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Title: Fourth Down and Long
Author: Tony Lotti
Paperback: 110 pages
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc..
ISBN: 059534285X
$12.95
Available from your favorite bookseller
About Fourth Down and Long
No matter how impossible your dreams may seem, Fourth Down and Long, the inspiring and witty biography of author Tony Lotti, will motivate you to make your dreams come true.
Inspired by his faith and family, Lotti remains steadfast through the ups and downs of life. No matter what your profession or status in life, Fourth Down and Long will encourage you to never give up on your dreams or the search for happiness—no matter how impossible it seems.
Excerpt
Why?
I’ll give you a quick timeline so you can get your bearings here. I had major surgery in late January 2000. I was recovering at home on my birthday, which was on Thursday, February 10, and I got my billboard from God concerning my career choices the next day.
On my way home from the meeting at the gas company, I called my dad and told him what was going on. He told me not to worry—God must want me to go into real estate full-time. One thing my dad would always bring up was that I should go to the high school and coach football. I always helped kickers and coaches if they asked me, but I wasn’t the type to just go up to a school and say, “Here I am! I want to coach.” A new high school was being built up the street from my house, and Dad thought it would be perfect for me. It was scheduled to open in August 2000, but they hadn’t named a football coach yet.
I truly believe that God has plans for everyone’s lives. This up-and-down roller coaster I was on was getting ready to jump the tracks. I spent that weekend working in real estate; after all, I had to get busy, since I was now self-employed. I told Dad that I had to get the ball rolling, so we made plans to sneak off on Tuesday and play golf. We played together at least once a week. I never really liked the sport, but he did. I was playing so we could hang out together.
When I was a kid, he used to go off to play, but I couldn’t go because I was still too young. I was thrilled to be able to hang out with him this way. Tuesday came, but not in the way I had expected. My telephone rang at about six o’clock in the morning, and my mom was on the other end. She said that Delta had called, and they were taking my dad over to South Fulton Hospital. She wanted me to take her there so we could find out what was going on. In the car on our way there, we talked about how his blood pressure was probably high, and we guessed the nurse at Delta wanted it checked out. That had happened a few times before.
My dad had high blood pressure and diabetes. When we arrived at the hospital, we were greeted by several Delta executives. I looked at Mom, and both of us were puzzled. All we were told was that the emergency room nurse wanted to know as soon as we got there. The nurse took us back to the emergency room, where we were greeted by the specialist.
Mom saw Dad lying there and went straight to him. I was left to talk to the doctor myself. He started to tell me that they had already figured out what was wrong with him. He had a cerebral hemorrhage, the doctor explained, and he went on to say he was sorry. I remember looking at him and saying, “Are you telling me my father is going to die?” He looked at me and said, “Yes.” They had ruled out risking surgery, because cutting into his brain to find the leak was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The doctor said that the hemorrhage was very large and had caused my dad to have a stroke. “The fact is,” he said, “you don’t get any symptoms with this until it’s too late. Most people don’t live to make it to the hospital.”
I asked him if there was any hope at all. He said that if Dad made it through the next forty-eight hours, he might have a chance. I went to my dad’s bedside, where he was still awake and trying to talk. The stroke had caused his speech to slur, but I could still understand him. He looked at me and said, “The doctor tell you I had a stroke?” I just kept telling him to please rest, because it was very important that we get his blood pressure down. Mom began to ask me questions, and then simply said, “Well, it’s not life-threatening. He’s not going to die, is he?” I just looked at her and nodded my head yes.
About the Author
Tony Lotti has been involved in football practically his whole life. During his playing career, he achieved many awards with recognition capped off by being brought into training camp with the New England Patriots in 1990. He punted 81 times for a 41 yard average his senior season and was selected as a Division II All-American for Tennessee Wesleyan College. He became the first football player from Morrow High School to earn collegiate All-American status. He was also selected 1st Team All Mid South Conference and received proclamations from the State of Georgia, as well as, Clayton County and the City of Morrow, GA declaring “Tony Lotti Jr. Day – Feb. 24, 1990.” He was a member of Professional Kicking Services (PKS) of Sparks, Nevada where he assisted instructional kicking camps in Ohio, California and Florida.
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