Fourth-down-and-life and it’s time to call an audible
- Bob Hanna: Someday
- January 16, 2020
- 1349
It’s fourth-and-5 and you are the quarterback. We have the ball on the opponent’s 35-yard line. We’re in the middle of the third quarter and the score is tied. Coach calls a time-out. It’s been a grind-it-out kind of game, and the opposing defense has been tough. Your place kicker is not really reliable at this distance.
Yes, we’re in football playoff season, and everyone is cheering for their favorite team. I don’t really follow the pro teams like I used to when Boomer Esiason and the Cincinnati Bengals were at their prime in the 1980s and ‘90s. (Yes, they were good then, and yes, that’s a long time ago.)
I do follow my Ohio State Buckeyes loyally, and I like college sports in general. But life has its own scenarios. What decisions we make at crucial points in our life affect the outcome.
Taryn and I (hopefully) are in the third quarter of our lives. We were both raised in good homes and were taught to work hard and adhere to solid Christian principles. We raised our children in the same fashion. We purchased the family farm upon the passing of my parents in 1989 and 1991 and have worked hard and spent a lot of time and money restoring the farmhouse, building new barns, replacing old and worn-out equipment.
We put a house trailer on our property for Taryn’s father after the passing of her mother in 1993, where he lived until his passing in 2011.
Taryn worked for her parents at their store (remember Jane & Sandy’s?) until its closing in 1988. Eventually she came to work for the Holmes County Child Enforcement Agency, which became part of the Holmes County Job & Family Services, and she retired from there in 2018.
I graduated from the Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster in 1976 with an associate degree in animal science. Following graduation, I worked for the Northern Ohio Breeder’s Association as a sub artificial inseminator in Wayne, Holmes, Stark, Knox and Ashland counties. After that I welded frames for house trailers for a few months for Riblet Inc. in Holmesville.
My brother Ed (Red to most) got me a job working for a place called Millersburg Tire on Nov. 10, 1976, and I’ve been there over 43 years.
For the past 14 years, Taryn and I have spent a lot of our time chasing animals in Africa, the Arctic (Northern Quebec), Ontario and numerous states in the U.S. So here we are at the point where decisions affect the remainder of our lives. Do we stay the course and grind out what’s left of life? Do we just retire and settle in to see how long we last? Whatever life decisions you make, talk with God first, follow his guidance and make each day special.
But remember what the philosophy of our Someday column is about: to step outside your comfort zone and rely on God to guide you.
Taryn and I have decided to sell our farm in April and move to the hills of Kentucky. There. We said it. We consulted with the coach (God), and we feel drawn there. Somewhere, approximately halfway between where our children live, I see a nice, rustic home with lots of animals, both inside our home and outside in our woods. Some friends have offered us special opportunities in that area. I see future hunting excursions as long as our health permits.
What exact location is yet to be determined, but we definitely solicit your prayers and encouragement. Oh yes, Someday will continue. I can’t wait to share our adventures with you.
So our football coach gives you the option to read the defense once we get up to the line. As you settle under center, you see the defense has “eight in the box” (look it up) to defend against our great running back. As you glance to your left, you see single coverage on our outside receiver. You give the audible to switch to a pass play, giving the signal that we’re going for the touchdown. The ball is snapped, the receiver sprints down the sideline and you let ‘er fly.
The result is yet to be determined.
God bless.