"Why Not Be Wonderful?"

A Story by Jack Buckner

“Why Not Be Wonderful?”

By John Smith

“Why not be wonderful?” I remember the phrase very well. These are the words my best friend Julius spoke to my team when we were preparing for the TSSAA Kickoff Game of 1990. Julius and I were on the football team. I am now the football coach at my beloved Betsy High School just two hours from the kickoff of the most important game, the TSSAA Tennessee Class III State Championship. However, still the most memorable game of my life was that dreadful day in 1990. I remember the day I first met that glorious man. It was my senior year in high school. Julius was a transfer student. I never found out which school he transferred from. As a matter of fact, I do not even know if he went to another school.

The first day I saw him was the first half day of school that year. I was walking through the commons area of the lunch room and I spotted an African American guy sitting all by himself in the dark corner of the lunch room. He looked kind of like a bigger guy, but it was all muscle.

I walked over to him to introduce myself.

“Hey, my name is Steve Estevez!” I said as I approached his empty table. I reached my hand out and he grabbed it and we shook hands.

“I am Julius!” he said. I smiled and let go of his hand. I sat down there beside him.

“So Julius, where are you from?” I asked him smiling. An almost unbearable stench was coming from the poor kid. Julius shrugged and put down his head.

“What about you parents man, are they cool?” I asked him. He continued to glare at the brown wooden lunch table. He finally raised his head and spoke.

“My mom walked out on me and my dad, and my dad is a worthless old drunk.” He said to me as the placed his head back on the table and began to weep. I sat there and patted his back.

“It's okay man, its okay!” I ensured him. I guess you could say we have been friends ever since.

“Come on man you should try out for the football team!” I told Julius the next week. “You would be a perfect center!” I added. Julius began to giggle. He closed his locker and looked at me.

“They don't want some poor black kid to be on the football team!” Julius said to me jokingly. He began to stare across the hall to Shaniqua. Shaniqua was an African American cheerleader and one of the prettiest on the team.

“Yo, man Julius; do you have a thing for Shaniqua?” I asked him in a mocking tone. Julius began to turn red like an apple. I leaned over and whispered in his ear. “You know, I bet you Shaniqua would really go for you if you were on the football team. Julius began to grin.

“Really?” Julius said. I stood there in silence and nodded my head.

“Alright I'm in!” Julius stated with confidence. He closed his locker and headed back to class.

The next day Julius and I were walking over to the bulletin board outside of coach O'Sack Hennessey’s office, the football coach. There hanging by red and white thumb tacks was the nearly full tryout signup sheet for football tryouts being held that evening.

“Hey buddy, you trying out this evening? I could use a couple of guys like you!” Coach Hennessey said to us as we began to write our names on the bullion board. Coach Hennessey was middle aged around forty. He an oranges glow to his skin and had gray hair. He was short about five feet and three inches tall and was very fit. He was wearing navy blue warm up pants along with a matching sweat shirt. He was also wearing white tennis shoes. We smiled and tooled at him.

“Yes sir!” Julius told the coach.

“We sure are!” I added. The coach smiled.

“Great, see you boys tonight on the practice field!” Coach Hennessey said excitingly while raising his fist in the air. The coach walked off into his office to begin preparations for tryouts.

Tryouts began later that day at six o'clock. I went to the local Chick-Fil-A and got a chicken sandwich and then headed straight back to school.

“Nice to see you guys!” Coach Hennessey said as he greeted us as we walked in the door. We shook the coach’s hand. “Head on down to the locker room and begin stretching and suiting up for you tries out. What positions are you guys trying out for?” Coach Hennessey asked us.

“I am trying out for quarterback!” I told him excitingly. Coach Hennessey grinned and looked over to Julius.

“Great! What about you.” Coach Hennessey asked Julius. Julius, whose head was hanging to the ground, looked up at the coach.

“I want to try out for center!” Julius stated with confidence.

“Great, now head on down to the locker room now and get ready.” coach told us. We nodded.

“Julius, you head on down to the locker room and start getting ready, I'll go to the vending machines and get us two bottles of Gator Aid!” I told him. Julius nodded and we began to walk our separate ways. I walked down to the vending machines and pushed the Fruit Punch flavor of Gator Aid and proceeded to walk back to the locker room.

Mean while, Julius was walking into the locker where the backup quarterback Kurt Bowers was dressing into his gear. Bowers was very athletic but was in desperate need of an attitude adjustment.

“Hey look! It's the Negro!” Bowers yelled to his gang of misfits who also were getting dressed in their gear. “Hey fat a*s gets the f**k out of here! You don't belong out here with the rest of us!” He yelled as he shoved Julius into the locker knocking him down onto the cold tile floor. At this time I walked in to the aid of my friend.

“Leave him alone!” I screamed running and falling to my knees by his side. Bowers pulled out a pocket knife and put it up against my throat nearly slicing by throat.

“What the f**k do you think you can do about it?” Bowers said as he laughed. Coach Hennessey then ran into the locker and grabbed bowers. He threw Bowers across the room.

“Get the f**k out of here Bowers, or you will never play football again!” Coach Hennessey stated as Bowers ran out of the locker room. “You guys alright?” He asked us. We nodded. “Let’s go and begin tryouts!” We all smiled and stood up walking out of the locker room onto the practice football field.

On August 24, 1990 was opening night for the TSSAA and we began play. For the first game we were going up against cross town rivals the Volunteer High School Volunteers. In the locker room, Julius began to take shape as a team leader. After each and every practice he grew more and more popular with our fellow team mates. Now it was game time.

The first half of the game might as well have been a blood bath. We were up forty nine to three at half-time.

“Gather around me guys, I would like to say something!” Coach Hennessey said as we circled around him and kneeling on the cold gray concrete floor. “I would just like to say how proud I am of you guys. Words can't even describe how proud I am of you all!” Coach Hennessey raved about us. “Especially Julius.” He added. We all began to applaud and cheer for my friend. “Come on up here and honor us with an inspirational speech.” Coach Hennessey yelled as we all began to chant, 'Julius, Julius, and Julius!' Julius stood up on the orange bench and began to speak,

“Why not be wonderful?” Julius asked as we all began to mumble and stair confusingly at one another.

“What do you mean man?” I raised my voice above the chattering and asked him.

“If you have the ability to be wonderful, why not be wonderful?” Julius said again. We continued to gaze at one another with confusing expressions on our faces. “We can do anything that we set our minds to. We are the masters of our own destiny! So why not be the greatest we can be? Why not be wonderful!?” Julius said as he stepped off the bench back onto the locker room floor.

Silence the fell over the entire locker room as we began to soak up Julus' short, yet somehow heartfelt speech. I raised my hands and began to clap slowly. As I got faster and faster others began to join in on the clapping. After only a couple of seconds we all stood up from the bench and gave my best friend Julius a much deserved and long awaited standing ovation. From starter position to back up position, from position coach to the head coach, we all began to applaud and cheer for out good friend Julius.

“Come on everybody! Let’s go out there and be wonderful!” Coach Hennessey yelled as we all began to cheer. We stood up, rose up our helmets, and ran out of the locker room onto the field and began stretching for the second half.

It seemed as if everything was perfect...however, it was far from perfect.

During the fourth quarter with twenty seconds remaining on the clock. Julius ran onto the sideline and began to hold his head. Almost instantly I knew something was not right.

“What's wrong buddy?” Coach Hennessey asked Julius with a concerned expression in his voice. Julius remained holding his head and beginning to sit down.

“I'm fine coach.” Julius said softly letting go of his head. He stood up and grabbed his head once more.

“Are you sure you are alright?” Coach Hennessey asked again. Julius once more let go of his head and began to walk out on the field.

“Yes sir I'm fine.” He reinsured the coach. Julius walked out on the field into the huddle to hear me call the play.

“BREAK!!!” we screamed as a team and began to line up. I paused for a moment and pulled Julius' shoulder to get his attention. Julius turned around to face me.

“Are you sure you are alright man?” I asked him with concern.

“Will everyone quite asking me that and just let me play the game? I am alright! Now let’s play!” He screamed at me as we began to line up.

“Red twenty-two! Red twenty-two! HUT! HUT! HIKE!!!” I screamed as Julius passed me the ball. I dropped back the throw when Julius' head hit the ground.

Mass chaos broke out after the game. Paramedics raced out onto the field and took Julius to the local nearby hospital.

“Shall the Lord be with you? AMEN!” The preacher said the next week at Julious' funeral.

Alright everybody! Let’s go out there and win this championship! And remember, “WHY NOT BE WONDERFUL!!!???”

Courtesy of TTP Entertainment

© 2014 Jack Buckner

Author's Note

This is a piece that I wrote a few years back. I found it in a truck by the window in the attic one day when I was cleaning it out. I hope you like it.

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Reviews

Delmar Cooper

Reads like truth. Certainly hope it isn't. I found it entertaining and inspiring. Thanks for posting it.
Cooper

Posted 10 Years Ago

1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

This comment has been deleted by the poster.

10 Years Ago

No. It's not truth. It is fiction. Thank you for reading.

Roo

I think you rush the ending. I want you to tie in why he smelt so bad in your opening lines. One guesses it was to do with his illness. Was the girl, Shaniqua, on the sidelines cheering him on at the end. Perhaps she could have been the first to throw a sod of earth onto the coffin as it was lowered. Yes you introduced her to give credence to him joining the football team but you should use her more. Her grief could be paramount to how far Julius grew in this short life he led.
And what happened to the quarterback?
But hey, nice to read a sort of uplifting spiritual sort of tale.
there are grammar issues, but if you read the story out loud you can often lose a lot of the gliches.
Roo