Blue Bloods of Bois D’Arc by Dick Brown Read Free Book Online

ass.”
    Jack relaxed when talking about his favorite subject, football. He became a Washington Redskins fan while stationed there the final year of the war and a couple of years as a civilian after the war. “Just think, one of these days you may be playing against the Washington Redskins.” He nudged Rod with his elbow. One of the best quarterbacks who ever played the game, Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, a skinny, West Texas boy with a rifle arm, took them to the championship in 1945. If he was still around he would be as good as Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts.
    “I think by the time the new Dallas Cowboys get enough good draft choices you will be ready to step in and be Rookie of the Year. A couple of seasons to get you used to the pro system and the Cowboys should be in the hunt for a NFL Championship, what do you think?”
    “I don’t know, Jack, that’s a lot of what ifs. I’m just trying to figure out how we can win district in high school and you’ve already got me in the pros. Let’s take it slow and see what happens.”
    “Where to, gents?” Floyd broke into the conversation.
    “Where do you want to go, Rod?” Jack asked.
    “I’m starved, but I haven’t seen a single Mexican restaurant,” Rod said.
    “You’re right, but I know where they charcoal a pretty good steak. Floyd, take us to Blackie’s House of Beef.”
    After devouring one of the thickest steaks Rod had ever seen, along with a big baked potato, a salad, and pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, he wanted to see more of monument city. There was so much history packed into one city and he wanted to see as much as he could and make those history books come alive.
    “Now, that’s what I call a steak,” said Jack. “You wolfed that down like a true Texan. What do you say we rent a car and I’ll drive you around all the major historical buildings, you know, museums and stuff, until dark. Then you make a list of the ones you want to go through and you can tour them tomorrow while I visit Colonel Norbeck on business. I’ll rent one of those sightseeing cabs to take you anywhere you want to go and wait for you. How does that sound?”
    “Sounds great to me.”
    As promised, Jack drove Rod around to most of the major sights before dark set in. As darkness arrived and the monument spotlights came on, they drove through the always-heavy downtown traffic back to the Willard.
    “How can I ever repay you for all this, Jack?”
    “Just win district and go to A&M. That will be payment enough. Like I told you, I have plans for your future. I never had a son to do things for or share my life with. You have the makings of a fine quarterback and I’m going to do everything I can to help you get there.
    “But there is life after football,” Jack paused. “And I want you to be ready for that, too. When you go through A&M you had better soak up some of that classroom stuff, especially engineering. Because by the time you get tired of those Sunday afternoon poundings in the NFL, I’m going to need somebody to help me run the business.”
    Back at the hotel, Rod sat down in the overstuffed chair in the Victorian-themed room to try and digest Jack’s plans for him. He slipped off his shoes and stretched his arms and legs like a cat after a nap. What if I don’t go to A&M? What if we don’t win district? Will he still be my friend? Rod wondered as doubts crept into his mind.
    Jack stood by the window and stared down at Pennsylvania Avenue. Without breaking his concentration, he said, “Knowing your way around up here can come in pretty handy and I’m not just talking about knowing where all the monuments are. A man needs to know how his country got to be as great as it is. We almost blew it a hundred years ago.” Jack shook his head slowly and continued his hypnotic gaze out the window toward the Capitol building.
    “That war had to be fought because everybody needed to be shown that we can only survive as one undivided country. That there’s no