Post by jay on Sept 11, 2020 20:20:30 GMT -5
The Drive.
“All your best thinking happens on the road.”
That’s what my dad always said. He’d tell me how all of the best ideas and learning took place on the drive between shows. He also told me it was the only time to really savor the moment, reflect on what just happened and plan the next move.
Well, I don’t really remember soaking up any high level thinking when I was a teenager riding around with them. It was mostly a lot of completely absurd road stories that my godfather would start telling me because I was “old enough” to hear them.
Those were hilarious on long drives but, not going to lie, I wonder how much of those old tales are exaggerated after so many years removed; or, you know, because decades of brain damage has made the exact details more than a little fuzzy.
No antics for me though, just a boring solo drive with nothing but the radio to keep me company as I make my way through the Canadian wilderness on the long trek home.
I would have flown but both of my ‘dads’ said that ‘the drive’ is part of making it. Paying your dues. Learning the craft. Which is funny coming from two guys who haven’t made “the drive” themselves in over a decade.
Maybe they’re right though because here I am anyway, thinking. Reflecting. The big debut in Northern Pro is over and I was able to do what I do. I stretched Malek Fredericks and put my name out there right away as the real deal.
But the debut is the easy part. I’ve done that part before. It’s everything that comes after that is hard. The ring is easy. The training. The pain. Those are all the parts you can get through, and I almost look forward to.
The pressure? The expectations? Those are the sort of things that can cripple a man. Only this time I don’t have a mask to pull over my face to cover up the fear of failure or judgment because of my lineage. I don’t have a secret identity to help me carry the weight of the world.
I just have me.
Jay Stevens.
And I’m ready for it.
“All your best thinking happens on the road.”
That’s what my dad always said. He’d tell me how all of the best ideas and learning took place on the drive between shows. He also told me it was the only time to really savor the moment, reflect on what just happened and plan the next move.
Well, I don’t really remember soaking up any high level thinking when I was a teenager riding around with them. It was mostly a lot of completely absurd road stories that my godfather would start telling me because I was “old enough” to hear them.
Those were hilarious on long drives but, not going to lie, I wonder how much of those old tales are exaggerated after so many years removed; or, you know, because decades of brain damage has made the exact details more than a little fuzzy.
No antics for me though, just a boring solo drive with nothing but the radio to keep me company as I make my way through the Canadian wilderness on the long trek home.
I would have flown but both of my ‘dads’ said that ‘the drive’ is part of making it. Paying your dues. Learning the craft. Which is funny coming from two guys who haven’t made “the drive” themselves in over a decade.
Maybe they’re right though because here I am anyway, thinking. Reflecting. The big debut in Northern Pro is over and I was able to do what I do. I stretched Malek Fredericks and put my name out there right away as the real deal.
But the debut is the easy part. I’ve done that part before. It’s everything that comes after that is hard. The ring is easy. The training. The pain. Those are all the parts you can get through, and I almost look forward to.
The pressure? The expectations? Those are the sort of things that can cripple a man. Only this time I don’t have a mask to pull over my face to cover up the fear of failure or judgment because of my lineage. I don’t have a secret identity to help me carry the weight of the world.
I just have me.
Jay Stevens.
And I’m ready for it.