#197 - DPS

There once was a boy that lived down the street from me.  I didn't know him well because we went to different elementary schools, but I remember one day, he came down the street to play Atari with my brother.  I have no idea why I remember this, but I remember my mom telling me to listen for the doorbell because she was expecting a package from the ups man.  I remember asking, "Ups man???? Who's that."  "The United Parcel Service..." the boy told me.  (He did not add, stupid, at the end of his explanation because of his good upbringing)

Fast forward 5 years or so and the boy and I are now in the same class in high school.  He is definitely the "cool boy" that everyone wants to hang around.  Always nice...always fun...always polite.  He becomes the football hero and dates a lot of lucky girls before the cheerleader snags him.  What I remember most about him from high school however is not his heroics on the football field, but the disappointment and dejection that he felt when he blew out his knee our senior year.  I still remember him slowly limping across the field for the homecoming game.  Not dressed out, visibly upset, but still there to support his teammates.  Now that I have boys that are so competitive in sports, I can imagine how he (and his mom) felt at that moment.  But...thank goodness we don't all peak in high school because...

Fast forward ten more years, and I am sitting in the waiting area of the surgery center and #197 is explaining to me how he just removed my husband's gall bladder.  Great bedside manner, great surgical skills, still polite and still a great guy.

Now I don't mean to make him sound like a saint, because all of you who have figured out who #197 is, would know I was lying.  I'm just saying that I am happy for him.  He has been a friend for a long time.  He and his wife (the former cheerleader) are raising some cheerleaders of their own, he has a successful career, and through it all...he is still polite.  His mom and dad raised him right, and I know they are proud of him.  Come to think of it, I'm going to make sure my boys know what UPS stands for right now.