A Great Kid
Many of you have probably seen Frank Malloy on your television over the last 30 years. Frank Malloy has been a fixture of Eyewitness News on Macon’s WMAZ.
He first began as the sports anchor and now serves as the full time news anchor on the six o’clock newscast. I became acquainted with Frank in perfunctory way when I coached high school football in Macon prior to my entering the ministry.
A few months ago I met Frank’s son Nick. Nick and a group of friends sat in front of my wife and I at the Georgia-Vanderbilt football game in Nashville. We conversed with them during the course of the ball game and discovered that we shared many mutual acquaintances.
We learned that Nick was an aspiring musician. At first he was inclined to be a drummer but his parents, seeking to save their sanity, directed him towards playing a guitar. Nick had already begun writing songs and playing at establishments in Macon. Now he was moving to Nashville to pursue a career in the music business. We know here in Monticello that such a dream can be realized.
So it was that Nick landed in Nashville. In late March he returned to Macon to celebrate his birthday with some friends. In that no man’s land of time between midnight and sunrise when it can be either very late at night or very early in the morning Nick had an automobile accident.
The results of the accident were devastating. Nick’s spinal chord was injured. He spent much time in the Intensive Care Unit of the Medical Center in Macon. He was eventually transferred to the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta to begin the long road of recovery.
Friday night a benefit was held in Macon for Nick at the Capital Theater in downtown Macon. A couple of local bands played their music and it was evident that the legacy of musical talent in Macon that was begun by the likes of Otis Redding, Little Richard and Allman Brothers is in good hands.
Yet, nothing the bands did could have equaled what happened between the performance of the first and second band. Nick came out on stage in his wheel chair. Needless to say the place erupted with raucous applause. Nick held a guitar, and strummed a few notes. I am sure that many eyes in the theater were moist; I know of two that were.
Before leaving, my wife, daughter and I were able to go back stage and have a word with Nick. His countenance was remarkable. He thanked us for coming and we shared a few laughs about one of his friends that night in Nashville. I said something “preacherly” and we were on our way.
The road to recovery for Nick remains arduous. Friday night he was surrounded with the love and the support of hundreds of friends. With that support one would have to say that his prognosis is greatly enhanced.
Before we went back and talked to Nick I had spoken with a friend. We talked about a few things and then we moved on to the subject of Nick. In the end my friend simply said, “He’s a great kid and it’s a shame it took an accident like this for him to get the recognition a great kid deserves.”
My friend was absolutely right in his comments. There are great kids all around us and let’s hope that it doesn’t take a tragedy for them to get the recognition they deserve. That said, I know of one great kid that really needs all of our prayers.