DAY SIX, Saturday, September 10th! of Trey's Trek cont.....

David Parvu arrived this morning to assist me in walking this last day of the first week of Trey's Trek.
 It would be the most challenging leg of the walk thus far...

Last night after arriving at the Church in Mt. Morris, we met with Pastor Alverson and some other brothers who spent some time praying with us about Dearborn and the Church.  The weariness in my body was evident but my spirit was very encouraged by the reception that we received when we arrived!  

When we arrived at the church Tony's wife came and 'fetched' him and he headed home!  I have to tell you that the two days he walked with me would have been a real 'bear' to handle, without Tony being there.  Brother you are to be commended!  Huah!

Pastor Alverson took me home and I cleaned up.  Then Sister Alverson managed a wonderful meal at their place for supper.  I got to bed but again did not sleep so well.  I think that the weariness of my body and the anticipation of what was before me the next morning made for a fitful rest.  Anyway when the Sun began coming up, the alarm on my Black Berry sounded and I wrestled myself up and showered again to help get my old frame mobile enough to move downstairs for a wonderful breakfast that Sister Alverson prepared again.   It was better than a grand breakfast at the Weston!  Anyway... we ate and I packed what I had in my backpack and off to the Church we went to be able to commence the last day of the first week of the Trey's Trek to Mackinaw.  

When we arrived at the church, David Parvu, an awesome young man who I have known for a long time, who lives in Dearborn, drove up to make the leg of the trek from Mt. Morris, MI to Saginaw Township, MI.  This leg would be the most arduous of the whole 17 days of walking from Dearborn to Mackinaw City!  If anyone, David was certainly the person who I would have picked to make this particular leg with me.  

I have to tell you, that in my life...I have never walked this far in a single day, ever!  Not even in getting in shape for this whole event did I have any point of reference for what this day would hold!  I did not even know what it would take from me, in the form of energy and my endurance and even in my mental capacity to complete what was set out before us!  But I did know this... I could not quit!  That was not even an option!   

You see, in High School... the very first varsity Wrestling match that I ever wrestled which I was a Sophomore, we were to take on Carver High School from across town.  In those days the 'Black / White' issue was tense!  Carver was for the most part a 'Black School' and 'E. B. Erwin' High School in Center Point was going through a desegregation process because we were mainly 'White.'  From my memory it was the first time a 'Black School' had come to compete against us at Erwin at least for wrestling.  Times were tense... in the early 70's.   There were certain things you did not say or mention in those days but you could cut the tension with a knife!  

So when the Carver Athletes arrived, we all met in the hallway between the wrestling room and the training room near the huge Coke machine that Coach Armstrong always kept full of Dr. Peppers and waited our turn... when called for, to weigh in!  First there was "Tuffy" then maybe two others who stepped up on the scale before me.  Then it was time for me to weigh in at 125 lbs.  

Coach Jeffery called... well saying that he 'called' is a bit mild.  He grawled my last name and said "Hancock, get in here and step up on this scale..."  I obeyed... and to my amazement that long arm on that huge round face that starred back at me as it swung up and then back and then back again the other direction, did not stop at the 125 mark!  It ever so slightly went past the 125 on the face of the scale and showed that I needed to loose another quarter of a pound before I would be allowed to compete at that weight.  

From what I remember... Coach Jeffery said...."get off, I'll fix you!"  I have to tell you that what ever "fix" meant, that my stomach was not feeling like it was going to be something very good!  Hmm... was something broke!  Yah, it was me!  I had not cut sufficient weight to make the grade at 125 lbs.  So several more young men came into the tiny room and weighed in and at the 155 lb weight class he grawled at me again to get back up there and weigh!  Of course at this weight I clearly..."made weight"!  But what I saw there made my heart sink!

Standing next to the scale, I watched as a Carver Wrestler at the 155 lbs weight class who had to have been at least 6' 3" tall stepped up on the scale and made weight.  He came in at or under 155 lbs.    For him that was good but what made my heart sink was... from my perspective (which was about 5' 7") in those days... his huge 'afro' hair style which seemed to me to be another 6" on top of the 6' 3" height and went out in every direction almost looked like it touched the ceiling!  I have to tell you that Fear gripped me!  I melted like butter in my heart!  I felt like I was facing a death penalty and Coach Jeffery was the Judge!  The photo below is what he looked like 'exactly' in the early 70's at Erwin High School.  His image will for ever be branded into my brain!

Coach Jim Jeffery 

He further said, "I will teach you not do to this again!"  I thought... 'Oh great!'  I didn't like  wrestling anyway!  But right now... there was more to be concerned about because that guy whose head seemed to touch the ceiling was going to walk out on the mat for my very first varsity match and pulverize me!  

What had I done?  how could I fix this?  Well to make a long story, short... We had been handling Carver High pretty good for this match and now it was my time for me to step out onto the mat with that giant that I weighed in with downstairs!  But as I looked across the mat... what did I see?!  The fear in my heart rose to a new level!  When that Carver Wrestler put on his head gear, the hair on his head conformed to the head gear and in huge 'afro' 'blocks of hair' that stuck out everywhere, at least from what I could tell!  (I was so scared that I was probably seeing things)  I thought to my self... how was I going to handle this?  How do you wrestle a black guy with hair coming out 'everwhere' which made him look huge!  It scared the living daylights out of me!  What was I to do!  Run?  Are you kidding!  Coach Jeffery was sitting over there and I would have had to run through him to get away... so facing this huge wrestler would be easier!  So I stayed!  But in reality, it didn't make it any easier!  He was still there when the whistle blew to start the match!  I had to engage or be called for stalling! 

When we came to the middle of the mat and shook hands, his manly hand seemed to wrap around mine as he peered down at me like a fish in an aquarium!  To say the least, he mopped the mat with me!  He had me 8 to ZERO at the end of the first two minutes of the match which is the first round!  He had me so intimidated that I literally let him have his way with me and he beat me like a 'Government Mule'!  At that point my heart said that there was nothing that I could do about this but survive!  

At the last few seconds of round 1 he had turned me to my back over on our side of the mat.  So to forgo the embarrassment of getting pinned at home by this monster, I bridged up on my neck and to my amazement there was Coach Jeffery sitting in his chair like he always did.  Except for this time he was sitting up on the edge of his chair with his hands cupped around his mouth and saying to me...."just submit, go ahead and just submit..."  I have to tell you that those words which I could hear him say, actually made me mad!   Yep!  I got angry!  I couldn't believe what he was saying to me!  He was telling me to 'quit!"  What, quit?!  How in the world...?  Is he serious?  QUIT!  What?  Then the whistle blew... the round was over and thankfully I was not pinned!  The Carver Wrestler had 'wiped the mat' with me!  

What took place next was quite amazing!  I don't remember much about the particulars of  the match but I do remember taking the "up" position at the beginning of the 2nd round and I ended up riding my opponent for two solid minutes!  (those were the days of Riding Time in High School) Then at the beginning of the 3rd round I was on bottom.  Immediately 'on the whistle', like lightning, I switched him and got back on top and rode him out until the end!  When the horn sounded at the end of the match, I had won by a score of 9 to 8!  

I can still remember what my arms and legs felt like.   They were on fire along with my lungs!  Not only that, I could hardly even move my fingers, I was so spent!  Everything that I had, had gone into winning that match and after the Ref raised my hand and I started off the mat toward our bench, I remember my team mats coming to meet me with cheers and well wishings.  And as I passed Coach Jeffery, he said!  "Serves you right! Now go sit down!"  Now I Laugh out Loud!!!  It did serve me right!  It serves me right; right up until right now!  

Whether the challenge is 31.9 miles or a huge wrestling opponent with a massive afro that 'sticks out' on all sides of his wrestling head gear; quitting is not an option...at all!  And if we hang in there until the end... we end up wrestling with the best and winning!  And to learn our lessons well...we need to let the lessons "Serve us right!"  So take it from me!  Coach Jeffery was right!  Don't quit what you start!  You will end up kicking yourself for the rest of your life!  

Jesus said... "No man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven"   Who wants a crooked forough anyway?

Coach Jeffery at the last Erwin Wrestling Match at the School (ever)
Us old wrestlers came last year to honor him for his
contribution into our lives as a Coach and an awesome Mentor
He passed away not many months after this photo was taken

With my feet on the Ground!

Simply Trey