The time I've had teasing you all with these pics and the guessing game who this high school athlete is has been fun and enjoyable. But I've found that it has also made me quite melancholy and wistful during this lonely and trying Covid era. When I see some of these earlier pictures of him I'm taken with how much they humanize him in a new way for me. With all the stress and worry of the last year these new (to me) photos of him have deeply affected me and made me rather emotional in a way I was not expecting.
His middle name is Byron. From what I've read of his high school days he was very good in the sports he liked. Not just okay. But quite good. He was even regarded competitively as one of the best pole vaulters in the county. He wore dorky glasses in the 40's as a teenager when that really wasn't hip or cool. He might have even been called names like "four eyes" and so on.
So why would the world ever care or take notice of a dorky high school jock if he didn't make a huge mark on the world of sports later in life? Yet to this very day the mere mention of his name or an image of his face has the power to simultaneously bring a smile to your face, and a lump to your throat as you might stare at the ground and ponder and remember him with a form of reverence and deep respect.
Who but him by just his own unique example, could re-define for a 20th century generation old stale norms, mores and expectations of masculinity, push back on hetero norms...and blaze his own path with the whole world watching? Who but him could show the world such youthful idealistic devotion to his craft? Who but him could become a larger than life Legend? When I see this awkward looking high school jock going through the throes of adolescence and self-discovery, I feel a mixture of sadness and joy for what he's about to accomplish.
Mikeyank loves his boy
Jimmy Johnson. And I'm happy for him. Genuinely. And since he likes guys named Jimmy so much, I am very pleased to tell him this... In his midwest high school and among all his classmates, friends and teachers, his name was Jimmy too.
Let the world not forget that very beautiful, awkward high school student and athlete from Indiana. Let the world never forget Jimmy Byron.