He Finds a Port in Stormy Life : PREP EXTRA
Somewhere out there is the life Los Amigos running back Greg Fausto might have led.
That Norman Rockwell, family by the hearth, apple pie on the windowsill, what’d-the-Beaver-do-today, Disney-movie-of-week portrait.
Or maybe it’s that Quentin Tarantino, down on the corner, out in the street, psst-gimme-a-nickel-bag, happens-too-often spiral downward.
Somewhere in between, Fausto makes do.
Friday, he’ll carry the ball for the Lobos, but only after he washes the dishes. Saturday, it’s a late night of club dancing. Sunday, more dishes. Tuesday, he takes out the trash.
It’s a life support system that’s stable. Six months ago, he was listed as critical.
Fausto, a senior, left home after problems with his family. It was merely the latest survival test in a Teflon-coated life.
After some stressful days, he arrived at Cliff and Dee Weimer’s house. The two Los Amigos boosters gave him a place to stay, as they have another Lobo player, and some structure.
From homeless to home-by-midnight, it was a welcome change.
Since moving in with the Weimers, Fausto has gotten a job, been assigned chores and given parameters, which he tests like any red-blooded American teen-ager.
He has wandered home from dancing--his passion--after midnight to find a stern glare, not a locked door. He has hung out with old friends--considered untouchables by others--and received worried looks in return. He came home with a tattoo this week, even though he got a lecture against it.
Seems Cliff Weimer also got tattooed when he was in the navy and now has regrets.
It’s the type of hands-on involvement that’s comforting for a kid who has teetered on the brink since he was teething.
Fausto said he met his dad for the first time at 7, but found safe passage without fatherly guidance.
Boyhood friends got sucked into unacceptable lifestyles, dropped out of school and dabbled in drugs, but Fausto learned where to draw the line. School was tough, but sports made it necessary.
Things got tougher. There was no one to blame when he finally left home six months ago, Fausto said. Still, he was on the streets and out of ideas, not to mention options.
When his situation was brought to the attention of Lobo football Coach Roger Takahashi, swift action was necessary. There was more at stake than just losing a talented running back. Enter the Weimers, who had one daughter graduate from Los Amigos and another currently enrolled there.
At home already was one Lobo player, who also had nowhere else to go. Good deed enough. But Cliff Weimer’s parents contracted tuberculosis 30 years ago when he was a junior in high school. He received assistance to get through school, now he’s giving back.
The bottom line is, the Weimers acted when most only talk. Fausto is the better for it.
You hear about at-risk kids, then you meet one. You hear coaches talk about athletics keeping kids in school. Then you’re introduced to Exhibit A. You hear politicians spout that ambiguous catch-phrase “family values.” Then you find a kid who values family.
Truth is, Fausto could have tipped either way. Truth is, sports kept him from strolling the wrong path. Truth is, his fantasy is about a “real family,” with mom and dad and his three brothers together.
Reality is quasi-adopted parents, the Weimers. With them, Fausto can continue his role as the Lobos’ star running back. He has a high school graduation ahead of him and a future for the taking.
