Clifford Thrift stood shaving in front of a row of five or six sinks in the Chicago Bears locker room. Thrift would turn off the water every time after rinsing his razor. His teammates at the other sinks, all shaving, were letting the water run.
Buddy Ryan stood and watched. “Hey, Blondie,” Ryan asked Thrift, using his nickname for the linebacker. “You grow up on a farm?”
Turns out Thrift did, just outside Purcell. Ryan thought so. He had grown up in Frederick, living on a farm before moving into town. Boys on the farm knew the value of water.