about ten years ago.
The third person, yours truly, went off to college on a partial scholarship for wrestling. Tore up a knee, which I just had replaced last fall, and hung it up.
Three small town athletes with big dreams. Two died, both too young, on an athletic field of some type. Don in the water and Terry on a golf course. Two good friends a lifetime ago. Don never had a chance, but I’m sure he would have been a big success in life.
There are some days when I sit down and reflect on the direction this country is headed in, and I’m almost nauseous. It’s hard to think about the differences between the time when this picture was taken and today. It’s harder to wonder what the future holds for my grand kids who are fast approaching the age we were when the picture was taken. Some days I can’t stand to write about the future and feel more comfortable looking back at the past.
Guess this is one of those days.