Thursday, April 11, 2013

"J" is for Jackie

With the eagerly-awaited biopic “42” hitting theaters tonight, I can’t think of a better word for “J."

There is far too much to say about Jack Roosevelt Robinson for me to do him any justice in a blog post, and I feel like the less I say the better.  (Can my words either add to or subtract from greatness?)  If all you know about him is that he broke the major league baseball color barrier, or played for the Dodgers, you really ought to discover more about the man for yourself. Consider it your homework assignment.

There are any number of extraordinary things about him that, taken individually, are praiseworthy, but there's one that is front and center for me, that I've never seen anyone else mention.

When it comes to Jackie Robinson, what it all boils down to for me, is that he was such a man.   In every episode of his life, in every possible sense of the word, he was a true man, a mensch.  I'll leave it to the reader to ponder that.




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6 comments:

  1. Jer... I love all your topics, but when you venture out of techno world, you really are at the top of your game. This guy?? OH YA! I cannot wait to see his story on the big screen. What a professional. Great choice for J.

    Dana

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  2. Look, Coach, I'm not giving up on turning on the world to the thrill-a-minute world of energy loss and drafting tools, but point taken. :)

    But yeah, gonna go see 42 on Saturday. Can't wait.

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  3. I had the opportunity to meet Jackie's daughter in 2012 at the San Miguel Writers' Conference. A "general session" speaker, she told about him as a father and family man. It was wonderful to meet her and to get a different view of him as well as to learn about the good work she's doing. Good choice, Jerry. Thank you. xoA

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    1. Thanks, Annis. I would have loved to have been there and heard her speak. He was definitely much, much more than a baseball superstar. He died far too young, but I'm glad he handed the baton to her.

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  4. You're right, Jerry. And I'll leave it at that.

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  5. Hey, Dennis. "Mensch" is a single word that says a lot, isn't it?

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