Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2024 02:02:45 +0000 (UTC) From: Mike Simmons Subject: It was always about the bets 397 Almost everyone dislikes the ride to and from Oakmont from our place.well except JJ who hated making the trip. I never minded the trip, especially when alone. It gave me an opportunity to relax or to simply think. Route 28 is just a racetrack but it was better that any other routs with small towns and red lights and all that shit. There was no place for the police to monitor speed so very few people observed it. I simply got in the right lane and traveled no more that 5 miles an hour over the posted limit. The day had gone as well as I could have hoped for. It was JJ who was on my mind. Things had changed, we rarely did anything together all we ever did any or was meet up and have sex, good sex as it was always loving and caring. My limited time at school was a waste and I should have graduated in January as this was no high school experience. JJ had the flying lessons and from the number of them he was damn good. Then there was my crazy work schedule. Then the constant search for a Prom date. I laughed when it. Hit me JJ & I should throw a non Prom party. Simply skip the Prom and AfterProm on the damn boat. Then there was Jason Cole, a very good middle backer from an outstanding program with a tremendous coach. I knew of him but JJ and Jason had known him much better than me. I wondered how but it didn't seem to matter. Coach B didn't seem pleased at first when JJ was invited. I sure JJ sensed that and definitely changed that as JJ ran dinner and the recruiting process. Then JJ piled on by offering to fly the coaches to Blacksburg. I really wanted to play down the jet and how easy it would be to get back and forth. As I got on the ramp to the Veterans Bridge which would talk me to the Liberty Bridge. I laughed thinking I would cross two rivers and a tunnel and not need a passport. No wonder there was traffic. What I though about was how crazy April would be. Easter was on the 12th and Spring break would start the Wednesday before Easter and we would be back to classes on Tuesday. The MASTERS would start on the 16th. It was looking like a bunch of time out of school. JJ and I would need to talk about this and I would bring it up before we had sex. I had tickets and rooms for the Masters. Megan, dad, Ashley and the Major. If JJ wanted to go he could share a room with me. I pulled into the driveway at my place and JJ was parked behind me before I got inside. Inside I went right to my room, stripped and threw my Lowe's in the mountain that was dirty laundry and put on baggie sweat pants and a tee. No , no socks. JJ laughed and said, here I am still dressed in that damn monkey suit I had to wear for dinner and you are in rags with no underwear. I laughed and went to the refrigerator grabbed 2 beers and tossed one to JJ. I sat down on the loveseat and started to lay out the dates for Spring Break, Easter and the Masters. JJ laughed and said well MJ Easter isn't a thing for me as we don't go to church and I told mom and dad after Christmas that I wasn't doing the major events as we ignore the rest of the year. Mom just said ok and dad smiled saying I could do what I wanted. As for spring Break, somewhere warm and you and me and lots of drinking and sex. Ok JJ, where do you want to go? MJ, I'm thinking Fort Lauderdale. It will be a great place where we can hang out and there won't be many girls interested in us and there will be a lot of hot guys. MJ it far enough away and we won't have to worry about being outed. I just smiled and leaned in and we started to make out. It didn't get any further than that and JJ said MJ, we have to mislead the rents in that there are gay beaches and stuff. We will have to stay on the fringes of the gay areas. We should experience all that but not return being outed. JJ, I'm all into that. Mike, I know Jason as he takes classes at the school. Unless there is a strong aeronautical program he isn't going to VT. JJ they have a highly rated Aerospace Engineering program it's like rated 13th in the country. KJ, my guess is that Jay and his rents will be on the plane tomorrow and to be perfectly clear we are not flying them back. JJ laughed and said Rodger that. MJ, I'm going to the Masters and I want to share a room with you. JJ, what's with you a gay Spring Break and roommates at the Masters? MJ, it's time we make time to be with each other and see how we do together. Ok MJ, how long we can have this relationship is nebulous and we need to be ready in case it gets out. Fuck dude, if you could have a couple of kids I would do it right now and I know that's a issue for you as well. JJ, that's all vert cool but why we going to tell the rents about the Florida trip, it not a popular Spring Break spot. JJ smiled and said that's exactly what we are telling them, a low profile spot. JJ shrugged, finished his beer and said good night and he was out the door. With JJ gone I needed to find clothes for the lunch with Sara Graf the reporter from the South Hills Record. I knew I needed to follow the rules and I found grey slacks a tailored blue shirt and a blazer and an appropriate tie.i know I shouldn't have done this but it was a lunch and nothing more. Well there would be a few questions. I laid the clothes on the bed in the spare bedroom as I would have plenty of time to stop here and change. I looked at the weather and school dress would be shorts as the temps were to be just above 60. That would include a sweatshirt. I was really looking forward to the morning run with JJ. So it was early to bed. I was up early, well before the alarm I dressed in shorts and a sweatshirt, prepped the coffee and stretched inside and then went outside and ran to JJ's place. JJ wasn't out yet aside from was still a bit early but there was Wyatt and I knew that wasn't good. He came up to me and said Mike, can I join the run the I really need to talk with you as football isn't good. Wyatt why don't you just go home and I'll drive you to school. Well Mike, none of us are going to school, the entire team. We are hoping they notice. Oh Wyatt, they will notice. Is that just the football team? Mike it isn't it's every varsity team even the girls. Wyatt, how did you pull that off? He shrugged and said we just met, the captains and set the date. We want a different coach but will settle on an Offensive Coordinator with power. The next step is massive transfers. I'll end up back in Ohio. I don't want that as I like it here. Wyatt, I have lunch at the Country Club, would you get a number of the captains at my place at 2:00. I'll have two hours then I need to. Get to the airport. Just as Wyatt said thanks and asked are we running or bull shitting but we aren't doing both and he started off. With nothing left to do we simply caught up to JJ who was setting a blistering pace. On the way back Wyatt pealed off at his street and JJ asked what's he up to? Oh a varsity boycott over a football coach. Damn MJ, is that a good idea? JJ, I'll know more at 2:00 and we can talk on the flight. Back at my place I jumped into the shower then shaved. While drying off I reconsidered my choice of school clothes as I was sure I would be missing most of two classes. This was more than a stand from the football guys and I didn't want it to get to transfers or any of this getting to the media. I liked Coach Weston but he hasn't adjusted and a three-Pete would need a new offensive concept. I was wondering where Doc Johnson was in all this or if he has checked out. There was really nothing to do but see what it became and try to keep it in-house but no further than the school board. I filled the travel mug with coffee and went to school. Driving to school I wondered how many people would participate in this. That was quickly answered when I saw the student parking lot and there were a lot less vehicles in the lot. I parked and took a deep breath and got out of the Wrangler. I was glad to see JJ was there but wondered why he was there early. It was a normal English class that I actually enjoyed and participated in but just as the bell was about to ring the classroom phone rang and when the teacher hung up he said Mike, as usual you are needed in the Principal's office. At the office the secretary was on the phone and she simply pointed to the office. The door was open and Doc said to come in. I closed the door and sat down. Doc looked at me and was clearly very upset. He didn't beat around the bush and said Mike, why are all the underclass varsity athletes out today and did you have something to do with it? Look Doc, if I was involved with this I would have talked with you and if you think about it you know what it is about. Wyatt joined my morning run with JJ and told me what was happening. They want changes and feel they aren't being listened to. They have moved on from the Seniors as the Seniors are here. Doc, I knew I would be here at some point today and I have asked for the Captains to meet me at my place at 2:00. You are invited if you want to stop by, your call. Doc, understand I can't fix this. All I can do is listen and try to calm things down. For the record, they are correct and Coach Weston needs help on the offensive side. They can definitely repeat, if given a chance. If not you will get swamped with transfers. Ok Mike, I'll come and listen but I need to tell them that Chuck isn't going anywhere. Doc, I don't believe they want him gone just updated. Is there anything else? Mike, I'm just trying to get out of here with as little drama as possible. Doc, I know that and I'm in the same place. I should have ended this in January. I got up and at the door I stopped and said Doc, no one else. They don't even know about you being there. With that I went to Science. I sat in the back staying well away from my es and as the teacher droned on and on about wave theory I started to think about Wyatt and how pissed of when he surprised me at the Tavern. I didn't want to do that to him. After class I went to lunch and found him and told him that Doc would be there at 2:00. He shrugged and said, thanks and at least now someone will listen. With that I stopped at the office and as Do was busy, I left him a message. When I got home I called Doc and left him a message saying that to be fair I let Wyatt know and he was good as someone would finally listen to them. I took a quick shower and changed into club appropriate clothes and drove to the Club. There I was greeted in a chilly manner by Mike. He said that my guest was there and added follow me. I stopped and said Mike, I don't care what you think, I am still a member here and you will be respectful or have someone else greet me. He smiled and said certainly Mr. Simmons, not meaning a word of it. I just let it go not wanting to deal with him any further. That, however, would happen soon. At the table I said as sarcastically as I could manage, Thanks. I sat down and smiled at Sara and said, thanks for meeting me. The smile was returned and she said, the pleasure is all mine. The water came and she ordered a white wine and I ordered an iced tea. Mike, I really appreciated you letting me ask a question yesterday. Sara, I try to get everyone involved. We chatted for a while just getting acquainted. The drinks came and she ordered a chicken salad with house dressing and I ordered a club sandwich and a small salad and asked that my salad be delivered with the sandwich. As soon as we were alone she said well Mike, I now have a different question. She immediately said Mike, I understand that your football team is unhappy and wants a new coach. Sara, that's my former team and right now, I'm not on a team. She laughed and said well from whit I hear you have your fingers in 2 teams, how was dinner last night? Did Jason Cole make a verbal? Sara, you need to ask him, I have no idea. The food came and Sara asked, so I'm not going to get any real answers? Well Sara, you need to ask a question that I can honestly answer, so far that hasn't happened. Mike, I'm sure about your former team and it's about to get nasty. Sara, I'm in the building for three classes a day so I'm out of the loop? Mike you sound like a politician will you run for office at some point? Sara, that's a possibility and a likely one. There was a laugh and she said well that's an answer. Mike, off the record what's going on with the football team? Sara, that's a non starter, everything is on the record. Mike, I was going to ask how you would manage the company and the construction while you were at school in Virginia but that was asked and answered. So how did you assemble such a great team? Well Sara, Kyle was onboard when dad did this to me and he had a resignation letter in his pocket at our first meeting. Dad is a great salesman and a comp sci background but he isn't a good business man. Kyle runs the company, I pay him well and stay out of his way. Dillon grew into his position and he took the grade book program and hit a home run. He is the public face of the company. All the key people are well paid and have contracts. It was basically preform or move on. Jordan our CFO is exceptional and we have a number of companies and he keeps the finances on track. Tim, my attorney, keeps it all legal. It simply works. So Sara, what makes you think there are football issues? Mike, I hear things and have been able to confirm some things. Sara will you share anything? She laughed and said Mike, I know you know more than I confirm but there is a lot of unity in that building and the Principal is retiring. Your class, generally, left a strong foundation for the underclassmen. Mike, there is a saying in you building. It is either we got ONED or we ONED them. I'm thinking that the Administration is about to get ONED. The other option is that they have a JV varsity team next year. Well Mike, thanks for lunch, I hope we can stay in ? I handed her my business card and said call any time and I hope you are misinformed about the football team. I signed the check and walked her to the car and headed home. Once at my place I changed to jeans and a VT sweatshirt then started to clean and rearrange the furniture. Dirty clothes were thrown in the spare bedroom and any loose dishes were placed in the dishwasher. There was beer in the refrigerator but I wasn't undoing that and hoped no one would look inside. With all that done there was nothing to do but wait. Thankfully 20 minutes early Doc Johnson arrived. He said that he had talked with Wyatt and they had agreed to limit the meeting to 10 Captains. Wyatt would pick who to invite as long as there were 5 from each gender. Mike, thanks for letting Wyatt know, that was only fair. At some point Wyatt and I are going to meet with Chuck. I'm sure he knows about the "sick out". At 1:50 there was a knock on the door and I wasn't surprised that all 10 Captains were there. Wyatt was first and he looked around and stood in the middle of the longer wall. He took a step forward and there were 4 people on his left and 6 on his right he took a step back and they locked arms. I laughed out loud as they were lined up boy girl. This was obviously planned and rehearse. While I was amused Doc definitely wasn't and he said ok, cut the crap, we are all aware how , that message was delivered this morning when we took attendance. Would someone please explain to me what this is all about? Wyatt started by saying Doc, it started with Football. Then one of the girls said it grew legs as we realized it involved other sports. Then someone else said there is a lot expected of us by teachers, the Administration and the damn Seniors. They were obviously taking turns as another Captain said, we expect the same that is demanded of us. Then the Track Captain said there are coaches on every level that are past their sell by date. That was bad enough but then the Swim Captain said they keep their job because of a system that is supported by the buddy system. Then someone added and because they have coached here longer than we have been alive. Then another Captain added,and haven't ever anything. The the finale, we deserve better. Now that everyone had contributed Wyatt smiled and said ok Doc, your turn. I was damn glad that I didn't have to respond to that but Doc didn't miss a beat. So is there any proof to any of this other that we expect a lot out of everyone. I'm not here to listen to a bitch session. Wyatt produced three disks and said Doc, here are plays that Coach Weston called.then here are plays we changed in the huddle not using what was called. The third disc is plays that were changed at the line of scrimmage, I'll let them be our proof that coach needs help. By the time they were done there were more visual evidence than I thought existed. Doc immediately asked where did this stuff all come from? Wyatt said every Coach films the games, our parents take videos. There is nothing underhanded involved. Oh, for the record there isn't anyone here bitching because we didn't win. We all have friends at other schools and every one of those schools win more than we do and that has been going on a very long time. Our championships in football and basketball were the first in school history and this building was built in 1939. So now what? Ok everyone, I'll look at these and get back with all of you within a week. Does that work? Wyatt said Doc, it does and together they said thanks and filed out. Once we were alone I said Doc they made a great case and I'm sure the football tapes will prove Wyatt's point as the plays came from his grandfather, a great guy, who shouldn't be allowed near the program. What they are missing is that a good many coaches have no relationship with the Community Teams. We were different in that we were all football since we were in 5th grade. Soccer coaches come and go, the swimming guy is here 24 years and the golf coach holds tryouts and knows the kids cheat Doc, have the TJ coach look at the football tapes and he doubles as the AD and he will direct you to other coaches to help look at films and do so honestly. Doc, I have to get going as I have to get to the airport as I need to drop coaches off in Blacksburg. Doc, JJ wrote a check with his mouth and I have to help make sure it doesn't ounce. Doc laughed and said thanks and he was out the door. I made some fresh coffee, refilled the travel mug, grabbed a jacket and my log book and headed for the airport. I immediately went inside and filed an IFR flight plan and was doing the pre-check and as I was halfway done JJ appeared. The Coaches appeared driven by an alumni. I got them on board after stowing their baggage and explained that the trip would be about an hour and 15 minutes or so and that unless using the rest room they should stay seated. With that I jumped into the left seat and JJ and I went to work. The cold start went without an issue and we were quickly cleared to take off. It was a quick uneventful flight and while we shut the engines down it wasn't complicated as as soon as the luggage was obtained we would be off. At the service area we accomplished all that shook hands with the coaches who were more than thankful for the ride back. We were quickly back in the air with JJ in the left seat and in firm control. I told him about the meeting and JJ thought that way they presented things was very cool. Then he said MJ, they did learn something from us. I laughed and said well there was a mild complaint about what we expected from them. JJ smiled and said well they are better for it, just like I am better for being moved here. We were wheels down in Pittsburgh 4 hours and 10 minutes from leaving. JJ had contacted the school and students took over the jet and all we had to do was get in the car and truck. I couldn't wait to get to the office and see what was happening at the site. At home, I was exhausted and stripped and jumped into bed. PLEASE REMEMBER NIFTY, IF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO HELP OUT. THANKS FOR READING AND STAYING WITH THE STORY.