November 3, 2009
My grandmother weighed about 100 pounds, smoked like a steam engine, and in my min
d’s eye wasn’t exactly “athletic,” but the woman could flat out bowl. She had a closet full of bowling shirts, bowling shoes in a variety of colors, and two bowling balls, which she carried in beautiful leather bags. She bowled in a league and cherished her “bowling night” like no other night of the week.
As I got older, I would debate with my grandmother whether bowling was even a sport. “It is a recreational GAME,” I would tell her. “Basketball, track, volleyball, cycling – those are sports. You can’t eat, drink, and carry on conversation while competing in a sport!” “Balance, coordination, strength, and skill are all key ingredients of a sport,” she would say. We debated for years, until I realized that no matter how she or I chose to categorize it - bowling was then and continues to be one of America’s most enjoyable past-times!
In the next three weeks 742 Special Olympics New Mexico bowlers will compete at the North Regional Bowling Tournament in Albuquerque and the Holiday Classic in Las Cruces. That would be almost 200 more athletes than last year. More participants – more dreams fulfilled – more happy moments – more friendships made – more families celebrating – more volunteers learning – more communities involved. Sport, game, or just maybe a little of both, Special Olympics bowling is offering our athletes and everyone else who shows up a time of accomplishment, fun, and celebration.
With a smile on my face and fond memories of my grandmother, I look forward to seeing you on the lanes.
October 18, 2009
Special Olympics is all about creating new possibilities for any person who
walks onto our playing fields. We spend a lot of time trying to articulate what those opportunities bring to the lives of our Special Olympics athletes. Today however, I want to share with you words I received in a card from Marla Wood, a friend of our organization who raised money to support our athletes by going Over the Edge.
“Dear Randy. I’ve been thinking for a few weeks just what it is I have to say about going Over the Edge. When you were telling me about the event a month ago, I was so excited and raring to go! And as Bruce and his office got geared up and shaved off, I started getting fidgety. On the balcony of Meyners and Company with you sharing stories of Media Day, and me looking down a mere eight stories, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. I felt the rumblings of fear, the voices of doubt, and finally, on that Friday morning, the rush of fight or flight adrenaline. I was terrified – and excited – and so afraid – less of hurting myself and more of embarrassing myself with cowardice.
But I did it. With all of those smiling faces and words of encouragement and statements of surety from so many volunteers – I did it! I made it to the ground and people unbuckled me and unradio’ed me, while people I’ve never met yelled and clapped for me. And then the sweetest soul put a gold medal around my neck. What a moment.
It took about 15 minutes of wandering around, thanking folks, trying to focus, and then watching Francie come down that wall – and I couldn’t stop the tears. I sat on the curb and cried. There are people for whom this sort of feat might be no big deal, but it was for me. Just like running and swimming and jumping might be a minimal event for me, it is a monumental accomplishment for those who find challenge there. So, thank you. To all of the volunteers - from the folks storing my stuff in a bag, to the guys buckling me in, to the fellow on the roof holding my sunglasses – thank you. Thank you for this new clarity of thought on just what courage means.”
October 6, 2009
So let me start by saying going Over the Edge is now ranking right up there as one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life. I’m not kidding. From the moment I put on the helmet and was strapped into the harness – I was in an altered state. Simply walking onto the roof was beyond words, but having to take that single step off the top from a backwards position – take charge of the rope that dictated the pace of the sixteen story downward rapel – and on the way down attempt to wrap my head around what I was thinking and feeling - WHEW.
For sixteen stories I wondered. I wondered if having to search deep inside myself and dig past my fear was the same process our athletes go through all the time. I wondered if hearing my heart pound as I stepped off the roof into the unknown was the same pounding they hear the first time they jump into water, grab a hockey stick, or climb onto a horse? I wondered if the cheers I heard below meant the same to me as the cheers they hear when they compete? I wondered if the tears of gratitude and accomplishment that rolled uncontrollably down my face the moment I hit the ground were the same tears I see on their faces when they bow their heads to receive their medals.
The truth is – I really didn’t have to wonder at all. I knew.
In closing, if you are reading this and wondering if you should or even could Go Over the Edge next year – don’t wonder. I promise it will rock your soul, give you an adrenaline rush like you’ve never had, and you will absolutely love it.
September 22, 2009
Those would be the words my mother spoke when I told her that this Friday I will be repelling down a sixteen story
building to raise money for Special Olympics New Mexico. “How can I not do it, Mom - it’s for our athletes.” I spoke those words with conviction, hung up the phone, and broke into a cold sweat. The truth is, a few weeks ago the idea of Going Over the Edge didn’t really bother me. Now that we are three days out, I am starting to spend sleepless nights wondering how I’m going to be. I used to climb trees when I was in elementary school and now occasionally brave a ladder to check the status of the swamp cooler on the roof of my house. But NEVER have I stepped off of anything and lowered myself down sixteen stories - in front of a crowd of people – people who know me.
This is going to take mustering an unfamiliar amount of courage. It would be easier not to do it. I’m wondering about our athletes and the first time they step onto a court or walk to the start line. I’m wondering if I will be as brave as they are or end up changing my mind and backing out. I’m wondering if the answer to my mother’s question is “yes.”
I’m wondering what I will have to say about all of this in my next Thoughts from Randy.
August 11, 2009
I’m sitting here trying to figure out what words I can possibly say to adequately describe Mrs. Eunice Kennedy
Shriver’s contribution to our world. How can we begin to honor her life “enough” for all that she did to bring dignity, celebration, and hope to over three million Special Olympics athletes and their families?
When I think about how it all started in Mrs. Shriver’s backyard with a handful of people challenged with intellectual disabilities, I am reminded of the scripture that says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Regardless of your theology, religion, or beliefs, if you ever had the opportunity to talk with Mrs. Shriver, you would find it hard to deny that she was prepared by God to better the lives of those who to this day suffer unjustly because of their disability. Mrs. Shriver was a woman of faith, a woman of prayer, and perhaps the only way to adequately describe her life’s noble work is “God-given.”
Today, a television reporter asked me if I thought Special Olympics would change now that our founder is gone? I told him I thought the light she provided while alive will burn even brighter. You see, Special Olympics from Mrs. Shriver’s perspective was never about her – but always about that one athlete in any town or village living in the shadows, standing on the sidelines, waiting for the chance to be included. Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s legacy will live on brightly in the face of any child or adult who will for the first time because of the Special Olympics movement participate in sport and see themselves differently. SHE was always about THEM and thanks to her work, we have a greater understanding that THEY are US.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver made our world a better place. We will miss her and will forever be grateful to her.
