A Chance Encounter shows the Kindness of Yellow Jackets
By: Jeniffer Herseim | Categories: Alumni Interest
That could be why it was natural for Martin Teem, IM 69, and his wife, Faith, to strike up a conversation in the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport with a man at their gate whose outfit told them he was undoubtedly, unequivocally, a Yellow Jacket to the core.
“Georgia Tech hat, scarf, pants, shirt, shoes—if they had it available, he had it on,” Teem remembers. “I looked at him and said, ‘I’ve got to meet this guy.’”
The day before, Teem and his family were in the stands at Bobby Dodd Stadium for the game against the Citadel Bulldogs. Teem’s Tech spirit runs deep. “If they open Grant Field, I’m there.” His seven-person crew, which includes three sons—the oldest of whom also went to Georgia Tech—attend every home game they can. Teem has even traveled so far as Dublin, Ireland, or incredibly, Athens, Georgia, to cheer on the White and Gold.
So it was a special occasion for him to spot a Yellow Jacket decked out in more Tech regalia than he was. The traveler was Oscar Esquibel, who got out in 1981 with a degree in building construction. As a student, Esquibel arrived on campus in the late ’70s a day before his residence hall opened. Undeterred, he found an unlocked door in the Matheson-Perry Residence Hall and spent the night in a vacant room. The next morning, he discovered he had the right room number but the wrong dorm. He was supposed to be in the Perry dorm. The mistake didn’t change how he felt about Tech. “You know the feeling you get when you first meet someone and you know if it’s going to go well or not? I felt right at home at Tech,” Esquibel says.
He became a die-hard Yellow Jacket fan, even flying across the globe during his early career to attend home games on The Flats. He would fly from London on the weekends and be back in the office before most of his coworkers arrived Monday morning.
At the airport, Teem introduced himself and the two quickly dove into a conversation about football and Georgia Tech. Esquibel was heading to Houston after attending the same football game the day before. As an estimating director for KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root), Esquibel is based in Edmonton, Alberta, but also works in Houston. He was at the gate that September in 2019 hoping to find an earlier flight back to Texas.
For his part, Teem was heading to Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Not long before, he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His doctor in Atlanta, hoping to soften the news with the high survival rates, had told him, “something else will probably kill you first.”
“At the time, we were expecting our first grandchild, so that response was not an affirmative enough solution,” Teem says. He did his research, consulted friends who had been diagnosed with cancer, and made an appointment at the renowned cancer center for a second opinion on his treatment.
About 15 minutes into their conversation at the airport, Teem told Esquibel why he was heading to Houston. What came next completely surprised him. Esquibel turned to Teem and his wife and said, “I have a condo in Houston, but I’m currently working in Edmonton, so if you find you need to spend any significant amount of time in Houston, you’re welcome to stay there.”
“Kindness out of a clear blue sky”
Teem says he was taken aback by the generous offer from someone he had met only moments before. He thanked him and the two exchanged numbers before parting ways.
During the trip, Teem learned that he would need to return to Houston to undergo several weeks of radiation treatment.
He called Esquibel.
“You know, you don’t have to do this, but if you were serious about us staying there, it looks like we’ll be there for a period of time,” he remembers saying.
Esquibel said he’d fire up the cable on the T.V.
Teem and his wife stayed for 10 weeks during his radiation treatment.
“The kindness Oscar showed us just out of a clear blue sky was astounding,” Teem says. “It’s an incredible example of Georgia Tech brotherhood.”
Teem is now cancer-free, and last year he saw his grandchild attend her first Georgia Tech football game.
From Strangers to Co-Pilots
Since the chance encounter at the airport, the two Ramblin’ Wrecks have become friends, calling once or twice a month to catch up on their plans, their families, and of course, football.
During Homecoming Weekend last year, their families enjoyed dinner together and Teem, a collector of classic cars, asked Esquibel to be his co-pilot in the Ramblin’ Wreck Parade.
Before the game, the two made their way down Ferst Avenue, waving to the crowd from a 1967 gold Lincoln Continental convertible.
Esquibel says there was no hesitation in his mind that day in the airport about offering a fellow Tech grad a place to stay.
“As a Georgia Tech grad, you’re well aware of what that other person has gone through—the good, the bad, and the ugly. And it’s hard to explain, but there are certain characteristics that all Tech grads have,” Esquibel says. “We got through it and we’re all so much better for it.”
