Matt was quiet, reserved, content to observe and give attention to others. When he was a baby he could throw a ball like a pitcher before he could say his first word, probably a year later than his siblings. He always had deep thoughts and few words, especially in a group. He’d speak only when spoken to. Sadly, I wish I had spoken to him more and tapped into his complex thinking and unique perspective. Of course when I did, I usually discovered he saw things differently, which regrettably I would react to instead of inquiring further.
Perhaps Matt’s quiet spirit was the impetus for the basically isolated routines of working out. He must have started before he was in high school when his brother Chuck, who is 3 1/2 years older, got some plastic covered weights and a bench. He took to it right away, nothing very structured or intense, but eventually enough to make a noticeable difference in the strength of his pitching arm and his power at the plate. By the time he was a sophomore and joined the wrestling team during baseball’s off season, he was so much stronger than anyone else they promptly promoted him to the varsity wrestling team. With access to the school’s equipment, he gave it 100% effort, with daily workouts, protein supplements and training. (for more on wrestling read “Award Worthy”) After high school, even when working very physical jobs, he continued regular workouts with a Charter Fitness membership, which he made good use of several times a week; sometimes daily.
He never bragged or made a big deal about it; no posing, no pictures, no posting stats. He just quietly got bigger than anyone around. However, one of his buddies captured Matt on a video that I was grateful to receive just last December.
We can only speculate on the mystery of the intersection of Matt’s traits of quite and strong. Did he pursue physical strength to compensate for his lack of social assertiveness? Was it an outlet for frustration? Maybe he just got pleasure out of pushing those weights around and pushing himself to his maximum potential.