10: Living

"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on a journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. After all, Number One, we're only mortal."-Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Generations.

I've always loved this final dialogue from the film. This was the last Star Trek film to be released while I was still in high school, December 1994. I was 17 when that movie came out, so this line resonated with me. At that point in my life, I had many years ahead. It seems like yesterday I was with my parents in Charlotte, seeing this film after my final Cross Country meet at the Wendy's Invitational. A few months later, I graduated from T. L. Hanna High School, Class of 1995.

That seems like a blur now that nearly 29 years have passed since that day. But time has been a companion all along the way.

The Bible has a lot to say about living too. One particular verse says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."-Colossians 3:23-24.

This verse, too, says little about leaving something behind. It speaks volumes about how you live. Cherishing those moments as they come along the way and serving something greater than yourself or anyone else.

Finishing high school, you have great opportunities to come, but the greatest is who you allow yourself to become. No one is ever defined by their actions but by who they choose to be. It's always your choice, as Mrs. Kay once said.

Despite being in the throngs of a dissertation in 2021, I still had plenty of time to reflect on the choices I had made to that point in life. Many were good, but I indeed recalled the ones that led me to where I was by June 2021, involving my health. I had made some poor choices in that aspect of my life. As outlined in prior posts, I developed bad habits in my diet and had become a bit lazy in my exercise routine. But those were all my choices to make.

Then amid it, I had some startling news between March-June 2021. Three of my former classmates from high school had passed away. Two passed in March, right before I realized the A1c of 10. The other was in May of that year. I remembered them all very well.

Jason Anderson was someone that I played sports with many times throughout middle and high school. We would go to the bowl in Anderson, down below the old swim center (which is gone now) on the grounds of McCants Middle School (formerly known as T. L. Hanna High). It was always fun playing football down there with the guys. I once showed up late for a game that had already begun. I walked out on the field just as they called hike to run a play. Jason came charging around as a defender to get the offensive player, and I just stopped dead in his path. I didn't know what to do, so I stood there like a pole in the middle of the field. Jason ran smack into me and almost fell down. Afterward, he joked, "I couldn't tackle the guy because Thrift threw a nasty block." It wasn't intentional, but still pretty cool. He, unfortunately, died of a heart attack in March 2021.

Nikki Carson was a beautiful young woman when I saw her in school. She was sweet as she could be, from what I remembered. Always pleasant with a brilliantly bright smile. I always remembered that about her. She was always willing to help, laughed a lot, and radiated kindness. I didn't know her as well as Jason or interact with her as much, but when I did, I always enjoyed talking to her and seeing her insights about things. Unfortunately, she, too, died in March 2021, I believe from a heart-related condition.

Both of these individuals' passing got my attention and was another reason I wanted to get myself checked out. When I had my heart rate spike to over 130 beats while sitting still, I was worried something terrible would happen to me next. If I had not gotten checked in March 2021 and never knew about the 10 A1c, I may have joined them. But, again, it was my choice to pursue a new course that could help me in my life. Did Jason or Nikki have a choice with their conditions? I do not know. All I did know is what I could do to help myself.

After my successes through May 18, 2021, I continued living my life throughout that month and beyond. It would still be challenging, but if I chose wisely, I could manage what I was going through. I was managing it well with the reduced A1c and feeling great. Then, I heard about the passing of another classmate.

Trevor Walling was someone I had known almost all the way through grade school. I wasn't close to him, but I knew of him and interacted with him some. Trevor was voted the Class Clown at our senior banquet in 1995. And he loved it! So did everyone else because he was good at it. He could dance too. At senior prom that year, I remembered seeing him charge out on the dance floor when no one else did, dancing to the music without concern. The man liked to have fun. 😁 The last time I saw him in person was in 2004. My wife and I went into a GNC shop, and he worked the counter that evening. We got what we needed and caught up a bit. He was working and doing some things in school and had plans from what I remembered. It was just nice to see him again, as it had been a while. I just didn't realize this would be the last time I would see him alive. So, when I heard about his unexpected death in May 2021, that was a real eye-opener. As I read about his life since the last time I saw him, I was happy for him. He fulfilled those plans. I was happy about how he had lived. He cherished the moments that followed that day in 2004, and that's a monumental achievement for anyone in life. Proud of you, Trevor.

Jason's, Nikki's, and Trevor's deaths made me reflect on all those lost from my Class of '95 along the way:

Allison Kay

Gene Haskins

Jason Hill

Scott West

Chadwick Boseman

These are just the ones I knew about and confirmed. There are most likely more, unfortunately. Reflecting back on all of these people I knew from school, there was one thing they all had in common. 

They lived.

Some had tragic ends, some had illnesses, but all of them had lived up to the point of their deaths.

I once remembered Scott playing Taps for Coach Wayne Jones' birthday in the lunchroom. He was an excellent musician.

I remembered how physically fit Jason was. The man worked out hard and would have put any cross-fitter today under the bus. I even remember seeing him one last time at the gym a couple of months before his accident. 

Who doesn't know Chad? But I still remember his Mr. T. L. performance that brought a hush to the crowd as he won that title, the first of so much more to come in his esteemed acting career. Wakanda Forever.

Gene, or NormaGene as we liked to do to him in jest sometimes. I remember when he got his Toyota truck and spent an entire party one night jumping over dirt jumps in someone's yard over and over and over and over, like seriously, I didn't think he was going to stop. He loved that truck!

I'll never forget Allison. My grade school crush, so of course, I wouldn't forget her. In 5th grade, her little brother PK asked me, "Do you like my sister?" I was so embarrassed because I thought, Is it that obvious? Later at her funeral, as I shook PK's hand in front of her casket, he took a little longer to let go. I've often wondered what he was thinking at that moment.

Allison's death was one of the hardest for all of us. We were so young and barely a year out of high school when it took place. Following the accident that had occurred, I wrote a final email to her, telling her thank you. I let her know that I always appreciated how she took up for me, even sometimes when others didn't. That's what I liked about her most. Unbeknownst to me, those emails at Clemson found their way back to Mrs. Kay. That led to months of conversations with her about life, as Mrs. Kay loved what I had to say about Allison, believing it epitomized who her daughter was. However, I had never expected anyone to read it, so I was a bit embarrassed. But I loved those talks. The crux of the discussion was that we all make choices in life, and we have to live with them, good or bad. She told me the story about Allison and the steeple. There were so many wonderful things that it honestly prompted me to think, This story of Allison would make a great movie. A cautionary tale about the choices we all make in life. But mostly a final story about a wonderful person who was lost tragically but served to unite a community in many ways. I even thought of a soundtrack for the story, everything from Gimme Some Lovin to Hootie and Blowfish, Dave Matthews, Eye of the Tiger, and so much more. Maybe I'll get around to that story One Sweet Day. 

So much loss and yet so much left to gain. 

After hearing about Trevor's passing, I made a choice then. I would keep living, whatever it takes, no matter what, for as long as possible.

The eye-opener I received was that I had a lot of life left to live. Many things occurred in the years leading up to 2021, making me aware there was much left to do. This A1c was just a phase in my life that can only improve. So, I would keep living and doing all I could to better myself, my family, friends, colleagues, and everything. 

June through August was more about living life to the fullest and doing your best, no matter what. I worked in clinical groups, dieted like I had been incorporating things back in, and exercised the best I had in many years. Life was perfect. I was living and not allowing the predator to stalk me. After all, we're only mortal.

"Speak for yourself, sir. I plan to live forever."-Commander William T. Riker, Star Trek: Generations.

The Bible has something to say about living forever too. 😀

Look for the next segment, 10: The August 2021 Results. Enjoy this picture of my Class of 1995 in the meantime. I'm in the top right corner, next to Will Dorsey.