Quote
Dr. Seuss ends Horton Hears a Who! with the line: “So let that be a lesson to one and to all; a person’s a person, no matter how…
Family
Alcorn · Seuss
Story
The Kid Who Caught the Ball
Ted W. Engstrom, The Pursuit of Excellence, 1982
One afternoon after a rough game, baseball legend Ted Williams was walking to the team bus when a small boy approached him with a baseball and a pen. Williams was tired and frustrated. He signed the ball, then noticed the boy still standing there, eyes wide. Instead of brushing past, Williams knelt down, talked with him for a moment, and handed the ball back with care. The crowd that had been watching the frustrated star suddenly softened. Years later the story was still told—not because of the home runs that day, but because a tired man still had room to treat a child as someone who mattered. Excellence is not only measured in statistics.
How you’d preach it
A warm story about dignity and noticing the small person in the crowd. Works well when speaking about value that has nothing to do with performance.
- Family
Engstrom