As most of you have observed, Dad reads books between his naps (or he naps as he reads!) after school and while watching TV that he's not interested in. One of those books is very close to his heart. It's called "Relentless" and it's written by one of Dad's high school friends and fellow teammates, Richard Crum.
I want to give you my condensed version, knowing bits and pieces of this story over the 31 years Dad and I have been married, plus the tidbits Dad has shared since reading the book.
Richard and Dad were part of the basketball team playing for the 2A State Championship Basketball title in 1972 in New Mexico. There were only a few seconds left when Richard stole the ball from the opposing team and drove in for the easy lay-up and the winning points . . . but he missed, and their team lost the championship game by one point. What a tremendous disappointment that was for the entire team, but especially hard for Richard. I am sure there were countless hours of "if only" thoughts on Richard's part. I remember hearing this basketball story a few times and wonder how Richard dealt with that.
Fast-forward several years after Richard is married, they have a few children, and then a son is born to Richard and his wife, whose hand is deformed, basically a stump. I wonder if they had "if only" thoughts then.
(How do we handle adversity in our lives? Do we mope about what we didn't get, or what COULD have been, or what SHOULD have been?)
Apparently Richard and his wife handled their "trials and adversities" well, teaching each of their children they could accomplish what they set their minds to: Dax Crum, their "one-handed" son, "walked on" at SUU, was relentless in his work ethic and desire to play Division I basketball. After five years of continuous effort, heartache, disappointment, and struggles Dax became the first one-handed, full-tuition scholarship starter on SUU's basketball team!!
Because Dad grew up with Richard, he knows him well, and knows some of the struggles Richard has faced. The book tells some of "the rest of the story." Dax is a great example of never giving up and overcoming what we, and others, may think of as our weaknesses. If he would have quit every time he had a coach who thought his one-handedness was a problem, he would never have played.
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." I hope you will be "tough" when discouraging times come. Keep your eyes on the things you want to accomplish, and then GO FOR IT!!
Love,
Mom
P.S. The book is called "Relentless" The Story of Dax Crum as told by his father, Richard Crum and you can find it online! ^_^
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