Jimmy Johnson

 

When I would come into the diner in the morning, one of the first things that I would do was scope the floor.  I would be looking to insure that all had been seen and greeted, for people that I knew that I needed to greet, or for people that looked out of place.  Jimmy was in the latter. 

He was sitting at the counter hunched over his breakfast.  The first time that I saw him, I thought he was a driver.  The second day, I figured he was waiting for a load.  On the third day, however, I figured that I might want to know this new customer that graced our counter three days in a row. 

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down next to him and asked him how his breakfast was.  He smiled and said it was great.  I introduced myself and he gave me his name, Jimmy.  I then thanked him for coming in three days in a row.  He explained that he was staying in the motel across the street.  When I asked him what brought him to our town, he said that he was selling autographs over at Walmart.  Now, I am real curious but did not want to embarrass myself or him in not knowing who he was so I just asked him how long he would be around.  He said through the weekend.

So, my next move, later on that day was to look for him at Walmart.  I found him up toward the entrance sitting at a small desk.  The banner behind him read, “San Francisco 49er Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson.  Now, I know that the NFL did not pay like they do now but my curiosity was spiked by why this man would be so far away from home.

The next morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat next to him again and the conversation went something like this:

Morning, Jimmy.

Morning, Sir.

Jimmy, you didn’t tell me you were a football player.

You never asked.

So, why are you staying in the  motel across the street. 

It’s close to Walmart and I don’t have a car.

You have a comfortable room?

Not really, the heater is kind of loud and I am not getting as much rest as I would like.

So, Jimmy, you are a big time football player and you are here in Bend, Oregon so far away from home selling your autographs at a local Walmart.  I know it is none of my business, but I am curious as to why.

I am trying to raise money for a charity.

And what does your charity do?

It helps young boys down in Oakland get off of the street and keep them out of trouble.

Now, I am kind of overwhelmed.  This quiet, soft spoken football hero is probably missing his family and neighbors and is so far away from home trying to raise money to help out kids.

I thought about it for a minute or so and said:

Jimmy, I really appreciate what you are doing.  Is Walmart covering your expenses?

Well, they help me with  my lunch  and dinner but my room and breakfast are on me.

Well, to show you how much  we appreciate what you are doing, your breakfasts now are on us.

Thank you!  Can I do anything for you?

One of your autographs would be awesome.

He pulled one from a brief case that he had next to him and started writing on it.  He seemed to make a mistake and said that he would get another. 

I told him no, that I knew that the pictures cost him and I didn’t want him to have to pay for another just for me.  I told him just use the one that he had.

He smiled and finished off the picture and I had one of my first pictures for the wall.  And when I look at it and see where he rewrote his line, I remember the story behind it.

Others will see a autographed picture of a football player who ate at Jake’s.  For me, it is the memory of meeting a great man who used his celebrity status to help out others not as fortunate as himself.  A man who had left his family to sleep in a small room with a noisy heater and eat at a truck stop counter with strangers to make a difference with the people around him.

I see that recently the world lost this great man and I found his obituary online:

Lester

 He was a friend of my brother when I first met him.  Quiet and shy but a huge heart that could be seen by all.  I believe my mother saw that early also as she accepted him like another son.  I remember him as another brother.  

I had two brothers so with Les, we had 4.  Tie in with the 4 Petrie boys and we had a good foundation for a baseball game or whatever.  I found some old videos of my brother, Marvin coming out of the house with him before another video of a baseball game in our back yard.  First and maybe second base were stumps while third was the side of the garage.  It was a whole lot different than the video game era that we are in now.

I think alot of the glue that we had back then was our local pastor, Ned Landers.  I have written of him in previous posts.  His influence on our life then and in all of our adult lives have been very evident.  

I don't recall if Les graduated with Rudy and soon both Rudy and I were serving our country in the Navy.  Lester was Air Force, I believe and was a guard at the gate.  

The 70's seem to go similar for all of us.  We all got married in the middle of them and all had kids toward the end of them.  Les, Rudy, and I had daughters inside of a year.  While Rudy had a daughter two years later, Les and I both had sons.  I believe Marvin's son came along that year also or close to it.  

Towards the end of the 80's, we got back together.  Les and Margo started going to the same church and Judy and I.  We seem to link up again.  I remember them coming to our house and we to theirs.  Whether it was birthdays or Bible studies, we hung out.  

Les volunteered to lead the Junior High boys class and soon found himself under water.  It was a rather spirited class and one person could not have a chance at any control.  Les came to me and asked for my help.  It was my first opportunity at teaching in church and I was honored to have him ask.  I remember using some MC Hammer songs and playing them to the class.  Then, I read the lyrics to the class showing them that how his positive words can help them in their lives.  

I enjoyed being with him and Margo.  Margo's laugh and humor was so infectious.  

Sometime toward the end of the 80s, my family had a reunion of sorts at my folks house.  Mom still considered Les another son and invited Les, Margo, and their family to our get together.  Melissa hung out with the girls, while Russ and the boys had some sort of competition out front.  I have old videos that document the happiness of the event.  

In the late 90's, graduations came.  As I recall, Russ was involved with a local Christian band playing bass.  Les and I went to a club downtown to listen to the group.  

Russ garnered a job with the City of Bend and I remember encouraging him to stay there but he got bored and moved to LA.  Soon down there, he also managed to get another government job and once again, we encouraged him to stay for the future benefits of it.

But Russ was still unsure what direction he wanted to go so he joined up....the Marines.  And he went away to fight in Iraq.  

I was involved with Men's ministry at church and Les and I amongst others started a group called Dad's on their knees where we went in early Friday morning and prayed for our children.  

The turn of the century brought change to quite a few things.  911 affected me far more than I wanted it to and I backed away from my position at the church.  

The next few years seem to blur for me a bit.  Lots of things happened.  I struggled at work and then just 3 short years later, the biggest change in my life happened when I managed to keep the diner.  

I was soon working seven days a week and found my opportunities to socialize become almost non existent.  I barely had time to stay up with my own family let alone others.  

But, Les and I remained friends.  My memories are harder and pretty much most of my focus was on the diner.  

I don't remember what year Les and Margo moved to the apartment behind Safeway but I do recall going over to their place to help them with their electronics.  I believe we had some Bible studies their also.  Margo would always have treats for us.  

Les was an avid supporter of the Gideons and would meet with them at the diner on Saturdays so I at least saw him there.  

Then, he lost the love of his life.  I remember when he came in to see me.  He talked of how he knew she was gone when he looked at her in the morning.  The muscles that made it hard for her to smile had relaxed and he told me that her smile was beautiful.  He knew she was at peace but he missed her so deeply.  

Soon after when I would see him, his speech seemed to change and things became harder for him to speak of.  

Soon, he was in a home and I know that I should have been more diligent to go see him but I focused on other things....and I missed out.

I heard that Russ was putting him a home close to where he was at so he could keep a closer watch on him and I lost touch.  

Through Facebook, Melissa and I conversed and as I look back on the messages, she not only told me of her mothers struggles but also kept me appraised of Les's plight with memory care, falling, and later going into hospice.  

All through it, I prayed but was never able to get over to the valley to see him.  

And now, like so many others that I have known and loved....he is gone.  

But, I will hold on to those memories because I know....that I will see him and Margo again.