Dinner with Jefferson Donald Keith II

Had dinner with J tonight. Having a big brother like him is a blessing beyond words. I guess there actually is only one word that fits him. Love. 

At dinner we talked about a great many things. We talked a lot about Dad. And our sisters. And CPAP. 

I told him about my previous post that I had written the night before. I told him I thought it was the CPAP that has refreshed some of my memories and has begun to heal my battered brain. I started to tell him about the post and said he probably didn’t remember and shouldn’t remember because he wasn’t there, but my first game at Miami...and he interrupted me with, when you were knocked out on the first kickoff return being the middleman in the wedge. It struck me dumb. Literally. He asked if I remembered my first concussion in the sixth grade when I knocked myself and that big running back out and scared the shit out of dad. He made you quit he said. Said that’s why I didn’t play again until my sophomore year of high school. He asked if I remembered the Senica Valley game? I said sort of. He knew of most all of my concussions, most, not all.  I told him the Senica Valley game was one of my pure rage games. I got my bell rung early in the game then someone took a cheep cut at my bad knee and from then on played like a mad man. Literally like I was insane. Had like ten sacks and a couple touch downs. That game alone got me my scholarship. And he was there. I was kind of overwhelmed by the flood of memories this discussion was bringing back to me. I remembered he had come late to that game so a I asked him if he had. He said he got there at halftime with a friend and I had yelled at him for being late. Kinda freaked out his friend, but he knew it was going to be a good second half. And it was! 

I told him I’m a little worried about all the concussions and the damage to my body and what the future may bring. He said in typical big-brother fashion, "you’re looking and sounding pretty good to me now little brother, not like we can go back and change anything. And if you could, would you?" No I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t change a thing. Well actually! Remember that one night you and I...