Fayette County has a weekly newspaper. "The Times Record". All the news from Berry, Fayette, Hubbertville and all the "small" places in between can be read every Wednesday. Since I have my paper mailed I get it on Thursday. I saw in today's paper the picture of the football player from Berry High School who was awarded the "Aaron Geist 100% Award". Aaron Geist or "Chewy", as he was called by those of us who loved him, was killed in a car wreck the summer of 1990. Chewy was just a great kid. A great football player who gave his all...all the time. Berry had a great season that year, Chewy's senior year. Brady was three years younger than Chewy and helped hold the sidelines down that year, Josh was a water boy and John helped keep the books. When you go to a small school everybody participates! Chewy was good to both my boys but Josh really idolized him. I remember the knock on our door that Sunday morning when Mike Moore came to tell us that Chewy had wrecked and was no longer with us. All three of my children cried and cried. It was John, Steve Cannon and Joe Field's idea to give the award and it has been given to a football player every year since 1991.
I was trying to decide what I wanted to write about today and it was like this picture flew into my hand as I pulled some pictures out of a box. I bet the picture made all my "kids" heart skip a beat!
THEN- Aaron Geist and Kevin Hill
7 comments:
This is a great picture of the boys. The picture made my heart skip a beat and a lump form in my throat. Chewy was a good buddy of my baby brother. It is great how his memory still lives on through those stand out players at BHS.
He was a very special person to us all. He will always be remembered. I will never forget when my dad came home from the wreck site to tell me. My dad heard the crash that horrible night and had went to help, but there was nothing he or anyone else could do.
Chewy had such a short life, but look at all the lives he touched!
This is so not what I was expecting. My eyes filled with tears when I saw the picture. Chewy was one great person that touched the lives of all that he ever came in contact with. And I miss him so much. Every time I hear Garth Brooks song "The Dance" I think of him because that was one of his favorite songs. I saw Melanie about a year ago and she reminded me of him so much. Their mannerisms and laugh are so much alike. Thanks for the post.
Niki, I started to title this post "The Dance"!
i remember that terrible sunday morning and the days that followed. it was a signficant time in my life and his memory is still alive almost 20 years later.
I remember this picture like it was yesterday, and that famous grin. Memories are a wonderful thing, the good and the bad, it makes us who we are inside, from yesterday, today and into tomorrow. I would venture to say that Chewy made us all a better person.
And 19 years later, his death may still sting, but it's more importantly due to the love I understand NOW, that exists between a parent and child. There is nothing to compare it to. Nothing.
Funny you should post this. Back in Jan. I almost put a post on our blog about that very love, and had planned to write about the heartache I've felt, even after so many years. I had taken photos for the paper, through a very teary-eyed lens, at a basketball game where they had re-framed Aaron's retired jersey. Had a great visit with Aaron's Dad.
Felt the heartache all over. But differently. Contemplated all of life's complexities. Cried and Laughed.
Life is about living....and Aaron lived it every day he was here. And I am thankful to have been witness to so much of it.
~~Psalm 40:1
Holy toledo....sorry for the long comment. You think you're just writing a couple of sentences and then when you click "post comment" and it pops up, there's a chapter staring back at you! Guess I should have just emailed that one to you. :)
Post a Comment