What Those That Fight Us Will Never Get
Today I sat quietly in my office doing my job for the upcoming July Sale at Fasig-Tipton. I finally took the time to catch up on my mounting e-mail list. I received an email from one of my closest friends with a link to the ESPN site in it. The link takes me to watch a story about a boy who requested to meet Smarty Jones through the Make a Wish Foundation.
Imagine being 9-years-old and you lost your eyesight years ago due to an illness/disease that you were born with. Imagine that. Think about not being able to do anything you do currently - in the same style you do it. I think about being nearly 39 - and imagine that basically 30 years ago I'm his age. (I cannot believe I'm admitting my age). I might not have wanted to play football, basketball, baseball, etc. - or even cared about watching those sports. He doesn't have a choice.
I'm not at all trying to depress you - actually I'm gonna take this the opposite direction. He is happier blind and not perfectly healthy than most of the people I know - that have both gifts easy and free. He learned to ride through a handicapped riding program and is a different person on the back of a horse. His name is Pat and though I'm only getting my information from the ESPN piece - I am full of wonder about him.
He is naturally a horseman. You can see it as he touches Smarty Jones. He is a lively kid - which alone amazes me - but when he is near the horses he is calm and relaxed and as his mother says "focused." I watched him petting one of Smarty's foals - and he instinctively found the head without frightening the foal and placed his hand gently across its face.
So imagine that you are that same boy - and there are no horses to ride because of PETA's ignorance and lack of intelligence. Imagine that you are that same boy - and there was no Smarty Jones because racing couldn't get it's act together to ensure a future. Imagine you are that same boy and you didn't get to ever be around the one thing that makes you whole?
It's no longer just about money, jobs, fans and fanfare - it's about so much more. If you don't get that - you won't get that.
Imagine being 9-years-old and you lost your eyesight years ago due to an illness/disease that you were born with. Imagine that. Think about not being able to do anything you do currently - in the same style you do it. I think about being nearly 39 - and imagine that basically 30 years ago I'm his age. (I cannot believe I'm admitting my age). I might not have wanted to play football, basketball, baseball, etc. - or even cared about watching those sports. He doesn't have a choice.
I'm not at all trying to depress you - actually I'm gonna take this the opposite direction. He is happier blind and not perfectly healthy than most of the people I know - that have both gifts easy and free. He learned to ride through a handicapped riding program and is a different person on the back of a horse. His name is Pat and though I'm only getting my information from the ESPN piece - I am full of wonder about him.
He is naturally a horseman. You can see it as he touches Smarty Jones. He is a lively kid - which alone amazes me - but when he is near the horses he is calm and relaxed and as his mother says "focused." I watched him petting one of Smarty's foals - and he instinctively found the head without frightening the foal and placed his hand gently across its face.
So imagine that you are that same boy - and there are no horses to ride because of PETA's ignorance and lack of intelligence. Imagine that you are that same boy - and there was no Smarty Jones because racing couldn't get it's act together to ensure a future. Imagine you are that same boy and you didn't get to ever be around the one thing that makes you whole?
It's no longer just about money, jobs, fans and fanfare - it's about so much more. If you don't get that - you won't get that.
I was sent a link to this yesterday on ESPN's website - and i have to agree. For a kid who ALSO lost his father when he was 5 years old, he sure is coping with everything better than most our spoiled butts are. Really makes you appreciate what you are fortunate enough to be given, though.
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