A Thanksgiving Pause

I am taking a brief pause from the day because I feel it is very needed.  This is the time we are to remember all the things we have to be thankful for yet I find myself in a place of anger tied to the repercussions of my biking accident. I guess I have reason to be upset. A mere 10 seconds of concern for the rest of the world from a guy in a truck to look in the mirror and I am in a much different place today. Instead a face plant at 21mph has so many things on hold.  While my shoulder and arm are healing, other much more concerning ailments are presenting themselves that have me fearful my life of endurance sports comes to an end. I missed a 50K, I will miss CIM in two weeks, Oceanside 70.3 and AR50 are in danger, I most likely have to bow out of the AC 100, etc, etc.  Anger is not a great place to dwell so I offer the following to myself:

·I am thankful that even if I never run another step in my life, I have already run farther than most ever will.

·I am thankful that despite my injuries, I am still here breathing and capable of savoring so many things that life has to offer.

·I am thankful for all of the quirky things that make my son Jaden for without him life would be far less interesting.

·I am thankful for the most amazing smile that rests on the face of my daughter Thalia.  I am convinced her smile is capable of changing the world.

·I am thankful that my wife was stronger than cancer……twice.

·I am thankful that a recent cancer scare for my wife was simply a scare and that today she remains cancer free.

·I am thankful that my wife has had to power to forgive the many mistakes I have made along the way.

·I am thankful my father taught me how to work hard, laugh hard, enjoy challenges and how to fight back.

·I am thankful for an amazing job that never allows the opportunity of boredom.

·I am thankful for a mother that taught me compassion and exactly what having a big heart really means.

·I am thankful that my life crossed paths with Alison Chavez years ago because without saying a word to each other face to face over the past few months…..she has taught me what true strength is.

·I am thankful for all of the folks that helped me to raise over $20,000 this year towards finding a cure for cancer…..many of whom are also responsible for helping me raise the $135,000 life to date.

·I am thankful to Team in Training for allowing me to better myself while having the opportunity to impact lives.

·I am thankful to all of the folks on the Fall 2013 Westside marathon team for taking a leap of faith, believing they could do something they once thought impossible and for allowing me the chance to maybe see things a little differently.

·I am thankful that I have a second chance to be the Dad that my daughter Tiana deserved when she came into my life when she was 5 years old. 

·I am thankful to many friends….. both real and virtual for being quite remarkable. 

This list could keep going but I feel back on track. I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving and take a moment to look past all the challenges life has to offer to see all of the blessings that surround you.  Cheers.

Isabella's Day 2013

It seems like yesterday that I asked my annual favor of everyone tied to Isabella’s Day but apparently another year has passed. For many of you reading this story, Isabella has probably touched your life through me.  For many of you, we probably would not have met were it not for Isabella and her impact on my life.  I made a promise to her that I would lead a good life…….be a good person………make a difference…..try to do more for the world than it does for me.  I still have work to do.  I have more improvements to make and I certainly have more things to accomplish but I would say I am on the right track. As I write this post, I know I could look Isabella in the eyes and tell her I am a better person today than I was a year ago.  Improvement is good. The beauty of having your own personal Angel sitting in Heaven, though, is that you do not actually have to tell her…….she just knows or so that is what I choose to believe. While I do not walk around preaching the bible and while I drop a few too many foul words throughout the day and while I have a warped sense of humor that might be inappropriate for Heaven (although I am sure God has to fight back some laughter), I believe my little girl is with me all the time. I believe she meets me at the finish line of all my races and, while it may sound unbelievable to you……..I actually feel her from time to time. It very well could be my imagination but I have trouble with that theory because I am not walking around in life waiting for a sign that angels exist.  Faith in anything is about believing with no sign of proof.  I just live my life and try to make the best of most days.  I try to do my very best at work so the company I work for is successful and that the team I work on can shine. I try to be the best Dad and husband I can be and I try to be someone that motivates others to do things they maybe thought were impossible.  I try to beat cancer and will continue to do so until a cure is found.  Along this road I travel…….from time to time………I feel my daughter. It is very infrequent, always quite unexpected and most times almost drops me to my knees in tears.  Some of those tears are certainly sad because I miss my daughter…….I miss not getting to see her grow up……….I miss not getting to see her make mistakes……….I miss not getting to hear her laughter.  I know I never heard my daughter but hopefully you understand what I mean. The silence on Christmas and Easter and the first day of school and August 1^st is deafening and I would much rather have the sound of her voice so………..I miss it.  Anyway, while some of these tears are sad there is also a huge part of these moments that are overwhelming in an amazing way.  For a tiny moment in time, I feel connected to my little one and, be it true or not, the feeling is real.  I would attempt to describe these moments but I am not nearly the writer I would need to be to do justice to the experience so I will leave it to your imagination. 

For this year I put together a short video.  You may have to watch this video on a PC as I work through copyright issues with YouTube but for now I am in compliance. In the video are some pictures of my time with Isabella………the nine months she grew safe and secure with my wife and the few minutes we had with her after she passed. I apologize if this is tough to watch or moves you to tears. That is not my plan but it might happen. I have pictures of Isabella from the hospital.  I usually go out of my way ‘not’ to look at them but this year I had the courage to look once again. August 1, 2003 was a bad day.  I am sure you can feel the sadness that was present when looking at the photos taken in the hospital.  It was a horrible day….truthfully the worst….. but the story, as you probably know, did not end there. It took a few days but I stood up. I gained strength and I tried to give that strength to others.  A horrible day out of which came amazing things.  I also included a picture in the video that was used for the Isabella’s Day 2012 post taken by Rich Cruse, an amazing photographer. It is the way I like to imagine my little girl today……..a huge smile running around the beach.  The last photo (actually a video clip) comes from a place deep within and is how I imagine seeing my daughter when I someday come to meet her.  I do not know how Heaven works but I hope to see Isabella as my little girl when I get there.  If Heaven is what makes us happy………..Isabella will be dancing around a meadow when I open my eyes after my time here is done.  This really leads into the song that is playing behind the video.  The song is called Bella and is by Angus and Julia Stone.  A friend heard this song……knew of my story……….and sent it to me and I have listened to it almost every day since.  Outside of my story, the song is amazing and I highly recommend the entire album called ‘A Book Like This’. I could not tell you what the song means to the artists.  I only know what it means to me and it is about the time when I actually meet my little girl. I refuse to listen to all of the words in great detail because I hear what I hear and if I piece all of the lyrics together that meaning might change.  The song opens with a young girl saying the words ‘Hello’.  To me, those words are from my little girl as I open my eyes in another place.  From there we proceed to do whatever she wants to do. I am just happy to be with her but at some point I stop her and ask ‘Can I have this dance with you?”.  I always dance with my kids. I grew up in a techno/trance/hip hop world and despite being an old dude, my mind remembers the clubs so going crazy with my kids is the best. This dance with Isabella will be different though (although if Heaven is what makes you happy there will certainly be some bumping music).  This dance will be a slow dance to make up for lost years…...my excuse to be able to hold her tight.  From there we continue to do all of the extraordinary things I hope you can do in Heaven but at some point I stop and just watch Isabella dance around……..in a meadow which leads to the lyrics I always remember from this song:

“There she sits with them big old fields of daisies and rusty mills.

And when the sun it shines on her hair of gold,

She’s beautiful,

She’s beautiful”

I miss my little girl with her hair of gold.  August 1^st will be tough as always but I will make the best of it and spend time with my wife reflecting on a bad day but a great life. If you could do that favor for me one more time, I would appreciate it.  It is simple but a grand gesture to help me remember a little girl that helped define me.  In case you need a reminder of what the favor is or might be hearing it for the first time……..all I ask is that at any time throughout the day on 8/1/13, just raise a glass to Isabella.  It could be your bottle of Nuun at the end of a long run or your coffee to start the day.  It could be a sip of water or an expensive bottle of wine.  None of that matters.  Helping me remember is the important thing.  As always thank you so much!

Christopher D. Wilno

Hope Next Exit Three Winners

So the winners were drawn on Sunday night as promised. The video is posted below.  Forgive the camera angle of my phone. I was instructed to hold my iPhone vertically which looks silly but, hey, I listened. You will also notice I introduce my wife to the right when she is to the left. I was not drunk for this drawing which is a guarantee because I do not drink (except for sips of very expensive wine now and then).

If you take the numbers above and apply them to the list below, you will find that these are the winners (note: I added an extra prize):

Avatar DVD Set: Charles Antis

$25 Gift Card: Michael Burke

$50 Starbucks Card: Sean Savitt

HP Calculator: Tim Weston

Punk Rock Racing Gear: Lisa Williamson

Lexmark Printer: Charles Sooter

HP Printer: Justin Anderson

Kindle Ereader: Dave Floyd

Kindle Touch: Michael Burke

Beats Solo Headphones: Patricia Harris

Kindle Fire HD7: Bob Crisman

Acer NB: Michael Burke (Hat trick)

Beats Pill: Rick Leeson

HP Spectre XT:  Charlene Levy

Thank you again!!!!  I am leaving the original post unchanged below

On Sunday night June 30, 2013, I will pull the winners for the Hope Next Exit 3 raffle which raised $9,330 to fight cancer.  It has been a fun journey and I am grateful to everyone for their support. In total, I raised just over $21,000 which brings my life to date fundraising over $130,000. Those totals are not testaments to me but testaments to all of you for I am nothing without support.  Below is a list of those that contributed to the raffle. If you see your name is missing, please let me know ASAP. The list was built off a download out of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society database so I am confident it is accurate. To draw the winners, I will videotape my children pulling the raffle tickets and post that video here as part of this post.  The raffle tickets only have numbers which will correspond back to this post.  You will see some tickets assigned to Anonymous.  I am listing the name in case it was an accident and the owner of the $100 donation comes forward. You will also see my name. If I win, the prize goes back to charity. Good luck to all and thank you all so much!!!!!

Adam Heiser	50413
Adam Heiser	50414
Adam Heiser	50415
Alfred Quiring	50014
Anonymous	50395
Anonymous	50396
Anonymous	50397
Anonymous	50398
Anonymous	50399
Anonymous	50400
Ariel Nahmias	50143
Ariel Nahmias	50144
Ariel Nahmias	50145
Bethany Chaney	49948
Bethany Chaney	49949
Bethany Chaney	49950
Bethany Chaney	49951
Bethany Chaney	49952
Bethany Chaney	49953
Calvin Lin	50404
Calvin Lin	50405
Calvin Lin	50406
Carolynne Fargey	50015
Carolynne Fargey	50016
Carolynne Fargey	50017
Cecily Sweeney	50164
Cecily Sweeney	50165
Cecily Sweeney	50166
Cecily Sweeney	50167
Cecily Sweeney	50168
Cecily Sweeney	50169
Charlene Levy	50036
Charlene Levy	50037
Charlene Levy	50038
Charlene Levy	50423
Charlene Levy	50424
Charlene Levy	50425
Charles Antis	50192
Charles Antis	50193
Charles Antis	50194
Charles Antis	50195
Charles Antis	50196
Charles Antis	50197
Charles Antis	50198
Charles Antis	50199
Charles Antis	50200
Charles Antis	50201
Charles Antis	50202
Charles Antis	50203
Charles Antis	50204
Charles Antis	50205
Charles Antis	50206
Charles Antis	50207
Charles Antis	50208
Charles Antis	50209
Charles Antis	50210
Charles Antis	50211
Charles Antis	50212
Charles Antis	50213
Charles Antis	50214
Charles Antis	50215
Charles Antis	50216
Charles Antis	50217
Charles Antis	50218
Charles Antis	50219
Charles Antis	50220
Charles Antis	50221
Charles Sooter	50449
Charles Sooter	50450
Charles Sooter	50451
Charles Sooter	50452
Charles Sooter	50453
Charles Sooter	50454
Chatty Arrieta	49942
Chatty Arrieta	49943
Chatty Arrieta	49944
Chatty Arrieta	49945
Chatty Arrieta	49946
Chatty Arrieta	49947
Christopher Wilno	50066
Christopher Wilno	50067
Christopher Wilno	50068
Christopher Wilno	50069
Christopher Wilno	50070
Christopher Wilno	50071
Christopher Wilno	50072
Dashiell Nash	50353
Dashiell Nash	50354
Dashiell Nash	50355
David Blaszkowski	50021
David Blaszkowski	50022
David Blaszkowski	50023
David Rodman	50426
David Rodman	50427
David Rodman	50428
David Rodman	50429
David Rodman	50430
David Rodman	50431
David Rodman	50432
David Wolpe	50223
David Wolpe	50224
David Wolpe	50225
David Wolpe	50226
David Wolpe	50227
David Wolpe	50228
David Wolpe	50229
David Wolpe	50230
David Wolpe	50231
David Wolpe	50232
David Wolpe	50233
David Wolpe	50234
David Wolpe	50235
David Wolpe	50236
David Wolpe	50237
David Wolpe	50238
David Wolpe	50239
David Wolpe	50240
David Wolpe	50241
David Wolpe	50242
David Wolpe	50243
David Wolpe	50244
David Wolpe	50245
David Wolpe	50246
David Wolpe	50247
David Wolpe	50248
David Wolpe	50249
David Wolpe	50250
David Wolpe	50251
David Wolpe	50252
David Wolpe	50253
David Wolpe	50254
David Wolpe	50255
David Wolpe	50256
David Wolpe	50257
David Wolpe	50258
David Wolpe	50259
David Wolpe	50260
David Wolpe	50261
David Wolpe	50262
David Wolpe	50263
David Wolpe	50264
David Wolpe	50265
David Wolpe	50266
David Wolpe	50267
David Wolpe	50268
David Wolpe	50269
David Wolpe	50270
David Wolpe	50271
David Wolpe	50272
David Wolpe	50273
David Wolpe	50274
David Wolpe	50275
David Wolpe	50276
David Wolpe	50277
David Wolpe	50278
David Wolpe	50279
David Wolpe	50280
David Wolpe	50281
David Wolpe	50282
David Wolpe	50283
David Wolpe	50284
David Wolpe	50285
David Wolpe	50286
David Wolpe	50287
David Wolpe	50288
David Wolpe	50289
David Wolpe	50290
David Wolpe	50291
David Wolpe	50292
David Wolpe	50293
David Wolpe	50294
David Wolpe	50295
David Wolpe	50296
David Wolpe	50297
David Wolpe	50298
David Wolpe	50299
David Wolpe	50300
David Wolpe	50301
David Wolpe	50302
David Wolpe	50303
David Wolpe	50304
David Wolpe	50305
David Wolpe	50306
David Wolpe	50307
David Wolpe	50308
David Wolpe	50309
David Wolpe	50310
David Wolpe	50311
David Wolpe	50312
David Wolpe	50313
David Wolpe	50314
David Wolpe	50315
David Wolpe	50316
David Wolpe	50317
David Wolpe	50318
David Wolpe	50319
David Wolpe	50320
David Wolpe	50321
David Wolpe	50322
David Wolpe	50323
David Wolpe	50324
David Wolpe	50325
David Wolpe	50326
David Wolpe	50327
David Wolpe	50328
David Wolpe	50329
David Wolpe	50330
Deborah Kazlowski	50018
Deborah Kazlowski	50019
Deborah Kazlowski	50020
Dena Grablowsky	49988
Dena Grablowsky	49989
Dena Grablowsky	49990
Dena Grablowsky	49991
Dena Grablowsky	49992
Dena Grablowsky	49993
Diana Fisk	50357
Diana Fisk	50358
Diana Fisk	50359
Diana Fisk	50360
Diana Fisk	50361
Diana Fisk	50362
Diana Fisk	50363
Diana Fisk	50364
Diana Fisk	50365
Diana Fisk	50366
Diana Fisk	50367
Diana Fisk	50368
Diana Fisk	50369
Diana Fisk	50370
Diana Fisk	50371
Edward Schober	50372
Elisabeth Waller Scott	49954
Fern Oliner	50060
Fern Oliner	50061
Fern Oliner	50062
Fern Oliner	50063
Fern Oliner	50064
Fern Oliner	50065
Gary Palenbaum	49998
Gary Palenbaum	49999
Gary Palenbaum	50000
Gary Palenbaum	50001
Gary Palenbaum	50002
Gary Palenbaum	50003
George Manor	50373
George Manor	50374
George Manor	50375
George Manor	50376
George Manor	50377
George Manor	50378
Glenn McDaniel	50222
Hale & Hale DDS	50054
Hale & Hale DDS	50055
Hale & Hale DDS	50056
Hale & Hale DDS	50057
Hale & Hale DDS	50058
Hale & Hale DDS	50059
Heather Gonzalez	50416
Jackie Laine	50170
Jason Liszewski	50401
Jason Liszewski	50402
Jason Liszewski	50403
Jennifer Zenuch	50388
Jennifer Zenuch	50389
Jennifer Zenuch	50390
JoAnn Beluch	50011
JoAnn Beluch	50012
JoAnn Beluch	50013
Jody Del Vecchio	50433
Jody Del Vecchio	50434
Jody Del Vecchio	50435
Jody Del Vecchio	50436
Jody Del Vecchio	50437
Jody Del Vecchio	50438
Jody Del Vecchio	50439
Jody Del Vecchio	50440
Jody Del Vecchio	50441
Jody Del Vecchio	50442
Jody Del Vecchio	50443
Jody Del Vecchio	50444
Jody Del Vecchio	50445
Jody Del Vecchio	50446
Jody Del Vecchio	50447
John Floyd	50091
John Floyd	50092
John Floyd	50093
John Floyd	50094
John Floyd	50095
John Floyd	50096
John Floyd	50097
John Floyd	50098
John Floyd	50099
John Floyd	50100
John Floyd	50101
John Floyd	50102
John Floyd	50103
John Floyd	50104
John Floyd	50105
Judy Williamson	50455
Judy Williamson	50456
Judy Williamson	50457
Judy Williamson	50458
Judy Williamson	50459
Judy Williamson	50460
Justin Anderson	50039
Justin Anderson	50040
Justin Anderson	50041
Ken Chastain	50152
Ken Chastain	50153
Ken Chastain	50154
Ken Chastain	50155
Ken Chastain	50156
Ken Chastain	50157
Ken Chastain	50158
Ken Chastain	50159
Ken Chastain	50160
Ken Chastain	50161
Ken Chastain	50162
Ken Chastain	50163
Laurie Hayden	50042
Laurie Hayden	50043
Laurie Hayden	50044
Laurie Hayden	50045
Laurie Hayden	50046
Laurie Hayden	50047
Linda Kumagai	50004
Linda Kumagai	50005
Linda Kumagai	50006
Loreen Fujinami	50048
Loreen Fujinami	50049
Loreen Fujinami	50050
Loreen Fujinami	50051
Loreen Fujinami	50052
Loreen Fujinami	50053
Lori Jomsky	50171
Lori Jomsky	50172
Lori Jomsky	50173
Lori Jomsky	50174
Lori Jomsky	50175
Lori Jomsky	50176
Lori Jomsky	50177
Lori Jomsky	50178
Lori Jomsky	50179
Lori Jomsky	50180
Lori Jomsky	50181
Lori Jomsky	50182
Lori Jomsky	50183
Lori Jomsky	50184
Lori Jomsky	50185
Lori Jomsky	50186
Lori Jomsky	50187
Lori Jomsky	50188
Lori Jomsky	50189
Lori Jomsky	50190
Lori Jomsky	50191
Lulu Zadoyan	50349
Marc Wishingrad	50146
Marc Wishingrad	50147
Marc Wishingrad	50148
Marc Wishingrad	50149
Marc Wishingrad	50150
Marc Wishingrad	50151
Marina Vargas	49994
Marjorie Wilno	49924
Marjorie Wilno	49925
Marjorie Wilno	49926
Marjorie Wilno	49927
Marjorie Wilno	49928
Marjorie Wilno	49929
Marjorie Wilno	49930
Marjorie Wilno	49931
Marjorie Wilno	49932
Marjorie Wilno	49933
Marjorie Wilno	49934
Marjorie Wilno	49935
Marjorie Wilno	49936
Marjorie Wilno	49937
Marjorie Wilno	49938
Marjorie Wilno	49939
Marjorie Wilno	49940
Marjorie Wilno	49941
Matthew Barnette	50331
Matthew Barnette	50332
Matthew Barnette	50333
Matthew Barnette	50334
Matthew Barnette	50335
Matthew Barnette	50336
Michael Burke	49958
Michael Burke	49959
Michael Burke	49960
Michael Burke	49961
Michael Burke	49962
Michael Burke	49963
Michael Burke	49964
Michael Burke	49965
Michael Burke	49966
Michael Burke	49967
Michael Burke	49968
Michael Burke	49969
Michael Burke	49970
Michael Burke	49971
Michael Burke	49972
Michael Burke	49973
Michael Burke	49974
Michael Burke	49975
Michael Burke	49976
Michael Burke	49977
Michael Burke	49978
Michael Burke	49979
Michael Burke	49980
Michael Burke	49981
Michael Burke	49982
Michael Burke	49983
Michael Burke	49984
Michael Burke	49985
Michael Burke	49986
Michael Burke	49987
Miriam Sandy Hopkinson Sr	50027
Miriam Sandy Hopkinson Sr	50028
Miriam Sandy Hopkinson Sr	50029
Molly Chance	49995
Molly Chance	49996
Molly Chance	49997
Nick Gardner	50337
Nick Gardner	50338
Nick Gardner	50339
Nick Gardner	50340
Nick Gardner	50341
Nick Gardner	50342
Nick Gardner	50343
Nick Gardner	50344
Nick Gardner	50345
Nick Gardner	50346
Nick Gardner	50347
Nick Gardner	50348
Nina Jack	50410
Nina Jack	50411
Nina Jack	50412
Patricia Harris	50106
Patricia Harris	50107
Patricia Harris	50108
Patricia Harris	50109
Patricia Harris	50110
Patricia Harris	50111
Patricia Harris	50112
Patricia Harris	50113
Patricia Harris	50114
Patricia Harris	50115
Patricia Harris	50116
Patricia Harris	50117
Patricia Harris	50118
Patricia Harris	50119
Patricia Harris	50120
Patricia Harris	50121
Patricia Harris	50122
Patricia Harris	50123
Patricia Harris	50124
Patricia Harris	50125
Patricia Harris	50126
Patricia Harris	50127
Patricia Harris	50128
Patricia Harris	50129
Patricia Harris	50130
Patricia Harris	50131
Patricia Harris	50132
Patricia Harris	50133
Patricia Harris	50134
Patricia Harris	50135
Patricia Souder	50356
Paul Partaine	50461
Paul Partaine	50462
Paul Partaine	50463
Peter Conlon	50033
Peter Conlon	50034
Peter Conlon	50035
Peter Woflflein	50136
Rachel Yonda	50392
Rachel Yonda	50393
Rachel Yonda	50394
Richard Leeson	50137
Richard Leeson	50138
Richard Leeson	50139
Richard Leeson	50140
Richard Leeson	50141
Richard Leeson	50142
Robert Crisman	50464
Robert Crisman	50465
Robert Crisman	50466
Robert Crisman	50467
Robert Crisman	50468
Robert Crisman	50469
Robert Crisman	50470
Robert Crisman	50471
Robert Crisman	50472
Robert Sandiford	50007
Robert Sandiford	50008
Robert Sandiford	50009
Ron Harvey	50073
Ron Harvey	50074
Ron Harvey	50075
Ron Harvey	50076
Ron Harvey	50077
Ron Harvey	50078
Ron Harvey	50079
Ron Harvey	50080
Ron Harvey	50081
Ron Harvey	50082
Ron Harvey	50083
Ron Harvey	50084
Ron Harvey	50085
Ron Harvey	50086
Ron Harvey	50087
Ron Harvey	50088
Ron Harvey	50089
Ron Harvey	50090
Ronald Kaloper Eldridge	50024
Ronald Kaloper Eldridge	50025
Ronald Kaloper Eldridge	50026
Samuel Smeltzer	50030
Samuel Smeltzer	50031
Samuel Smeltzer	50032
Sandra Turco	50010
Sean Savitt	49955
Sean Savitt	49956
Sean Savitt	49957
shawna Smeltzer	50391
Stacy Sooter	49920
Stacy Sooter	49921
Stacy Sooter	49922
Therese Soltis	50379
Therese Soltis	50380
Therese Soltis	50381
Therese Soltis	50382
Therese Soltis	50383
Therese Soltis	50384
Therese Soltis	50385
Therese Soltis	50386
Therese Soltis	50387
Timothy Weston	50407
Timothy Weston	50408
Timothy Weston	50409
Traci Mcmurray	50448
Trisha Choate	50417
Trisha Choate	50418
Trisha Choate	50419
Trisha Choate	50420
Trisha Choate	50421
Trisha Choate	50422
Wagner Tejada	49923
Williamson	50350
Williamson	50351
Williamson	50352

A Lesson From Jackie

I went to see the movie 42 today with my son. He really wanted to see it and I was hoping to expose him to the lesson(s) that could come out the story of Jackie Robinson.  After seeing the movie, we sat and talked and I am confident I made the right decision to take him.  I am writing this short post to my son Jaden….in case he finds himself in life needing a reminder…… and to anyone else that might be listening.

I sat through this movie mesmerized.  I love any movie about baseball but this was for very different reasons and honestly my mind was a blur.  I started wondering about the type of person I am today and really hoped that, had I lived during the time period when Jackie Robinson entered major league baseball, I would have been the guy that befriended Jackie Robinson and was accepting of change.  I would like to think I would have been the guy speaking his mind about how the world should work and the guy that stood up against racism.  I really believe I would have been that person. Growing up, while equality among color had made great strides….the world certainly was not perfect.  I was always the guy that tried to make friends with and stick up for the guy/girl on the outside……..be it for color or any number of reasons.  I was the guy that wanted everyone to feel accepted and fit in.  Even later in life, albeit somewhat silly, I remember buying a t-shirt from Timberland in Chicago that read “Give Racism the Boot”.  I wore that shirt proudly and in places that might have been considered risky.  Many times I came close to getting my ass kicked but not by white people…..by African Americans because from afar they just saw a white dude wearing a shirt that had the word ‘racism’ on it.  They assumed the worst until getting closer and actually reading what the shirt said. We would usually just laugh, exchange some words and move on but every one of those many instances broke down the color barrier a little more.

I am thankful today, that my children do not understand racism.  Each of my children has friends of every race and religion and that is all they know.  I have mentioned this before but I literally think my 5 year old daughter is color blind. She does have some African American friends who she thankfully only knows as ‘friends’.  It is quite remarkable but if you ask my daughter to describe these friends, she will talk about what they wear or their sense of humor or how smart they are but she will never ever say they are ‘black’.  Ask her 20 different ways; the color of their skin will never ever be included in one of her replies. It is the way things should be and I hope she applies this to everything in life from color to religion to sexual preference.  We are all just people and if we unite as one, we can make the world a better place.  I really think this is a big part of the message of the movie……for my son and for all of us.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”

Jackie Robinson

The story of Jackie Robinson tied to racism in the world but if you step back it is really tied to one man helping to change the world.  Look at how far we have come since 1947 when Jackie Robinson entered major league baseball.  Look where the world was then and look where it is today.  After the movie, that is what I sat and told my son. One man made a difference.  One man changed the world.  You are one man, you can do exactly the same thing. Today, the world is not perfect.  We have made great strides in some areas of injustice but there are still a lot of improvements to be made.  There is disease, there is suffering and unfortunately race issues still exist as we have seen by recent events.  We can all as individuals jump in and lend a hand.  We can all as individuals make a difference.  We can all as individuals make the world a better place and, as I have said many times, if we as individuals come together as one with this mentality, changing the world is a certainty. My fight is against cancer.  What is your fight against? There is plenty of room for change in this world.  It is just waiting for you to jump in and make it happen.

To my son and my daughter, may you always treat everyone equally, may you fight for those that are treated less than equal and may you always know that within you is the power to make a difference.