B-17 Flying High Part 2

[B-17]

B-17 Flying High Part 2

By Scott Lawrence

 

Apologies in advance, this post is decidedly gushier than the last one. Of course it’s by design. But, it basically all boils down to a single statement:

 

B-17 is going to be a mega star…

 

There, you can stop reading now and it won’t matter to me. My topic sentence has been read, and I’ve got your click…

 

…

 

…

 

Still reading?

 

Good.

 

When asked to roll I just assumed it was a way for Caine to avoid the interview. He didn’t seem bored, but he certainly seemed restless. His eyes were screaming “let’s move, let’s move.” So I obliged and twenty minutes later I’m wearing some dudes sweat pants and a spare hoodie from, well, I don’t actually know where.

 

Cool, cool. I just assume I’m gonna do some basic stuff, maybe run the ropes a bit, maybe a headlock. Whatever, I’m just out there to take up space.

 

How I was wrong.

 

“Whip me into the ropes!” Caine screams at me after he jumps up from hurdlers stretches.

 

Well shit, I’ve never done this. Seen it plenty, but never done it. So I mimic what I’ve been watching for years. Caine goes with the whip and bounces off the opposite ropes.

 

Here I am with a 220 pound man running towards me. Powerfully built, hair whipping around.

 

I’m an "American" 180. I’m dead. “Shoulder tackle me!” He shouts. So I channel my 10-year-ago high school football career and meet him shoulder to shoulder. He goes down like he ran into a wall. CRACK. He lands on the mat. You never realize quite how loud it is until your standing right above it.

 

“Over me to the ropes!” Once again, I don’t quite know, but years of watching

wrestling has partially prepared me. Over he rolls to his belly while I jump over and bend into the ropes before coming back (holy shit those ropes hurt like hell). “Duck under,” he yells before launching himself clear over me. I’m 5’10’’ by the way and he didn’t need much push off. So to the opposite side I run (winded by this time) and on the way back he screams out again “tackle me again!”

 

This went on for close to two hours. It’s just the perfect example of who Caine is and who B-17 will be. I saw a recording of us afterwards and he made me look good! And he looked good doing it!

 

I spoke with him briefly before leaving with promises to return to complete the interview.

 

Lawrence: Why would you roll with someone that’s never been out there before?

 

Caine: Why not? You’re obviously a fan of wrestling, you’ve got to love it in your own way?

 

Lawrence: Sure, sure. Weren’t you afraid of getting hurt?

 

Caine: CRACKS A BIG SMILE If I can’t handle your ass, I’m rather screwed facing professionals aren’t I? You, at least, listened. I’ve worked with guys that wouldn’t talk before, during, or after. They just did their shit. Unprofessional as hell. I don’t think a lot of people realize that this is a complicated dance done on a live stage.

 

Lawrence: Wow, that’s a fancy way of saying it’s fake, isn’t it?

 

Caine: STARES INTENTLY Hell no, that’s my way of saying people don’t respect how real it is. Leonardo DiCaprio gets 8 takes, I get one. Ballroom dancers get a sprain, I get a break. You’ve got to love it…or don’t do it.

 

Lawrence: Is that what you mean by “live for you country, die for yourself?

 

Caine: 100 percent. Die knowing you did what you loved.

 

Part 3 to come after a long, much needed, rest.