http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0514-plaschke-20100514,0,1002344.column
If you have a minute to watch this clip or read the accompanying article, it is truly touching. I met John and his family about four years ago. At that time he was hoping to enter high school. Though his disease left him without the cognitive capacity necessary for high school, his parents wanted him to be able to experience going to school with his peers. They hired someone who was able to accompany him at school and got special permission from the school to make it work. I was told he probably had about one year to live.
Now John is about to finish high school. As the article mentioned he was voted homecoming king. It took me a day or so to realize why this clip affected me as much as it did. I realized that what got me wasn’t the fact that they let John bat, but it was his dad’s enthusiasm and pride. Watching Mr. Sikorra hold his son’s hand as he ran him around the bases, unashamedly proud to be his father, was one of the purest pictures of true, unconditional love that I have ever seen. Realizing that this is a glimpse of how our Father loves us put me over the edge.
