Well, let me tell you somethin’ about this young fella, Justin Cornejo. Heard about him on the TV, the thing was blabberin’ on and on. Real sad story, it is. This Justin, he was a goalie, you know, one of them fellas who tries to stop the ball from goin’ in the net. Played for some team called Barcelona somethin’, down in Ecuador way.
Now, I don’t know much about this ‘soccer’ as they call it. Back in my day, we just kicked a can around the dirt road, but this Justin fella, he was apparently good at it. Real good. Young too, just 20 years old. Barely a man, just a sprout really. Makes you think, don’t it? One minute you’re here, kickin’ and savin’, and the next… poof! Gone like a puff of smoke.
- He played for Barcelona SC
- He was from Ecuador
- He was only 20 years old
They said on the TV that he had a bad fall. A “horrific fall” they called it. Don’t know what that means exactly, but it sounds awful. Maybe he tripped, maybe he fell from somethin’ high up. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to put him in the hospital. And then, the poor boy, he didn’t make it. Died right there in the hospital. So young, just a kid.
Folks were all upset about it, seems like. His team, that Barcelona somethin’, they put out a statement. Said they were real sad and all that. Guess he was a good player, one they were countin’ on. Folks online, they were talkin’ about him too. Said he was a good goalie, had a bright future. But now, well, now he ain’t got no future at all. It’s a darn shame, it is.
Makes you think about life, you know? One minute you’re here, the next you’re gone. And it don’t matter how good you are at kickin’ that ball or stoppin’ it. When your time’s up, it’s up. That’s just the way it is. This Justin, he probably had all sorts of plans, dreams of bein’ a famous goalie, maybe playin’ in some big championship. But now, all them dreams are just dust. Gone with him.
He was playin’ for a team down in Ecuador, that Barcelona SC team. They even got confused for a while, saying he wasn’t dead, and then sayin’ he was. A whole bunch of confusion down there. I don’t understand much of what happens in that place anyway. But it seems like he must’ve been important, being on that team and all. And being so young, too. Twenty years ain’t no time at all. Why, my grandbabies are almost that age now. It just ain’t right for someone so young to go like that. Makes an old woman’s heart ache, it does.
And the way they talked about it on the TV, it was like he was some kind of special fella. An “Ecuador under-20 international” they called him. Fancy words, if you ask me. But I guess it means he was good, real good, at stoppin’ that ball. And it weren’t just down in Ecuador neither. They were talkin’ about him all over, on that ESPN thing my grandson watches. They even had his whole story on there, seems like. When he played, where he played, all that stuff. Guess he made a mark, even if it was for a short time.
So that’s the story of Justin Cornejo, as best as I can tell it. A young fella, a goalie, who died too young. A sad story, but one that makes you think. Makes you appreciate what you got, while you got it. ‘Cause you never know when it’ll all be gone. Just like that.
Now, I gotta go make myself a cup of tea. All this talkin’ has made me thirsty. But I won’t forget that young Justin. And I hope nobody else does neither. He might not have been on this Earth long, but he was here, and that’s somethin’ worth rememberin’.
