Thread by @jakequery

I’m on a group text with HS friends, & we were reminiscing about our coming of age, & the challenges their kids face today. It led to a story from Middle School, & one I hope offers a lesson for kids today. It’s long, I apologize, but hopefully you’ll humor me & read.
Thread👇

I attended @EastwoodMS from 1984-87. It was a great school and we had great times. Among the many great things about Eastwood was this awesome variation of dodgeball we would play several times a week. It was standard dodgeball played in the basketball gym, but our teachers added

some wrinkles. If you hit the backboard on the opponent’s side, one of your ousted teammates re-entered the game. If you made a (half court) shot, ALL your ousted teammates re-entered. Additionally, there were two bowling pins set on the corner of the FT line on your half of the

court. If one of your pins was knocked over, all of your ousted opponents re-entered. When the 2nd was knocked over, the game ended. It was great.
So...on the first day of 8th Grade, we were all introduced to a new classmate- a transfer from the Indiana School for the Blind. Yep

In a public school with 600 some kids per grade, we had a 100% visually impaired classmate. It was amazing. He used a walking stick and seemingly memorized his route from class to class. Once the anomaly wore off, @dalrymplejd was just another member of the Eastwood Class of ‘87.

He joined the wrestling team, ate with us in the cafeteria, did all the regular functions. He was just a normal kid. Yet, he wasn’t. He was blind.
Back to the dodgeball game. Due to the strategic importance of the pins, there was always a designated pin guard- like a catcher

guarding home plate. Fairly early on, we all figured Mike could partake on the game by being a guard. I mean- who was going to throw at the blind kid? So there he’d sit, in this understood bubble of dodgeball immunity. Needless to say, he was a HIGHLY effective pin guard. More

often than not, he was the key to a winning team. One day at lunch I referenced what an asset he was, but he said something I’ll never forget. He said “It’s fun, but I don’t have any way of knowing what’s going on in the game.”
I put myself in his position, best I could. I LOVED

those dodgeball games, but couldn’t imagine enjoying it without seeing the action. So, in our next game I posted up right behind Mike and started narrating the action. I.E. “Shiela DeMars with a lofty shot at the goal. It’s short! Caught by William Woodson! Shiela is out!”. I did

this for the rest of the year. Mike came with us to North Central, & was a well liked and admired peer in our 1991 graduating class. He went on to become an attorney and still practices law in Indy.

Now- don’t get me wrong. I was a cocky kid who was on the wrong end of more than a few incidents
of school verbal pranks & bullying. In fact, I outgrew it at a later age than I should have, & am ashamed to admit it existed for me.
But- one day in the fall of 1986, I was forced

to learn empathy and compassion. I found myself, for the 1st time, embracing what made someone different, as opposed to running to one who was the same. It was a critically impactful lesson. I have been very fortunate to have had a career in sports broadcasting. I have been lucky

enough to have called games in football, basketball, swimming & diving, and over 250 auto races, including 14 Indianapolis 500s. In 2007, I transitioned from TV to radio, and my very 1st radio contract was drafted by my old Eastwood & NC classmate. Mike Dalrymple.

Throughout that journey, people often ask how I got into doing play-by-play. It’s a simple answer. I got into it because I loved my first gig- providing dodgeball action to the one kid who couldn’t see it. I loved that job, and I love that when I occasionally come across Mike in

the community, he immediately recognizes my voice. We both are instantly taken back to the Eastwood gym. And we both know the lesson HE provided- taking a second to think about what life is like for someone else- can make for a lifetime living your true self.
The end.