Cal Ripkin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this past Sunday. He played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. Notably, he played in 2,632 consecutive games (breaking Lou Gehrig's "unbreakable" record by over 500 games), had 3,184 hits, won 2 Most Valuable Player awards and played in 19 All-Star games.
During his induction speech, Ripkin said "I always looked at it as just showing up for work every day". He noted that in attendance (an estimated 75,000 folks showed up for the ceremonies) were "... thousands of people who do the same, teachers, police officers, mothers, fathers, business people and may others". He went on to say, "You all may not receive the accolades that I have throughout my career, but I would like to take the time to salute all of you for showing up, working hard, and making the world a better place."
Ripkin's gracious remarks deserve a wide distribution. The news media focuses too much attention on the exploits of Lindsay Lohan, Anna Nicole Smith, etc. and misses opportunities to inform the public of the important work being done by individuals doing praiseworthy, important, but often unnoticed work. Maybe if the stories of these enterprising people were given more attention, it would inform and inspire others.
Gordon Brown, the new British Prime Minister, told Brian Williams during an interview that an important lesson he learned from his father was that everyone has a talent. We should spend sufficient time recognizing and using our own talents and encouraging others to do the same.
1 comment:
Nice post Dad. I agree that we often fail to notice the strengths and talent all around us. Sensationalism and, for some, escape sells.
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