After friend’s death, ‘I just let go of the wheel’
“I grew up with messed-up feet. They were real club-footed, like turned in. To help fix them, I had to wear these casts that went all the way up my legs. When I was 8, they cut them down to below my knees. I also had to wear what I call Forrest Gump shoes with the bar in the middle to kind of force my feet out. When you’re the only one in school looking like that, other kids can be pretty mean. But I didn’t let it stop me. I wanted to play baseball. At first, when I would hit the ball, someone else would run for me. I got tired of that. I wanted to do it myself. And I did. But because I ran stiff-legged, I had to hit the ball all the way to the fence just to get to first base. I made the all-star team that season as the second-string pitcher. In the championship game, there were two runners on base, and I tattooed one and got a home run. That was the first time I got to touch all the bases.
“I was a pretty decent pitcher at La Porte High School. I threw a 93 miles-per-hour fastball, and I could put it anywhere: three inches off the plate, right on the plate, right at your face. I was offered a contract by the Cincinnati Reds. But my dad told me that getting an education was the most important thing. So I signed to play at Louisiana State University. After I got there, I started acting stupid and got caught twice with weed in my room. The second time, they kicked me off the team, took away my scholarship, and I had to go home. Needless to say, my dad was pretty disappointed in me. But he helped me get a tryout at San Jacinto College. I ended up making the team, along with a buddy of mine who was a catcher from Deer Park.
“When we were told that we had made the last cut, we went out to celebrate with our girlfriends. His girlfriend drove. On the way home, she dropped off my girlfriend first and then me. I was taking a shower when the phone rang. My dad said that a Hispanic lady on the line was really distraught about something, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying. I jumped out of the shower and figured out it was my buddy’s mom. I didn’t know exactly what was going on, so I got in my Camaro and raced over to their house. When I pulled up, I saw firetrucks, ambulances and police cars. I ran up to the porch, and all his mother could do was point. I turned around to look, and I saw my buddy pinned between his girlfriend’s car and another car. While he had been leaning in the window to give her a kiss, a drunk driver came around the corner and T-boned him. He waited about 15 minutes for me to get there, to tell me goodbye before he passed.
“That hit me real hard. I thought, that’s it, I’m done. I got in my car, drove to Last Drop Liquor, and bought two fifths of Jim Beam. I drank one in the parking lot. I finished the second one before I got to Highway 225. I jumped on 225 and just took off, about 120 miles an hour. I wasn’t stopping. I didn’t care anymore. I was done. As I got to where you’re supposed to turn onto the 610 Loop, I just let go of the wheel. It turned, and I ended up hitting one of the concrete poles or the wall at the end. I hit so hard that the engine ended up in my lap. The last thing I remember is getting into the ambulance. I woke up on a gurney in the emergency room, and I knew I wasn’t staying. So I took everything off. Just got up and walked out.
“Besides hitting a few balls and tossing it around with some buddies in the years since then, I left baseball behind. Because of all that happened, I just figured I wasn’t supposed to do it anymore. That part of my life was over.”
— Larry Pool Jr.
Having struggled for years with drugs and alcohol, Larry believes he’s on a better path in life thanks to House of Mercy. He’s currently staying at the local church, which is planning its second annual Christmas banquet on Dec. 7 for those without homes. It hopes to help 300 people from Baytown and surrounding communities by providing dinner, gifts, clothes, shoes, haircuts and showers. To learn how you can support this event, contact Teresa McCartney Hoffart at 713-702-2848.
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