Life Goes On...

Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.   Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had.  But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere.

At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.  This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.  Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering.  He never missed a game.

This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school.  But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to.  But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there.  He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but
remained a bench-warmer all four years.  His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.  When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a walk-on.  Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did.  The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul into every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he
rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.  His father
shared the son's excitement and received season tickets for all
the college games.

This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four
years at college, but he never got to play in a game.  It was the
end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram.

The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.  
Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this
morning.  Is it all right if I miss practice today?"  The coach put
his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the
week off, son.  And don't even plan to come back to the game on
Saturday."

Sunday arrived, and the game was not going well.  In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear.  As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful team-mate back so soon.  "Coach, please let me play.  I've just got to play today," said the young man.  The coach pretended not to hear him.  There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game.  but the young man persisted, and finally, feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.  "All right," he said, "22 you can go in."

Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes.  This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right.  The opposing team could not stop him.  He ran, he passed, blocked, and tackled like a star.  His team began to triumph.  The score was soon tied.

In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.  The fans broke loose.  his team-mates hoisted him onto their shoulders.  Such cheering you never heard.

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone.  The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it.   You were fantastic!  Tell me, what got into you?  How did you do it?"  The young man looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?"

The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it."

author unknown

Things I've Learned

I've learned-
That you cannot make someone love you.  All you can do is be someone who can be loved.  The rest is up to them.

I've learned-
That no matter now much I care, some people just don't care back.

I've learned-
That it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned-
That it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.

I've learned-
That you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you'd better know something.

I've learned-
That you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.

I've learned-
That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned-
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I've learned-
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words.   It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned-
That you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned-
That regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I've learned-
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I've learned-
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I've learned-
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned-
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I've learned-
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned-
That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.  Same goes for true love.

I've learned-
That just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned-
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I've learned-
That you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish.  Few things are more humiliating and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

I've learned-
That your family won't always be there for you.  It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again.  Families aren't biological.

I've learned-
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned-
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.   Sometimes you are to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned-
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned-
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned-
That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other.  And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I've learned-
That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I've learned-
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret.  It could change your life forever.

I've learned-
That two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I've learned-
That no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.

I've learned-
That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I've learned-
That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I've learned-
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I've learned-
That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I've learned-
That it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.