So I have an entry that I was going to put on here tonight. It's a rather lengthy piece, enough so that I will have to split it up. That'll have to wait.
As everyone probably knows by now, Joe Paterno passed away this morning. Even if you don't follow sports, you know the Paterno story because of a louse named Jerry Sandusky. As us sports fans know, there was a lot more to Paterno - and much of that will dominate sports news in the coming days.
We'll hear about Paterno's wins. His 409th win - which would turn out to be his last - put him past Eddie Robinson and lifted him into first place all-time in that category. We'll hear about the two national titles, the second of which will forever unnerve me as a Miami fan. We may even hear about the philanthropy: Paterno and his family gave millions to Penn State. One thing that we'll definitely hear about is his forming young minds to become productive members of society and his teaching hundreds of former players. It's the teaching part that I want to focus on.
Anyone who's ever played a sport at any level knows the impact that coaches can have on an athlete's life. We all know that coaches teach us a lot more than how to block, tackle, box out, lengthen our strides. If you ever hear a Penn State athlete talk about Paterno, you'll notice that the mass majority (if not all) of the time they talk about football second. They talk about how Paterno molded them into responsible men whom their families could be proud of before they ever mention a touchdown or a title.
Paterno's impact went far beyond Penn State, though. Myron Rolle (who played for a coaching legend himself) mentioned that Paterno gave him a book about following his dreams. Mike Ditka talked about Paterno recruiting him and teaching him what class was through example. Opposing coaches and media members shared stories as well; and their accounts illustrated Paterno's sphere of influence. One person mentioned how Paterno affected people who had nothing to do with college football and weren't Penn State fans. I thought he was crazy...and then I began to think.
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My mom retired from teaching in 2001. Since then, she's done a ton of volunteer work for the church and at other places including the Urban League. She's always doing something or going somewhere: I swear she does more work now than she did when she taught. When I go home I often see her at her desk creating programs for some church event or an Urban League function or doing this or that - and of course asking me for help when there was too much to do.
Outside of my naturally being preturbed - I mean, when I go home now I look at it as sort of a vacation - at being volunteered to do stuff without much prompt or notice, I always wondered why she would take on so much that she'd even have to ask someone else for help.
I've asked her that question on countless occasions, and at times have told her to sit down somewhere. Well, there are three reasons that she has absolutely refused to listen. The first is that she's going to do what she wants when she wants. Forget what anyone else says, my mom lives her life to do whatever it that makes her happy. If I don't like it, oh well. If my dad doesn't like it - and there have been a lot of times when he hasn't - oh well. Being close to my mom requires an understanding of the fact that she's going to do things that you may not understand or agree with.
The second reason is that she's the type of person who will volunteer her time and talents to whomever needs or requests them. She is an unbelievably giving person, probably more than I know - and I know she gives a lot. I imagine this has much to do with her upbringing, as most of my relatives on her side are the same way. I think I've mentioned before that she was an active member of the civil rights movement, as in "got arrested while protesting" active. That spirit has stayed with her throughout the years.
The third reason is where these two stories come together.
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After Paterno was fired thanks to Sandusky, Mom and I were talking about it and she said she wouldn't be surprised if Paterno didn't live much longer. I then recalled Bear Bryant only living for four weeks after he stopped coaching and realized that Paterno's fate could easily be similar. Sadly, that has come to pass.
In this moment I finally figured out what the one person was talking about, what Paterno taught me, and why my mom keeps doing everything under the sun.
She doesn't want the same thing to happen to her. She's not as old as Paterno, and won't be for a while...but the there's still the bigger theme of dying when there's nothing left to live for, no more mountains to climb, nothing else to do. Bryant and Paterno had done all there was to do professionally, even though the ends of their careers were obviously different. However, their fates were the same...
...and that's why I'm liable to never ask my mom to sit down somewhere again.
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