He stands at the plate
with his heart pounding fast.
The bases are loaded,
the die has been cast.
Mom and Dad cannot help him,
he stands all alone.
A hit at this moment,
would send the team home.
The ball meets the plate,
he swings and he misses.
There's a groan from the crowd,
with some boos and some hisses.
A thoughtless voice cries,
"Strike out the bum."
Tears fill his eyes,
the game's no longer fun.
So open your heart and give him a break,
For it's moments like this,
a man you can make.
Please keep this in mind,
when you hear someone forget,
He is just a little boy, and not a man yet.
By Chaplain Bob Fox
baseball game as I always did. Cory was 12 years old at the
time and had been playing baseball for a couple of years.
When I saw that he was warming up to be next at bat, I
decided to head over to the dugout to give him a few
pointers. But when I got there, I simply said, "I love you."
In return, he asked, "Does this mean you want me to hit a home run?"
I smiled and said, "Do your best."
As he walked up to the plate, there was a certain aura
about him, He looked so confident and so sure about what he
was going to do. One swing was all he took and, wouldn't
you know, he hit his first home run! He ran around those
bases with such pride - his eyes sparkled and his face was
lit up. But what touched my heart the most was when he
walked back over to the dugout. He looked over at me with
the biggest smile I've ever seen and said, "I love you too, Ter."
I don't remember if his team won or lost that game. On
that special summer day in June, it simply didn't matter.
by Terri Vandermark