My cousin, my hero….

In some respects, I feel a certain sense of guilt by “coming here” all too often. I am me, average ole me. (And I DO know that.).. Yet, it’s like, there’s this little guy tugging my sleeve, reminding me “Victor…. who cares?”… And yes, aware, my story, my life no different, no better than anyone elses….

Then… I remember why I’ve come here… it ain’t about me… it’s moreso about life, our lives.. so, thank you, VERY MUCH, for allowing me to share.

Eavesdropping thru a friend’s pictures here, one Mr. Ollie Malone. (Look him up, he’s got a killer, perennial smile that takes up the 8 and ½ of the 8 and ½ by 11!) Within Mr. Ollie’s pictures is one of him standing (of course smiling) next to some former students of his from his days at the Kansas School for the Deaf.. Exchanged a few messages with Ollie – and I’d related to him of my beloved cousin – also a former teacher, principal, educator – at the Missouri School for the Deaf.

Who do kids nowadays use for role models? Our parents/teachers? Peers? Rock stars? Sports/entertainment figures?..

When I was nine, mom allowed me to take the magic marker to my plain ole plain ole white T-shirt – and write the number/name of “my hero” across the front/back of my shirt. I remember adorning it with Stan The Man… Lenny The Cool.. Otis Taylor… Bobby Bell…

My real hero though was (and is) my cousin Roger Dale Davis. Five years older, he was my everything growing up. The high school quarterback, the starting point guard on the basketball team.. Dated, eventually married, the prettiest/smartest gal/cheerleader in the school. (As well as eventually marrying a 2nd pretty, smart gal some years down the road.)

Yes, Rog’s name was “markered” on my T-shirts on more than one occasion. The sixty by one-hundred foot front yard many-a-time “turned into” the Fulton High School football field – as I’d take the snap, back up, emulate.. .mouth “and Davis drops back… he sees Dye down the right sideline… a looonnnng tosss… TOUCHDOWN! HORNETS!!”.. Or… counting down the final seconds of the basketball game… 5…. 4…. 3…. 2…. 1.. “Davis launches it from the corner, IT’S GOOD! Hornets win!”…

Yes, many have been a high school quarterback. Many, starting guard. Roger was so much more.. Shortly after high school – the draft occurred. VietNam. A horrid time. Months upon months, when the morning paper hit the ground, it was swiftly picked up to discern that hopefully there wasn’t any present skirmish going on in, around Chou Lai – one of Rog’s ‘home away from home” in VietNam..

Every phone call brought “shutters”.. . Every knock on the front door – fear. Would this time bring news of “the worst”?.. Roger, and many, many thousand more – halfway across the world protecting our freedoms – yet at home, many marching in protest. It was, to say the least, a very unusual time.

One of Roger’s heroes, the quarterback at Fulton before he, Allen Sheets, unfortunately didn’t make it home from Vietnam. Ultimately, thankfully, Rog made it back home – with a Purple Heart. Off to college – he would become a teacher/coach at the Missouri School for the Deaf. When one hears that, “School for the Deaf”, of immediate mind comes “communication problems”.. and sure.. not having that sense does make things different. Wonderful, normal kids, who happened to not be able to hear.

Roger was terrific with them. Yes, I’m biased, he’s my cousin – but he not only communicated well verbally, he was tremendous in ‘sign’ – and even moreso, he communicated with his mouth/smile, his eyebrows… I dunno if this makes sense, but he even communicated while listening.. I know you’ve been around people where there’s this God-given correlation between one’s face, and heart. Roger had that. A truly remarkable man.

I used to LOVE to go see his basketball team play KSD in Olathe. Again, normal normal kids with the one distinction. Rog’, like all coaches, would have to occasionally “get on someone” if they weren’t fulfilling their role, doing as instructed, for the good of the team. I remember one such specific occasion where the child kinda-sorta rebelled and turned his head – so, he couldn’t “hear” Rog!

Roger eventually moved up to be the Principal at MSD… then would continue on his career in education at the local High School in Fulton, MO. Again, I’m biased, sure – but plenty of other folks loved, admired my cousin Roger. In fact, if you ever visit Fulton, please go see the High School and the “Roger D. Davis Gymnasium”.. Yep, named after him!

Roger won many battles in life. Led in many battles. A leader. An educator. A communicator. The wonderful gift of teaching, occasionally admonishing, with a touch of love thrown in frequently. Roger lost the battle to cancer some years back. Taken from us all, all too early. Five beautiful children live on.

A couple years back I had the good fortune to spend Thanksgiving at Roger’s house. Niftily, every tie from his wardrobe was sewn into a circle, and wrapped the Christmas tree as a skirt.. “Tied to you forever”… Perty darn cool. And we all still are.

I dunno if I ever told him he was my idol. My hero. Maybe, if nothing else, you – or someone reading this will have the ability to go back to your childhood hero, role model, and simply tell ‘em they were.

Again, yes, he was my cousin – but too, a special, special man. God Bless, Victor