Jake, Jerry & The King

Yet another birthday blog, and this one is a double, okay a triple if you count Elvis, but I don't really count him since he is A.) dead and B.) I did not know him personally.

Today is Jacob "Jake" Hendee's 20th birthday. Happy Birthday Jake!

Most of you probably already know that Jake was the freshman Illini football player I mentored last season. He was a kicker, but decided to leave the team at the beginning of his sophomore year to give himself time and opportunity to pursue more academic pursuits. Jake has definitely taken advantage of the extra time because he is pretty much involved in almost everything on campus. Leaving the team has worked out well for Jake, other than missing a free trip to the Rose Bowl… but he went on his own dime with buddies from school and had a great time as a fan. Leaving the team has worked out even better for me. We are no longer subject to NCAA rules and I can now legally feed him!!! I pretty much live to be the “hostess with the mostess”, and not being able to fix that boy dinner last year or bake him cookies pretty much killed me. Jake frequented out tailgates this fall, and came over to my house to watch the OSU game… food was involved on all occasions.

Meeting every week during his freshman year, Jake and I got to be pretty tight. Jake is an all-around "good kid"… a hard worker, respectful and polite, and very responsible so I don't know that I really did much mentoring. Jake is just a pleasant person and easy to like, but there were two things that stood out (even our first meeting) that pretty much had me "sold". First, Jake was just so appreciative of my time and my willingness to volunteer as a mentor. Not to be all "old lady" and start the "kids today…" speech, but so many young people today really don't know how to show gratitude or have an appreciation for other people's time and efforts… maybe it is a product of growing up in the email age, I don't know, but Jake is just special that way. Second, and this something I really admire… Jake LOVES the University of Illinois! He loved this school day 1, and continues love it, and with passion. As former athlete he certainly is a fan of the U of I's sports teams, especially football… but his passion for this place goes deeper than that… he loves the academics and research, the campus as a whole and is just excited to be here. As an alum of this University and a member of this community that it just cool to see. I LOVE the University of Illinois too, but I didn't get what a great place was when I was a freshman… Jake does … he is wise beyond his years that way.

From what I hear from the 20-year old ladies, Jake is pretty hott too… not that think of him in that way. But I know for a fact that a 20-year old female college co-ed commented at a tailgate this fall “Jake is hott, why didn’t you mention this before?”… then during a phone call after the OSU game when it was mentioned that Jake was at my house, said 20-year old female college co-ed responded with “What Jake?, Jane’s Jake? Hott Jake?” Jake if you are reading this I can probably hook you up :)

Although no longer his mentor, Jake and I still keep in touch, and he even called to ask for any advice I had when he camped out in line for Rose Bowl tickets. My response was “I am not sure what to tell you, the last time we went to the Rose Bowl I was in 8th grade!” Jake’s reply, “WOW! That was a long time ago, this really is a big deal isn’t it?!”… thanks buddy… Happy Birthday!

Today is also Jerry Murbarger’s birthday. Happy Birthday Jerry (aka Nikki’s Dad). I didn’t know the exact date of Jerry’s birthday but when I mentioned Jake’s birthday blog coming up, she said “Hey , that is my Dad’s birthday too, and Elvis Presley’s too.” She said that she only knew about Elvis because her mom was a huge Elvis fan, and always joked that the reason she married Jerry was because he and Elvis shared a birthday. In another ironic twist of fate… I just so happen to have a picture of the two birthday boys at a tailgate this fall… Jerry and Jake that is… no Elvis, Elvis has left the tailgate.

Evidently Jerry is relatively loyal reader of the blog… which for some reason just kind of amuses me, but as a general rule my blog is popular among my friend’s parents. Actually this should not surprise me, Jerry has for some reason always been particularly amused by my various adventures.

Nik and I often refer to Jerry as Captain Map. He knows every road in the state from checking the lines all over the state for Ameren. Seriously, he is better than a GPS. I have gone to a fair share of Cardinal games with Captain Map, and also a Sugarland/Joe Nichols concert. Many of the games my Dad has gone with us. George and Jerry are big pals, they chat about all sorts of things, but for some reason cannot remember each others name. I told Nik one time that before every game we go to together my Dad asks me several times before we get to their house “Now what is Nikki’s Dad’s name again?” She laughed because she said Jerry did the same thing.
Happy Birthday Jerry.