Jake, Nate, April and the kids and Steph....I have no idea how to put into words how I felt about my Uncle Tom. Growing up, all I remember is what a giant of a man Tom was. I remember swimming with Tom at my Grandparent's house in South Carolina when I was around 4 years old. Pop had a diving board and the deep end of the pool was 8ft. I was just beginning to go off the diving board. So Tom put me up on his shoulders, stepped up on the diving board and I immediately started crying hysterically. Tom kept saying it would be alright and to stop crying. He stepped off the diving board, went straight down to the bottom while standing and my head never went under water. That wouldn't be the last time Tom would tell me it would be alright.
Growing up with a single Mom, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble. It was the year before my Freshman year in high school. My family brought up the idea of me going out to Texas to go to school at MMA where Tom Coached, taught and worked hard at raising his family. I immediately said no way I was going and began putting up a huge fight against going out there. Well, only a few days went by before Tom was standing in front of me asking me to reconsider. He'd come all the way from Texas just to do his best to get me on a different road. He eventually talked me into going and was like the Father I needed so much at that time in my life.
While I was at MMA, Tom spent countless hours in the gym helping me become a better basketball player, on the field after practices helping me get better as a football player, traveling to ALL of my games, loving me when I needed it and giving some much needed discipline when I needed that as well.
After that time in my life, I didn't have the everyday connection with Tom I had during that year in 1981. But in that ONE YEAR, he had an impact on me that would last a lifetime. Every time I spoke with or saw Tom, he was so much more interested in talking about what was going on my my life or bragging on his kids and grandkids that I had to literally drag out of him how and what he was doing.
Early on after Tom's diagnosis, I had one of the deepest man-to-man talks I've ever had. I told Tom all he'd meant to me and how much I loved him. We cried and then laughed but before we hung up the phone, Tom told me something he'd told me many times in my life "way back when". He told me how proud he was of me and that when I faced some personal challenges 20 years ago, he had total confidence that I'd be able to overcome what I was facing. He said "Luke, I knew you'd be alright". He convinced me of it when we were standing on the diving board; he convinvced me of it when he talked me into going to MMA; and he was convinced of it when he realized the personal challenges I was facing later in life.
There is so much more I could share about the guy I knew as my Uncle Tom but most, if not all of the people reading these comments have their own similar stories. We have these stories because Tom was such a caring person who's impact was so far reaching. I still can't believe he's gone but I'm certain that if he were here talking to me right now, his parting words would be "it's alright. it's gonna be alright."
I love you Uncle Tom.........
