The last time I ever received corporal punishment at school was in the seventh grade when I left Mr. Conner’s class to use the restroom. Inside the tile-lined facility, I found the Wells boys, standing by the urinals, bouncing glass marbles off the tile walls. Those marbles really popped. They sounded like firecrackers. I finished my business, chuckling at the antics of both brothers and was turning away from the sink to go back to class when Mr. Costner came through the door. He looked like he was ready to skin some asses.
“Who’s shooting off those firecrackers!” He gave all three of us a look that would have stopped a stampede.
“It’s just marbles, Mr. Costner…” Keith Wells grinned as he said it, holding up a marble, that little grape juice stain birthmark over his lip.
Mr. Costner lined the three of us up along the wall anyhow. We were disrupting classes, all the other kids had their heads hanging out the windows trying to see who was gonna ‘get it’ for shooting off those firecrackers on school grounds.
Over the years, we all came to know and love the Wells: Karen, Keith and Kirk. When the brothers began to wrestle in high school, we marveled at their achievements. Keith, the 128-pound grappler and Kirk, the heavyweight bruiser we nicknamed ‘Cocky’. No one messed with the Wells boys. They were a force to reckon with. Unstoppable.
The Wells boys were those guys you wanted to keep up with. I know I’ve enjoyed touching base with them, even though I have not spoken with Keith in far too long. We never wish to think that the last time we spoke to an old friend was indeed, the last. I can’t even recall what we talked about, but I can still see that ‘Keith Wells’ grin, like he was letting you in on something. He was great like that.
It was not long ago that we heard about Keith’s heroic effort during the fire. He was hurt, but only after a valiant battle with that threat to his family. Not hard to imagine him ducking that chin and running back in there… We’ve seen that look many times before, when this wiry little guy was about to go all ‘Tasmanian Devil’ on some wrestler. No body else wore determination on his face like Keith.
I have only just heard about Keith as I write this. My buddy Bill Keith, who once courted Karen Wells, popped up as soon as I logged on and told me about it, then sent the link to the news article from Lincolnton.
I remember a picture from our senior year’s ‘Leaves of Green’: both the Wells boys in their wrestling team warm ups, arms crossed over chests, a look of pure confidence on their faces as they get ready to take the mat once again. Alas, for now, the memory must suffice…
Those of us still left on this planet have known the emptiness of losing someone. But, Keith Wells holds an iconic marker for many of us. In so many ways we identified with his feistiness, his fire and determination. From now on, he lives on with us as we keep this fine man as a part of our lives, a monument to something special we all witnessed: a very special life.
We send out prayers and good thoughts to the Wells family, as well as the family of Angela Jean McCray, who perished alongside Keith.
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