On the Way Out
Vol. 3, Part 4
One sign we are aging occurs when we are called upon to step to the podium and say our goodbyes to our long-time friends, our relatives and our loved ones...explaining the definition of the word "dynamo"...and a history lesson on Arizona basketball from the 1960s...
I was asked to speak at a Celebration of Life on Saturday. It would be the second time in my life I have done so -- the first time my beloved mother had passed away in 2018 and again on Saturday when I stepped to the podium with many friends from my past in the audience, most of them diehard Arizona basketball fans, gathered to celebrate the life of Jamie Foster.
My speech carried on for about twelve minutes. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Luckily there were no reviews awaiting me on the desk in the church lobby.
I was not the best speaker of the day. That was a given. Nervous... as can be expected, I rose from my seat. Goodness! I was the first of eleven speakers -- including later on, an orator by the name of Warren Rustand.
More about Mr. Rustand a little later.
As I bumbled through my speech, I came to a very important part where I was focused on Jamie's wife of close to forty years, the lovely -- 5-foot-2 -- Freddy Wade-Foster.
I was looking for the word dynamo and it came out domino, not once but twice. Luckily, I was halfway through the speech, honoring my high school basketball hero, who went from 5-foot-8 in middle school to a 6-foot-7 fierce rebounder by the time he reached Arizona and played for Bruce Larson at Bear Down in 1962.
I made it through my giant flub and the dominos held ground and didn't collapse.
I talked about Jamie's high school days, his college days with the Wildcats and the years Freddy and Jamie owned the Home Plate Pub on 22nd Street. I closed by saying, if I could come up with a big headline for the local paper, undoubtedly, on the front page of the sports section, it would, in bold print, stick out for the world to see: Jamie Foster was my Friend.
A few minutes later -- following some very moving, very emotional speeches from Jamie's children, so to speak, especially his nephew, Eric Nelson...along with Jamie's closest and dearest friends, it was Mr. Rustand's turn at the podium.
What an elegant speaker!
I asked him, after the service, "How did you do that?
Warren Rustand said. "I've had plenty of practice."
Rustand played basketball at the University of Arizona from 1961-1965, along with Jamie and Albert Johnson, arguably one of the best players to ever play for the Wildcats; Buddy Doolen, Jamie's teammate in high school, and Dennis Albright, a former Tucson Rincon Ranger, who played against Jamie in high school in 1961.
A 6-foot-2 guard, Rustand not only played for the Wildcats (1961-65}, but played on the U.S. national team (silver medal 1966) and was named an Academic All-American, and the WAC Scholar Athlete of the Year -- just to name a few of his accolades. He was named to the UA Sports Hall of Fame, a Student Body President and received the Merrill Freeman Award as the Outstanding Graduate based on character, scholarship and leadership.
In his career away from basketball, Rustand has been involved in government affairs at the highest level. He was a White House scholar, served at the fellowship at the Commerce Department and became Appointments Secretary for President Gerald Ford.
Remember I was the first speaker on Saturday at Jamie's Celebration of Life. Mr. Rustand would follow minutes later. This old broken down sportswriter learned a valuable lesson. Chances are, I'll be asked to speak in the near future. I may be a little bit better.
As for my friend, Jamie, he could communicate with anyone and, without any effort, would make you feel like you were instantly, without question, a friend for life. Rustand said in his speech that he wasn't a starter, but he became "the glue" of the Wildcats' team. Rustand was right in more ways than one.
Jamie would meet you...and he would stick to you like glue -- an instant friend. He had that effect on people. A few years later, Jamie's younger brother, Mickey Foster, would don a Wildcats' uniform and play four years for Arizona and average close to 14 points a game in his four years at Bear Down. Rustand would add, in his speech, that Mickey played with that same heart and determination as Jamie. Mickey was a free throw specialist, a Sean Miller type. Mickey didn't miss many from the charity stripe.
The Foster family. It was so good to see them all again and say goodbye to my basketball hero, Jamie Foster.
Photo: Freddy and Jamie
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