Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to speak in front of a couple different groups. It’s something I once did quite often, but the requests dwindle as one slips into retirement and away from the public’s eye. Don’t get me wrong, I get it. There’s no reason to believe most people would readily connect with certain stories or experiences. There are just too many new people who have moved to the Lowcountry since my decades of nightly appearances on television. Plus, sometimes those memories may be less impactful or not quite as humorous as they once seemed. Even so, it’s gratifying to know that you might still possess a skill set that not everybody embraces. Then again, there’s always the chance that nobody else was available. Who knew my college course on public speaking would still be paying dividends? Especially since I’m fairly certain I sold that textbook back to the bookstore as soon as the semester ended. Captive audience In mid-October, I spoke to the Sumter Touchdown Club, whose meetings take place about an hour and a half from here. There aren’t too many of these groups around anymore. Charleston native and former outstanding two-sport Citadel athlete, Lee Glaze, extended the invite. He’s a longtime resident of Sumter and also in charge of finding people to speak at the weekly breakfast gathering. This organization is thriving. Business men and women, coaches and their athletes along with a few moms and dads were there. And, of course, some guys as old as me always arrive early to drink coffee and solve the world’s problems. At the end of the year, the club hands-out $15,000 in scholarships to high school football players in the area. It was a chance to tell a few stories, elicit some laughter and talk about how football adds to the special feeling we experience in this state from Labor Day to Thanksgiving every year. You never know The other speaking engagement was an entirely different experience. The League of Women Voters asked me to emcee a candidate forum for the upcoming election for city council in Isle of Palms. My job in this case was to keep the train on the tracks. I was definitely struck by the quality of the eight candidates and the passion for wanting to serve their growing community. When we wrapped it up, one of the candidates waited to speak to me. He wasn’t interested in further discussing politics or issues. He just wanted to talk football. He specifically wanted to tell me that, as a middle school student living in Walterboro in the 1990s, he was on the sidelines when I arrived in a helicopter for a game between two undefeated rivals, Summerville and Walterboro. He said it was one of the most exciting moments in his young life. We laughed when I explained that we kept circling and circling the field that Friday night, not because the pilot was trying to milk the moment, but because the legendary Summerville coach, John McKissick, told my guy on the field, “You tell Warren he can land when my players are good and warmed-up, and not before.” It’s not healthy to live in the past. But it’s certainly good for the soul to take walks down memory lane from time to time. Those moments allow those younger and older to connect with each other. We probably could all benefit from that interaction.
