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Taking Names and Keeping Score
On the down side the story of his life includes the many insults and indignities that were hurled his way as well as the physical and emotional suffering that he went through in the years he played as well as long afterward when he should've been basking in the sunlight of his success. Probably some the greatest pain that was ever thrust upon him came from experiences he had with one of his children, his first born, the very apple of his eye. As the story was told through the pages of the book the son he loved more than anything and who loved him equally well, struggled a great deal with the most common things early in his childhood. He had trouble dealing with school, wasn't as selective as he should have been with his choice of friends and seemed to spend a good portion of his time searching for something he never could seem to find. When other children entered the family the older son had problems with jealousy over the attention they were getting and would often act out to get his parents' attention. As time moved on and his son grew into adolescents the magnitude of the problem got even worse with alcohol and drug abuse becoming part of the equation Things eventually got so bad that to save his soon he and his wife literally had to refuse to help him any longer to force him to get the rehabilitation he needed for his drug abuse. As it turned out that was one of the best things they ever did for their son as the rehabilitation worked and their son found a purpose for his life in working with people like himself who needed help and support to get away from their addiction to alcohol and drugs. Unfortunately, the greatest tragedy of it all came only a short time after it appeared the wayward son had finally found his way when he was killed in an automobile accident on an abandoned stretch of highway somewhere along the road he was traveling home. As this grieving father looked back at the life of his son he had no regrets about how he provided for the basic needs of his son, he did not question whether he and his wife loved him as much as they loved the other children, he never second guessed the aspirations he and his wife had for their son or the attempts they made to steer him in that direction. There was one thing however that he did regret and that was all the time when his child was growing up that he allowed his involvement in other things beyond his work interfere with the time he spent with his son. It had fnally dawned on him that the greatest gift he never gave his soon was his time. Sadly at that point it was too late. Today as I see so many children participating in sports activities, school functions or other things where they are alone, I wonder what it is their parents and other family could be doing that is more important than spending time with them. I hope and pray that before it's too late the parents of all children will come to understand the greatest gift they can ever give their child is their time. It is the one thing that can never be replaced once it is gone.
Until next time ….be safe!
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