Football injuries caused Mother to slam door in my face

While the high school football experience is a necessary journey for those of us who suffer from the mano-a-mano challenge and I didn’t urge my sons to play the game (nor discourage), I managed to suffer enough injuries to make one question my intelligence and/or judgment. But, I upheld the “I ain’t a-skeered of nothin’” mantra of our foolhardy gender.

 

Typical of small towns and our 210-student high school, every able-bodied boy went out for football. Of course, like all teen boys of that time (and maybe all of eternity) I put my skinny body at risk with the rest. I was (and am) close to six feet tall and then weighed 150 pounds soaking wet and with a rock in each pocket. I did possess a little speed, the kind associated with miles per hour rather than something you ingest to fool your brain.