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Sept. 17, 2006 Chuck's roomie was already in the athletic dorm when he got there. He dropped his duffel bag in the door and plopped down on a bed, and said hey to Ronnie. The closest thing to a gadget Chuck brought with him was his razor. Ronnie had decorated their room with early Holiday Inn, and they had everything even a tv. When Chuck asked where it all came from, Ronnie grinned and said, "don't ask", and he didn't. Ronnie had already earned a closer look from the coach. He had decided he was a trouble maker, but there was more to him than that. He thought standing on the edge was taking up too much room, but somehow the two opposites meshed. They hit the practice field for the first time and this time the coach had to smile just a little. They were here to play. Chuck earned a starting position on the JV traveling team and so did Ronnie. They played their guts out, and pushed each other for more. First game Chuck scored twice, and Ronnie intercepted a pass. Second game was a big one for Chuck. They were traveling to North Carolina, and a girl Chuck had been in love with since 7th grade was going to be there to watch the guy she was dating play. He had made plans to meet her after the game. He caught a pass for a touchdown, the only score of the game, and was named player of the game. He hurried out of the dressing room hoping to get there before her date, and he made it. She was sitting on a bench, and she looked just like he remembered. She was petite, with long brown hair, and brown eyes. She stood up and they hugged, and he said, "why don't we get out of here"? Of course she laughed, and said she couldn't, but something special had already happened. He climbed back on the team bus with a promise from her to write, and he told Ronnie, he had just found his future wife and Ronnie rolled his eyes. They rolled onto campus in the wee hours of the morning, and the first thing he did was write to her. He told her that he had loved her since the first time he saw her when they were twelve, he told her to quit wasting her time and be his girl. He was willing to wait, and he had no idea how she felt. First time he saw her she was standing outside the gym in black shorts and a white shirt. She was tiny, with muscular legs, and big breast, and she was feisty. He introduced himself, and they were instantly friends. She became his confidante, and something always held him back where she was concerned. He kept an eye on her and straightened a couple of guys she dated out without her knowing, but they only went on one date in high school. They tripled to the drive in with two long established couples, and so even in a 57 Chevy, there wasn't really room for three couples. She sat between his legs, he brushed her hair, and they really watched the movies until the windows steamed over, and they got out and sat on the trunk. Problem with them was her honor code was as big as his. She couldn't really "date" him because her best friend liked him too. So maybe this was their chance. He hitched home that Christmas, but the guy she was dating was home too, and they didn't see each other. He went back to school planning to stay that summer and work. An alumnus had offered him a job making more money than he had ever made, and it was worth the sacrifice. Somehow he knew she would still be available. Fall came fast, and he had a car, and a starting position on the varsity. Life was good. He got a big envelope with pictures from Janie, and pinned them on his wall. First game he played the whole game, but in the third quarter he knew something was wrong. He got up from the pile with a tearing pain in his shoulder. He finished the game, and came out of the showers with his arm hanging limp. He went for x-rays and he had torn his rotator cuff and pulled loose 2 ligaments. Long and short of it is they red shirted him. He got into his car that night and drove home without stopping. He turned up the radio loud, and rolled down the windows, and somewhere between Tennessee and Alabama he cried. He climbed into the bed with his brother about four in the morning. He didn't ask any questions just rolled over and gave him a pat. His mama cooked him fried chicken, fresh corn, butter beans, and biscuits, his dad offered him a drink from the vodka bottle he hid under a broken brick on the back porch. He took it and got in the car to go pick Tommy up. Tommy had some beer, and they drank it as they drove around, and then he went by to see Janie. She came outside when he knocked, I guess knowing something wasn't right. She tiptoed and put her arms around him, asked what happen? He asked her to go for a ride. They took Tommy home, and turned up the music, and at some point he talked her into moving over next to him. He told her what happened, and she told him to pull over. He put his arms around her, and just held her. She looked up at him and said, "you will figure this out, and you will be ok". From that day they were a couple. He went back to school, but they knew they wanted to get married. He asked her at Christmas, and she said yes. He decided to stay out of shcool that winter quarter for the wedding and return to school for summer practice. They were excited about living in married housing, and growing up with other couples. The got married on Valentines Day, and on April 15th 1971, he got a draft notice. The school provided documentation, that he was out for medical reasons, and would return, but in those days time and maybe somebody dropping a ball wasn't obvious until he found himself in the military. She and her mom drove him to the bus to basic, but he wouldn't let her wait until he left. He went to Ft. Jackson in Columbia SC, and AIT in Ft Gordon. He was offered OCS, but thought he would just do his duty and get back to his wife and school. Law must have been the right choice for him, because they made him an MP. She moved back in with her parents while he was in basic and they got a tiny garage apartment in Harlem GA for AIT. They had a bunny named Harvey that kept her company while he was gone, and the heart of her day was cooking for him. She always had a big glass of tea waiting on him, and they spent every possible second together. They were so deeply in love, and committed to each other and as a benefit of being very young, didn't believe anything really bad could happen to them. As graduation came he got quiet, and one night as they lay talking quietly, he said he had to tell her something. He said, "baby, I got orders today, and they are sending me to Vietnam". She thought he was joking. The young couple didn't sleep that night, they made love over and over, and finally came to the conclusion they would do the right thing. He would go, she would wait, and they would be fine. They had two weeks before he left and he never let her out of his sight. They danced in the dark, walked in the rain, and reassured each other constantly. They moved her things back to her parents, and her family who loved him so much welcomed him. Her father told her that he was the most man he had ever seen, and that was God's truth. She bought him a St Christopher, and her parents gave him a very expensive watch with their names on the back. In October he got on a plane headed for Vietnam. He was a soldier. ------------ About the author: Joy Taylor, a mom, who use to be somebody's daughter. Email: canadianmounted@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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