Something I wrote in May of 2009... LA =========================================== Just some thoughts: For some unexplained reason I had this thought this morning as I sat over early morning coffee prior to my going on to church services. Maybe it was sparked by a dad and his daughter who earlier had walked into the coffee shop where I was sitting. This father and daughter were from Virginia. She was a senior in high school and they were in town for a week-end basketball tournament that was being played here at one of the local universities. I ended up sitting at their table and talking basketball with them for a considerable amount of time. The father shared with me the amount of travel and time he and his family spent taking their daughter to play in various tournaments and locations. Finally the father said they had to run and thanked me for the conversation. In turn I shook his hand and wished he and his daughter the best and thanked them for their time and conversation. |
"I deeply loved my father. He was such a decent human being and I was so proud of him.
He was not an astute follower of the game of football. He had no clue whether a football
was blown up or stuffed but he watched the game because I was playing, and he always
supported everything I did. He reveled in my success because he was proud of my
accomplishments. And I was proud of my own accomplishments on the field, more than
anything because it made him proud. Nothing was more important to me than that. He
meant so much to me."
Every Day is Game Day - Fran Tarkenton
Parental support of a child's efforts regardless of what field or interest it might be is very important. One of the best memories a child can have is the thought that their parents, "they were always there."
Mr. Tarkenton's words I echo.
As I walked to my car and headed to church services (Sunday morning) I smiled and thought, "what a nice memory to recall."
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Here is a little side bar to this writing. I was fortunate to be on the staff of the United States Golf Association for twenty-four years (seasons). During that time Jack Nicklaus was ask to speak at some USGA function. I still remember his reply to the invitation. After checking his calendar he declined the invitation. "Sorry, I am not available at that time." his reason, "one of my kids has a game on that same night." I once heard it said of Nicklaus, "while he was a great golfer, he was equally that as a father."
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May 22, 2009
Keep on,
Larry Adamson