RRP 134 — Walter Bailey / From the Trap House to Kona, Part 1: 3 Rose Bowls, Then the Cheering Stopped

A garbage bag for a curtain. A best friend at the door. A father who got his baby back.

"Here comes God. Here comes God to my rescue."

That's what Walter Bailey thought when he peeled back the garbage bag covering a trap house window in Northeast Portland and saw his best friend, Matt, walking up. Walter was 40 years old, with no food and no water. Matt came in, Walter hugged him, and that was the last day he used.

Julie met Walter on LinkedIn, and he showed up in Duke blue Nikes. Duke is Julie's favorite team. The conversation ran over two hours, so we're sharing it in two parts. This is Part 1.

Walter grew up in Northeast Portland, the youngest in a big, loving family, and he says he was running before he could walk. Track, then basketball, then football. He played at Benson High, then the University of Washington, where he went to three Rose Bowls and his team shared a national championship. He also tells us about meeting Kurt Cobain at a University of Washington fraternity party, before Nirvana ever made it to MTV.

The drinking and the weed came along the whole way. Walter kept it away from his teammates. He also talks about how lonely he was, even with all the fame, and the nights he left his own parties to walk down to the viaduct and hang out with homeless people, because it felt more comfortable.

Then the cheering stopped. He tested positive for marijuana, the New York Giants cut him, and after a season of Canadian football he had a choice to make. He chose to party. Then came homelessness, crack, and years of tiptoeing around the neighborhood where his parents and brothers lived.

When he finally called Matt, the only condition to stay at his place was that Walter call his mom and his dad. He did. He started going to AA every day and went into treatment at DePaul. While he was there, he got an emergency pass to see his father, who was dying of cancer.

We won't give away what his dad said to him that day. You'll want to hear it from Walter.

Julie and I both shared about our own parents in this one too. We are so grateful Walter trusted us with his story.

Part 2 comes out Friday, October 9. Until then, please give Part 1 a listen.

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