About 12 years ago, I volunteered to coach a diverse group of preteen Boys Club kids who wanted to be on a team, but had nobody to coach them. It was a great experience for me, and I hope it was for them. We won some, lost some and I made sure they learned sportsmanship, discipline and accountability.
One of my black players, Marcus, and I have occasionally stayed in touch since then. I wrote him a letter when he was a freshman after I heard he was struggling with some of his coaches and team rules. He eventually went on to play four years of football and four years of basketball, where he really excelled. My son, Shawn, saw Marcus after he had graduated high school and he mentioned my letter.
Three weeks ago, Marcus emailed me to see if our newspaper could do a story on he and his brother's online urban clothing business. I told him I'd pass the request on to the business editor. The feature was published in Sunday's paper. I wanted to share the email exchange we had this morning:
"Hey Jim, I just wanna than you for allowing me the opportunity to voice my line. I work really hard and it's nice to get noticed and, honestly, it was a great way to get looked at. Hopefully it will bring new business and clientele. From my family to yours, we truly thank you and the editors at the entire Telegraph Herald." - Marcus
"I'm real glad I could get the ball rolling for the story, Marcus. It was so cool seeing my former Boys Club player becoming a success. You guys should be real proud of your business. I pray it continues to go well with God's blessing."
"Thanks Jim. It really means a lot, really it does. God bless you and your family." - Marcus
I hope we see more of each other as life moves on as well as some day in heaven.
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