“So, are you retired yet?”
I do not know how many times that question was posed to me by my fellow members of the Raymond Central Class of 1977 during my 45-year high school class reunion this past Memorial Day weekend.
“Not yet,” was my standard answer. “It will be five more years before I enter that portion of life’s twilight.”
It’s confession time. Compared to the other 60 people with which I graduated – I was always the late bloomer.
I was the last to learn how to tie my shoes (Velcro shoes were not on the shelves yet).
I was the last to learn how to write using cursive.
I was one of the last to get my driver’s license.
I did not consistently date anyone until I was 33 years of age. So, the blessings of marriage, children, and grandchildren were gifted to me much later than most of my high school peers.
Several of my classmates made it a point to share that the working world was in their past. Time to enjoy travel, no alarm clocks, and a monthly check from Uncle Sam.
Hey, if they want to retire and begin drawing the minimum social security payment at age 62, more power to them.
The monthly maximum social security payment I can receive will not occur until 2029. Two years after my 50-year reunion.
I’m not in any hurry to get to retirement. But I do look forward to gathering around the Jimmy John again with the Class of 1977 in five years.
Switching gears.
The late Bob Devaney once said that a person’s success is determined by the number of people who attend their funeral.
As you may remember, Devaney’s funeral, held at one of the largest churches in Lincoln in May 1997, was standing room only.
I am sure that when the great Jack Payne is finally laid to rest, his funeral also will be attended by an overflow crowd.
Payne, one of my all-time favorite radio sports announcers, passed away in Omaha on June 1 at the age of 99.
Payne resided in Omaha for 71 of his 99 years. His play-by-play credits include Creighton University basketball, Nebraska Cornhusker basketball, and NU football. He was the College World Series public address announcer for 37 years at Rosenblatt Stadium and the public address announcer at the Nebraska State High School track and field championships at Burke Stadium in Omaha for over two decades. He also served as the Master of Ceremonies for countless events.
The Omaha World-Herald has well documented that everybody loved Jack Payne. His impact was so broad that a street or building will probably bear his name in the not-too-distant future.
It’s highly doubtful that a street or building in Alliance will be named after Christopher McMains.
Chris passed away on May 27 in Alliance at the age of 35.
I attended his funeral at the Bates-Gould Chapel on June 2.
About 20 other people joined me for the thirty-minute service.
It was a service with a strong message.
Most noted was that Chris was a young man with a sharp wit and a unique sense of humor. He loved to travel, see our world, and meet men, women, and children from all corners of the globe.
His best friend, Jacob, testified that Chris was a wonderful caretaker and great friend who would do anything he could to help those closest to him.
Pastor Don Mink shared a story of once upon a time when he was giving Chris a ride, Chris insisted on unloading the trash that was being hauled in the bed of Pastor Mink’s pickup truck. Pastor shared the thoughts and feelings of his wife, Pat, who described Chris “as a really nice person,” for his kind assertiveness in dumping their trash.
“That’s how Chris should be remembered,” stated Pastor Don. “As a really nice person.”
In a small town such as Alliance, the number of people who spend a large percentage of their life without their father is low.
Chris was in that low percentile.
His dad, Tim McMains, was killed in 1993 while riding his bicycle northwest of Alliance on Highway 2. Chris was only six years old.
For any child that has lost a parent through death, it’s a sentence to an indeterminate term of private hell. Chris endured that hell for 29 years.
Living with a grieving mother and growing up with the most influential person a boy can have vacant from his existence is beyond my comprehension.
But Chris found his way.
He did so by helping others. In particular, the residents of the Good Samaritan care home in Alliance, where his mother served as activities director.
Chris touched the lives of countless residents. So much so that he was once honored by the Nebraska Health Care Association as volunteer of the year.
There will be no street, road, park, or building named for Christopher McMains. But if Bob Devaney, a true builder of young men, were with us today, I’m sure his message to Chris would be, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”