After Nelsons passing and hearing what everyone said about him at the
banquet I have been thinking a lot about him and what he meant to me.
He talked me out of quitting after three years..now I am in my seventh!
But what I have to tell you is what he did to me the fall before his
heart transplant. I was assigned to a game off Layhill Road(two private
schools). I go there early as I usually do and there was only one car in
the lot and it was a black Benz. I sat there waiting for about twenty
minutes and in that time the schools had arrived. It was about fifteen
minutes before game time and I decided to go to the field..didn't see a
partner anywhere! As I walked toward the path I had to go by the Benz
and I looked in the car and there was Nelson! In his white T Shirt! He
saw me and said "Mike, we got a lot of time..wait"
As I waited he put on his faded black shirt and grabbed his seedy black
hat. He got out of his car and we started to walk to the field. Nelson
and I had worked many games for many years and I thought this one was no
different. Boy was I wrong!
As we walked to the field he casually said to me.."I am waiting for a
heart transplant" "I have my beeper with me"
I about crapped in my pants...I knew he had had heart surgery about two
years before because we had discussed it at at some length after the
fact at a a few game sites..I didn't know what expect?
Got to the Field and he handed me his watch and asked me to set it for
him..Don Dennison hit it right on the head... if it was mechanical
Nelson had a problem...he wanted me just to set the time...he told me to
take the clock..and I did!
This is no joke...we did the game and I had never seen Nelson run so
much and have so much fun!
I really miss him..the young members of the association really don't
know how dedicated he was and the older ones do KNOW!
These are just my thoughts about Nelson and what he meant to me.
Mike Grady
P.S. I hope others will add theirs |