Taylor's Last Ride

Taylor's Corvette hit the guardrail at 76 miles per hour. It flew over the culvert and slammed into the embankment. He did not die on impact.

Taylor lived his life knowing he would be a football star. Growing up, his favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys and his all time idol was Roger Staubach. Taylor knew every snap, stat and touchdown the quarterback had made. His parents sent him to the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico, where Staubach had attended, where Taylor was the starting quarterback for the Colts. He was recruited and signed to play for the Texas Longhorns in Austin,Texas before his foot hit the stage the night of graduation.

As expected, Taylor won the top spot for the Longhorns. He led the Horns to two conference titles and was a leading contender for the Heisman trophy in his sophomore year. He was being courted by the Pros. There had been scouts from the Saints, the Raiders and even his beloved Cowboys. After the end of his junior year, he made the decision to go pro and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys. Taylor had thrived in Austin. The lifestyle there was the polar opposite of life in the small dusty town in New Mexico and the strict rules and regulations of the Military Institute were no longer valid. He was living his dream, but Taylor had a secret.

After he had first moved to Austin, Taylor began exploring his new hometown and found Sixth Street. Even though he had charted his life course carefully through his love of football, he had never entertained a romantic or even a dating life. In east Austin, he finally found what he had never searched for, found what he never knew he needed.

The gay lifestyle was one of freedom for Taylor. He would go to the clubs in anonymity and dance through the night. He would meet his sexual partners in restrooms and alleys, never asking names, never telling his own. He began calling himself Roger during these times. Then he met Frankie.

Frankie was outgoing and flamboyant, slight in build, but big in personality. He was the exact opposite of Taylor and Taylor adored him. They would meet at the bars, drink until they could barely stand, then stumble down the street to the local Motel Six where they would have sex until they were sober again. Roger would leave Frankie in the morning and become Taylor again. 

He had to prepare for his move to Dallas. With his signing bonus from the Cowboys, he had bought himself a new corvette, but wanted to be frugal with the rest. He had rented a small condo in Dallas and needed to pack up his life in Austin. That meant leaving Frankie. He must pack away his gay life, too. There was no room for that life in the NFL. If anyone found out about Taylor's secret, his career with the Cowboys would be over before it started. The existence of Roger must be erased forever.

One night the week before he was scheduled to leave, he had one last tryst with Frankie. They met at their favorite bar, had drinks, then retreated to the motel. That night, instead of crazy, wild sex, they made fervent love. Taylor did not want it to end. When the sun began to come up, the lovers showered together, then left for breakfast. That's when Taylor told Frankie he was leaving.

The morning of Taylor's departure, he checked his mail one last time. There was only one letter, the envelope written with a beautiful hand.

A letter and picture were found on the floorboard of Taylor's wrecked Corvette. The letter said simply, "Dearest Taylor, I know who you are. Love, 'Frankie' "