Chapter 1

Thursday, July 3, 2031 – Martin Residence, Landenberg, PA

“Danny, Jessie, carry all the luggage out to the car and load it,” Penny directed. The two older kids did as they were asked.

“Robbie, move it, it is almost time to leave,” Penny called up the steps.

“Coming, Mom!”

“Do you have your day pack?” Penny called.

“Oh! Yeah...” Robbie called back. After a long pause, she heard her six-year-old’s footstep scampering for the steps again. “I got it.” Robbie scrambled down the steps dragging his day pack full of puzzles and books to entertain him on the plane ride to Colorado.

“Did you pack Iceberg?” Penny asked as her youngest son reached the bottom of the steps.

“Um ... no,” Robbie gasped, looking stricken. Iceberg, a plush stuffed penguin, was Robbie’s favorite stuffed animal, a birthday present from his Uncle Hunter three years ago. Bedtimes would not be pleasant for the next two weeks if Iceberg missed the plane.

“Go get him,” Penny said as she took her son’s backpack from him. Robbie raced upstairs and scrambled downstairs again, clutching the fuzzy gray penguin chick toy with a black and white head, a pink bill and two black feet. Iceberg had seen quite a few washes and some mending, but he was holding up so far. Hopefully the toy would outlast Robbie’s attachment to the stuffed animal.

Penny herded her youngest outside to her minivan. She doublechecked the count on the bags, seeing everything she expected in the back and that Robbie was seat belted into his middle row seat properly. Penny hopped in the van and called to her older children, “Seat belts on?”

“Yeah, Mom,” Jessie replied.

“I’m good,” Danny added. “I’m good too, Mom,” Robbie echoed.

Penny headed the minivan north towards Coatesville and the Chester County Airport. Getting her family off for a two-week vacation that morning would have been easier if Kyle was around to help herd everyone in the right direction, but he had gone in to his office at NovaCare early that morning to get some last minutes things done before the family left for two weeks in their old home area in Colorado.

Penny did not begrudge her husband his time in the office that morning. Kyle blocked off two full weeks of family time. He would have a precious few days between returning home from Colorado and the start of the Eagles training camp up at Lehigh University. Anything he did to prepare for training camp now, was that much less he would need to do after vacation and that much more time he could spend with his family before the three weeks of training camp.

Being a coach’s wife was challenging but she knew what she signed up for. Kyle had wanted to be a football coach since they were juniors in high school. Penny learned better some of the time commitments and challenges of being the partner of a football player and coach when they dated again in college.

Kyle was a man with a good heart who tried to do right by his wife, his family and his community. Kyle was a good provider too. Their family lived a comfortable, upper-middle class lifestyle, despite their significant wealth. Traveling by private jet was one of the few times the Martin family flaunted their wealth. It was necessary. Six-foot-four people do not fit well in commercial airlines, even when you sprung for first class tickets.

Penny felt it was her job to remind her husband to make family time in his schedule every week. By and large, Kyle was pretty good at putting his “big stones” in place before he allowed the smaller things related to coaching a successful NFL team to block out his family. Despite temptations, Kyle kept things in perspective and balanced between professional success and his family life. These two weeks without football would provide quality time for Danny, Jessie, Robbie and her.

[See near the end of Chapter 77 of Lost and Found (of the Life in Paradise series) for more details about “big stones” and the parable told to Kyle Martin by his first agent, Max Solomon. Putting his big stones first was the cornerstone of Kyle’s life. The story about big stones is not original to me, but it is an excellent guideline for living your life. Doug Fox]

The charter jet picked up Kyle in Philly and flew over to Chester County Airport, outside Coatesville. Penny, Jessie, Danny and Robbie met their father there. David was missing the vacation due to his job at Scout camp. Alex D’Antonio, the camp director, gave David a choice. He could take vacation for two weeks in Colorado or go for a week to Canton, Ohio to see his father inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. David chose the Hall of Fame trip.

The family loaded up two weeks of luggage onto the plane and headed west for Denver. It was a relief after the hectic week before they left for vacation. Danny came home from Scout camp on Sunday. The family also had a picnic with the Brintons and Conwells Sunday afternoon. Monday night, Kyle’s parents and Penny’s parents came down to Landenberg to help celebrate Robbie’s sixth birthday, a few days early. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings were devoted to packing for their vacation.

They landed three and a half hours later at the small regional airport near the Bronco’s Dove Valley facilities. Highland Park VW had a rental SUV waiting for them at the airport. Kyle had a long-standing promotional relationship with the dealership.

Penny arranged for them to stay at the Ramada Suites adjoining the airport. It was a good location for transplanted Lone Tree residents to make their base of operations for the two-week Denver stay. The family had three adjoining rooms, a suite in the center for Kyle and Penny, a room on one side for Jessie and a room for Danny and Robbie to share on the other side. The family grabbed some subs for dinner and headed into Denver to the Civic Center Park. A huge crowd was on hand to watch the 101st Army Band and a number of local bands play. The evening concluded with a huge fireworks display.

Sunglasses and a Pike’s Peak ball cap didn’t disguise Kyle sufficiently. Quite a few people stopped by to welcome him back to Denver and to get autographs. Kyle obliged his many fans. The family got back to their hotel late. They slept in on July 4th morning. They family grabbed brunch before heading north.

They drove up through Denver and Boulder for Estes Park. The town had a Fourth of July festival with lots of kid-friendly activities. Penny read through the Denver Post as Kyle drove the family north.

“We aren’t going to stay under the radar on this trip,” Penny commented as she looked at the local news.

“What?” Kyle wondered.

“The headline says, ‘Amish Lightning Returns,’” Penny replied. “They have a quarter page picture of you from last night.”

Kyle sighed, “I guess we couldn’t expect to fly under the radar vacationing in Denver.”

“Not very well,” Penny agreed.

“It will be fine, Dad,” Jessie said. “We lived here with your fame for a dozen years.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kyle agreed. “Just some time I would like us to be a normal family.”

“A normal family who flies to their vacation in a Gulfstream?” Penny teased.

Kyle grinned. “There are perks to being rich and famous.”

The trip to Estes Park took about two hours. Parking was pretty far out of town, but they caught a shuttle bus to the Visitor’s Center. The town had paddle boats available on Lake Estes. Rental bikes were available. Games for kids were spread around the perimeter of the lake.

The Martins biked around the lake. Kyle took Danny and Robbie on a paddle boat tour of Lake Estes. They wandered through the downtown car show. The kids played games, and everyone enjoyed the street food that was on sale.

The evening included an open-air concert of patriotic music. The evening concluded with fireworks over Lake Estes. A very tired Martin clan rode the shuttle bus back to their car. The car was silent as Kyle drove his family back to Dove Valley and their hotel.

The next morning Penny had her family up in time to catch the breakfast buffet at their hotel. They headed south, arriving at the Air Force Academy in time to join the services at the Air Force Chapel. Jessie, Danny and especially Robbie marveled at the architecture of this building. They grabbed lunch and then headed for Manitou Springs. They caught the shuttle bus up to the top of Pike’s Peak. They grabbed dinner and then drove through the amazing rock formations in the Garden of the Gods. Another hour’s travel landed the family in Cañon City, where they spent the night.

Sunday morning, they headed over to one of the rafting outfitters. The family was booked for a half day ride through the Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River. Everyone was fitted with life jackets and booties for the trip down river. An old school bus hauled the Martins and about twenty other rafters upriver to the landing above the Royal Gorge.

The five Martins fit in one raft. The guide looked his group over and assigned Kyle and Danny to the front spots in the raft. Penny and Jessie went in the middle. Robbie went in the back beside the guide.

“OK, let’s do this!” the guide announced as he pushed their raft out into the river. “I’m Tipper and I’m your guide today.” Water rose in through the porous floor of the raft.

“Holy cow, Dad!” Robbie squeaked in a higher pitch than normal. “This water is cold.”

Tipper laughed and pointed towards the snow-covered mountains upriver of them. “This water was that frozen snowpack yesterday. It’s cold. Best not to fall out. Hang on tight, little man. We don’t want to lose you.”

“I will,” Robbie chirped.

“OK, everyone,” Tipper announced. “This is the front,” as he pointed towards the bow of the raft with his paddle. “This is the back,” pointing upriver towards the stern. Don’t worry if the front becomes the back or the back becomes the front and we bounce off stuff. It happens. We are a raft. Enjoy the ride.”

“OK, now let’s find out what kind of engine our raft has,” Tipper announced after a few seconds pause. “I want three strong strokes forward. Everyone ... NOW!” Kyle, Danny, Jessie and Penny paddled forward three strokes.

“Sir don’t overpower your son,” Tipper said. “I want our boat to go straight when I want straight.”

“Got it,” Kyle agreed. “I taught rowing and canoeing at a camp when I was your age.”

“Excellent,” Tipper replied. “Let’s find out how well this raft turns. When I yell right, I want the people on the right to paddle forward. If you are on the left side, paddle backwards. Let’s try it. RIGHT!”

Danny and Penny paddled forward while Kyle and Jessie paddled backward. The raft spun around in a tight 180 degree turn.

“Excellent!” Tipper announced. “Now let’s try left. People on the left paddle forward. People on the right paddle backwards. LEFT!” The Martins dutifully followed the command, swinging the raft around so it faced downstream again. Tipper put the family through their paces with a series of rapid left and right turns interspersed with paddling straight ahead.

“Sir, when we are turning, put your back into it,” Tipper said. “You can’t overpower your son’s stroke when we are all going the same way. Also, when I shout left or right, it usually means we are about to run into something. I need all the power you have. Any questions?” No one asked anything.

“Excellent!” Tipper announced. “We are ready. Three strokes ahead. NOW!” The Martins paddled ahead as directed. Almost immediately they were drawn into the first set of rapids. Tipper steered the boat through the quarter mile of white water. Waves spilled over the front of the raft, drenching Kyle and Danny. Being in the middle didn’t protect Penny and Jessie. They got nearly as wet as the front two. Finally, the raft spilled out into calm water at the end of the rapids.

“That was cool, Daddy,” Robbie declared, grinning from ear to ear. “Will there be more like that?”

“I’m sure,” Kyle called back to his young son. “Tipper ... class II?”

“With today’s flow...” Tipper responded. “Probably class III.”

“We will see bigger than that, Robbie,” Kyle added. “Some class III and IV today?”

“Most definitely,” Tipper replied. “The river’s running high today. We might see class V in places. I can promise you a great ride.”

“What we just did was kind of like the Yough’,” Danny commented. He had rafted the Youghiogheny River south of Pittsburgh a couple times with his Pittsburgh Scout troop.

“We saw bigger rapids this spring in the PA Grand Canyon,” Jessie added. “Maybe we got class IVs there.”

“You’ll have a good ride, Penny promised. “Your dad and I did this years ago when you guys were too little to come along. You stayed with Uncle Book and Aunt Sheree for the day while Uncle Brady, Aunt Casey, your dad and I rode this river.” Penny was referring to Antwaan and Sheree Booker. Antwaan Booker, or Book as his friends called him, had been a college and professional teammate of Kyle’s.

“We going to see Uncle Book and Aunt Sheree on this trip?” Jessie asked.

“They invited us to dinner on Saturday,” Kyle said.

“Who is Uncle Book and Aunt Sheree?” Robbie asked.

“An old teammate of mine,” Kyle said.

“I don’t remember them,” Robbie responded.

“You wouldn’t,” Danny added. “I barely remember them. Didn’t Uncle Book sign with the Raiders? I think I was three or four at the time. Uncle Book is a big guy but a real sweetheart. I remember how he grinned when he played with Davey, Jessie and me.”

“That’s Book,” Penny said smiling. The next set of rapids was on them. All hands paid attention to Tipper’s directions now, not reminiscences of the old days when they lived in Lone Tree. These rapids were more intense and required careful maneuvering to get through.

“That’s Three Rocks,” Tipper called out when they finished the rapids. “Probably class IV today.”

Rapids came in quick succession. The whole family enjoyed the wet thrill ride down the Arkansas. Tipper announced, “Here’s Kamikaze,” as they approached the next rapids. Kyle got overexcited when Tipper called for “Two strokes ahead,” and nudged the raft too far right just as Tipper aimed to maneuver their raft between two rocks. The raft bounced off one rock and then the other.

Penny glanced back to check on Robbie just in time to see him sliding backwards off the back tube. She lunged for her young son as Jessie turned around and saw Robbie sliding away too. Penny managed to grab an ankle and pull her son back inside the raft, with an assist from Jessie.

“I almost went swimming,” Robbie laughed, not realizing the middle of a class III rapid is a bad place for a six-year-old to swim.

“You good, little man?” Tipper asked as he steered their boat through the rest of Kamikaze.

“I’m OK,” Robbie answered. Kyle and Danny didn’t get a chance to check on the six-year-old until they popped out of the bottom of the rapids. Kyle barely had time to reassure himself his son was OK before they hit Spinner, normally a class II rapid.

The river went to backwater and their raft lazily floated down past a boat launch. The hills around the river rose closer to vertical as they entered the gorge itself. Rapid followed rapid in quick succession. Kyle, Penny, Jessie and Danny were busy paddling according to Tipper’s directions. Robbie held on, so he could stay in the raft. The gorge walls rose steeply. The Royal Gorge Railroad sight-seeing train chugged up the gorge to their left as they paddled.

They could see the Royal Gorge pedestrian bridge above them when Tipper called out, “Strong stokes forward, everybody. We need power to get through Boat Eater.”

Tipper hit the four-foot drop at Boat Eater perfectly. The Martins powered their way up and over the roller at the bottom. Go through Boat Eater too slow and that roller would eat your raft and dump everyone in the river. The Martins’ raft popped up out of the hole and floated downstream.

The raft in front wasn’t as fortunate. They bounced on a rock and lost a man overboard.

“Grab him, sir!” Tipper yelled as the yellow helmeted rafter floated to the surface near their raft. Kyle grabbed the man’s life jacket and tried to lift the man from the water. “Grab him and roll backwards into the raft.” Danny grabbed another shoulder, and both rolled backwards, dragging the man with them until he was in the raft on top of them.

“Welcome aboard,” Kyle said, laughing as the man rolled over.

“Thank you...” the man coughed. “Thank you so much.” He rolled onto his butt in the bottom of the raft and finally got a good look at his rescuer. “Holy shit!” the man gasped. “You’re ... you’re Amish Lightning.”

“Guilty,” Kyle agreed. “Like I said, welcome aboard our raft.”

“The guys at work will never believe this,” the man said. “Fished out of the river by Amish Lightning. Thank you.”

“Sir, let’s get you hooked up with your raft,” Tipper interrupted. Fortunately, the drop wasn’t too far from the end of Boat Eater rapids. His raft was floating in the calm water at the bottom of the rapids. Tipper had the group paddle over to the other raft. They easily made the transfer. The first raft paddled ahead while Tipper allowed his raft to relax and return everyone to their proper positions.

“Amish Lightning? Sir, I take it you are somewhat famous,” Tipper commented as they allowed time for the other raft to get ahead.

“You aren’t a Broncos fan?” Kyle responded.

“I was raised in Ohio and used to watch the Cleveland Browns when I was little,” Tipper answered. “They weren’t much of a football team. I was more into outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing, skiing and things like that.”

“Activities I enjoy too,” Kyle said. “I used to play for the Broncos. That’s how he recognized me.”

The family got re-situated in the raft and paddled downstream towards the next rapids. They enjoyed four more sets of rapids, none quite as intense as Boat Eater. The gorge widened out into a canyon. The raft floated lazily down the river for the last mile or two, before they took out at the boat landing on the west end of Cañon City. An old, retired school bus was waiting to take them back to the rafting outfitters. Kyle and his family grabbed some lunch from the outfitter’s snack bar and then drove over to the Royal Gorge bridge. They took a walk across the bridge, staring down the 955 feet to the river they rafted below them. The family grabbed dinner in Cañon City before heading north to their hotel in Dove Valley.

The Martin family relaxed over breakfast Monday morning. They headed over to visit old friends at the Bronco’s training center. Kyle parked in the mostly empty parking lot and escorted his family inside. A familiar face from their past greeted them at the front desk.

“Kyle!” Christina Mueller, the admin at the front desk said as she spotted the long-time Bronco. “It’s been too long. You brought the family too. Penny! Oh ... my ... God, Jessie you’re nearly grown up. You were a tom-boy in pigtails the last time I saw you.”

“It’s good to see you, Christina,” Kyle said.

“It’s been too long,” Penny added. “You look lovely.”

“Little old me?” Christina responded. “You got your front teeth back, Danny. You weren’t any bigger than this one here when your dad retired.”

“Of course, I have my front teeth,” Danny said. “I was six back then. I’ve had them for a while.”

“Who is the sweetie with you?”

“I’m Robbie,” Robbie asserted.

“This is Mrs. Mueller,” Kyle said. “She is an old friend of our family and has kept everyone straight here at the Broncos.”

“Nice to meet you,” Robbie said after his dad introduced him to the receptionist.

“How old are you, Robbie?” Christina asked.

“I’m six,” Robbie said. “My birthday was last week.”

“Well, happy birthday,” Christina said. Turning towards Kyle and Penny, she asked, “You seem to be missing one son. Where’s Davey?”

“He is working at Scout camp this summer,” Kyle responded. “He had a choice. He could do the vacation in Colorado or do the week at my Hall of Fame induction. David chose the induction ceremony.”

“That is the right choice,” Christina agreed. “Watching your father get inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame is a once in a lifetime thing. Colorado’s wonderful but you can vacation here most any year.”

“Exactly what David thought,” Kyle said.

“Are you here to see old friends or is there some business involved?”

“Here to see old friends mostly,” Kyle answered. “I planned to start with John, if he isn’t busy.”

“It’s July,” Christina said. “No one is busy for the next couple weeks.”

“As I expected,” Kyle said.

“Do you see any of the old gang?” Christina asked.

“I hired a couple of them to coach for me,” Kyle responded. “Brendan Hayden is my special teams coach. Zane Bell coaches my defensive line. I hired Ryan Reynolds to be my offensive coordinator.”

“Reynolds? Reynolds?” Christina repeated. “Oh yeah ... receivers coach ... he was here near the end of your time with us.”

“Actually, Ryan and I go back much further,” Kyle said. “He was a grad assistant at Penn State when I was a freshman. He taught me the Nittany Lions offense and put me on the career track I am on.”

“Do you want to wander around and visit or do you want me to page anyone in particular?” Christina asked.

“I thought we would start with John [Elway],” Kyle responded. “If he is available.” Christina checked. John asked her to send the Martins upstairs immediately.

“You remember the way?” Christina asked after she told Kyle to head upstairs to John Elway’s office.

“It’s only been six years,” Kyle teased as he pointed his family towards the steps. “I’m not senile or anything yet. I can find John’s office.”

The family trooped upstairs and down the hallway. John Elway waved them into his office as soon as they arrived at his door. John, Penny and Kyle had a good conversation catching up on old times while the kids watched and listened.

“Hey, I just had an idea,” John said. “I have tickets to tonight’s Rockies game. Would you be interested in coming? I have plenty of room in my box.”

Kyle looked at Penny and the kids. The kids were all smiles at the idea. Penny shrugged her shoulders and gave her husband a nod.

“Sure, that’d be cool,” Kyle replied. “We have no heavy-duty plans for the evening.”

“The game is at 6:40 PM,” John said. “Why don’t you and your family meet Paige and me at the Taproom Eatery? I’ll get you one of the VIP parking passes so you don’t have to hike a mile from your car to the stadium.”