Written On Our Hearts

It was always around this time of year that my mom would take us back to school shopping, dedicating one whole day each to myself, my brother and my sister. She would take us on a grand excursion to various malls, office supply shops and department stores so we could get everything we needed, from notebooks to new shoes, and start the year on a positive note. Finally, we always capped off our special day with a dinner for two at a restaurant of our choosing. I have many silly and fun memories from our back to school shopping adventures. My favorite story has to be the seventh grade “toe service” experience. Mom and I both walked away stunned and giggling at the Nordstrom’s sales associate, who not only measured my shoe size personally and found that I had two different sized feet, but then went in the back and actually brought me the same shoe in two different sizes! However, it was her dedication to make sure that my first steps in my mismatched hush puppies were second to none by s...

From the moment, his cleats crossed over the foul line on April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson was verbally assaulted and targeted maliciously by fastballs. Racist managers taunted him, his teammates shunned him and opposing players regularly attempted to injure him. Although he was belittled, bruised and I’m sure close to the breaking point countless times throughout his historic baseball career; he not only managed to have a career batting average of .311, win a Rookie of the Year Award, a MVP award and a World Series (stats courtesy of www.baseballreference.com ) but he opened the door for men of all colors and from all corners of the earth to play in the Major Leagues. Jackie accomplished all this because he was courageously meek. He fought racism, bigotry and hatred with a bat and glove; not words or fists. Jackie robbed his critics and opponents of their perceived supremacy over him by stealing bases, not by slandering them in return. The results were not instantaneous and it certai...