Timmy Lynch and Memory

One of the defining moments in my young life was Timmy Lynch's injury and his reaction to it. The two of us were playing in a high-school football game. We had a good team and Timmy was our featured running back. Timmy had just carried the ball for about seven yards up the middle. We were waiting in the huddle for him to get back in but he stayed behind, struggling to walk to us with what appeared to be an leg injury. He continued towards us, not so much stepping as throwing his leg forward and then balancing himself on it, and then stepping cautiously forward with his good leg. It was clear to me the leg was broken and he was overcoming tremendous pain in an effort to continue to play. He was eventually carried off the field on a stretcher.

Fortitude. Sacrifice. Devotion. Loyalty. I never forgot it and told my children the story when they were old enough to understand.

One of my children met Timmy this week and told him about how the event had impressed me and how I had passed it on to my children. Timmy said, "Huh. I wonder what he's talking about. I never broke my leg. Never was even hurt playing football." So one of my defining life moments is untrue and the lesson I passed on to my children is untrue. At least the specifics are.

I wonder what else my memory has forged. Or maybe it just fills in the blanks of the template.