I fell in love with baseball when I played little league. I started out with a team that was sponsored by the local pizza joint, Vincent’s Pizza. We wore purple hats and shirts. I took a knack to hitting and loved third base. I blame that on Howard Johnson, a New York Met third basemen at that time. I watched him play, and he inspired me. When the next year of baseball came, the sponsors’ names were replaced with MLB team names. I blew my lid when I saw that I was going to the Mets. I was like a junior Howard Johnson now. Little league went fast, and despite having some good players, none of our teams got close to the little league world series.
I played baseball in high school, but a wild pitch hit my left knee and took me down for a while. When I was able to come back, I lost my spot at third. Then came me the time to focus on football more. I grew up watching football with my dad and grandfather. Watching the game, I found my passion for it. When baseball closed the door on me, I opened the door for football. I studied up on the game, spent time working out, and got myself ready for the next season. I was inspired by my dad and grandfather. They were Jets fans, and I followed them into being a fan. My grandfather would talk about the third Superbowl and how the Jets bested the Colts. I of course grew into being a fan when I was watching Al Toon and Ken O’Brien. After a game, my dad and I would play catch. He’d throw it, and I would catch them. Other times, he let me throw a couple passes. I didn’t have an arm, but I could make some of the short passes. I would dream of leading the Jets to their next Superbowl provided that they didn’t win before in the NFL.
My first taste of football was in eighth grade for gym class. We played flag football with part of the class. When I ran the ball, I found myself free. I loved just running and trying to outthink the other team. I found my spot as a running back. It was a game to me. It was something I was quite good at. Football would replace baseball as my sport. In part, I shined more in football than any other sports. When the baseball hit me knee, I didn’t sit. I studied football, watched the games, and worked myself back to health. I think I scared my dad on how much I put into doing football. But football was my only love until I found her.
2
So here is where the story takes off, where and how Jana became part of my life. Let’s start off in my junior year. This was the beginning changes to my life that helped shaped the future. For starters, let’s talk about high school. Barnegat was a small town, but it was not alone in being a small town. There were several small towns around the area. So instead of many high schools, there was one made to hold so many students. Some of the towns still had space for the elementary and middle schools to call their own. But for us, it was only Southern Regional High, a.k.a. the Fighting Rams. There were things that stood out in that school, some of it ahead of its time. Along with the regular required classes, the school would do an extra class.
The idea was to take the basic, math, English, history, science, and gym and fill in the extra class with what they would call an elective class. There was a computer class that was for juniors and seniors. Of course, that made it one of the most popular classes. Added with computers was home economics, advanced math, art class, science, and creative writing class. Most classes were set before the school would start, and the plans were made before the first day of class. I wanted computers, easy as it was, but it filled up quickly. The other classes filled quickly too. Only two classes were available for me to choose. home ec or science, and yet I chose the one where most of the guys wouldn’t dare to go. I picked home ec and was so happy about this easy class. This is when Mr. Smith comes into play.
For home ec, most people think of a woman teaching this class. Nope, it was taught by Mr. Smith. Anything to make school easier was a welcome thing to me. Oh don’t get me wrong, I love school, and enjoyed learning, but it was a lot to do at the time, a lot of pressure to know more, to be ready for the world, and to do it under a strict school budget.
Okay, Mr. Smith story. Mr. Smith’s first name was Roger, but everyone knew him as Mr. Smith. He is an imposing kind of guy. He is almost seven feet tall, matched with his buzz haircut. He usually is in a dress shirt and pants, but everyone that knew him knew he had tattoos from his time in the military. Yes, Mr. Smith is an ex-military, was in the army. He had served several tours in the Middle East. Of course this was before 9-11 happened. When he got out, he went to school and studied teaching. Now he is a teacher who knows how to connect with the students. Maybe it had to do with his time in the army or that his wife shaved the rough edges that he had. I don’t know, but everyone in school knew him. He was part of almost everything in school relations. He did field trips to Philly and helped coached some of the sports. He also taught chess club, which he was really good at. This home ec class was going to be his second year running it. You can say he learned from his first go-around and knew that it would be more involved with life than just baking cookies.
The first day of class was spent learning about what we were doing and our parents for the year. Mr. Smith felt unlike last year, two people working together will help things along. He also paired up the partners with another pair of partners. Small groups working together tend to have the best results. Then he called out the names of the pairs. I heard my name and looked around some of the women to see who I was lucky to pair up with. “Michael Williams, you are pairing up with Jana Carter,” Mr. Smith announced. I heard of Jana but never met her. I also heard her being called the church girl due to her father. I had not noticed her in the room, but then again, I never really saw her. I only remember the long brown hair from the back and how she had a conserved look. Mr. Smith had us get up and introduce each person.
So it was my turn. Jana had stood up, right behind me. I turned to my side to greet her, and somehow, I tripped over my bag. It must have fell off my chair. I took a tumble and found myself on the ground. First thing I saw was her brown flats and matched with her jean pants. I turned my head up toward her and saw her eyes looks right down at me. I literally fell for Jana at that moment. The love would come later, but this is the moment I wish to live in forever. My eyes saw right at her gray hazel eyes. They reminded the ocean, deep and passionate. Jana helped me up and joked about falling over her. I dusted myself of and introduced myself. “Hi I am Michael Williams.”
Her responds was, “Hi, Michael, I am Jana Carter, your partner for the year.” Once all the pairs were set up, Mr. Smith then assigned us into groups of another pair. Jana and I were paired with Eric and Tammy. It would seem that all the pairs were a bit interesting, but Mr. Smith had his reasons.
To end the class, we wrote down our likes and dislikes, followed up with talking about them with our table. It is funny how things like this have an impact on us all. I remember how I felt seeing Jana for the first time. I remember the nerves and thankfulness for being at the table with Eric. I knew him from classes that we took. He was one of the few people that expressed himself with his poems and art. He also knew football. Giants fan, he was, but I let that go. Tammy and Jana were both a mystery. Tammy was new, just moved from Easton, Pennsylvania, in the summertime. Fun fact that was shared by our group, all but me went to the same church. More important for them was the fact I didn’t go to church anymore. As class was getting ready to let out, I had to explain that one. It was simple, I went when I was young because my dad believed that I need to go. I never understood God or the reason for the church or Bible.
At fourteen, my dad gave me a choice to go or not, and well, I chose not to go anymore. Eric said, “Hey, buddy, I can help you with that. I mean God is beyond words but not beyond understanding.” I thought about it, but I was not too interested in it. I mean I knew of God, but just how to live a life in following him was something I didn’t agree with. Of course, I learn more about God and the many things of the Bible. Tammy began to speak about it when