If anyone were to position themselves outside #2421, Canoe Road, in the Bayworth locality of Crawich, they would distinctly hear Mrs. Darya Ridgaard's unique voice wake her son, Jim, up every single day at 5:00 a.m. And around 5:30, Jim would begin to gallop like a race horse, wearing a "Crawich High" sweatshirt hoodie and proceed to go up the sloping Canoe Road and take the right onto the Grand Trunk Mill Road which runs to the center of the city and then runs on a spoke and wheel pattern which circles back to the outskirts and then to Bayworth for almost 20 miles. By the time Jim makes his way home, Crawich wakes up for another day of labor, ground and pound. It is a generic Industrial City with people who bear the fruits of hard earned labor both physically and mentally. The city is full of people who crave physical work. Although the running is a usual routine for Jim, and it has been for the past 10 years, today was odd and different. As he ran up the Grand Trunk Mill Road, he waved hello to the smiling and pleasant faces of Marvin Longress, the mailman for the Bayworth district, and Lucy, the bartender at the city's most famous watering hole, Mueller's Pub or 3J Cable Network's Jeff, Jack and Jeremy who run the local cable channel of Crawich. Jim had just been accepted into the Dohlom State University on a full wrestling scholarship. To Jim, this was the cake on the platter as Dohlom has produced 17 Olympians. The icing on the aforementioned cake was the fact that he was going to the same University as his two good friends, Viktor and Quentin.
None of the Ridgaard neighbors can forget the day Jim made his decision. It was one of those fights that rattled the entire Canoe Road Neighborhood. Jim was a standout wrestler in the heavyweight category. Having being born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Darya was firmly against Jim taking up Dohlom. She wanted him to apply for Oklahoma State and Texas University due to her hometown affinity. But Jim's mind was made. He was going to Dohlom who were hot at this point of time as they had just produced the NCAA Division I wrestling champion in Jim's weight class under the new coach Pekter Woodman, a former Olympian himself. This was the critical factor that changed Jim's decision from going to Oklahoma to Dohlom as he wanted to be an Olympian and he knew whom to side by. He also was able to take up Communications as his major in Dohlom, which would let him focus completely on Wrestling. Darya threw a fit and shouted and screamed and wailed but nothing changed Jim's mind. After mellowing down a bit, she sat by Jim and said "If this is what you want, I'm with you. This is the least I can do considering you accepting Dave into the family." Dave Collins was Darya's new boyfriend, whom Jim respected a lot as he understood Jim's dreams, and they were getting engaged in a few days. Life had been tough for Darya and Jim after Lt.Alexander Ridgaard lost his life for the country. Like any son of an army man, Jim was keen on becoming a proud asset of the country himself and being an Olympic wrestler was his way of making it.
The rest of the day would pretty much go adrift for Jim as he would be back after his morning run at around 6:45 a.m. He would get the quickest of showers possible. Right after shower, he would sit down at the table with his mother and have breakfast. Jim being a very health conscious person, has been having an oatmeal breakfast for the past 10 years. But to Jim it was a sacrifice he made in order to maintain his weight and at the same time not lose nutrition. Jim and Darya sat down for breakfast and as they began to nibble their respective breakfast, they would have one of their generic conversations which started, and ended, nowhere:
"So, how is Coach Morrison reacting to you going to Dohlom? Is he okay with it?" asked Darya trying to get a possible story of how the coach is unhappy about him going to Dohlom. But Jim shot her hopes down like a duck trying to flee the country.
"Are you kidding? The man is on Cloud Nine! He cannot be more happy that I am going to be on the fast track to the Olympics" said Jim with the usual gleam in his eyes that can be seen whenever he talks about wrestling, Olympics, or about his father.
"Really? Isn't he unhappy that you dropped the ball on going to Oklahoma or Texas?" pushed Darya, for she thought Jim was trying to bust her bubble.
"Not at all. He is actually contented that I'm going to Dohlom on a wrestling scholarship rather than go to Oklahoma where I have to pay to wrestle." reiterated Jim. By now Darya was out of hopes and usually goes for the Hail Mary, or the Blind Swing of the Bat.
"I'm still stumped how they gave you a scholarship" Darya would laugh. It was a good-natured rib at her son's expense. By now Jim goes with his usual "You're a mean woman, Mom!" and joins in Darya's raucous laughter.
But what Darya said was right. Jim has had sleepless nights about the fact that he won state at the expense of Mark Collins. Those nightmares stopped the day he got the letter from Dohlom. But many a days, Jim would wake up at night after a referee's whistle went up in his head. He would bury his face in his palms and grab a bottle of water and reminisce with a cringe on his face the happenings of that night.
****************************
The clock was ticking towards the final 30 seconds of the match. Jim was on top of the challenger Mark "the mauler", of Mervin High, who was the #2 seed in the State and Jim was #5. Jim was a Cinderella story in that year's championship but all bets were on Mark. Mark was a freak show. 6 ft 2, 236 lbs. and was probably the fastest "Takedown Artist" in Crawich. But Jim had beaten Mark in a tourney weeks earlier and there were a few people that actually bet FOR Jim. Jim's coach, Neil Morrison, was optimistic that Jim can be the "Cinderella Man" of the decade. Jim tried to topple his opponent flat on his back. But Mark would not budge. Mark was trying to hold on to dear life for the last 23 seconds of the match. Jim tries to tug 'The Mauler' by his waist and slam him over the top but it seemed impossible because Mark outweighed Jim by more that 25 lbs. With 15 seconds left in the match, the crowd was solidly behind Jim Ridgaard as he tried one last time to tug the challenger over and to his amazement and to the excitement of the crowd he did it! But the biggest problem now was to balance Mark and land him down on the mat. Jim tried to hold on as his legs stared to shake He was exhausted, he was dry-heaving, and most of all, he was hurting bad. With 8 seconds in the fight, Jim made the most important Takedown of his life. Jim was surprised how the landing was louder than any other overhead Takedown. Within seconds, Jim went for the force-pin and won.
The crowd gasped in shock.
As Jim walked back to the locker room, angrily removing his head gear, he tried to hold back tears. I his mind, he felt like he may not get a wrestling scholarship at all.
"Great fight Jim. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
"I do. I crippled a Man. He's not going to be able to wrestle in Div I. No Olympics, No American Glory, No Dream Come True."
"That is not going to happen. Look. I'll get my contacts. I'll get every doctor in the world to make him alright!"
"Yeah. That might do it." said Jim just for the sake of it. He was not optimistic by any end.
4 Years Later, during Spring Break, Jim was on the mat with one of the new Crawich recruits, Arnold Scalony.
"Bring your left shoulder out and tug Jim!" And Jim stuck his left shoulder over the hip of Scalony and tugged. He was able to lift him easily and Scalony landed on his back.
"Atta Boy!!" yelled "The Mauler".
Jim walked up to Mark, bent over his wheelchair and said "That was how I should have landed you."
"No use crying over spilled milk."
"Can't believe you're my coach now, we're almost the same age." grinned Jim
"Genetically speaking, me being your coach will motivate you" laughed Mark.
"Yeah (sighs). Even though you went away, we are still brothers"
And for the first time in over 15 years, Jim and Mark Ridgaard were together at their house.