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The doorbell rang, and when I grudgingly answered it, I wished I hadn't. Before me was a salesman who neatly stepped around me to be perched at my kitchen table before I got there.
Here's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
he
began.
In case you didn't notice,
I interjected, this
is a brick house, so I don't need siding.
No, nothing like that. I want to talk about the fine
offerings from my Elway Products distributorship.
I must have misunderstood him, for I said I didn't need any Amway products.
No, Elway Products,
he corrected me. And I
know you're going to be interested.
The main thing I was interested in was getting him out the door so I could go back to work.
Look right here,
he said, holding a bright disk
between his thumb and forefinger. This is a special
medal commemorating the Broncos' 1998 Super Bowl
triumph.
Notice how, if you twist it just right in this light,
it looks orange, one of the Bronco colors? Really stands
out against the Bronco blue sky we can see out your window,
doesn't it?
Even better, here's the Official Super Bowl XXXII
Bronco Victory Year, formed in palpable relief from solid
metal, mined from geologic ore. See it?
And of course, that's not all. This special
medallion has an exquisite officially endorsed
three-dimensional profile of Abraham Lincoln, 17th
president of the United States, and John Elway could be
looking at his 17th year of professional football.
Lincoln was also President of the United States in
1861, when Colorado Territory was officially designated,
and on the back, there's a flawless outline rendering of
the Lincoln Memorial, which was made from marble from
Colorado, and these images symbolize the close relationship
between our great state and its professional football
team.
He turned the disk from the reverse to the obverse, and pointed.
If you look just below the sculpted victory year,
you'll see that this special medal bears the letter D,
which means it was made in Denver, where the Broncos play
their home games.
And this isn't just any commemorative medallion.
This one was designed by the some of the world's finest
engravers and crafted by specialists at the world-famous
Denver mint. We provide a genuine certificate of
authenticity with each one.
Now, how many of these valuable heirloom keepsakes
should I sign you up for, Quillen? Remember, they're not
making these 1998 remembrance tokens any more, so the
supply is limited, and they're sure to appreciate in value
and will someday be worth far more than the mere $5 that we
can offer them for now on account of our special purchasing
power.
As a skeptical journalist, I had a question. Does
John Elway know about these Elway products you're
selling?
He reddened. If you must know, the Elway Products
Company was founded in 1946 by one Elmer Elway of Sedalia,
Colorado, and it was acquired last year by the Transient
Marketing Group, promoters of serious collector spoons and
memorable plate designs since 1963.
Now, if we can get back on topic here, Quillen, for
every ten 1998 collector medallions you buy, we'll
automatically reserve one of the new 1999 Bronco Super Bowl
XXXIII medals, available for a limited time only. Just
think of sitting around this very table with your family,
passing these special sculpted tributes around and savoring
the victory memories.
That did it. I told him to get out, as he was bringing back painful memories.
Those four Super Bowl losses?
he asked, trying to
console me.
No. I forced myself to talk about this shameful incident, hoping that being open would help me work past the deep-rooted trauma. In late January of last year, we got a phone call from our younger daughter, Abby, who attends the University of Colorado at Denver.
Guess what, Dad, I got tear-gassed,
she said.
On separate extension phones, Martha and I pressed her
for details. Was it at Rocky Flats, protesting against
plutonium? Outside some 17th Street bank that red-lines
minority neighborhoods? At a hearing where they were
letting off yet another Denver cop for killing
citizens?
We were so excited that our little girl was
growing up.
Abby laughed. No, it was at the big outdoor party in
LoDo last Sunday night. I was just hanging out with some
friends, and then the cops came.
Tear-gassed at a Bronco celebration. Martha and I
turned to each other and asked Where have we failed? We
tried so hard to bring up our children with good values,
but then one goes off to the decadent city, and now
this?
After the salesman heard my voice crack as I explained, he crept away quietly, without leaving even a business card. So if you want one of those special commemorative medallions he had for sale, you're on your own.
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