Happy Birthday to My Boy

Bring Me Another Drink Dad

He’s smoother than a jar of Skippy. Ice water in his veins. He’s a Grade A wise ass, who can b.s. and quip with the best of the them. Everything you do with Coleman is just down right fun. He’s the companion you can hang with and never get tired of. The best part of a father’s life with his son is coming home from work, and your boy is waiting for you on the front stoop with his and your baseball glove or a football in his hand. Every night for years, we’d hit grounders, play hot box, shoot hoops or work on our pass routes. We had a million pick up games. BTW, I have a cannon for an arm, Co was my receiver, Fred Biletnikoff hands, and we could just read each others minds. God that was fun!

Such Irreverence!

His good timing ways caused Dad a lot of stress and legal fees for a healthy spell. Like the time he was at Ole Miss, and I get a call on Saturday morning, as Coleman was released from a night in the pokey. “Dad, this time I didn’t do anything!” It sounded as though he was just reading Voltaire on a park bench in Oxford, and the local constables picked him up for being some sort of Jacobin sympathizer and denied him habeas corpus. ” Oh, the injustice,” Coleman pleaded! A few days later, Mr. Davis, his newly hired lawyer called me and with his deep Mississippi drawl said in a sympathetic and fatherly tone…..” Mr. Smith, have you read the police report?” The Cliff Notes version: Coleman approached a police car at an intersection, banged on the hood of the car, flipped the officers the bird, uttered some unflattering comments and dared them to chase him down. They pursued, but of course couldn’t run the fleet footed wide receiver down. Later that evening Co, like a dumb ass strolls back to the “Square” in Oxford and the cops just walk up to him and handcuff him. Co is 6′ 6″ and at the time looked like an albino giraffe. He’s kinda noticeable. I have about 426 stories like this. I must say, I was proud of him for out running the cops.

I used to worry like mad about his misbehaving ways, but one night Terrell Bowers and I were discussing our times at the University of Virginia, and the parallels were eerily similar, except my Dad was not proud of me for my accomplishments in out running the cops (this still hurts, I’m seeing a therapist about this now). I soon realized that Coleman couldn’t “outrun” his DNA, it was not his fault he was born a Smith.

Coleman was a combat engineer in the Miss. National Guard, which is the smartest thing we ever collaborated to do together. I can’t count the times I stood up in front of a judge, like Clarence Darrow and bellowed “your Honor, this boy is serving his country……and Coleman was acquitted! When Coleman interviewed for the National Guard spot, Sgt. Billy Ray Sims, looked Coleman over, thought for a second and said….” Coleman, you look like the type of boy who would like to break things and blow shit up !. No truer words were every spoken.

It’s funny to watch your boy grow up and mature. Coleman has always been a good guy, but I am very proud of the way the son of a bitch has turned out. He’s got great values and people skills. He just knows instinctively the right thing to do; he’s just wired that way. He’s an easy going gentle giant, but he will take a stand when duty demands it. Not too long ago, someone disrespected his sister, living in Newport Beach, Ca, at the time. Coleman paid the fella a visit and gave the cretin a tutorial in “Southern Code of Honor.” After administering his punishment, Coleman called me and quoted, Edmund Burke saying ‘the surest way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Californians were shocked at Coleman’s martial response to the incident, but Coleman told them ‘that’s the way we do it in Virginia.” I could not have been more proud of that boy. Hooah!

By the way, Jay Spruill is Coleman’s godfather, yeah, I know what was I thinking! I sent Spruill an email last night with Co’s routing and account #. Anyone care to wager whether or not Spruill exercises his godly duties?

Happy Birthday Son, your father loves you!