My buddy Tommy......

Hey guys,

Ever so often something happens that you feel just isn't fair. I feel this way now. This week has been a tough one for me as I am having to say goodbye to a good friend. My buddy Tommy was the kind of guy that everyone wants to have as a friend. He was a straight up good guy. Over the past six or seven years I have spent a lot of time with Tommy. You see every man needs a "Men's Crisis Center" where he can go to get awy from things for a while. Tommy's office at Collyer Park was mine. Two or three times a week I would swing by and shoot the breeze with him. I will always remember these times with much fondness. It didn't matter what season it was or what was going on, a visit to the "Crisis Center" always seemed to smooth things out. Who know's what the topic of the day might be. I have spent hours talking to him and other attendees at the center about everything from sports to politics to music and everything in between. I already miss those times.

One subject that he delighted in talking about was his Granddaughter Autumn. In Tommy Powell's eyes the sun rose and set on her. He loved her and whenever there was a school activity, he was there. Whenever she needed something, he did his best to get it for her. She was the sunshine in his life. Of course He loved Jamie and Wendy also, but there was just something about his Autumn.

Tommy was what you saw. There was no phonyness to him. He was a Marine even though he had been out of the service for 35 plus years, and he was proud that he had been a Marine. One subject that he and I didn't discuss a lot was his time in Viet Nam. Over the years when I would ask him about his time over there he would just say "Well it was a tough time or we lost a lot of good guys there." Never a lot about what he had done. I have found out some amazing things about his service over there. He spent a while as a door gunner but after the chopper but after being shot down he decided it he would rather be a ground pounder. He was wounded when another member of a squad stepped on a mine. Even after he was severely wounded he was still trying to help out the more seriously wounded guys.

He showed his Marine training by being cool while in stressful situations. Once or twice a year over at the ballpark some parent or coach would forget that baseball was a kids game being played by kids and would start showing their ass. Tommy would calmly listen to them and then t handle the problem. Usually this meant he would tell them to calm down or they would have to leave the park. When he did this the tough little Marine would come out a little and the folks would know that he meant business. That would usually be the end of the problem.

Tommy was not the type person that sought the limelight. Over the years he was awarded many different honors. He received the Davy O'bryan award,

Tommy was the type of person who saw something good in nearly everyone. If you ever did enough to get on his bad side you had to be a real sum-bitch; and there were a couple of folks over the years that he banned from the ball park. And yes, I know who you were you sum-bitches, and will make sure that Albert and the other Dixie Youth officials know who you are and what you did, so stay away from the park. If Tommy thought you were so sorry you didn't need to be at the park and around the kids there then you still are not welcome. Stay away.

The last time I talked to Tommy was the day before he went in for surgery. I had come down with the creeping crud and had not been by the park for a couple of weeks because I did not want to give it to him. We talked about his surgery for a minute but he really did not want to discuss it that much. He wanted to talk about how quick that he could get back on his feet and back to the park. The doctors told him that he couldn't drive for at least a month and he was plotting ways to get to the ball park. He was worried about whether the landscapping company would get through re-doing the infields on all four fields in time for the grass to grow back out and blend in with the old turf. He was worried about having someone to man the office some everyday so his kids could get signed up for the upcoming season. He was worried about getting baseballs ordered, and walls painted, and a hundred other things, all of them related to Dixie Youth baseball's upcoming season. He was too busy to waste time worrying about himself. When we got ready to hang up I told him that I would be glad to come get him whenever he needed a ride. I also told him that my family would be praying for him and that I loved him. He ended the conversation in typical Tommy Powell fashion, "See You Big Un!" the same way he always did.

Well, yesterday I went over to Collyer Park and saw his handiwork all over the place. The infield work was finished, the chores that needed to be done were done, the office was manned by Albert Wilson, who had worked at the ballpark with Tommy. There were several coaches in the office, several Moms came in to register their kids to play ball, and the phone rang off the hook like it always did with people asking about Tommy, and what could they do to help out. Tommy would be proud that his friends were stepping up to carry on the work that he had done for thirty years. He would be proud that the preperations for the upcoming season were well underway. Course, it is taking several folks to get done what it took one little crippled Marine named Tommy to get done.

In a couple of months the park will resound with the happy yells from kids and fans alike as the umpire yells, "Play Ball!" and another season of Dixie Youth Baseball will get underway. As I get ready to broadcast the first pitch I will probably get a tear or two in my eye as I think about my buddy Tommy. I will miss him, but as long as kids play Dixie Youth baseball at Collyer Park his legacy will live on. Tommy Powell dedicated his life to the kids of Laurens County, and for that we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

The Marine motto is Semper Fi, which translates to Always Faithful. My friend Tommy lived his life by the Marine Motto. He was always faithful to his family, his friends, and to Dixie Youth Baseball.

God Bless,
The Big 'Un