David Gilmer and I first met under some rather unusual circumstances back in 1979 at Etowah High School. I was skipping school with two friends, cruising around in my dad's yellow 1968 Dodge pickup truck. Long story short, we got caught inside the high school while trying to visit some female students.
As luck would have it, we were hauled off to the principal's office, passing by some very large Etowah High School football players who clearly weren’t happy about our presence on their turf. While standing in front of the principal's desk, we soon found out that the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office had been called. Since my father was on the Etowah County Board of Education and a former US Marine, I knew my young life was about to take a very bad turn. That’s when I suggested to my fellow truants that we make a run for it.
Now, these ninth-grade wrestlers I was with were lightning fast, so we bolted for the door. From a distance, it probably looked like something out of Fast Times at Ridgemont High—us running out of the principal’s office, with the entire offensive line of the Etowah High football team chasing after us, including their star player, David Gilmer. Somehow, we made it to my dad’s pickup, a vehicle known to every principal in Etowah County as Robert "Buck" Fuhrman’s truck.
And then things got even crazier. I jumped in, fired up that 318ci V8 engine, and, with one last glance at the angry linemen closing in, floored the gas pedal. Like a scene straight out of Charlie Daniels' "Uneasy Rider," I took off, kicking up dust and gravel all over the Etowah High parking lot as I circled back to dodge the big guys chasing us.
Now, as the good book says in Numbers 32:23, "Be sure your sin will find you out."
Fast forward six years. I’m playing linebacker on the 1985 scout team at the University of Alabama, practicing on the astroturf against one of the best offensive lines in the country. The lineup included guys like Wes Neighbors, Larry Don Rose, Hoss Johnson, Thornton Chandler, Howard Cross, and—there he was—David Gilmer.
I had just come in with a play from the sidelines, so I was lined up as the Jack linebacker on the right side, right across from David Gilmer, who was playing left guard. My friends will tell you, I’ve got a memory like a steel trap, so I immediately recognized the guy in front of me, breathing like a rhinoceros, as the same lineman I’d once chased around the Etowah High School parking lot.
After two plays, David looked at me and said, "Don’t I know you?" Lying through my teeth, I replied, "Never seen you before in my life." We ran another play, and as they huddled up, I could feel the tension building.
When they came back to the line of scrimmage, David pointed at me and said, "I’m sure I know you." My teammate Seth Moates could sense something was up. "What did you do to Gilmer?" he asked. "He’s zeroing in on you." I shrugged it off, "I have no idea. Let’s just run the play."
But when we lined up again, Gilmer wasn’t done. With his finger pointed right at me, he said, "Boy, I know you! You chased me around the Etowah parking lot six years ago! I’m putting you in DCH today."
Comments