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: