10-18-01
Hello everyone and welcome to this installment of the Terry Taylor Perspective. I trust everyone had a good week.
It’s been a little more than one month since the despicable cowardly attack on America and our way of life. Terrorism went from being a headline in the international section of the New York Times to something very real to all Americans. Born out of this tragedy came a joining of all Americans through a common bond. Forgotten were the petty problems and conflicts thought so important 24 hours earlier. To the forefront came some unlikely hero’s.
Imagine you’re a fireman on duty when you get the call, without hesitation you respond to the 911 emergencies at the World Trade Center. As you climb staircase after staircase against the flow of panicked business people clamoring to escape, you have no idea that this morning when saying your good byes to your family – it would be forever.
Tragedies like this bring things into perspective, what’s important and what isn’t. We find exactly out of what we’re made and what is the nature of our character. It is here where heroes are made.
Heroes are also made by every day actions and their presence brings out the best in others. I have one such hero and would like to tell you about him. His influence on my life pops up almost every day and it’s what I use as a measuring stick as to what I should or should not do. I think, “What would he do if it were he in this situation?” So far, he’s never lead me astray. Maybe that’s one of the reasons he’s my hero.
Our history begins in 1960. That’s the first clear recollection I have. Our family moved to Vero Beach, Florida and my Mom was driving us to our new home. This is about the time I remember “Beans.” He was older than I, but made time to spend with me whenever he could. He was an Obstetrician-Gynecologist so his hours were long and inconsistent. He’d laugh and ask, “Why can’t women have babies during office hours?”
As I got to know Beans, I found out he was a remarkable man. In High School he graduated Salutatorian and this drove his mother crazy. Why? Beans missed Valedictorian by 1/100th of a point while lettering in three sports all four years of high school! He then graduated from Amherst College in 3 years at the top of his class. What makes this so unbelievable is while he worked a job; he played, lettered, and started in varsity baseball, basketball, and football all 3 years! It took me years to get this information because Beans was too driven to relive the past. No one knows just how driven Beans was and with that drive came a price.
There were times when I didn’t get to see him much because he was so active in the community. Whether he was in charge of building a swimming pool for the YMCA or head of the Republican National Committee, Beans always got involved. He wanted to make a difference. He was so busy I wouldn’t see him for weeks and would have to read the Press Journal newspaper to see what Beans was doing. He was always involved in something. Like everyone else in Vero Beach, I admired Beans for all of his accomplishments.
Beans had children, but was so involved in civic duties and providing, they grew up without knowing him. Like a miracle, David Jeffery was born and Beans was elated. Beans would not make the same mistake letting Davey grow up and not be a part of Davey’s life. Beans and Davey were inseparable. Davey affectionately called Beans “Buddy” and Beans would rush home to hear Davey say, “Hi ya, Buddy!” Beans was never happier.
One day as Beans hurried home in anticipation of hearing his beloved “Hi ya, Buddy”, he stopped just short of his driveway. Why were the fire department and EMT’s at his house? There wasn’t any smoke. No signs of a car accident. Then why?
Davey had drowned in the lagoon behind the house. Beans experienced a parent’s worst nightmare. On February 5, 1964, Bean buried his four-year-old son.
Beans was never the same after that fateful February day. We stayed in contact, but after college I moved a lot and only got to see him once a year. In November of 1997, Beans had a stroke causing a terrible car wreck. As a result Beans was in ICU in a coma for 1 year. Ever the indomitable fighter, Beans came out of the coma to live 2 more years. He was a shell of his former self and some times didn’t recognize me when I visited. That was OK though, I went to see him for me. He was still my hero. God, I admired that man. I wanted to be like him.
On October 18, 2000 at 3:45 AM Beans drew his last breath. I was there at his bedside to say “Good bye”. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of my hero. I miss him so much.
He was my father – Dr. Paul W. Taylor Jr.
I love you Dad.