About four years ago this week, I traveled to Big Stone Gap, Va., to spend two days with the parents of two N.F.L. running backs, Thomas Jones, and his younger brother, Julius, then starters for the Jets and the Dallas Cowboys. What struck me most about their family was not that two of seven children ended up sharing an N.F.L. job title – what are the odds? – but that all seven children from that town in coal country in southwest Virginia went to and graduated from college.
This story resulted from that trip. And when I left, I remember thinking that the Thomases should write a book. Well, it turns out that they did.
The book can be found here, with additional background here.
What follows are the thoughts of the family patriarch and first-time author; everyone calls him Big Thomas.
You and your wife, Betty, both worked in the coal mines. Did you ever think you’d write a book?
Never once did we see ourselves putting our story, regardless of what kind of story it was going to be, to pen to paper. But there was an educator about 30 years ago, when Thomas and the kids were in elementary school, and he said you should write a book about parenting one day. We kind of laughed. But here we are. We’ve been working on this thing for the last three years. It was brand new for us, as far as doing a book. We didn’t really know so much involvement goes with such things.
Why do you think your story resonated with people so much that it ended up in a book?
Basically, family. Even though it’s a synopsis of our family, and it’s called a memoir, it’s basically an American story. There are so many families similar to ours who have done just an admirable job, maybe more admirable than we have. The book shows some of the things that families go through, some of the hardships, and how we overcame them.
What’s your favorite anecdote from the book?
There were many of them in there. But for me, it was seeing all of them, the last in particular, child No. 7, Katrice, finish high school, gain admittance into the University of Virginia and graduate from there. That was one of the proudest moments for me. It rivals the birth of my first son.
What does the book cover?
It covers basically the origin of my family and Betty’s family here in the deep South, in Alabama, and the places we go in an effort to find a better lifestyle, a better way of life. We homed in specifically on southwest Virginia because that’s where our parents ultimately found work, albeit in the coal mines. We highlighted our school years, our ensuing marriage, all of it. And we talk about parenting.
What’s the best single piece of advice in that regard?
Raising them the right way and not the popular way. Make decisions as a parent that will be the best and for the betterment of all involved and not to make decisions which are best for the parents. It’s still all about the family.
Let’s talk a little football. How has Thomas dealt with this season in Kansas City?
It has been a rocky one for him. Ups and downs. At this point, more downs than ups. It’s been that way for them even as a team. As we speak, a bad moon is rising to come in Monday night in New England. Usually they show up and perform well in very big games. But, yes, I do think this season is kind of a carbon copy of what families go through. Bad things can happen. So be it. It’s all about how you react to them.
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