RE: Herman Jacobs ETSU running back
In today's edition of the Johnson City Press...Trey Williams answered many questions about Herman Jacobs... Here's the end of the article....
Jacobs had worked at Pal’s off and on for parts of three decades. He left Johnson City in 1995 to manage at Ryan’s in Lumberton, N.C., and then switched to Waffle House, which eventually landed him in Little Rock, Ark. He returned to Johnson City in ’99 and stayed until he left for Johnson and Wales in 2008.
He graduated in May and works in South Beach for Epicure, where the rich-and-famous clientele has included the likes of Shaquille O’Neal.
“Marc made it possible (financially) for me to come to Miami and go to Johnson and Wales University,” said Jacobs, who always liked cooking and fondly recalls being the child underfoot taking it all in while his mother and grandmother prepared meals. “I was real curious and looking and watching, because I could see them take raw food and make it look so good and smell so good … and it was like magic to see all of that food for such a large family.”
Jacobs now would like to learn under the team of Norman Van Aken.
“He is a world-renowned chef who built a restaurant here in Coral Gables,” Jacobs said. “We actually talked about him in class. From my understanding, he’s the only chef in the United States who’s won the James Beard Award. …
“He’s somebody that I learned about and I’ve met him. But I want to learn from him. Right now I’m talking to one of his chefs to work out a time when I can go in and work with his prep team, so they can see where I am.”
Jacobs stayed with Buoniconti for a time after the move to Miami, and said he discussed them coming to Johnson City a couple of years ago, primarily to look up some of the medical personnel who acted during Buoniconti’s near-death experience. He said Buoniconti’s mother has a home in North Carolina’s High County.
“I was trying to get Marc to come back to Johnson City, but that was before I came to Miami,” Jacobs said. “When word came out that Marc and I were meeting for the first time in 20-some years, I had a guy come through Pal’s and say that his wife was one of the nurses that helped Marc, and that she was still at the Medical Center.”
Jacobs will get back this way eventually.
“There are a lot of people in Johnson City that I miss,” Jacobs said. “I’d love to see (ETSU strength) Coach (Lee) Morrow and talk to him.”
Who knows, maybe Jacobs could open a restaurant here. It seems certain that it’d have the friendly vibe he was proud to be part of at Pal’s, and this time Jacobs’ smile wouldn’t need an asterisk.
“A lot of people noticed I wasn’t smiling and the outgoing person I had been,” he said. “I wasn’t the same. I was distant.. …
“Coaches would say ‘Herman, you’re not playing like you should.’ I just couldn’t get it out of my head. … Not only did I see a guy get hurt on the field, I saw his life change. I mean it was a totally life-changing experience, not only for him, but for his family and for his friends and for the rest of his life.”
But unlike Tatum and Stingley, the Jacobs-Buoniconti legacy isn’t a to-the-grave haunting.
“Most of the time what somebody really wants to do is talk about it and share their thoughts and share their feelings,” Jacobs said. “That’s how people face things. That’s how people get past it and are able to shut that door on the past. …
“Jack Tatum felt bad enough himself. Why hate him?”
2001-2010 Johnson City Press and The Associated Press
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