Sunday, March 12, 2006
Brokeback Birthday Boyz
BROKEBACK BIRTHDAY BOYZ
Yesterday it was a celebration of the 60/40 split between two men who have been friends for 30 years. Not only friends by that strong coach/athlete relationship.
And so when the 60/40 split equaling 100 is divided up you of course want to be on the 60 side unless we’re talking age. Darren Purcell and I were both born on March 14 he in 1966 and me in 1946. Tuesday he will be 40 and I will be 60. I started coaching him when he was 10 years old. I tried to slow him down but he just kept getting better.
He seemed sad and slightly depressed last Saturday when he kissed me on the cheek and told me he loved me. I’m just happy to still be here not only alive and kicking but functioning at a pretty high level. I’m what my daughter in law calls a very youthful 60 and I’m cool with all that except I can see my gray head in the mirror from across the gym and I don’t like it but nobody cares but me and now I don’t care either.
I remember looking at my birthday cake when I turned 40. I saw my name and the number 40 and I said, ”Who does that cake belong to?” because that number and my name seemed incongruous.
Now I already got yelled at for eating half the batter for my age 60 cake and I know my grand daughters are coming over and they’re going to look at me like I’m already dead because I turn 60 on Tuesday and the following Tuesday Katie Frederick turns 6..As in The Big 6
Darren said that kids don’t bond with coaches the way my athletes bonded with me and I have to agree with him because it justifies what I did with my life. I will say that if a person is a coach or teacher and doesn’t hear that talk from adults near the beer tap of sports memories then that teacher/coach didn’t connect
I loved my athletes and they loved me back and we still carry that affection. I am a lucky old dog Arf! Arf!
Freddogg
--http://davefredman.blogspot.com/
Yesterday it was a celebration of the 60/40 split between two men who have been friends for 30 years. Not only friends by that strong coach/athlete relationship.
And so when the 60/40 split equaling 100 is divided up you of course want to be on the 60 side unless we’re talking age. Darren Purcell and I were both born on March 14 he in 1966 and me in 1946. Tuesday he will be 40 and I will be 60. I started coaching him when he was 10 years old. I tried to slow him down but he just kept getting better.
He seemed sad and slightly depressed last Saturday when he kissed me on the cheek and told me he loved me. I’m just happy to still be here not only alive and kicking but functioning at a pretty high level. I’m what my daughter in law calls a very youthful 60 and I’m cool with all that except I can see my gray head in the mirror from across the gym and I don’t like it but nobody cares but me and now I don’t care either.
I remember looking at my birthday cake when I turned 40. I saw my name and the number 40 and I said, ”Who does that cake belong to?” because that number and my name seemed incongruous.
Now I already got yelled at for eating half the batter for my age 60 cake and I know my grand daughters are coming over and they’re going to look at me like I’m already dead because I turn 60 on Tuesday and the following Tuesday Katie Frederick turns 6..As in The Big 6
Darren said that kids don’t bond with coaches the way my athletes bonded with me and I have to agree with him because it justifies what I did with my life. I will say that if a person is a coach or teacher and doesn’t hear that talk from adults near the beer tap of sports memories then that teacher/coach didn’t connect
I loved my athletes and they loved me back and we still carry that affection. I am a lucky old dog Arf! Arf!
Freddogg
--http://davefredman.blogspot.com/
