No Excuses...Go Watch Them Play!
- By Jimmy Fowlkes
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- 07 Dec, 2018
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Seeing My Parents In The Stands Always Meant A Lot To Me
Twelve years ago, I was coaching a high school baseball game at my alma mater in Decatur, Georgia. After the game, a couple made a special effort to introduce themselves to me. They just wanted to meet the son of Doc and Gwen Fowlkes. My parents were in the stands that day, like they always were, enjoying a game of baseball. This couple had never met my parents, but sat with them and talked the whole game.
This was one of the many moments in my life that made me proud to be a Fowlkes. The couple was so impressed with my mom and dad, that they just had to meet me.
But the funny part was, they wanted to know which boy on the team was mine. Surely my parents had come to watch their grandson. To their surprise, I informed them that my parents had come to watch me coach. After a good laugh, I think they walked away realizing just how special my parents were.
My parents never made excuses. It was always a great feeling to look up in the stands and see my mom and dad.
Almost 40 years ago, I remember my dad driving down to Tallahassee, Florida from Decatur to watch me play a college baseball game. As soon as we finished our game, we drove 70 miles as fast as possible to meet my mom in Valdosta, Georgia, where my brother David was playing in a college basketball game.
We barely made it on time. But I'll never forget that drive. While driving above the speed limit on a two lane highway in the dark, a 900 pound hog wondered onto the side of the road and missed our car by inches! My dad and I would not have made it to that game if that hog had taken two steps to the right! I am truly thankful and will never forget that feeling.
The reason I wrote this is because I meet kids all the time who tell me that their parents hardly ever come to their games. I know in some cases, parents just can't be there. But I also know how disappointed a child feels when they look up in the stands and don't see their mom and dad.
Thank you Doc and Gwen! I love you and miss you.
This was one of the many moments in my life that made me proud to be a Fowlkes. The couple was so impressed with my mom and dad, that they just had to meet me.
But the funny part was, they wanted to know which boy on the team was mine. Surely my parents had come to watch their grandson. To their surprise, I informed them that my parents had come to watch me coach. After a good laugh, I think they walked away realizing just how special my parents were.
My parents never made excuses. It was always a great feeling to look up in the stands and see my mom and dad.
Almost 40 years ago, I remember my dad driving down to Tallahassee, Florida from Decatur to watch me play a college baseball game. As soon as we finished our game, we drove 70 miles as fast as possible to meet my mom in Valdosta, Georgia, where my brother David was playing in a college basketball game.
We barely made it on time. But I'll never forget that drive. While driving above the speed limit on a two lane highway in the dark, a 900 pound hog wondered onto the side of the road and missed our car by inches! My dad and I would not have made it to that game if that hog had taken two steps to the right! I am truly thankful and will never forget that feeling.
The reason I wrote this is because I meet kids all the time who tell me that their parents hardly ever come to their games. I know in some cases, parents just can't be there. But I also know how disappointed a child feels when they look up in the stands and don't see their mom and dad.
Thank you Doc and Gwen! I love you and miss you.
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