~Chapter 2: Julius~
When Emma finished writing her part of the journal, she passed it on to me. She wants all of us to write what we remember about Gerry so their kids will have a well-rounded picture of who he was. We were best friends, so I guess I knew him pretty well. But we weren't always best friends. I guess I'll have to start with the first time I met Superman. I ain't too good with words, but I'll give it a shot anyway. This one's for you Superman.
When I first met Superman, it wasn't my idea of a good thing. Our schools had just integrated, and so had our football teams. Coach Boone made us sit together on the bus to football camp. Which also meant we had to room together when we got there. When we got to camp, it didn't take us 20 minutes to get a fight started up. I had a Temptations poster on the wall, and Bertier said that he wasn't gonna look at it for two weeks. So I told him to close his eyes. He said he was gonna look where he wanted to look, and (here's where the nickname came from) I called him Superman and told him to use his x-ray vision and look through it. He tried to take it down, and I pushed him out of the way. Then we proceeded to beat the crap out of each other. That ended up being a team-wide fight and a long lecture from Coach Boone.
Coach Boone made us get to know each other and report to him on what we found out about each other. But even then, me and Superman avoided each other to the bitter end. We had to talk. And even then, we didn't talk nice. We argued about who was doing their job. His white buddies weren't blocking for Rev, our QB. And I was playing "selfish, show-off football." We got our "particulars" and went to bed. But Boone woke us up at 3am and took us on a run through the woods. To Gettysburg. He gave a speech about how we were still fighting the same racial battles that they fought in the Civil War. And how, if we didn't come together, we'd be destroyed.
Something happened to Bertier that morning. He changed. That night he jumped all over his buddy, Ray, for not blocking for Rev. Then we ran the play again, and I took Petey Jones, one of our runningbacks, down. Bertier came over and punched me in the left shoulder, yelling, "Left side!"
I just looked at him, not quite sure whether to kill him or to smile. He was smiling, so I punched his left shoulder and yelled, "Strong side!"
The next day was when Sunshine showed up. But I'll let him write about the "first impression" he and Bertier had. It's a good story, man!!
We got close, me and Superman. We won every game that season. One of my favorite memories of Superman was when we smashed an old clunker before a game, as a symbol of what we were going to do to the other team. Bertier took the hammer and smashed the crap out of it. I don't think I'd ever seen ol' Superman get into anything that much. Off the field, anyway.
Bertier's girlfriend wasn't to fond of me at first. She wasn't really fond of any black people. It really got to him. He wanted us all to be friends. One time, he even hung out with us, when his white buddies and his girl had invited him to go with them to "the Hill." I think it got to them, but Bertier didn't care. When he came to a conclusion, nobody could change his mind. Not me, not Emma, not anybody.
He eventually even got to a point where he liked to come down to the 'Burg and hang out with me.
But everything changed the night we won the Regionals. Bertier ran a stop sign in his car and got hit by a truck. When I got to the hospital, Coach Boone told me that he was paralyzed from the waist down. Icried. I ain't ashamed to say it. I told Mrs. Bertier I was sorry. She said that he wanted to see me. So I tried to suck it up, and went to his room. The nurse said that only kin was allowed in the room. But Bertier asked her why she didn't see the family resemblance. He said I was his brother. So she smiled and let me in. She left and I went over to the bed. I said I was sorry, and he said I should have seen his Camaro. I couldn't believe that he was hurt that bad. Not Superman. I told him that when everything was over, we were going to live in the same neighborhood, and forget everything about black and white. Bertier held up his left left hand and said, "Left side."
I clapped my black hand in his white. "Strong side."
Bertier had to watch our state championship game on TV in the hospital bed. His girlfriend shook hands with me at that game and wished me luck. Maybe she wasn't bad after all.
We won the state title and there seemed to be no end to the celebrating. I wished that Bertier was there. He would've been out of his mind with excitement.
We had another celebration at the hospital. Bertier was so proud. Even though he hadn't made a tackle that night, he had won just as much as any of us.
He was so glad when he finally got out of the hospital. He was peacock proud when he won Defensive Player of the Year. That same year, he married Emma and won the shotput in the wheelchair Olympics. Gerry was an awesome athlete. That May, I got married to Rhonda Jones, Petey's older sister. Bertier and Emma had a baby in December. They named him Julius Campbell Bertier. When me and Rhonda had our baby the next February, we returned the favor, naming our son Gerry Bertier Campbell.
I never knew a prouder Daddy than Bertier. His daughter, Sheryl Jean, was born a little less than a year before our daughter, Angel, was born. Then they had Ronnie named for "Sunshine." Which I guess meant Gerry had forgiven him for... Oh! crap! I said I'd let "Sunshine" tell that story.
Anyway, 2 years later, Bertier, Emma, and the kids moved in next ot us in the 'Burg. He taught those kids to play footbal and he didn't give a rat's backside about his wheelchair. Even Sheryl Jean and Angel played football. They were as tough as the boys. Sheryl Jean could've been as good a QB as Sunshine or Rev. And our boys were gonna be Titans. I could tell.
Bertier was proud of his kids. And they loved him. Sheryl Jean was a daddy's girl from back yonder. Until...
One day, I took Bertier to pick up Julius from junior league practice. A drunk drive hit us hard. I was driving, and I tried to pull out of the way. But he hit us anyway. I was in shock at first. I couldn't think. But I came to pretty quick and called Julius. He was crying, and he said, "Uncle Julius, my legs hurt!"
I told him it was OK, and we'd get him some help. Then, I looked at Bertier. He looked like a rag doll. I started yelling, "Superman!" I looked for a pulse, but there wasn't one. "Bertier, man! Come on!"
But it was over. Bertier was gone. "Daddy? Dad?" I heard Julius hollering from the back seat. He knew. Poor kid. I didn't know what to do. I had to get help for that little boy, but I couldn't leave him alone in the car with his dad's body. Luckily, a cop was driving by and saw us. He got us an ambulance and we headed for the hospital. The cop went to break the news to Emma. I wanted to tell her, but I couldn't leave Julius. And I wasn't about to tell her over the phone. I called Rhonda and told her what happened. She said she'd tell Emma that I was with Julius.
It was about a half hour later when Rhonda, Emma, and the kids showed up. Sheryl Jean let go of Emma's hand and ran over to me. I picked her up in a big bear hug, and she started crying. "It's not fair, Uncle Julius. Why'd my daddy have to die?"
I just stroked her hair and said, "I know, Sheryl Jean. I know."
I wanted to say that it was OK, but I didn't. I would've felt like a liar. 'Cause I felt the same as she did. Bertier was my brother. So I just held her and let her cry.
The next morning, we began calling the other Titans. Sunshine was in South Carolina. Big Blue was in DC. Alot of us were still in Alexandria. Rev was out of town on a flight with USAir. They all caught the first planes back to Alexandria.
I never saw a braver kid than Julius, sitting tall at that funeral in a wheelchair. Mrs. Bertier held my hand, and I don't know why, but I started to sing. "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey. goodbye." I guess it was my goodbye to my brother.
The whole team joined in my song. I walked past his coffin, raised my hand, and said, "Goodbye, Superman."
**********************************************************************************************
Sheryl Jean's benn sticking close to me lately. I hope it doesn't hurt Emma. We're sort of each other's last piece of Gerry Bertier. I'm gonna miss ol' Superman. But as Rev would say, "In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore." See ya then, Superman.
-Julius Campbell
"Big Ju" #81
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To Ara Kane: If you haven't looked at the reviews again, My husband didn't die. I was writing that as Emma. But thanks!
When Emma finished writing her part of the journal, she passed it on to me. She wants all of us to write what we remember about Gerry so their kids will have a well-rounded picture of who he was. We were best friends, so I guess I knew him pretty well. But we weren't always best friends. I guess I'll have to start with the first time I met Superman. I ain't too good with words, but I'll give it a shot anyway. This one's for you Superman.
When I first met Superman, it wasn't my idea of a good thing. Our schools had just integrated, and so had our football teams. Coach Boone made us sit together on the bus to football camp. Which also meant we had to room together when we got there. When we got to camp, it didn't take us 20 minutes to get a fight started up. I had a Temptations poster on the wall, and Bertier said that he wasn't gonna look at it for two weeks. So I told him to close his eyes. He said he was gonna look where he wanted to look, and (here's where the nickname came from) I called him Superman and told him to use his x-ray vision and look through it. He tried to take it down, and I pushed him out of the way. Then we proceeded to beat the crap out of each other. That ended up being a team-wide fight and a long lecture from Coach Boone.
Coach Boone made us get to know each other and report to him on what we found out about each other. But even then, me and Superman avoided each other to the bitter end. We had to talk. And even then, we didn't talk nice. We argued about who was doing their job. His white buddies weren't blocking for Rev, our QB. And I was playing "selfish, show-off football." We got our "particulars" and went to bed. But Boone woke us up at 3am and took us on a run through the woods. To Gettysburg. He gave a speech about how we were still fighting the same racial battles that they fought in the Civil War. And how, if we didn't come together, we'd be destroyed.
Something happened to Bertier that morning. He changed. That night he jumped all over his buddy, Ray, for not blocking for Rev. Then we ran the play again, and I took Petey Jones, one of our runningbacks, down. Bertier came over and punched me in the left shoulder, yelling, "Left side!"
I just looked at him, not quite sure whether to kill him or to smile. He was smiling, so I punched his left shoulder and yelled, "Strong side!"
The next day was when Sunshine showed up. But I'll let him write about the "first impression" he and Bertier had. It's a good story, man!!
We got close, me and Superman. We won every game that season. One of my favorite memories of Superman was when we smashed an old clunker before a game, as a symbol of what we were going to do to the other team. Bertier took the hammer and smashed the crap out of it. I don't think I'd ever seen ol' Superman get into anything that much. Off the field, anyway.
Bertier's girlfriend wasn't to fond of me at first. She wasn't really fond of any black people. It really got to him. He wanted us all to be friends. One time, he even hung out with us, when his white buddies and his girl had invited him to go with them to "the Hill." I think it got to them, but Bertier didn't care. When he came to a conclusion, nobody could change his mind. Not me, not Emma, not anybody.
He eventually even got to a point where he liked to come down to the 'Burg and hang out with me.
But everything changed the night we won the Regionals. Bertier ran a stop sign in his car and got hit by a truck. When I got to the hospital, Coach Boone told me that he was paralyzed from the waist down. Icried. I ain't ashamed to say it. I told Mrs. Bertier I was sorry. She said that he wanted to see me. So I tried to suck it up, and went to his room. The nurse said that only kin was allowed in the room. But Bertier asked her why she didn't see the family resemblance. He said I was his brother. So she smiled and let me in. She left and I went over to the bed. I said I was sorry, and he said I should have seen his Camaro. I couldn't believe that he was hurt that bad. Not Superman. I told him that when everything was over, we were going to live in the same neighborhood, and forget everything about black and white. Bertier held up his left left hand and said, "Left side."
I clapped my black hand in his white. "Strong side."
Bertier had to watch our state championship game on TV in the hospital bed. His girlfriend shook hands with me at that game and wished me luck. Maybe she wasn't bad after all.
We won the state title and there seemed to be no end to the celebrating. I wished that Bertier was there. He would've been out of his mind with excitement.
We had another celebration at the hospital. Bertier was so proud. Even though he hadn't made a tackle that night, he had won just as much as any of us.
He was so glad when he finally got out of the hospital. He was peacock proud when he won Defensive Player of the Year. That same year, he married Emma and won the shotput in the wheelchair Olympics. Gerry was an awesome athlete. That May, I got married to Rhonda Jones, Petey's older sister. Bertier and Emma had a baby in December. They named him Julius Campbell Bertier. When me and Rhonda had our baby the next February, we returned the favor, naming our son Gerry Bertier Campbell.
I never knew a prouder Daddy than Bertier. His daughter, Sheryl Jean, was born a little less than a year before our daughter, Angel, was born. Then they had Ronnie named for "Sunshine." Which I guess meant Gerry had forgiven him for... Oh! crap! I said I'd let "Sunshine" tell that story.
Anyway, 2 years later, Bertier, Emma, and the kids moved in next ot us in the 'Burg. He taught those kids to play footbal and he didn't give a rat's backside about his wheelchair. Even Sheryl Jean and Angel played football. They were as tough as the boys. Sheryl Jean could've been as good a QB as Sunshine or Rev. And our boys were gonna be Titans. I could tell.
Bertier was proud of his kids. And they loved him. Sheryl Jean was a daddy's girl from back yonder. Until...
One day, I took Bertier to pick up Julius from junior league practice. A drunk drive hit us hard. I was driving, and I tried to pull out of the way. But he hit us anyway. I was in shock at first. I couldn't think. But I came to pretty quick and called Julius. He was crying, and he said, "Uncle Julius, my legs hurt!"
I told him it was OK, and we'd get him some help. Then, I looked at Bertier. He looked like a rag doll. I started yelling, "Superman!" I looked for a pulse, but there wasn't one. "Bertier, man! Come on!"
But it was over. Bertier was gone. "Daddy? Dad?" I heard Julius hollering from the back seat. He knew. Poor kid. I didn't know what to do. I had to get help for that little boy, but I couldn't leave him alone in the car with his dad's body. Luckily, a cop was driving by and saw us. He got us an ambulance and we headed for the hospital. The cop went to break the news to Emma. I wanted to tell her, but I couldn't leave Julius. And I wasn't about to tell her over the phone. I called Rhonda and told her what happened. She said she'd tell Emma that I was with Julius.
It was about a half hour later when Rhonda, Emma, and the kids showed up. Sheryl Jean let go of Emma's hand and ran over to me. I picked her up in a big bear hug, and she started crying. "It's not fair, Uncle Julius. Why'd my daddy have to die?"
I just stroked her hair and said, "I know, Sheryl Jean. I know."
I wanted to say that it was OK, but I didn't. I would've felt like a liar. 'Cause I felt the same as she did. Bertier was my brother. So I just held her and let her cry.
The next morning, we began calling the other Titans. Sunshine was in South Carolina. Big Blue was in DC. Alot of us were still in Alexandria. Rev was out of town on a flight with USAir. They all caught the first planes back to Alexandria.
I never saw a braver kid than Julius, sitting tall at that funeral in a wheelchair. Mrs. Bertier held my hand, and I don't know why, but I started to sing. "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey. goodbye." I guess it was my goodbye to my brother.
The whole team joined in my song. I walked past his coffin, raised my hand, and said, "Goodbye, Superman."
**********************************************************************************************
Sheryl Jean's benn sticking close to me lately. I hope it doesn't hurt Emma. We're sort of each other's last piece of Gerry Bertier. I'm gonna miss ol' Superman. But as Rev would say, "In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore." See ya then, Superman.
-Julius Campbell
"Big Ju" #81
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To Ara Kane: If you haven't looked at the reviews again, My husband didn't die. I was writing that as Emma. But thanks!