I could tell you a lot about the birth of Creg Rinehart, but what I would like to tell you about is his life.
Most people within the reach of this newspaper have at least heard of Creg Rinehart, who lives with his family in the community of Heiberger, but my life has been tremendously blessed by having the privilege to know this titan of a man. What he has meant to my life cannot be adequately measured nor appropriately described with my limited writing ability. Nevertheless, I will try to find the words to express a proper tribute to my most valued friend.
Our paths first crossed when I was interviewing for the head basketball position at MMI. When I pulled up in front of the Ireland Center, I noticed that there was another car parked in the circular drive in front of the gym. As I was walking into the gym, Creg was mustering up enough strength to get out of his car.
“You need some help?” I asked in my ignorance. His salt-and-pepper hair and penetrating blue eyes caught my attention, along with the laborious way he emerged out of his blue Ford Taurus.
“No, I’m fine. I’ve just got to get into the gym to watch basketball practice,” he softly replied.
As the door to the automobile swung open, I noticed that Creg was on crutches, and his custom leather shoes with Velcro straps had pieces of metal on the soles, scraping the ground as he plodded forward, one foot in front of the other. I walked over to introduce myself.
“I’m Al Blanton. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Creg Rinehart.”
A relationship had begun. At that moment, little did I know the extent of the impact that Creg would make on my life.
After I got the job, I learned quickly that Creg was indeed MMI’s biggest fan, and that he would most likely be in attendance at every home game. For the first couple of games, Creg sat directly behind me on the bench and was hollering at the referees more frequently than I was. It just didn’t seem right for Creg to be in the stands, so I asked him if he wanted to be my assistant coach and sit on the bench with the team. At first, he hesistated, but after I assured him that he wouldn’t have to wear a suit and tie or go on recruiting trips, he agreed.
“Creg, all you have to do is just help me,” I said.
“I can do that,” he offered.
Creg became the bright spot and a sense of unity during two difficult seasons of basketball. Creg went on road trips with us, ate meals with us, gave pregame speeches, and yes—cheered for the team with everything he had. I always took great pride in watching the players rally to assist him in getting off the bus and to and from the gym. I was hoping that these moments with Creg were teaching them a little bit about serving other people and about manhood.
Creg customarily traveled with us on road trips that were no more than two or three hours away—Selma, Tuscaloosa, Jasper. In January 2007, I asked Creg if he could go with us to Jacksonville, Florida for a two-day tournament at Trinity Baptist College. “I’ll have to ask my parents,” he replied. A couple of days later I got a phone call from Creg, informing me that he could go.
While we were in Jacksonville, the team took a short road trip to St. Augustine, the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States. I let the players walk around at their leisure while Creg and I strolled around and took pictures and visited the little shops of the old town. I was glad that Creg was able to experience this bit of history, and I hoped that it would be one of the lasting memories of his life. It didn’t take long for me to realize that being able to spend time with Creg in that moment was one of the greatest satisfactions of my life.
If you don’t know already, Creg works in the MMI dining hall, taking up lunch tickets and greeting students and faculty as they walk in the door. He has been doing this for several years now. Every morning, Creg makes the twelve-mile drive from Heiberger to Marion to fulfill the duties of his job. But it is those people who come in contact with Creg that receive the greatest fulfillment. I have had the pleasure of sitting down to have many meals with Creg in that same cafeteria, and I believe that our relationship was built during these small moments together.
So what is it about Creg Rinehart that makes him such a special person? The first thing is that he pours his life into the lives of other people. Make no mistake about it, Creg loves sports, and he is indeed MMI’s biggest fan. But I believe that athletics has merely been the conduit for Creg’s greatest ministry—investing in the lives of young men and women. Creg cares about each individual kid on a personal level. Those players know that Creg not only wants them to win but to see them succeed.
Creg is content with the person he is. There is not a selfish bone in his body, and he has no desire for self-gratification in any form. I believe that the only thing Creg wishes he could have done is to play sports just one time. And it’s a shame, because he would have been the kind of player that I would want on my team.
There is no sadness in Creg’s life, just the pure joy of living. He lives with his parents, and he will probably never marry. He struggles daily to walk a mere ten feet. He has to have assistance in the most fundamental of life activities. Yet there is no anger within him regarding his condition. He never complains or questions why God made him this way, he just makes the necessary adjustments and rolls on with life.
Creg does not let his afflictions define him. As debilitating as his condition in, he runs through the tape of limitations and stretches his boundaries as far as they can go. When others tell him that he can’t do it, he says “Watch me.” When the odds are stacked against him, he says, “I’m willing to try.” This, my friends, is called courage.
I could not imagine someone who has lived a fuller and more abundant life. Creg is the best person I know at squeezing the most out every inch of existence, caressing and holding the little moments of each day as if it were some precious jewel.
I have never met a person, nor do I believe that I will ever again come in contact with anyone whose life is as captivating and inspiring as Creg’s. His life and his example is the most profound testament of courage that I have ever known.
When I look at my life, I feel that I have achieved fairly modest success. I have been a college professor, lawyer, and college basketball coach. But when my life is stacked up next to Creg Rinehart’s and all that he has meant to those around him, I can only look up in awe at the giant that stands in front of me.
