Caryn and I were staying at the Silversmith Hotel on Wabash in downtown Chicago. The studio had set up interviews for the evening. It was a mix of radio stations and local TV. I had slogged through four of the five scheduled when I saw my next inquisitor: Ed Spears, the sports director of Chicago’s flagship station WORD. He stepped into the room, and I stood up and shook his hand.
“I didn’t expect to see you here for a movie-premiere press junket,” I said.
“Our entertainment director told me you were in town, so I decided to claim a spot on your schedule. You don’t mind if we talk a little sports, do you?” Ed asked.
“I would love to talk about sports.”
We took our positions, and he began.
“Welcome back to
The interview went well, and it reminded me that I needed to start to get serious about working out again. I’d run, but otherwise, I’d been lax for the last six weeks. It was funny how a random conversation could refocus you.
Bo Harrington had advised that I not go to camps this summer, because I could only go down in the recruiting ratings. The other side of the coin was if you were number one, you couldn’t just sit on your butt and expect to maintain that position. I felt that competitive monster wake up inside of me. Whatever I did, I wanted to be the best. To be the best, I needed to get back home and get serious about working out with my teammates.
◊◊◊
Chapter 29 – The Tale of Two Premieres Wednesday January 6
When I got up and checked my calendar, I saw that I only had a radio interview with Steve Pelton, and then the rest of the day was blocked off. I met Caryn downstairs for breakfast.
“I thought we had more interviews to do today. What happened?” I asked.
“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Caryn demurred.
“Am I going to have to fire you?” I teased.
“I hope not. Just go along with it. You’ll like this surprise,” Caryn assured me.
◊◊◊
Steve Pelton was a lot of fun. He’s a funny man. I don’t think I stopped laughing. He also did a fantastic job of promoting the movie. When my interview was done, Caryn guided me out to a limo. We’d arrived in a cab, so I was suspicious when the limo pulled up.
We got in and started towards the expressway. I smiled when we exited to go south.
“Are we going home?” I asked.
“Yes. You, Craig, Bree, and Elizabeth each are getting a pre-premiere in your hometowns. We’ve arranged to have it at Lincoln High in the Field House. I’m impressed that no one let the cat out of the bag. We sent out nearly a thousand invitations, and they’ve confirmed thirty-five hundred people will attend,” Caryn told me.
Basically, every student and their family had been invited. School started on Monday, so some people were on vacation. Caryn had set aside fifty tickets that I could send out to people I wanted to invite. Caryn and I ran through the list of local people who had helped me or could be in a position to assist in the future. That list included Mr. Hill, Teddy Wesleyan, Kendal and a few of the staff at her firm. I made sure they could invite their families or friends. I then called Tami, who was in school. She told me she wanted five tickets: one for her, and the others for Harper, Missy, Lisa, and Sarah.
I then called my grandma, and she suggested I invite the governor and a few other local politicos. She reminded me to include the local state’s attorney, Scott Mason, who had treated me right during the mess with Cal. I then invited Detective Kitchens and also asked Ms. Dixon to come.
I called Jeff Delahey to invite him and his granddaughter. He assured me that I would get some good press for making him the best granddad ever.
◊◊◊
I came home to find Peggy playing with Duke and Little David. She was rolling a ball for Duke, and his bouncing around to get it had Little David giggling. When Duke saw me, he froze for a moment, as if he didn’t know who I was.
“You forget who I am?” I asked.
Duke hadn’t seen me in over a month. He flipped out, he was so happy. Peggy had to rescue Little David because Duke was bouncing around without a care for where the baby was.
“Wow, he was happy when your parents came home, but this is nuts,” Peggy said.
I had my hands full loving-up my hound. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed Duke until now. There’s something special about the unconditional love of your dog.
“I’d give you a hug, but I don’t think he’d understand,” I said.
“Why don’t you take him outside and throw his ball in the snow? It’ll calm him down some,” Peggy suggested.
