Joe and I are headed to Waco where he is having a signing for his new book, "Slingin Sam: The Life and Times of the Greatest Quarterback to Ever Play the Game." Joe is from Waco and I suspect a lot of his old friends from school will be at the signing. He stays in touch with many people from his past, I think he likes maintaining that connection to his youth. I do as well, but I'm not quite as drawn to it as him. He connects more through the retelling of old stories, talking about sports, etc. Maybe it was easier to form those bonds then and so those are the bonds he keeps. I admire Joe for keeping up with these folks and it makes me smile to hear about them, well for the most part anyway. But it's also sort of surreal, even difficult, to deal with this whole world of his that I played no part in. When you love someone, when you want them as your partner, you regret missing the major events of their life. Or at least I do. And at our ages, Joe and I have missed significant chunks. How do oldsters like us make up for those missing memories, those shared experiences that make couples stronger? It's a question I struggle with.
So tomorrow I will venture back to Joe's hometown. Perhaps I will get a glimpse of that old life of his. I hope so. Wish me luck.
Here is a link to his book:
http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/holsli.html
