Growing up I was only vaguely aware of University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's greatness. Since he died shortly after coaching his final game, I've read a bit more about him. This story by Wright Thompson, senior writer for ESPN is one of the best reads I've seen lately. Enjoy.
T
USCALOOSA,
Ala. -- Something important is being lost. Each rising sun takes a
little more from the couple who live in the small brick home southwest
of downtown. Billy Varner has been married to Susie for 57 years, and as
her life was once spent waiting on him to get home from a job that
didn't know hours or days off, now it's spent managing his dementia.
Each day brings its own reality. On the worst, Billy, who is 76, doesn't
recognize Susie. He'll dress in the middle of the night and try to
leave, his pajamas rolled up in his hand. Regularly, he refuses to
believe that his old boss isn't at home waiting for a ride. Billy was
Bear Bryant's driver, bodyguard and valet, one of the few remaining
people who knew him as a human being. As Billy's memory fades, that
knowledge disappears with it, widening the gulf between truth and
imagination.
Billy tells Susie that he talks to the coach. Sometimes Bryant visits.
"Coach Bryant isn't dead," he'll say. "Don't tell me he's dead."
"Billy," Susie tells him, "yes, he is."
Mostly about writing, reading, with some current affairs and other stuff thrown in.
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