On The Passing Of Former Tiger, Trojan Senior Cam Fairchild
September 1, 2021 at 1:11 a.m.
On The Passing Of Former Tiger, Trojan Senior Cam Fairchild
By Roger Grossman-
I picked up my phone, I read what it was telling me, and then I put it back down and stared out into the withering heat of Saturday.
It said: “Triton football player killed in crash Saturday."
I picked it back up and went on to read that not only was it a Triton player who had died in that accident in Wells County over the weekend, it was a Triton player who had been a Warsaw football player just two years before.
Cameron Fairchild.
My heart sunk into my stomach.
It would be misleading to say that I knew this young man well, so I won’t try to pretend that I did.
But on Thursdays for 31 seasons I have been going to football practices and getting out on the field with the guys. We talked several times — always football related. I would ask him quietly “what’s your job on this play?” or “why is that play called “ice cream?” I learn so much about football during those times, and I start building relationships with the younger players
He always answered firmly. He never flinched.
I doubt he would have invited me to his graduation party, but if he had, I would have gone.
Unfortunately, Triton is in mourning again. They know how this feels all too well. It’s only been four years since Cameron Scarberry died in a car crash here in Kosciusko County.
He’ll be missed, in Bourbon, and in Warsaw.
His former Warsaw teammates and friends took to social media Sunday as the news spread to pour their hearts out over his loss. They posted pictures they had taken with him after games.
He had changed schools and jersey colors, but he always was and always will be just “Cam” to them.
May God have mercy and pour out His love on Cam’s family and those who knew him best in both communities.
That tragedy is a profound reminder that we are guaranteed nothing in this life except for the moment that we are living in. The next one is fleeting, and could disappear like a vapor in a swirling breeze.
We must take every practice, every game, every team meal, every family dinner, every road trip, every family gathering, every time we see each other as a tremendous opportunity to love each other.
We are wasting time fighting over stuff that never takes us anywhere. Stuff that is important, but stuff that should be spoken in truth and grace and those encounters should make relationships better, not worse.
How many people wish that they had one more opportunity to talk with Cameron, laugh with him, put their arm around him or their hands on his shoulder, his helmet or that thick head of hair he had underneath it?
We can’t change that now…not for Cam, anyway.
But we can become resolved to make a difference in our own corners of the world by just being nice to each other. We can tell people how much we appreciate them and what they do with us and for us, and how much we enjoy doing things for them.
Whether they are seven or seventy, it makes no difference.
Whether they think the same way as you makes no difference.
Whether you are a huggy person like I am, or not as much — it makes no difference.
Love people….while you can.
The game clock of this life is ticking down on us. With every passing second, that ticking gets louder and louder and louder. And the craziest part is: we can’t see that clock. We don’t know how much time is left on it.
Equally crazy: too many of us have chosen to ignore the ticking of that clock as it becomes more like a pounding base drum.
Someday, that sound will stop for all of us.
No two-minute warning. No white flag waving to signal your final lap. It’ll just be over…ready or not.
I picked up my phone, I read what it was telling me, and then I put it back down and stared out into the withering heat of Saturday.
It said: “Triton football player killed in crash Saturday."
I picked it back up and went on to read that not only was it a Triton player who had died in that accident in Wells County over the weekend, it was a Triton player who had been a Warsaw football player just two years before.
Cameron Fairchild.
My heart sunk into my stomach.
It would be misleading to say that I knew this young man well, so I won’t try to pretend that I did.
But on Thursdays for 31 seasons I have been going to football practices and getting out on the field with the guys. We talked several times — always football related. I would ask him quietly “what’s your job on this play?” or “why is that play called “ice cream?” I learn so much about football during those times, and I start building relationships with the younger players
He always answered firmly. He never flinched.
I doubt he would have invited me to his graduation party, but if he had, I would have gone.
Unfortunately, Triton is in mourning again. They know how this feels all too well. It’s only been four years since Cameron Scarberry died in a car crash here in Kosciusko County.
He’ll be missed, in Bourbon, and in Warsaw.
His former Warsaw teammates and friends took to social media Sunday as the news spread to pour their hearts out over his loss. They posted pictures they had taken with him after games.
He had changed schools and jersey colors, but he always was and always will be just “Cam” to them.
May God have mercy and pour out His love on Cam’s family and those who knew him best in both communities.
That tragedy is a profound reminder that we are guaranteed nothing in this life except for the moment that we are living in. The next one is fleeting, and could disappear like a vapor in a swirling breeze.
We must take every practice, every game, every team meal, every family dinner, every road trip, every family gathering, every time we see each other as a tremendous opportunity to love each other.
We are wasting time fighting over stuff that never takes us anywhere. Stuff that is important, but stuff that should be spoken in truth and grace and those encounters should make relationships better, not worse.
How many people wish that they had one more opportunity to talk with Cameron, laugh with him, put their arm around him or their hands on his shoulder, his helmet or that thick head of hair he had underneath it?
We can’t change that now…not for Cam, anyway.
But we can become resolved to make a difference in our own corners of the world by just being nice to each other. We can tell people how much we appreciate them and what they do with us and for us, and how much we enjoy doing things for them.
Whether they are seven or seventy, it makes no difference.
Whether they think the same way as you makes no difference.
Whether you are a huggy person like I am, or not as much — it makes no difference.
Love people….while you can.
The game clock of this life is ticking down on us. With every passing second, that ticking gets louder and louder and louder. And the craziest part is: we can’t see that clock. We don’t know how much time is left on it.
Equally crazy: too many of us have chosen to ignore the ticking of that clock as it becomes more like a pounding base drum.
Someday, that sound will stop for all of us.
No two-minute warning. No white flag waving to signal your final lap. It’ll just be over…ready or not.
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