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I ran into Kim Hunter.
Literally.
I was jogging down Tenth Street, lost in thought as my mind replayed a bare-knuckle fight I’d witnessed behind Frank’s Dairy Bar sixty years ago. I near ’bout collided with the big guy standing in the middle of the road!
Kim was smiling up at a giant tree he’d come to trim. I’m telling you, I’ve never seen this guy when he wasn’t smiling!
I stopped.
And you need to understand here, when I take off running—when I finally get my motor up to speed—unless there’s a heart attack, the earth stops rotating or a national disaster falls from the sky I don’t stop for anything or anybody.
Kim Hunter is not just anybody.
He’s one of the good guys. I have no idea how long we’ve known each other. But to my everlasting benefit, it’s been years now. He’s always friendly, upbeat, courteous and funny. And he seems to like me. ’Course, you spend five minutes with Kim Hunter and you’ll realize, he likes everybody!
We chatted about life, how we were doing and we collectively shook our heads at the recent, less than stellar, events currently headlining our national news.
I asked about his dad. I always do. As much as I like Kim, his father is even better! Here’s another five minute rule. You spend three hundred seconds with Mr. Hunter—sense his integrity, honesty, intelligence and goodness—and you’ll understand EXACTLY how and why Kim turned out like he did.
He didn’t have a choice!
Both of them will tell you what they think, believe and stand for in a heartbeat. But they do it with the utmost humility and respect for everyone involved.
Kim is a busy man. He returned to his tree. I cranked up the old legs and started on down the trail. But I’m telling you, my smile lingered long after the chainsaw faded, the morning much brighter…..
And my mind drifted from bare-knuckles to another father. Dad didn’t teach as much as he expected you to look and learn. For sure he didn’t tell you twice! And he wanted, maybe demanded, a lot out of you. He’d yell when we started down a row of corn, “Turn those caps around backwards boys, I want you pulling so fast I can’t tell if you’re coming or going!”