“A new wig?” one curious soul wrote. “A tennis ball?” “A rodent?” two more asked while trying to guess what the mess of strings on my floor was.
“A baseball,” I finally responded, prompting one friend to gasp, “No freakin̓ way!”
“The patience and tenacity of a dog is amazing,” another dear friend wrote after that. So true.
I had listened to our German Shepherd puppy gnawing on her Major League baseball behind my desk for more than one hour. And I kept looking back to make sure all was well, which it was… until the last time I looked back. What I saw then was a tangled mess of what must be 10 yards of string. How she got it unfurled so quickly is beyond me.
Who knew a baseball was full of so much string! Ya learn something new everyday, right?
I learned something else new this past week. I learned from a friend about a young man named Scott Odom who, as a boy, lost his leg to cancer. Did that stop this youngster in his tracks? Hardly. Instead, he wrote a book, “Stand Up: I Lost My Leg to Cancer, Not My Dream,” and co-founded a basketball team comprised of other amputees called Amp 1. Their mission was to create the first “stand-up” basketball team in the world.
They were just two guys, who happened to have lost limbs, wanting to play some serious hoops. Then they realized they could use their incredible sporting skills to raise money for charities that help organizations aiding other amputees and cancer patients.
These athletes overcome adversities in their lives on a daily basis. But that doesn’t stop them from going full throttle on the basketball court at night.
Join me as we watch these inspiring men shoot for the top next Friday, July 27, at Highland Park United Methodist Church (3300 Mockingbird Ln., Dallas 75205). They’ll be playing against an “able-bodied team” to raise money for a number of good causes. Their goal? To reach “tons of people across the country with their stories of misfortune and accomplishments” and raise funds for organizations that help those in need. I can already foretell, regardless of the final score, who the real winners will be in this game.
For more information on Amp 1, visit Facebook and type in, “Amp 1 Benefit Game.” They are really cool to watch.
For more information on Major League Baseballs and how they are made, visit bigleaguebaseballs.com/main/baseballs-how-its-made. It’s really cool to watch, too.
Who knew what patience could produce?
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