Remembering Tomorrow.

Remembering Tomorrow Chapter 1.

La Habra, California. Sunday, Sept 14th, 1975

It was early Sunday evening and the temperature was finally bearable, even though there was no breeze in the air. Josh Green lay in the middle of his high school's cleat-trampled football field considering the clouds and their various ever-changing shapes as they crossed the sky, and reflecting on his current situation. The thing he had been most passionate about in life was now gone.

He had felt restless at home and thought, perhaps, a long walk was what he needed, and somehow he had found himself walking, as if on auto-pilot, to his high school.

At 5'10'' and 180 pounds, Josh was a sizable seventeen-year-old young man. After playing Pop Warner football since the tender age of 10, his football career at Sierra Palm High had quickly progressed from junior varsity in his freshman year to varsity in his sophomore year. Every year he'd been the star running back for the team. But that wasn't going to happen again this year, his senior year. The accident had changed all that.

The soft cushion of tundra padded him from beneath, and the smell of the soft grass all around him filled his nostrils and he breathed it in deep. Josh slowly turned his head from side to side and looked at the empty, well-used bleachers and imagined them full of people. His parents and little sister came to all his games and would come down to the field to talk with him after each game. Congratulations if his team won and encouragement if they lost.

His family meant everything to him. 

His dad, Mitch Green, was a fireman with the La Habra Fire Department. He was a nice looking, well-built 39-year-old man with sandy hair giving way to hints of gray and a chiseled jaw. He liked to keep in shape with martial arts training and introduced Josh to it when he was six. They worked out together in the garage on Mitch's days off from the fire department, encouraging and razzing each other in turn. Kind of a macho male thing. But now, that too, was on hold.

His mom, Evelyn, had always been a stay-at-home mom and all of Josh's buddies seemed to have had a crush on her at one time or another. She was slightly built with jet black hair and a face that would have looked good on any movie screen. She like her husband was a native Southern Californian. Suffice it to say; when you met Mitch and Evelyn Green it was easy to see where Josh got his good looks.

And then there was Josh's little sister, Julie. She was only ten, and while not a planned addition to the family, she had been the family sweetheart from the moment of her arrival. Cute as a button with long curly brown hair and laughing hazel eyes, she idolized Josh. Julie was just as worried as her parents about Josh since his accident.

Josh caught himself almost drifting off to sleep and decided it was probably a good time to go home for dinner. Getting to his feet, he brushed himself off; flinging away the pieces of grass that had found a home on his clothes and in his hair.

Once again he took in his surroundings and imagined the bleachers full of people at a typical Friday night football game. Cheerleaders for each team would be on the sidelines encouraging the crowd to root for their favorites. He saw himself running down the sidelines towards a touchdown and his family in the bleachers cheering him on.

But those pleasant thoughts turned cloudy as he recalled that these bleachers were where the accident had occurred. The bleachers were where he'd taken that terrible fall.

As though in a trance Josh walked towards the empty bleachers and stood in front of them, just staring. He hadn't stood this close to these bleachers since his accident. It felt odd standing there, revisiting the spot that had turned his life upside down. Maybe he should go up the stairs to the top. What for? He thought to himself. To show I'm not scared of them? How ridiculous! Yet, for some odd reason he felt compelled to do so. He supposed it was kin to the old saying, "If you fall off your horse, get back on him again." After thinking about it for a few minutes he decided he needed to revisit the scene first hand, and decided to walk to the top.

He took his time, taking each step cautiously. His heart was racing because this was causing him to recall what happen happened that day when he fell down these steps. Should he just turn around right now and go home? Nonsense he thought. This was definitely something that needed to be done. He needed to go all the way up.

When he reached the top, Josh put his hands on the metal railing of the bleachers and took in the sight of his High School grounds and campus.

He felt good about the fact that he had made the climb. He needed to show himself he wasn't afraid.

From where he stood he could see much of the school. Straight ahead were the two baseball fields. The main field had two small bleachers for people to watch the games.

Beyond that there was the Agricultural farm, where students who were participants in the FFA program did their work. You could always tell who the students from that program were. If their farmer style attire didn't give them away, the smell of farm animals and manure left no doubt in your mind.

To the left were the basketball courts, handball courts, tennis courts and boy's locker rooms.

He also gazed upon the entire enclosed campus, containing the classrooms where teachers shared their knowledge with their students, some of which had more or less desire than others to absorb what was being shared with them.

Taking in the sight of his high school one last time before retreating back down the steps, he realized he had to accept the facts: where football had been his identity for the prior three years at Sierra Palm, he was indeed going to have to find a new identity in this, his senior year.

Feeling that it was time to leave, Josh turned around to carefully walk back down the steps. He found himself, however, just standing there looking at them. Without realizing it he started going over the accident in his mind, like he had so many times before. But this time he was actually here where it had happened.

Being here made it all the more real. This is where is life had changed.