Pep Talk: "Guts To Follow Through"

“Sweetie,” joked my darling fiancee, “Sorry to say, but you turn into a pumpkin again real soon.”

It was her parting shot as she slid into first-class on a Denver-bound flight from Kansas City. This simple dude from Missouri, who adores the Chicago native, was headed for a spot in coach. It’s the way we travel. It works quite well for us.

We were returning from an incredible weekend celebrating the community of Raytown, Missouri. Where I grew up. It’s a prideful place. Founded around 1848 byh a blacksmith named William Ray, it borders Kansas City and Independence, home to our nation’s 33rd president Harry S. Truman. It’s located east and south of the Truman Sports Complex - home to Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums - for sports fans scoring at home.

Each year the town’s school district honors graduates for distinctive service. I was one of six recognized this year. World-class pianist Thomas Brown, Legendary track coach (posthumously) Bob Craddock, business standout Bob Hudson, yours truly, basketball and public servant superstar Ed Stoll and law enforcement, counter-terrorism expert Kris Turnbow were members of the 2013 Hall of Fame class, the school district’s ninth.

It was a few days of immersion into the wonderful waters of youth - home, school and elsewhere. Kids who grew up in Raytown, Missouri in the 1970’s were lucky. We had role models to follow. Educators, public servants, coaches, parents and others did a great job of showing us the way.

The school district’s community relations department, led by Cathy Allie, did a great job of organizing a variety of events, including: speaking to students at each high school, touring our respective elementary schools, a community-invited luncheon, a visit to the city’s historical society and the actual induction ceremony.

We had great chats with the students. They asked insightful questions. We learned of the issues facing a school district with different demographics and challenges. I was blown away when walking into Southwood Elementary for the first time in 43 years, the tile was the same. Polished beautifully and warming to the heart.

I was blessed to speak to the Ray-South football team before its game against arch rival Raytown. Joining me for the Pep Talk where my two former high-school football coaches: Bruce Johnson and Vance Morris. This aging jock implored the current Cardinals to erase the pain of a disappointing loss to the Blue Jays in the final competitive football game of my life. The Cardinals got the job done with an upset win!

Another event, off the official schedule, was a golf outing. All the dudes that I grew up with playing golf in a two-man best ball on an absolutely gorgeous Missouri fall day, I played with Biff, Geno, Moon and Coop. We had a blast. Doug Maddox was tournament director. If you’re basing victory on what the scoreboard suggested, we got our butts kicked.

Everybody was a winner though for the time spent together. We agreed that a golf outing should be established annually each year on this weekend. Yep. The weekend the school district inducts another class, we have a golf tournament. It will bring us together more consistently.

Everybody was saying afterward, “We have to do this again!”

We do. Then one of the knuckleheads offered up a really good idea. “We should turn this into a charity golf tournament and invite others.” That got everybody’s attention real quick. “The money we raise would go to the Raytown School District and its efforts to provide the type of education each of us was blessed to experience.”

Bingo.

As the airplane streaked through calm skies on the journey home to the Mile High City, a truth dropped into my brain like a long, unexpected, birdie putt. It made me quite giddy. If we have the guts to follow through on what appears to be a pretty good idea, the following scenario could manifest itself: we’d get a chance to play golf at least once a year together, raise money for the school district and, selfishly, get my old man’s spirit off my back.

My late father used to organize, each year, a family and friend golf tournament in the Kansas City-area. So did the Maddox’s. Neither does now. It’s time to change that. It COULD BECOME an annual reunion tied around the Hall of Fame weekend, helps the education effort and allows me to, finally, look skyward and shout, “Pops, the golf tourney is back!”

Connecting with the dudes I grew up with, supporting the schools and honoring my old man. In my book, that’s terrific trio.

It will start with us, collectively, having the guts to follow through on our rhetoric. One thing each of the gathered knuckleheads learned long ago from the Show Me State community is that our actions speak far louder than our words.

Shame on us if we don’t at least try. What about you? Is there an opportunity knocking - home, work, school, community or elsewhere - requiring you to have the guts to follow through? Go for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

The guts to follow through. It’s what turns pumpkins into yummy pumpkin pie and far more important than first class or coach, right?