Cobern Frazier Kelley, Spiritual Founder
A PROMISE MADE, A PROMISE KEPT
SCREENWRITE 1 -- SCENE 1
Fade In Beach Scene. Dimly lit at night. The soft sound of waves beat against the seashore.
Camera pans slowly from the beach with low shot into a wet marsh area with brush three to four feet high. In the brush, on his back, looking straight into the sky, is Kelley. (played by who, Matt Damon, Russell Crowe, etc.?) Camera moves into an over face shot. Face is sweaty and dirty, but calm in spite of what is a life/death situation. Camera pans up from the face to a below waist shot of Japanese soldiers slowly moving through the brush -- stabbing their rifle ends with bayonets into the marsh. As they move dangerously close, Kelley reaches to his right for his rifle. It had been next to him, but now inexplicably wasn't there. He reaches and gropes over and over again, but it's not to be found.
Camera pans to Kelley's face. Perplexed, yet still calm, Kelley closes his eyes. Lips not moving, Kelley's voice sounds over in quiet, thoughtful prayer.
Cobern Frazier Kelley, Spiritual Founder
KELLEY
A PROMISE MADE, A PROMISE KEPT
During the pre-publication stage of the book, "Kelley's Boys", I had several conversations with Al Epting who followed in Kelley's footsteps as a boy, and later as the Athens Y Physical Director - the title Kelley carried before his sudden death at age 54. Al did quite a bit to see this book project through to completion. He, along with Hayden "Squeaky" Drewry, were two of the greatest legacies Kelley has.
In a conversation with Al he related the story of the promise Kelley made to God when facing a life or death situation in World War II as he hid from Japanese soldiers. It is recorded on pages 89 - 92 in the book. Al hoped the book would be titled, "A Promise Made, A Promise Kept" due to the promise Kelley made, and the promise he kept. A very appropriate title, although not for the book, but for the full length motion picture to come about Kelley and His Boys.
Afterward, his eyes open. Kelley is found again squirming and groping, but further out in hopes he'll find his rifle. Suddenly, he feels the ground fall open into a ditch, a drainage basin. He slithers in, and there finds his rifle. The ditch and tall grass hide him from view of the Japs. Kelley follows the ditch until it empties out on the beach. Along with his crew mate, in a low crouch, he scampers out to his launch to head back to the submarine he is commissioned to -- the Narwahl. Running toward the launch the figures grow small and eventually fade away into the dark.
It was the morning of a beautiful, sunny, Southern California day. My daughter, age 3 ½ at the time, and I were driving away from her ballet lesson. For conversation's sake I had asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. As expected she answered like any young girl leaving the ballet lessons she loved. "Daddy", she said, "I want to be a ballerina."
After driving on for a few quiet moments the silence was broken by my daughter asking me a question. "Daddy", she said, "When you were a little boy, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
Caught off guard I fell into pensive thought as I grappled for an answer. What had I really wanted to be when I grew up? Certainly I should have been able to answer that question. I was thirty five years old.
While still in deep thought my daughter pressed again for an answer. Suddenly, spontaneously, I responded, "I wanted to be like the man I named you after, Cobern Fraser Kelley." Although taken back by the answer I had just given my daughter, Kelley, I knew it came directly from the bottom of my heart.
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