I was injured my freshman year in High School. I had three spiral breaks in my right leg as well as a fracture and a broken ankle. Oh, and tore the tendons in my ankle and the ACL in my knee all on one play. Then the idiot surgeon set my leg with a 15 degree twist. Two month after the break I was told I may never run again.
I guess depression set in as sports was my life, and my goal was to be in the NFL someday. I started using drugs heavily, drinking daily, and started skipping school. Basically, I was falling out of society.
I had a friend named Terri. She was in love with me and she was my “spirit girl”. That meant that she would make me shit, boost me up, and follow me around school to see if I needed anything. She had become a good friend. And she decided that I giving up on sports was not acceptable.
One night I was sitting in my room when Terri showed up. She told me to get dressed and get up. She said she was taking me out for the evening. I was still in a cast up to my knee and wore a brace on my knee. Naturally I couldn’t drive so she was in charge. Even my old man was in on it and told me to get my “busted ass” up and go do something.
Terri took me to a drive in movie. She claimed it was because I knew I had trouble walking and she wanted me to be comfortable. Of course being the ass I was back then I was convinced that it was because she wanted sex. So I kept pawing at her, and she kept telling me to stop. She had brought me to a specific movie to motivate me, and she was determined to make me watch the movie. Finally she agreed to give me oral sex if I would quit pawing on her and watch the movie.
The movie was a Rocky double feature . . . Rocky and Rocky II.
After she was finished, I did sit back to watch the movie. Folks, it changed my life. I watched as a guy who had nothing going for him took every advantage he was given and fought for the Boxing title of the world.
For the record, I owe Terri my life.
That was a Saturday night. The next Monday morning I went to work out again. Three months later, still wearing a knee brace and a leg brace to hold my lower leg together I started my first game since my injury. I was able to play for three more years and get a college scholarship in athletics.
The day I lost my scholarship due to complications from the original injury, Terri showed up and took me for pizza and beer.
Anyway, every day of my life when I am faced with a tough decision I ask myself what would Rocky do now. And whatever I believe that character would do would help me decide what I would do. It’s not that I lost myself; it was that I had trouble focusing at times, so I needed a strong willed voice to help me out. And the character of Rocky was that voice.
I mention this because today I found out that a friend has no respect for me and I was lost. So I asked myself what Rocky would do. And the answer was walk away.
And that is what I am doing.
I am also going to try to find Terri, tonight I need her.
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