This Might be a Good Story... Heart and humor from the semi-cluttered mind of
jon mark beilu e
Jon Mark Beilue
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This Might Be A Good Story
Foreword BY PAUL MATNEY — FORMER PRESIDENT, AMARILLO COLLEGE
For many folks in Amarillo and the Panhandle a typical morning greeting is, “Have you read Jon Mark’s column today?” Such is the fame of the 33-year veteran journalist/columnist for the Amarillo Globe-News. Jon Mark Beilue possesses the rare talent of good listening, and then in his easy style, he composes poignant columns which bring to his loyal readers a smile, a memory, a tear or a sigh. Simply put, he is a master at his craft. This book is a collection of Jon Mark Beilue’s best columns selected from more than 2,000, which he’s penned since joining the Globe-News as a sportswriter right out of Texas Tech in 1981. In these pages you’ll find Jon Mark at his best. In reading these columns your emotions will run the gamut — joyful, sad, nostalgic, painful, reflective, hopeful, and more — but always informative. A journalist whose talent and experience I admire once told me, “Jon Mark could easily be writing for any major daily newspaper in the country.” Rather than move to the big city, Beilue and his wife, Sandy, decided long ago to stay and work in Amarillo, and to raise their two sons here. That was a good decision for them — and an even better decision for us, the readers of the Amarillo Globe-News. Only Jon Mark could convince folks like me that Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey was actually moving his young family to the Wolflin neighborhood in Amarillo. Turned out it was an April Fool’s Day column, and it created more than a few red faces in town. Hint: Always read the last paragraph of the column. Just like the thousands of people who look forward to reading Jon Mark Beilue in the Globe-News three times a week, you will enjoy these artfully crafted and compelling columns. To me, reading a Jon Mark column is like enjoying a cup of coffee with a good friend — it’s always “good to the last drop.” Enjoy . . . 5
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Table of Contents Tugs of the Heart Together, and that’s enough.................................................................... 12 Best version of themselves...................................................................... 15 It is well with their souls......................................................................... 20 ‘I would do it every time’........................................................................ 22 Through 30 years, it was time................................................................. 24 Through the grief, winning a state title................................................... 27 A touchdown like no other..................................................................... 30 Homs return home................................................................................. 33 A booster club beyond football............................................................... 36 ‘Like I won the Heisman Trophy’........................................................... 39 A toast to 60 Christmases...................................................................... 42 A last wish for 72-ounce steak................................................................ 45 One-handed adventure for quilting woman........................................... 48 Frank Frisbie’s final concert ................................................................... 50 The Jean of Je-Bob’s................................................................................ 52 The long difficult goodbye...................................................................... 54 Angels among us.................................................................................... 56 Town gives back to its own..................................................................... 59 ‘A Longhorn who gave his all’................................................................. 61 Mother and child reunion...................................................................... 64 If it were only just losing a game............................................................ 68 A final walk in Palo Duro Canyon......................................................... 70 Clint would have applauded, too............................................................ 72
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A Bit of Me A face full of joy..................................................................................... 76 Time on street humbling, eye-opening................................................... 79 A special mother..................................................................................... 82 ShamWow! It’s the Snuggie................................................................... 84 Having a fling at righting a wrong......................................................... 86 13 minutes can last a very long time....................................................... 89 A scream come true................................................................................ 92 AHS vs. Tascosa: Dragnet? Not on my watch........................................ 95 Turning 50 is not so nifty....................................................................... 97 News flash: I’m not a genius................................................................... 99 Leap of faith......................................................................................... 101 ‘Prep’ was a challenge, but worth it....................................................... 103 Trust me, depression can happen to anyone......................................... 106
From All Walks Thriving through passion for painting.................................................. 110 Kindness gave Katrina survivor new life............................................... 113 Seeing the light in a dark world............................................................ 115 Mary, quite contrary............................................................................. 118 Mary: Back in familiar territory........................................................... 121 ‘Fixing broken things,’ a prisoner is reborn........................................... 123 Standing tall at her 50th reunion.......................................................... 127 ‘Shane’ holds special place..................................................................... 130 The hip is broken, but not his spirit...................................................... 132 Paul Newman, little girl never met again.............................................. 134 A tech for all time................................................................................ 136 Cadillac Ranch turns 40....................................................................... 138 Rare sacrifice for two strangers............................................................. 141 A purpose in his storm......................................................................... 145 A family’s joy is restored....................................................................... 149 A push for change from unspeakable tragedy....................................... 152 Offering men tough love, real hope...................................................... 155 A calling to help others........................................................................ 159 8
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Nobody has done it better longer......................................................... 162 ‘Least of these’ receive holidays............................................................. 164 The evils of meth take a daughter......................................................... 166 A profound voice of wisdom, faith....................................................... 169
Some Gave All Never a taker, always a giver................................................................. 174 More than a hero.................................................................................. 178 In time, perspective, worth grow stronger............................................. 183 ‘Band of brothers’ right a long-ago wrong............................................ 186
The Winds of War A horror not forgotten.......................................................................... 190 Son’s sleep restive.................................................................................. 193 Hitting close to home........................................................................... 196 Photo gave us courage.......................................................................... 198
Never Too Old The Flying Pastor................................................................................. 202 Time for everything............................................................................. 205 Still not acting her age.......................................................................... 208 81 years and one passing grade later..................................................... 211 (S)miles to go before he’s done ............................................................ 214 Master’s degree, 76 years later............................................................... 216 Can’t bring her down............................................................................ 219
Slightly Surreal Sign of times, 14 years later.................................................................. 222 ‘Look! A two-headed cat!’..................................................................... 224 He IS Joe the Plumber......................................................................... 227 Lonely bell makes bizarre trip back home............................................ 229 Unlawful possession of a sense of humor.............................................. 231 Meet Mr. February, your friendly area mortician.................................. 233
Hey, Check The Date It’s true! Noted actor moving to Amarillo............................................ 238 9
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This Might Be A Good Story
CHAPTER ONE
Tugs of the Heart “Five years ago, if someone would have said, ‘Oh, you’re going to get married, but you’re going to marry someone who has brain cancer, and then he’s going to die three months later,’ I would have said, ‘No, thank you.’ But, now, I would do it over every time.” — Shea Lair, Dec. 17, 2010
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Together, and that’s enough May 21, 2014 The drive for Jim Campsey to take son Clayton to the school bus headed for Sanford-Fritch Junior High has been different the last 1 ½ weeks. Instead of driving down Stoney Drive in Lake Meredith Harbor, Campsey drives his worn 2000 Buick LeSabre to meet the bus from the Best Western Motel in Borger. But the morning goodbye doesn’t change for Campsey, 80, and Clayton, 14. “How many 14-year-old boys do you know that will step on that school bus, turn around and give their dad two or three kisses on the cheek?” Campsey said. Other than what they wore when going into Fritch on May 11 to get some gas, and the donations and gifts from strangers, all Jim and Clayton Campsey really have is each other — and that’s enough. Fire consumed everything at 239 Stoney Drive. Everything. Theirs is one of 225 homes destroyed. Gone is the Solitaire double-wide mobile home, the one Jim and wife Sheila bought for $59,000 in May 2000 specifically for Clayton. Gone are the two conversion vans. Gone too, is Clayton’s laptop computer, the one with the braille keyboard. The tools — the drill press, table saw, bench grinder — that were used for therapy for Clayton’s hands were destroyed. A search Monday for coins from a collection of Clayton’s in a supposed fireproof-safe proved futile. Nothing but twisted metal and ash at 239 Stoney Drive. Like many who lost homes in the Double Diamond wildfire, theirs is a fragile future. “God allowed this to happen, and he did it for a reason,” Campsey said. “I don’t know why. Maybe never will know.” The way Jim sees it, both should have been dead long before now. Jim survived a series of motorcycle and car wrecks years ago, including one with an old ’36 Ford that rolled nine times. He believes he was meant to care for Clayton. Clayton is what Jim calls a “miracle baby.” He was savagely beaten at 5 weeks old while in the custody of his biological mother and her boyfriend. He spent 47 days in ICU at Baptist St. Anthony’s, each day alive one more than doctors thought. Clayton is alive for many reasons, one of which, Jim believes, is to give irreplaceable value and meaning in the long shadows of this old man’s life. Clayton was Sheila’s great-nephew. When they saw Clayton the day he was rushed to BSA, Jim said it looked as if a bowling ball was set on a pair of 12
This Might Be A Good Story
tiny shoulders. Clayton’s skull was completely crushed, and nothing on a normal face was recognizable on a baby 35 days old. At that moment, Jim knew if Clayton lived, he would live with them. “A doctor told us that if Clayton lived, he would be so bad that he would need to be institutionalized,” Jim said. “When I heard that it felt like someone reached inside of me and grabbed my heart. I told that doctor as long as I was alive, Clayton would not go to an institution.” He did live, and the Campseys took custody as foster parents. Their Amarillo home had a basement with stairs and a small gate at the top. Too dangerous for a toddler, especially one with Clayton’s issues. Jim thought it as good a time as any to move to Lake Meredith Harbor, where he bought a lot in 1996. They moved a mobile home onto the property. Jim doted on Clayton, adding an indoor porch with windows low enough so Clayton could see. The adoption became official when Clayton was 2 ½ years old. Shelia was 15 years younger than Jim, an age difference considered during adoption proceedings. “I said, ‘Honey, you’re a lot younger than me. At least you’ll live long enough to see Clayton grow,’” Jim said. But in February 2006, Sheila died from a freakish fall at home. That left Jim, who has three grown sons, and 6-year-old Clayton, on a fixed income of $1,540 a month. Clayton is legally blind. His thumbs, because of the infant head injury, tend to fold under his fingers. He has a mild cerebral palsy. Jim has COPD, diabetes and some other health issues. Yet he gets Clayton up at 5:30 a.m. for breathing treatments and his myriad of medications, cooks him breakfast and then takes him to catch the bus at 7:15 a.m. He picks him up from school daily at 3:30 p.m. “It’s a challenge at my age,” he said, “but God gives me the strength to do it.” Jim, a former truck mechanic, showed Clayton how to work with his hands, guiding him carefully on various shop tools. The movement was good therapy for his hands. Together they’ve built as many as 70 bird houses. Clayton, with the help of an aide, is in mainstream seventh grade. He is a manager for the football, basketball and baseball teams, which his dad said makes him feel 10 feet tall. “Living with my dad is amazing,” Clayton said. “This town, well, really it’s a community. It’s amazing too.” 13
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Their two weeks at the Best Western in Borger were anonymously paid for. After that, there’s a chance of living in a camper trailer on the Stoney Drive property. Clayton, not so jokingly, said they’d pitch a tent if they have to. He’s not leaving Fritch. As far as long range, it’s tough to think that far ahead. Like all affected families, the vision is not much beyond each day. But every day that Jim has Clayton, and Clayton has Jim, somehow, someway, they will be all right. That’s the way it is when it’s meant to be.
UPDATE Jim and Clayton Campsey had a new double-wide 28-by 52-feet mobile home put on their property in September 2014. A new shop, bigger than the old one, with many new tools was completed about the same time. The Campseys have been showered with money, appliances, tools and gift cards, most from strangers. “It’s hard to believe that God touched that many people to do what they have done for us,” Jim said.
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This Might Be A Good Story
Best version of themselves May 25, 2014 Reagan Gillette was asleep in her bedroom after 1 a.m. Aug. 22, 2010, when she was startled by three Potter County deputies with flashlights. Do you know where your mom is, they asked. There were noises in the garage. Where are the keys? With too many keys to know which one, Reagan, 15, trying to get her bearings, dashed to her twin brother Brian’s room. “Reagan was standing over me, asking where the keys were for the garage,” Brian said. “I thought it was a dream. It was all just a blur.” They accompanied law enforcement to the garage, separate from their Eagle Tree home in Bushland. By now, Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit officers were there. Brian was told to stay away from the garage. They momentarily forgot about Reagan being where she shouldn’t as she unlocked the garage and turned on the lights. The first thing she saw was her father, Paul Gillette, on the floor by the dirt bikes and four-wheelers. “He was like in the fetal position. The cops asked him if everything was OK, and he said, ‘Not good, not good,’” Reagan said. “That was the only thing he said.” Meanwhile, Brian had circled around the other way and peered through a garage window. There, he and his sister from different points saw their mother, Sherri Michele Gillette, about the same time. She was motionless on the floorboard of the GMC Yukon, her legs visible to the children. They watched as officers tried to revive her. “I knew she was dead,” Brian said. Brian ran back to the house, and, not knowing what to do, called Kim Sims, Bushland Middle School nurse and mother of his good friend, Grayson Sims. Sims saw the name and time and figured Brian called by accident. Then it rang again. She answered this time. “He said, ‘My mom’s been murdered, and my dad killed her,’” Sims said. “And the way he said it, it sounded like someone punched him in the stomach.” Sims rushed to the home about 1:40 a.m. Others were arriving as well. They were kept outside as Brian and Reagan, along with younger sisters Chrissie and Emma, both of whom had been asleep in the guest house, were interviewed by police. Finally, about 4:30 a.m., the four walked out to a world that would be forever altered. 15
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“They were crying and they looked awful,” Sims said. “It was the worst thing I’d ever seen to see four children walking out, knowing their mother was dead and their dad arrested for murder.” And for Brian and Reagan, their first day at Bushland High School began in just more than 24 hours. Not victims Few things are better than the last days of May for high school seniors. It’s a blend of accomplishment, excitement, nostalgia and anticipation. It’s a marker in a young life. So it is with Brian and Reagan, whose last days are dwindling at Bushland High School. They talk of what lies ahead at their colleges, the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University. They talk of high school, and they good-naturedly needle one another about the competition for No. 1 academically in their class. “Technically, I could still be first by the final transcript,” she said. “Keep that in mind.” Brian and Reagan, born one minute apart on June 8, 1995, are that close on their final grade-point averages. Brian carries a 4.62, and his sister a 4.6175. Three years, nine months and one week after a pitiful 4:30 a.m. walk away from their home where their mother was strangled and beaten at the hands of their father, Brian and Reagan will walk the stage Thursday night at the Amarillo Civic Center Auditorium as the valedictorian and salutatorian of the Bushland Class of 2014. They had every reasonable excuse, every understandable cause, to rebel, to become bitter and jaded, wounded and forever lost as they hit high school after an act few children ever know. The cracks were wide to fall through, the margins of society calling their name. But they did not by their own drive, would not by the determination of a community. “Brian and Reagan, they didn’t live as victims,” said Dawn Pearson, senior class project teacher and student service counselor. “It was tragic, and, of course, they’re very much affected by it and always will be. But they did not sit around and feel sorry for themselves.” Half of this story is an innate drive to succeed, a foundation poured on them when they were young despite frequent dysfunction in the family. The two were rewarded for good grades at home, grounded for any poor marks. They’ve never made lower than an A in a course. Never. 16
This Might Be A Good Story
“They’re very driven,” Pearson said, “and always have been.” After the murder, they were a cauldron of emotions, mostly anger and sadness. For Reagan, anger at their father trumped sadness for their mother in the beginning. For Brian, it was the opposite. They recalled Paul Gillette, the volatile Falcon Club developer with mounting financial problems, constantly fighting with their mother. They also recall him reading to them from the Bible in the mornings, mostly from Proverbs. They would discuss what was read on the way to school. “When that happened,” Brian said, “we felt betrayed. Really, just betrayed.” Enter Bushland High School. The two missed just one day of high school after the murder. They grabbed motivation however they could. School and athletics became a refuge. Sherri’s memory became fuel. “We just wanted to be the best we could be for my mother,” Brian said. “Our mom would not want us to sit back and mope about the situation. The quicker we got into school, the quicker we could move on and be successful.” “We didn’t want what happened to put limits on us,” Reagan said. “We could still do what we wanted and excel in academics and sports. Like Brian said, Mom would want it that way. She still could be proud of us.” They immersed themselves in the classroom and athletics — Advanced Placement classes and all As for both. They were in student council and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. For Reagan, she was a two-year starter as outside hitter on the volleyball team, which won the 2A state title in 2013. She was a three-year starter in basketball, often turning any leftover anger loose on the court. She threw the shot put and discus in track. Brian was a two-way starter on the Falcon football team as outside linebacker and receiver, making up in heart what he lacked in size. “A lot of people have told us they don’t know how we’ve stayed so strong,” Reagan said. “I guess they just expected us to give up. I never saw it that way — ever. We didn’t let that factor in changing what we want to do, and goals in our lives.” But there’s another part of this story, an equally important part, a tale of what happens when a large group makes an investment. “The biggest factor was the Bushland community,” Brian said. “They wrapped their arms around us.” Not on our watch If indeed it does take a village to raise a child, look no further than 17
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seven miles west of Amarillo. It was as if in late August 2010, a community figuratively drew a line in the sand, saying “Not on my watch, not with them.” All four Gillette children, but especially the older two, were gems. They just needed polishing. “These parents of their friends, these amazing parents came in and took over,” Pearson said. “They helped Brian and Reagan with their emotional needs, physical needs, social needs. I mean, everything they needed.” Start though with grandparents, with Dwayne and Margaret Herring, grieving from the murder of a daughter. With plans in a fifth year of retirement, they not only put their lives on hold, they reversed their lives. Once the parents of four children at home, including oldest daughter Sherri, they took custody of their four grandchildren. “There was no doubt,” Margaret said. “We were the logical ones. We didn’t want the kids split up. You do what you have to do.” They provided an anchor, a place that was home. Their grandchildren were appreciative of their grandparents’ sacrifice. The “I love yous” flowed freely. “They could have gone the other way,” Dwayne said. “They could have rebelled against society, turned to drugs and drinking, and they didn’t do any of those things. All we gave them was an atmosphere and a home, and they took it and ran.” Support was all around. Bushland school officials were keenly aware of the Gillettes’ plight, building safety nets for them through teachers, coaches and students. Beyond school, a network of parents, relatives and friends tried to fill voids where needed. “We’re a small community, but we’re like a huge family,” Reagan said. “All of them welcomed us with open arms.” Brian calls Sims “his mother on Earth.” He begins to tick off others as well. A group of eight to 10 parents of friends dug close to them, and it rippled from there. In essence, all provided a runway, and it was from there Brian and Reagan took off. Each Wednesday at the Sims home, it’s “Brian Night” where he’s over to eat, cook and clean, and discuss everything from acne to girlfriends. He and Grayson will room together at A&M. “This community loves them like I love them,” Kim Sims said. “This community should let it soak in, the fact that these two kids in the face of overwhelming sorrow that many of us will never know and loss so unspeakable will be valedictorian and salutatorian. They have become the best version of themselves.” 18
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Not about loss This is the time of year graduating seniors share the milestone with parents. For the Gillettes, their father, with whom they’ve had no communication, is in prison in Huntsville, serving 45 years for first-degree murder. Their mother is buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Rhineland. To say the Gillette children don’t have difficult days is false. Sims said Brian has told her he misses the way his mother smelled, her voice; he wishes she could be in the auditorium to hear his speech. Oh, yes, his speech. Brian and Reagan will give valedictorian and salutatorian speeches at graduation. Brian was asked to speak on the present and the future. But he said he couldn’t do that without addressing the past. He speaks for both about what occurred. They are products of the past, defined by it to some degree, but not bound, certainly not wallowing. “I put this in my speech,” he said, “that I’d rather be defined by what I’ve gained rather than what I lost.”
UPDATE Reagan Gillette is majoring in nursing with a psychology minor at the University of Oklahoma. She is carrying 14 hours in the 2014 fall semester. Her biggest adjustment is missing family. One thing she hasn’t missed, though, is OU home football games. Brian Gillette is rooming with Grayson Sims in the 2014 fall semester at Texas A&M. He is taking 15 hours, majoring in kinesiology. Most Tuesday nights find him at Breakaway, a Christian music concert. And Brian’s valedictorian speech received a standing ovation.
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