Tag: Diamonds
Diamonds 💎 are a Girls Best Friend : Why stop chasing ball parks just because you completed the Major League Baseball loop ?
Every one of these 10 treks holds a memory or two. Triple A baseball went from three leagues down to just two, and that left these teams in the PCL.
El Paso might have the single greatest marketing concession stand item of all time ! The mascot is the Chihuahuas and they serve you some items in an actual dog bowl 🥣.
The little known fact about baseball played out west is the altitude that many of these parks sit at and how it affects both the batting averages and the pitchers earned run averages.
5,110 feet is the ( The Lab ) level above the sea in Albuquerque as one example. The nickname of the park is just another way that the folks at the AAA level work to make things fun !
This particular loop ended when I attended a game in the suburbs of Houston, at the home park of the Sugarland Space Cowboys. Finding a way to tie in both NASA and Texas into the team name….
Diamonds 💎 are a Girls Best Friend : Through the eyes of young Ryan McCafferty of The Carroll News !
This story involves roughly a dozen or so sports reporters that entered at various points in the life journey. Each one of them has been given an invitation to take pen to paper for this book. The kicker is that there is no set topic for their take.
Just a few years ago, here in Carroll County, we had Allen Worrell, Craig Worrell, David Broyles, and myself cranky out stories, one after another. But four separate reasons why we now look to Ryan McCafferty to carry our torch going forward.
Since the day I first met Ryan, I have done everything within my power to both make him feel welcomed and answer all questions that he might have. The need for local sports coverage is a necessity, so he would have received my assistance anyway. With that said, it’s a HUGE bonus that the young man is very, very likable !
We want him on that wall. We need him on that wall, and if Humpty Dumpsty were to fall off said wall, we would absolutely pick up the pieces and put him back together again.
I am proud to know Ryan McCafferty and feel safe with him leading the charge here on The Hill !
Now, here is Ryan being Ryan :
I’ll begin by saying I’m grateful to have been offered to write these few words for Jerry Carter, a man I am forever indebted to. I believe there are some people in life you don’t cross paths with by accident, and my relationship with Jerry will always be special for the fact that he was responsible for setting in motion the events that led to me landing my job with the Carroll News. More than that, he has been a mentor, a friend, perhaps even a family figure to me from the moment I arrived in Hillsville. When you’re 27 years old and take a chance on yourself by moving all alone into a brave new world to start building your full-time professional life, you need at least one person you can always count on to be there for you. Jerry has been that person.
On that note, I also don’t believe it’s an accident that my path has led me to Carroll County. I may not be able to speak much on the Lady Cavaliers’ 2015 State championship-winning softball team, the subject of much of this book. But I can speak on the 2022 State championship-winning girls’ basketball team. A little-known fact about that Finals game – or perhaps not so little-known, since it has become my go-to icebreaker here – is that while Marc Motley’s girls were hoisting their first of two back-to-back State trophies, sitting on press row at VCU’s Stuart C. Siegel Center that day was a young sports journalist fresh out of college, who only a week prior had been brought on to cover the Meridian Mustangs as a freelance writer for the Falls Church News-Press. At that point in time, that kid barely even knew Meridian’s story. Little did he know he would one day learn the story of the Cavaliers as well.
Naturally, on that evening, I was disappointed that the school I was there to represent had lost. During my time with the News-Press, I ultimately witnessed two Meridian boys’ soccer State titles, but I always felt bad that I never got to see one for either of their basketball teams, as I became especially tight with those programs. Chris Carrico took the girls all the way the year before they played Carroll County, but it was in an empty gym during the COVID-19 restrictions, and I knew how badly he wanted to give Falls Church a chance to properly celebrate. And it would have meant the world to see Jim Smith, a Northern Virginia high school legend who came out of retirement to coach their boys and rebuilt that program out of a rough spot, reach the top of the mountain.
What I never considered in all of that, though, was how much that day meant to Cavalier Country. Meridian always branded itself as an underdog school that had to earn everything through grit and dedication as opposed to elite resources and blue-chip talents. Carroll County makes them look privileged in comparison, and it’s what I realize I truly love about covering high school sports. There’s no shortcuts. There’s no NIL salaries or transfer portal or trades or free agency. Every victory has to be won the hard way, and that’s what makes the value of success worth something, when it comes from a group of players who grow through a program and stick together throughout the entire process.
I have always said that I’m not most sports journalists. I come from a unique background for a newspaper writer, one that in fact still includes freelance work for FanSided and a George Mason basketball blog. I’m from the generation that considers “journalism” to be any average Joe with a podcast or a Twitter account who has opinions about things. And in some of my work, I’m much more of an analyst than a reporter. But I really try hard not to be one of those analysts, the ones who must always center the focus around the loser rather than the winner, who act like every coach sucks and every player is overrated and every team is fraudulent. There’s a place for honest, constructive criticism, but the type of rage-bait hot-take artistry that has hijacked sports media today is simply dehumanizing. One of my primary goals with what I do is to promote the human element of what I cover, the hard work that these players and staff members pour in that deserves to be recognized regardless of the result.
With the Carroll News, I acknowledge that I’m stepping into a role that has been held by people who are far more accomplished than I am, and there’s a lot of pressure that’s come with that. In fact, my first memory of Jerry here was when I was covering a soccer game last spring, and he pointed me out in the crowd to introduce me and remarked “He has big shoes to fill.” A few nights later, he invited me to the press box and put me on the spot to speak during halftime. One of the first lessons I’ve learned here in Hillsville is that there’s nowhere to hide. In Northern Virginia, I could be an anonymous face in the crowd. The people whose teams I covered weren’t the same people I interacted with every day around town in Fairfax or Falls Church. Nobody I met ever knew what I did for a living unless I told them, and I never had to worry about getting on the wrong side of the community because of something I wrote.
I try my best to do right by the people of Carroll County. Again, I realize I’m not Allen Worrell. That man is an institution here. He has a last name that’s written across buildings and street signs and the Cavalier baseball stadium. I’m a kid from Fairfax County who’d never had a full-time job until April. But I’m here because the American Dream came calling. No matter how long I hold this position or wherever else my journey may lead me, Hillsville and the Carroll News will always be a special part of my life. And while I am here, it is my objective to capture the spirit of a small town that takes immense pride in its high school sports.
I’m privileged to be part of something much bigger than myself and I’m honored to carry on the Carroll News’ tradition of serving the people of Hillsville, using sports as a lens to bring the stories of Carroll County High School’s student-athletes to life. That’s something Jerry and I share in common and what drives both of us to do what we do. At the end of the day, sports aren’t just about the scoreboard – they’re about the people; both those on the field and those who come together to share their passion for their teams. And if there’s anything I’ve learned about Carroll County, it’s that the people here are passionate about their Cavaliers.
Thank you, Ryan McCafferty, and know that I’m just a phone call away !
Diamonds 💎 are a Girls Best Friend : Inside the circle 🔵 with Carroll County High School Softball duo Fire 🔥 and Ice 🧊
One of the tasks that we are working on for both our editor and publisher is to push forward any previous stories that we want included. This one nibbles at just how different two softball pitchers can be.
Diamonds 💎 are a Girls Best Friend : The Afterword or as Paul Harvey was famous for saying, ” The Rest of the Story “
The average person has no idea what it is like to be driven, to the point of possessed. This book was designed to be finished 12 months ago, and a normal person would have just moved on from it a long time ago, but when you are coo-coo for Cocca Puffs, like me, life is not that simple.
The goal here is to close out the latest effort by walking the readers what will look like a bizarre process, but in actuality is the very definition of Driven.
We start the seven days at 8:46 am on Thursday (October 1st ) and will conclude it at 8:46 am on Thursday, October 8th. This is how I will close the book on the book.
Thursday, October 1st
We will circle 🔵 back to the significance of the message from Keith here in a bit..
I enter the gymnasium on The Hill at 3:30 pm because it is the ninth of our 10 volleyball nights. It is a triple header because our middle school is playing in the leadoff spot. What I do during VB season doesn’t fit under the umbrella of announcing because it is much more like being the emcee for a party that lasts just over four hours.
The second that the third set ends, Lin and I have to head home and pack up. I am packing for 1 week, but Lin is packing for an indefinite amount of time. She has three different next level medical appointments, and the third one will most likely keep her in Missouri for months.
I have two things that have to happen on Friday before we leave town. One involves Vickey Ritchie and the other one, Tammy Quesenberry. The goal is to jump into the car with Lin the second that she pulls up to Pizza Perfect on Main Street.
Lin has the first appointment and then has to load her bags in the car for her three months away. For this to work out correctly, I need a ride on Friday morning from Olde Mill to The Hill, but first, I have to load my stuff quite like because it will be 6am.
Friday, October 2nd :
Up at 4am – boooooooooo
Start writing ✍️
Car loaded by 6:20 and at 6:30, I jump into the car driven by Kris Richardson, and we play catchup for 25 minutes until we reach Hardee’s. I jump out, order a biscuit, and then a few minutes later, I ask Vickey Ritchie if she can swing by to pick me up on her way to Hillsville Elementary School? We need to be there by 8:00 am for her annual Little Feet Meet.
For the next 3 hours and 15 minutes, we crushed what we were doing and had fun while doing it. Karen and Evee were awesome ➕️ anytime with Vickey is an absolute blessing. I would owe her a story, but that was what I call a next day problem.
My meeting with Tammy isn’t scheduled until 1 p.m., but now I need a ride back to Main Street. I have no control over the lunch break window, and when Patrick Smith and his daughter were heading out for the break, I was able to climb up into his truck.
I jump out at Ron’s ( Omega ) shop at 11:30 and engage in a typical fashion with Mr Cochran and his work daughter!
At 1 p.m., Tammy concluded her walk over from her office, and we sat down to discuss a subject matter near and dear to me, Carroll County High School Soccer ⚽️.
We don’t get to sit down together very often because we both stay incredibly busy. But when we do, it’s a top shelf conversation. It only ended at 3pm because we both had to get to the next point or station.
Lin pulled up a few minutes early because the first of three appointments had to be canceled. Incredibly inconvenient, but you have to roll with the punches. It was a bonus that two very important ladies were also enjoying lunch at the same time.
3:15 – jump in car with Lin, and we head north. I text Vickey because I need a couple of things – Karen’s last name and the photo 📸 she took of me and the principal.
The destination is Bryce Resort, only because JMU has a home football game and its parents’ weekend. Finding a hotel for less than $200.00 a night wasn’t going to happen.
Vickey calls 📞 and we bask in the glory of the morning, and she shares the necessary information that I needed. The story was brewing in my head at this point.
The next thing to happen was stopping by the home of Bill & Barb Meade from 6:09 until 7:10. They live in Stuarts Draft, and I wanted to give Bill / Pappy a couple of suggestions on topics for his section of the story. We headed out when the Pitt – VA Tech came on as one of their Son’s went there and they are big fans.
We still had roughly 90 minutes left, and the next thing that I received was the first update from Vickey as she was at the Cavalier – Highlanders game. The final stop ✋️was at Buc-ees because it’s Buc-ees.
The Carroll County game ended as we turned the key 🔑 to the unit. The last thing we did was unload the entire car and then went to bed around 10-11 pm.
We happened to catch the big news about young Peyton Spencer as we were finally turning out the lights.
Saturday, October 3rd :
Up before 6am, did the Morning 🌄 Brew and then headed over towards the town of Shenandoah. The drive flirts with being one hour long and includes crossing Massanutten Mountain ⛰️.
We had hoped to meet up with four or five people on a day we blocked 🚫 off but that wasn’t going to happen. When that’s the case, you make sure that you don’t short change the people that give you their time!
We pull into the parking lot of Roy Cardin Field shortly after 10 am. You can’t help but notice the name of Archie Dodson in a few places as well. Big Daddy pulls in shortly after, and we hit the ground running, exchanging story after story. Just before 11 am, he places a call to Amy Gaskins of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Until that moment, I only knew that we were calling one of Roy’s daughters. Once I saw her last name, I immediately connected some of the dots !
The conversation that followed was the equivalent of winning the lottery jackpot ! Shortly after the video call ended, we made the short drive over to the Italian restaurant in town. We gave Dennis Zimmerman a heads up in case he wanted to stop by and join us for lunch. The picture above shows that he did, even though he couldn’t stay long enough to break bread because he needed to finish preparing for his sermon tomorrow.
We called Alan Knight as we left Shenandoah and headed over to Harrisonburg. We still needed to accomplish four things – Lin to the Gym for her knee, catch up with Alan, see part of a movie at Regal – because of our membership, and write a story for Vickey.
When I ran a depot for the New York Times out in Seattle, I had a 90-minute window to discuss business with 45 carriers. It was during that time I learned how to think fast and improvise.
Alan was going to a local restaurant to watch the JMU – Marshall University game at 3:45 pm. At 2:45, Lin dropped me off and drove the one mile to the Planet Fitness to begin her workout. Our plan was to meet up at Regal at 4pm to watch the new Tom Cruise movie, Digger.
During the movie, I created the volleyball coverage for the JV tournament and thanked both Travis Osborne for providing it and then Nikki Heflin for taking our group up there on Saturday.
Then, the moment of truth happened – I wanted to go back to Bryce, but Lin wanted to finish her workout. Back to the gym we went…
Lin heads back into the gym, and at 6:30 pm, I send this message to Vickey Ritchie.
One hour and 42 minutes later, I finished up the story on the Little Feet Meet.
Sometimes, a story is just that, a story, but other times it deserves a screen play ! Five years of trying to run alongside the miracle that is Vickey Ritchie of Carroll County, Virginia.
I kinda liked the finished product, and Vickey paid me the ultimate compliment by saying it read like I was standing next to her. That is the part that I learned from Jimmy Buffett. A good storyteller should be able to let you close your eyes 👀 and see what the song 🎵 is about.
The McDonald’s drive thru for dinner and back at Bryce Resort by a little after nine o’clock. Asleep 😴 at 10 pm and praying for a decent night’s rest 🙏.
Sunday, October 4th
The clock ⏰️ read 2:01 am. when my eyes opened. I could have really done without that being the case !!!!
2:00 to 4:24 is what it took to write the 8th and final chapter. Everything between chapter eight and this afterword will just be a string of stories tied together. It felt like a great read.
I fell asleep while holding the phone and stayed that way for 60 minutes. When I woke myself back up , I spent the next sixty minutes piecing the Craig Worrell piece together, and I know that one wS a great read because I heard from both Rick and Donna Nester shortly afterwards.
I jump in the shower, and we head out in search of Lin some Starbucks on our way to Shenandoah for back to back Church services
Dennis Zimmerman is the backup pastor at both his Church and its Sister Church. The sermon would be similar at both 930 and 1100, but is there such a thing as too much Church ?
Big Daddy and Chris Dodson
The next conversation took place immediately after the second service, and it was Top Shelf stuff. Dodson is tied to this story in a large number of ways and a quick comparison of notes was incredibly helpful. The small window 🪟 of time also allowed me to meet his Bride and Puppy 🐶 for the first time.
The next McDonald’s drive thru happened during the 50-minute drive down to Waynesboro, where I was set to meet with Chris and Crystal Graham. Lin needed to get back to a gym for her next workout, so she dropped me off. How tired am I at this point ??? One mistep, and I’m in the middle of a face plant that broke skin on both my elbow ( knew immediately and Crystal patched up) and my left knee which I didn’t notice until the end of the night.
From 1:40 until 4 : 50, I received the exact message I needed to hear from the only person who could have delivered it to me. Picture Tom Hanks asking one of his players, ” Are you crying? There’s no crying in baseball.”
The harsh truth had set in about the sixth book. It simply wasn’t going to mean the same to anyone else, and any normal person would have surrendered long ago. The message was simple, if it that important, figure out a way to bring it home.
The next couple of hours were nothing short of brutal and required switching drivers once to make it back up to Bryce. Once back, there it was a crash and burn sleep that began at 8 pm.
We checked a great deal of boxes 📦 was we were far from finished.
Monday, October 5th
Six hours later, it was 2am, and my hesitation to look at my phone was overwhelming. I knew immediately that I was full-blown awake ⏰️ whether I wanted to be or not…
Writing, falling asleep, writing, and hearing from Bill Gallimore made me stop ✋️ and smile. His note, in the middle of his issues, was a shot of adrenaline. By the time we fully packed the car and returned the keys 🔑 it was 9:13 am. The quick stop at the Bryce Community Store for a diet soda and it was 9:26 am
The problem is we had no mapped out plan to get to the end of the week and the drive down to Salem to come up with one.
It was shortly after 10am (10:25 ) on Friday when I sent a quick message to my older brother in Sellersburg, Indiana.
We have a few hard-core time commitments still awaiting us in the next few days.
1:30 pm – Tuesday at Duke Medical Center neurosurgeon.
5:00am – Drop Linda at ROA Airport for her flight ✈️ to Missouri.
11:30 am – pick up a package 📦 in Fancy Gap
1 : 00 pm – Wednesday in Elkin, North Carolina
3 : 30 pm – Thursday, exit the week long circus 🎪
A number of other things need to make the list, but those MUST take place.
Just before 11 a.m., I finished a 20-minute call with our son, Chris, and we managed to create a plan that made sense as we tried to solve a number of issues.
At 12 : 32, we pulled into the Hampton Inn in Salem, Virginia, and 25 minutes later, we finished unloading the car. Yes, we had that much stuff…
At 2 :09, the Brad & Sydney Nester portion of the book was up ! Brad = The Bomb 💣 and it led to the next to the last invite to write to Mr Chuck McGill.
Off to Buffalo 🐃 Wild Wings for the one actual meal of the day. Created the Darrin Mathews portion while chewing food. Darrin thought it was both funny and sincere !
12 : 04 / 3:49 were the times that I reached out to the Cat 🐈 Lady, and when she responded with her portion.
At 5 : 30, I started this part of the book, and I will build on it right up until I sign off Thursday afternoon at 3:30
Now it’s 9:32 and sleep 😴 is possible. We have to pull out at 6:30 am because we have one place to go before Duke.
Thank you, Chris Graham, and thank you, Wayne Carter. If this proves to be my final undoing, let Wayne Preach the funeral service, and Chris write the eulogy.
Oneofus.Care is more than a tagline. It’s a way of life.
More 2 follow….
I was this close to falling asleep, but I made the mistake of thinking about Tiff and the Wiff…..now
Tuesday, October 6th
Three hours after laying the phone down and closing my eyes 👀, I went to the one story that I had to stick a pin 📌 in because of a promise I made to a young lady from Dugspur.
The cover of this book will be the logo that my oldest daughter, Sabrena Michelle Deal, created 20 years ago, but the photo above will be inside the jacket.
Now it’s 12:30 am on Tuesday and we have to leave here in six hours…..
All I had to do was not go there……
1:52 – story at a stopping point !
2:18 – Tiff responded to the story !!!
3 solid hours of sleep before Lin’s alarm ⏰️ went off at 5:30. Wayne had the option of jumping in the car for 10 hours or not, and at 6:17, the elevator door opened, and Wayne popped out.
6:31 was the time of departure from the Hampton Inn with a destination of Durham, North Carolina…
7:46 – Martinsville Starbucks, Lin needs her morning 🌄 Brew !!! Good Morning to the Cat 🐈 Lady who lives on The Hill.
9:43 – Car in Park at 1st appointment. Godspeed…..
This is the much lighter of the two Durham appointments by a wide margin!
11:29 – I posted the Greg Talley story and received word that Ryan McCafferty will be at Glenvar High tonight !!!!!
12:30 – Now sitting in the 1L waiting room ahead of our 1:00 pm appointment with the neurologist…. yet, I’m smiling about the fact that our Lady Cavalier Volleyball team will receive live coverage tonight ?????? It’s okay to question that one….
2:36 pm – pulled into the Subway restaurant on NC 86 for lunch… Travis Osborne is headed to Glenvar and Bill Meade is in route to Roanoke from Stuarts Draft as the Christian School that he teaches at has a volleyball 🏐 match in Roanoke tonight as well !
4:40 – Back at the Salem Hotel 🏨, 10 hours and 9 minutes all told. Wayne escapes from the circus 🎪 for a bit.
4:50 – On the Road Again….next stop ✋️ is Glenvar High School 🏫 and volleyball night !!!!!!
5:10 – Then this happened…
WE WIN 🏆🙌😎💪
Hotel 🏨 at 9:35 pm ……
15 hours after departure time….
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7th
I’m making time marks so I can correctly fill in the blanks later.
Up at 4:30 am
Leave Hotel 🏨 5:25 – 20 minute drive over to ROA.
Roanoke Airport 5 : 45- 5: 47 is the drop-off window as we didn’t want a long goodbye.
Marion’s House 🏠 7:12 – This was a quick swing to in hopes of making the 11:30 meet-up easier.
7:40 am – 🏡🏠🏡
Write the Morning 🌄 Brew
9:19 – Chris and Wayne at Exit 118 Park and Ride, Lin lands in Philly, logo sent to Kristy Jones!
10:38 – They arrive, and we shove everything into the back of Chris’s truck and head over to Fancy Gap Elementary School to pick up our fourth golfer, Marion Harris at 11:30.
The story swapping begins immediately and continues non-stop until we say our goodbyes to Marion around 8:00 pm in the parking lot of the Pizza Hut on The Hill.
We drag ourselves back out to Laurel Fork, eating cookies on the way to stay awake and eventually call it a day, shortly after 10 pm.
Thursday, October 8th ( End of the Week )
7:38 am – Post the Morning 🌄 Brew
Wayne and Chris will depart here shortly, riding together from Laurel Fork to Christiansburg. From there, it will be Wayne back to Indiana and Chris back up to Page County.
Linda finally arrived in Missouri late last night after a comedy of issues.. The issue at the St. Louis Airport involved a car bomb, forcing the police to actually shut down parts of the Lambert Field property. Just what she needed at the end of a 16-hour travel day, but she eventually made it out to O’Fallon.
Today was designed to be a bounce back type, and now that there is no volleyball….
10:08 am – Wayne and Chris pull out of the driveway. Wayne has 7:24 home and Chris 3:48
10: 55 am – just finished up the Ryan McCafferty portion of the book !
We have now reached the end of one week in the life of someone who is driven beyond what people would consider being sane. Most people only see what happens in front of their own eyes, so the goal in using this format to conclude the book was a no-brainer.
Why make the trip down to Elkin, North Carolina, once again will be answered and the reason the second photo is so valuable will see the light of day too.
For now, though, a nap is in order…
11:27 am – Chris and Wayne have now said their goodbyes and are heading in the direction of their holmes
4:00 pm – After one rest area, nap on I-81, Chris pulls into his driveway with 10 hours of life awaiting him. He has volleyball to watch, church band practice, and then the night shift to work.
6: 49 pm – Wayne arrives back in Sellersburg, Indiana. His last-minute, 4 days, and 3-night excursion is now in the books! He is back home with a few more miles on both his car and 71-year-old body, but he has a story to tell. He also understands how much easier it is to tell a story verbally versus typing it out.
The cast of the show is all back where they belong with the exception of Linda. She has an early medical appointment in Missouri tomorrow morning that will dictate our immediate future. Fingers crossed 🤞 and prayers said on that one!
Carroll County High School Volleyball played twice, and Vickey Ritchie hosted her Little Feet Meet and is currently hard at work on Boo Ridge. Keith hosted an awesome event down in North Carolina for the 20th time ( our third ).
Duke University Medical Center was included in the mix for a day, and we received the only good news that was available in that Lin’s condition has not gotten worse over the past six months. There is no cure coming, but we love hearing that there is nothing more wrong right now.
When Lin has to fly out, we actually have five different airports to choose from, and we picked Roanoke so we could have the option of supporting Cundy Edwards and Company in one of her biggest nights of the season.
We met with the Meades, Alan Knight, Chris Dodson, Chris, and Crystal Graham. Don’t forget about Brian Hendrick and Amy Gaskins as we push to the finish line on Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend which also goes by the name Book Six.
Greg Talley tracked down a story for me and Ryan McCafferty crushed the piece he wrote for the book.
Vickey Ritchie gets the next three days with Boo Ridge prep on Friday, Boo Ridge on Saturday, and basketball practice on Sunday afternoon. There will still be time for the new Aaron Sorkin Movie 🎬 and Duke at Georgia Tech (3:30 – Saturday)
When the previous books were created, it was so fifty years after the events took place that the characters could crack them open and show their grandchildren about their glory days.
Book Six is in hopes that my great grandchildren might understand a little bit of who I was and the people that God put into my path. The week chronicled here was just one week in a life of trying to stand for what I believe to be true.
God, family, friends, military, education, kindness, and equality. This book just happened to be about events that took place on or around the ball fields along the way.
When the dusts settles on the adventure of life, let the tombstone read : He Cared!
Here is the perfect example of what I call a companion piece. Written by my surviving older brother, I offered him the opportunity to explain why he would have just jumped in the car and commit to the back half of a bizarre stretch of time….
Dear Jerry,
I’ve been thinking about my trip to see you and Linda this past week, and I wanted to put into words something that has been on my heart. The 15-hour roundtrip was a small price to pay for the opportunity to spend time with you both. I wanted to be there while Linda was undergoing her cognitive testing at Duke University, to let you both know that you were not alone, and, of course, to enjoy some time on the golf course with you.
But as I reflect on why I made the trip, I realize it goes much deeper than a visit. It comes down to love, gratitude, and a feeling in my heart that the Holy Spirit was leading me to be there.
Jerry, I want you to know how deeply grateful I am for you. When I look back over my life, I see so many ways you have stood beside me, protected me, and helped me through circumstances that might otherwise have been more than I could bear. You have stepped in when others may not have had my best interests at heart. You have taken flights, both within this country and overseas, to be there for me when I needed you. You have made financial sacrifices, given me emotional support, and offered encouragement when I was struggling to keep my balance and maintain my sanity.
Those things are not small to me. They never have been. Each one represents a choice you made to care about me, to stand up for me, and to help carry burdens that were sometimes difficult for me to carry alone. I know that those sacrifices cost you time, energy, money, and probably more emotional strength than I will ever fully understand. I don’t want you to think for one moment that I have forgotten them or that I take them for granted.
More than anything, I am thankful that God gave me a brother like you.
I believe the Holy Spirit sometimes moves us in ways that we may not fully understand at the time. We simply feel that we need to be somewhere, that we need to reach out, or that we need to show up for someone we love. That is how I felt about coming to see you and Linda. I didn’t need a grand reason or a carefully calculated plan. My heart told me that being there was the right thing to do, and I believe the Holy Spirit was part of that prompting.
I wanted to be present for you, just as you have been present for me so many times throughout my life. I wanted you to know that the love and support you have given me have not gone unnoticed. And I wanted to share some ordinary, precious time together — to talk, to laugh, and to play a round of golf. Sometimes those simple moments with someone we love mean more than we can express.
Jerry, I love you, and I love Linda. I know that waiting for answers about her health can bring uncertainty and concern, and I wanted you both to feel my love and support during this time. We cannot always control what life brings our way, but we can choose to stand beside one another through it. You have done that for me again and again, and I want you to know that I am here for you, too.
If my visit gave you even a small measure of the comfort, reassurance, or companionship that you have given me over the years, then every mile was worth it.
Thank you, brother, for protecting me, for sacrificing for me, for encouraging me, and for loving me through difficult seasons of my life. Thank you for being someone I can count on. And thank you for being the kind of brother whose actions have shown me what love looks like when it is put into practice.
I pray that God continues to bless you and Linda, give you both strength and peace, and guide us through whatever lies ahead. I am grateful for the bond we share, and I thank Him for the privilege of calling you my brother.
I made this trip because I love you. I made it because I am grateful for you. And I made it because, in my heart, I believe the Holy Spirit was telling me it was time to be there.
I hope you never doubt how much you mean to me.
With all my love and gratitude,
Your brother,
Wayne
