", The official records show Varner started working for the university police in February 1976, but he'd been around for a decade or more by then, floating in the shadows. "Billy had a stroke in 1996," she says, "right after he retired. Your email address will not be published. Each day brings its own reality. Billy saw him weak and insecure. She sits down and tells the story her husband can no longer tell. Yet one smile more, departing, distant sun! I can waste it or use it for good. The number of people left alive who knew that Paul is small. I was a big guy " -- Billy sits up in his chair, and his face becomes menacing; he bows up his shoulders and arms -- " and by the time those bullets go through me, he's gone. Sometimes it cloud up and rain.". The living room takes up the front of the house, with a television at one end and, on the wall, a poem about footsteps in the sand, which ends with God telling a follower: "The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.". I always thought about that. ", "You didn't play no football," she says. Close friend Jimmy Hinton died a year ago; former assistant and confidant Clem Gryska died last month. There he is. Bryant's family and friends fiercely guard his legacy, but this omerta brings with it an accidental cost. He was a large man, 6 feet 3 inches tall, whose nickname derived from his having wrestled a bear at a. And no one knew Coach Bryant better than Billy. When the bar was empty, the two men talked. Driving through Mississippi one night, they stopped at a catfish house. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. What Ido today is very important because I am exchanging a dayof my life for it. Susie is in and out of the room, doing laundry, listening to gospel music. God has given me this day to use as I will. Is Being A Football Fan Bad For Your Health? We know Lombardi from David Maraniss' biography, "When Pride Still Mattered," and he comes across as smaller and therefore larger in the retelling, because his humanity is on every page. That's a no-no.". "He's there in the black," he says. "I don't know whether he died or what" is what it sounds like he says. The patrolman understood and backed off. It was the first and only time he heard Bryant talk like that, and he realized that maybe his boss was a lonely man. ear Bryant surrounded himself with people he could trust, and he trusted nobody more than Billy Varner, a tough, barrel-chested African-American. You are using an out of date browser. After successful coaching stints at Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M, he won six national championships over 25. Somebody comes up to do something to Coach Bryant, they're gonna have to get me first. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. "I ended up playing football.". A half-hour or more has passed. 12 Vols lose starting PG Zeigler to torn ACL, Out of dark, Rodgers vows decision coming soon, Survey: Vikes, Fins, Raiders top FA report cards, Lakers' Davis out vs. OKC with right foot injury, Red Wings lock up Larkin with 8-year extension, What NBA Finals runs from LeBron, Giannis can teach Jayson Tatum, NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Durant's return could rock the West, A new home for Michael Thomas? Well, almost. Over the years, various accounts have given him different titles, but essentially, he was a fixer. #RollTide https://t.co/BrBl05QNFs" It's said that the prayer was found in the wallet of legendary college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant upon his death. Before every Alabama home game, the big video board plays clips of Bryant talking, sounding like he ate a carton of Chesterfields. They sat in the kitchen down the hall and ate and laughed. "I know I've made this journey," he told a reporter just before his final season. Do You Need Some Motivation To Get Moving? I'd park the car. & Misleading. "Nothing.". They put him on night traffic, and that first winter, he caught pneumonia. The Beatles Are Playing in Mobile! Oh, s--- $50 wasn't worth it. It was the university football team.". He pauses. But I got it. Arise My Love Remember The Real Reason for Easter, Congressman Bradley Byrne speaking in Mobile Sees Military Cuts As A Danger. "Right there with the hat on, in the middle. His voice becomes higher-pitched, quick but not rushed, with confidence in the direction of the words, without the long pauses to read the maps inside his mind. William Cullen Bryant - 1794-1878. God has given me this day to use as I will. That's the man I'll always remember.". Even though I am an Auburn Tigers fan(rivals of the Tide) I love a good piece of College Football History. The director of the Bryant Museum approached him about writing a book. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. What I do today is important as I am exchanging a day of my life for it. Need help? Like his boss before him, Billy Varner has come to the place where he must consider what he did with his time. He is also an associate broker at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Generations with offices in Mobile and on the Eastern Shore. A man looks up and he's 76 years old, with memories he can't touch and not much else. As she talks, there's a noise down the hall, a rattle of movement and the thump-thump of a cane on the floor. In real life, biographer Allen Barra reports, Bryant had a copy of Philip Roth's masturbation-heavy literary masterpiece "Portnoy's Complaint" on his shelf. Everything that you didnt spend during each day would be taken away from you. The walls are covered with certificates and mementos of his service. Bryant's son, Paul Bryant Jr., remembers his father's birthday more than the anniversary of his death, but for most Alabama fans, everything changed "the day Bear Bryant died." Considered one of the finest sales consultants of that automotive industry, he was one of the most respected motivational speakers of his time. Across the street, Miles, Davis denied bond in Jan. 15 shooting case, Woman dies in Friday night Tuscaloosa County crash, Aliceville man facing murder charges after uncle shot to death Friday. One smile on the brown hills and naked trees, And the dark rocks whose summer wreaths are cast, And the blue gentian . Coach Bryant carried a poem called A New Day, in his wallet and often read it to his players. "Do you remember?". When tomorrow comes, this day will begone forever, leaving something in its place I have tradedfor it. Knowles and Varner cleaned out the real version of this office after Coach died. We're going into the stadium. You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right? Required fields are marked *. The price for memories is regret, and somewhere in the middle of all this, Billy considers how he spent his life. After the game, on Dec. 30, Varner drove Bryant back to Tuscaloosa. In his hospital room, Bryant was joking with the nurses. He collapsed once from nervous exhaustion, chain-smoked cigarettes, ripped the filters off ones he bummed, passed out on couches, checked into alcohol rehab. The Bear, the rough-faced legend on the video board, was predestined to be great. Buy what you want, he told her, not what you need. God has given me this day to use as I will. He shared this poem (some call it a prayer) to The Quarterbacks club in 1981. Bear Bryant Poem One of my favorite poems was one Bear Bryant used to carry around in his wallet. Often, Coach read the paper aloud. Paul W. Bryant is dying for the second time, and one day, in the not-so-distant future, only The Bear will remain. Today he can. Success, not failure, "I never did hear about him dying.". USCALOOSA, Ala. -- Something important is being lost. "He's young all the time here," Billy says. The university sells houndstooth beach balls and houndstooth pool floats, which you can enjoy with an adult beverage kept cold by a houndstooth huggie. NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? "Don't tell me he's dead.". Billy tells Susie that he talks to the coach. He says something else, his voice deep, the sentences trailing off. In that video is said that the poem was "very very important" to him. When Paul took his grandson fishing, Billy came along. His voice loses its pitch and clarity, sort of like he's got a mouth full of pea gravel. However, this prize has rules. (For his real estate website, go to ForSaleMobile.com) In addition to being a real estate agent, Charlie also owns an Internet Marketing Consulting company for brick-and-mortar businesses. Susie would come home -- she worked with mental patients in a local hospital -- and see Billy's traveling bag gone. There's even a song named that. He took a month off, trying to figure out how Coach Bryant would tell him to deal with his grief. You had more fun on that job. When Bear Bryant passed away in 1983, a folded-up hand-written note was found in his pocket with those words on it. I can waste it or use it for good. Inside she found $500 and a note. You must log in or register to reply here. I can waste it or use it for good. "That's him," she says, standing so he can sit. usie Varner answers the door. Once, when a state trooper clocked Varner speeding, Bryant stuck his houndstooth hat in the back window. She shot back: "I thought all my cornbread was good!" B In that video is said that the poem was "very very important" to him. #1. He never talked about the private things he'd seen. It grows smaller all the time. This site is dedicated to sharing information and knowledge with new and seasoned Investors. omething remarkable happens when Billy figures out where the den is located -- at first, he stood in the living room confused while Susie called his name over and over -- and inches down the hall, through the kitchen where Coach sat one time for supper, into a room decorated with photographs of Bear Bryant. As Billy's memory fades, that knowledge disappears with it, widening the gulf between truth and imagination. This is the beginning of a new day. Paul started reading a devotional in the final two years of his life that said, in part, "When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it.". "I wish I'd read this 30 years ago," he told a friend, "I wouldn't have wasted so much valuable time." He took care of business, and he kept everything to himself, even after Bryant died. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because timeraces by so much quicker than you think. Set your priorities according to Matt 6:33 and you will spend wisely. The coach visited this house once. When Bear Bryant passed away in 1983, a folded-up hand-written note was found in his pocket with those words on it. The 11th of 12 children, Bryant was born in Moro Bottom, Ark., on Sept. 11, 1913. Billy was worried, and maybe that's why he offered a rare piece of insight to a local reporter. This is the beginning of a new day. he 1982 Liberty Bowl was to be the last game of Bryant's career, and when the college football media arrived in Memphis, Tenn., Billy became, for a brief moment, a reflected celebrity. A diamond of belly shows through the puckered front of his shirt. I hope you will come back often and good luck with your real estate investing. "He could eat pheasant under glass with the president," he said, "or he could eat cheese and crackers with the boys out by the caddie shack, and he'd enjoy it all just the same. He poured a drink and chatted with guests. (For his real estate website, go to ForSaleMobile.com) In addition to being a real estate agent, Charlie also owns an Internet Marketing Consulting company for brick-and-mortar businesses. Any info would be greatly appreciated. https://lnkd.in/ge2xWNX The Paul W. Bryant Museum has put together a special video honoring legendary Alabama football coach, Paul Bear Bryant. One of the greatest gifts Wilson had, which I now believe probably appealed most to Coach Bryant, was his ability to see the best in people and get them to see their own value and talents. Bryant grew reflective. Coach Bryant carried a poem called "A New Day," in his wallet and often read it to his players. Paul never forgot the middle-class kids pointing and laughing at his mother. Bear Bryant starred his football career playing for the University of Alabama. Please download one of our supported browsers. Billy is asleep. Poem Bear Bryant carried in his back pocket Alabama Football Roll Tide Crimson Tide Football Alabama Crimson Tide Favorite Words Favorite Quotes Wise Words Words Of Wisdom Keep On Keepin On Bear Bryant More information . To shoot him, they had to get me first.". Knowles began canceling the next two weeks of Coach's schedule. With over 38 years in the real estate investing experience Dennis has done numerous profitable real estate transactions throughout the Southern United States. Bryant asked whether there might be enough for him. I can waste it or use it for good. Bear Bryant had a poem that he read every day. Billy's voice drops back down, and the words press together, a slurry of confusion and rearranged thoughts, part truth, part fiction. 2.7K views, 194 likes, 60 loves, 5 comments, 101 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Paul W. Bryant Museum: Paul "Bear" Bryant, kept this poem in his pocket and read it every day. As always, Varner stood in the background. S During his later career Bryant traveled widely, made many public speeches, and continued to write a few poems (e.g., The Death of the Flowers, To the Fringed Gentian, and The Battle-Field). He offered a rare piece of insight to a local hospital -- and Billy... 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