A Birthday Letter From Paul Bradbury
(Steve's Dad's College Roommate)
Dear Steve,
Best wishes on #40. This occasion has given me the opportunity to reflect on the last 40 years. It occurs to me that you and I have both known your dad for these same 40 years. In my case and most fortunately I had 18 years to get ready for my experience. Of course, you had no such survival training. But, there are some true gems in both our experiences with James Hamilton…I will mention a few:
1. Jim was the first person whom I witnessed using an electric toothbrush. In fact, I had no idea such things existed. My excuse… I was raised in Baytown, breathing ExxonMobil (aka exxon, enco, esso, humble, and standard oil new jersey) fumes thinking this was fresh air. Only upon moving to Waco in 1966 did I discover real fresh air…and it was soon thereafter that I made your father’s acquaintance.
2. Jim soon introduced the idea to me that there were other ways to look at things that I had no awareness of. I was a right-winger and did not know it. I was born-again soon thereafter!
3. Jim was a great partner with which to raid the dorm machines after midnight for tasty sandwiches and mildly cool chocolate milk.
3a Jim could eat more than just about anyone in the dorm.
3b One Sunday we went to the Smokehouse just off 8th street…Jim ordered two #5s
(1/2 lb of beef with everything else including secret sauce and 2 fries. I thought it
was really nice of your dad to order my meal too so I just ordered a drink…upon
sitting down I reached for “My” order…Jim asked me what I was doing with his
food…never again did I underestimate Jim’s capacity to ingest large quantities of
meat and grindage!
4. I used to feel sorry for Jim regarding his deafness in one ear…I no longer feel this way. With advancing age I have come to appreciate not hearing lots of worthless bullshit…Jim has had this blessing for a lot longer than I have.
5. One evening, I think it was Frank (nunu) Newport’s idea that we should all know each other’s IQ…so we wrote our numbers as best we knew on a piece of paper and then shared the info. Frank came out with a 151…Jim a 141…and I a 131. Now with long years of training in psychology and a tad more maturity, my assessment of this event is: Frank’s number was probably accurate and that pleased him greatly…Jim’s number was low and he felt sympathy for me…and my number was high although now that I have memorized the answers to the tests, I consistently score in the above average range.
6. Speaking of Frank, upon my last visit with your dad several years ago, I asked Jim if he had talked to Frank (now famous as Big Boy with Gallup). Jim’s response was one of the funniest things he has ever said…breaking out into semi-controlled laughter (you know what I mean) he simply said, “why”! Ah, a great moment in Benton lore!
7. Upon the quite sad occasion of our second IFD (intrauterine fetal demise) in 1980 in Wichita Falls, Jim proved true the adage of “A friend in need….”. He knew where he needed to be. I have great respect for this. Since, in my own life I have learned that being there is what is important, not what you say. Your dad was there!
8. Speaking of Wichita Falls, Jim and I were reunited somewhat thanks to my foolish association with a worthless individual. This person was truly jealous of our longtime friendship. But then, winning through condescending and intimidation has always been the strong suit of Dr. Phil.
9. I can’t remember just when Jim created “The Old Man” that has hung in all of our houses ever since. Today, he is on the wall of our bathroom just by Gail’s hand towel rack. I hope to show him to you some day…I think in some way this is a tangible connection to his own father…I would not trade it for a Picasso…but then again I refer you to #7 above!
10. I won’t go into the details of the fact and legend of the famous Brian barfing at the WF Pizza Planet…needless to say, I learned a great lesson in parenting while suppressing my gag reflex…if you can handle that with the calm and caring your dad showed that day…well, it was very special.
11. Your dad has always been straightforward with me… perhaps he was just no good at manipulation…an attribute I wish a lot of people had more of, including myself.
12. After the wreck, I thought that Jim was lost to neurological disability…I remember the night I left the hospital after seeing him the first time…he could not find the word “pencil” to describe the object being held in front of him, no matter how hard he tried. I guess his brain just wasn’t through working yet…something I was most thankful for, and from which many have been blessed.
“Get busy living or get busy dying”…Shawshank Redemption
Well, Steve, I’ve run out of time, a product of my tendency to procrastinate (a tendency not unshared by your dad). Most of what I’ve said is factual and it is all based in truth. I know for 40 years his love for you has only grown…and his love for you 40 years ago was immense! May your next 40 be blessed in ways we cannot imagine. I strongly believe that great things are accomplished by small, clear actions, ones your dad has striven for, things that reasonably intelligent and fair-minded humans can accomplish.
Make a difference every day
Promote peace at every opportunity
Be of use
Do the right thing.
Paul Bradbury
July 2, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment