Imagine what you CAN do when you are inspired!!
Please read the following article and watch the video clip.
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''
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12 comments:
Wow. All I can say is, Wow. I was reduced to tears and goosebumps when I watched the YouTube clip. My husband walked in and caught just a bit of it and even had to fight back the tears. He said he hoped that he could be that good as a dad. I know he is.
I am going to e-mail that link to our entire staff tomorrow. We've had some pretty catty things going on lately and I think that this would be just the moral booster they need. It's sad that we can let such silly things get in the way of living a positive life. Rick and Dick Hoyt are fine examples of how to have a Whale Done attitude.
I felt really guilty after watching that video, because I was complaining about my son begging me to throw a football with him. He was trying to teach me how to throw, and
I have never learned the correct way. What a sacrifice and commitment with this father and son!
Today I was reviewing with my second graders about a video we watched last week on
Henri Rousseau. I asked the kids to tell us something they learned last week. One student remembered that Rousseau became famous and even though he never had the chance or the money to attend art school, he told his wife that someday he would be famous.
I tried to relate that to the students and stress that if you want something bad enough, and keep at it, you CAN achieve it. Looking around the class of 25 students, some from better backgrounds and abilities than others, I knew that some kids would understand that idea.
I don’t allow the kids to say the word “CAN’T “ in my room. If a person says that out loud or to themselves, they will see the word “CAN’T” come true. We talk often how we all have different abilities, and in my art classes, I want them to show me their best.
I, too, was in tears as I watched the video last night. Granted, I was tired; but this was an inspiring story that certainly will motivate me for a long time. In fact, I hope that feeling of 'CAN' gets repeatedly conveyed to my students through me or someone that cares about them. Thanks, Dan - the right 'whale done' story at the right time of the year!
I have seen this story on ESPN before and it never gets old. I agree that in some ways it does make you feel guilty for letting the little things get to you. It is hard to say you are having a bad day or that you can't do something when you think of these two. They don't let things stop them. I think it is definitely a Whale Done thing because they were positive about something and would not let negativity slow them down.
I agree with Kristin, Sharon, Mary, and Sam... We often become too self-absorbed to realize the important things in life.
When we talk about positive life experiences, and trying to create resiliency, it doesn't occur through putting others down, but rather encouraging them and lifting them up, or providing opportunities for success, as gradual as those opportunities must be.
I guess one of the best things learned through this course, for myself, is that patience is more important than I ever thought. I always want that highest level of achievement and to see the end product, but all those steps between now and the end product are vastly important as well...
Wow! How amazing? I had the goose bumps as well. What an amazing pair? They are so lucky to have each other. Just look at how fortunate they are to have each other and keep each other going- never giving up on one another. The dad didn't give up on his son when he was young and was told to "put him in an institution."
I am going to show this to people at school. How insipiring? Never give up on people... As professional educators this is a great message.
My take on this story might be a bit different than most. I have a mentally challenged brother, Barton, who is the light of my life! Despite all the things he will never be able to do - and he can do so many things that Rick can’t due to his physical disabilities - I rarely think of Barton’s “can’ts”.
I can relate with the father in this story when he says that he gets as much out of the time they spend together as his son does. I truly believe that I am the person I am because I have had Barton in my life since I was nine years old. He is a major reason why I teach. He is the reason that I have the patience that I do (some days more than others!) He is the reason I see the world as I do. It is not an overstatement to say that anyone who married me gets my brother in the package deal because I will be his guardian eventually. (Luckily, my husband agreed to those terms! )
If I tallied them up, what I have done to enhance Barton’s life pales in comparison to what he has done for me. Happy trails, Rick and Dick!
This is such an amazing, inspiring story. A great lesson to share with others and remember when we don't think we CAN succeed. I really enjoyed the music as well. I like what Jim said about patience and resiliency. These are key foundations in life that I can only hope to have and foster in others. We need to keep life in perspective and this course has been a terrific reminder for that.
Dick and Rick’s story makes me think about the deep, deep love only parents have for their children. I always knew my parents loved me, but I didn’t really GET how very much they love me (and now their grandkids) until I became a parent myself. I would do anything for my kids. I’m not talking about spoiling them. I’m talking about doing what’s best for their general happiness and well-being. Like Dick doing all that he did to give Rick the "feeling of not being disabled anymore." Like several weeks ago at Chuck E. Cheese when I stood up to several teenage gang members for harassing one of my five-year-olds. (My heart was pounding, but you do what you’ve got to do for your kids.) Like my seven-year-old’s teenage birthparents for letting us adopt her so she could have a life they knew they couldn’t give her. There’s just no greater love.
There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said. This is an amazing story and truly an inspiration. This is a story and video that I will look back upon in the future when I am in the "poor me" mode to remind myself that I am blessed with so much in my life. CAN is such a powerful word and I hope I can convey much of this same message to my students, family, friends. Thanks for sharing this with us!
This video really brings home the idea of anything is possible. My parents taught me that and I tell my students that. I always tell them, “No one is dumb, we all have strong points and weak points. We all need to continue working to make ourselves better. There is never a time you are not learning.” Everyone can succeed. One of my lower reading students came back to see me. She has a fantastic job. She told if I hadn’t kept after her about reading (I would have her read the newspaper everyday) she doesn’t think she would be where she is today. She felt like she could accomplish whatever she set her mind to because I told her she could. Now that makes me feel great.
Pass the tissue box this way please? Holy cow, what a story, video, and song! Worthy of sharing as we start our day at school tomorrow...Quick change in lesson plans!
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