#42, a hero.

     I wish we could give someone our gender, skin color, economical status, or our disability, so we all learn how each of us might suffer for the way we were born. Indeed some of us suffer more than others, but when it comes time to throw your cards on the table, don't be too quick to judge who has it the worst. True compassion is only learned by walking in some one else's shoes~either literally or metaphorically. What I'm about to write are just words. I hope somehow I can express the heartfelt appreciation I now have for a man, who was just a name to me before tonight.
     I was asked to see the premier of the movie "42" by a good friend. I had no idea what it was and upon being told, I wasn't super excited about it. I realized without being invited, I might not have seen it. "42" is based on the life of Jackie Robinson, who was the first black man to play baseball for the Major League...I mistakenly thought it was just going to be another baseball movie.
     On the contrary, this movie was less about baseball than it was about the tenacity of the human spirit. The movie left me with all kinds of emotions and my heart ached as I watched and felt his story. Can you even imagine standing in a stadium of people who despise you for the color of your skin? It didn't matter who he was or how good of a person he was, everyone hated him. They called him horrible names, screamed at him and sent letters upon letters of hate mail threatening to kill him and his family, yet he still had to show up game after game knowing the ridicule he was about to suffer, and the people were relentless. How defeating that must have been. So many of us get one insult, one dirty look and we absolutely lose our minds, we couldn't even imagine this kind of hatred! I bet Jackie Robinson never thought people would one day praise him for his strength and courage by facing the most odious hatred of all, hated for simply being.
    When the movie ended, everyone clapped. It felt so good, I just sat there with a smile on my face and in my heart. Something about watching a man, who probably had no idea at the time he was about to change the face of history, just permeated my soul. I left the movie with a new hero and even more compassion. It's a movie worth seeing and if your children are old enough, bring them too. Text books can teach history, but rarely are the struggles felt as deeply as this movie will touch you. Here is a link to the movie trailer... http://youtu.be/I9RHqdZDCF0