Nates Notes: Six-hour car ride a plesant surprise

I've got the gift for gab, always have. I take after my grandpa, an old farmer that never met a stranger. He'd sit on a bench in the mall with a bag of caramel corn and chat with other seed-corn clad fellows he just met. He was also on a first-name basis with most of the baggers and checkers at the local grocery store. Like my grandfather, I also like talking to strangers. Everyone is interesting and most everyone has a story or two. However, I was a bit apprehensive of a potential conversation with two strangers. We scheduled a photo shoot in Springdale with five offensive linemen from across the state. I volunteered to drive from Little Rock and wound up with two passengers — Texarkana's Chad Donelson and Pulaski Academy's Dave Grundfest. Although, I am young at heart, I doubted I had enough insight to connect with a couple of teenagers. I thought I might be bailed out by an ipod, hand-held video game or cell phone. My knowledge of football could be the common ground, but for how long? We were going to spend six hours together in the car. That's longer than I see my wife most days. My nervousness eased a bit when Chad hopped in. A Greyhound bus parked in the lot triggered our first conversation. I told him how I never rode one and hoped I never had to. He echoed my sentiments, and I told him a story of when I was a young reporter I covered an accident of a bus that had its windshield blown out by a strong wind. Miraculously, no one was hurt as the driver managed to navigate through the interstate median to the shoulder of the opposite lane. That got us through the 10-minute drive to pick up Dave at a commuter parking lot. Dave and Chad had never met, so introductions were made all around. We were barely on the interstate, and we started talking football. Dave talked about PA's opener at Helena-West Helena in the opener. Chad (obviously a recruiting service reader) added what he knew about recent Arkansas commit Darius Winston. Later the two players compared notes about their players and Chad explained the big Arkansas High/Texas High rivalry. Both guys also compared notes about social lives in their respective cities. They both seemed unimpressed by the entertainment options. I told them living in a small farm would make them appreciate malls and multi-plex movie theatres. After the hour-long photo shoot, it was back in the car for the return trip to Little Rock. About halfway down I-540, Chad was sawing logs. He had to drive two hours just to meet us, so he was tired. Dave and I talked about Beijing Olympics. When I told him I didn't think a Communist country deserved the Games, he quoted me statistics about the country's economy and growth the past 10 years. We discussed his time at summer camp in Wisconsin and his desire to play football at an Ivy League school. Soon, the trip was over. I dropped Dave off and said good-bye and "be careful" to Chad a few miles down the road. As I drove off, I reflected on the day. I drove six hours with two strange kids and had a good time. I really enjoyed my time with them and had more enlightening discussions than I have recently had with some of my friends. Hopefully, the feeling was mutual. They were smart, polite and interesting. I shouldn't have been surprised. I've encountered hundreds of high school and college athletes that shared the same attributes. The only difference was I didn't spend six hours with other subjects. I've told myself for years I wasn't going to judge future generations. It irritated me when elders looked down on me when I was a teen and into my 20s. Through history seniors worried about the younger generation. Those that don't think our country has a bright future ought to take a drive with Chad and Dave.